Outremer III

by D. N. Carter

  “You have aged well. These character lines suit you,” she said softly and smiled.

  “Character lines. Always the diplomat,” Philip replied and laughed and held her hands as he looked at her.

  “You have come at the right time for we leave here within days. Kratos said you would come,” she explained softly.

  “Did he now? And you…you sound and appear different,” Philip said still holding her hands but looking at Kratos.

  “What, more feminine?” she asked and smiled broadly. “It is the dress I am sure.”

  “Abi,” Kratos said and raised his eyebrows. “She is with child.”

  “What…but I thought that was impossible…I…I…who?” Philip asked awkwardly then laughed.

  “Oh you know him. A good man and it would appear of our line,” Abi replied.

  Philip looked at Kratos, confused.

  “Tenno,” Kratos informed him and nodded.

  “Tenno…!” Philip exclaimed, surprised.

  Abi simply nodded yes and smiled.

  “How…no, do not answer that. Tell me later,” Philip laughed. “I have missed you all so much, more than I realised until now.”

  “And we you,” Kratos said and ushered Philip along to sit. “I knew you would come again and now you have, perhaps you will help us seal this place?”

  “Of course I shall help. What of the other sites here?”

  “Oh they have been sealed for many years past already,” Kratos answered.

  “Where will you go from here?” Philip asked.

  “We shall take our vessel and hide it away in Atl, then go to the Emerald Isle and wait for you to join us, in good time of course,” Kratos explained.

  “But what of Tenno and his child. Does he know?”

  “No he does not. But he shall,” Abi explained and sat down upon a rock cut bench.

  “And before you leave us again, you must take the plans drawn up for the new temple structure to house the nine and the gateway,” Kratos said as he offered Philip to sit beside Abi.

  “And where shall that be if moved from La Rochelle?”

  “Where I am afraid you must travel next…if you are willing of course?” Kratos replied with a wry smile. “Not far across the border of England into Alba. You have been before so you know it already.”

  “By any chance…Temple Parish…near Balantrodach?” Philip replied as Kratos nodded yes. “And what will happen with your child?” he asked turning to look back at Abi.

  “We shall see. But after a year, maybe two, he shall leave with Kratos to a safe place whilst I finish my work,” Abi replied.

  “Where exactly? And why did Tenno not return home? So many questions… where will you go that is safe?” Philip asked and held Abi’s hand.

  “Philip, our days of living amongst you draw near to a close. We stand out as a little too obvious would you not agree?” Kratos asked.

  “Not that much, you do not.”

  “I am surprised Paul did not inform you why Tenno stayed. I shall explain later over a meal…but where are your belongings for you travel light?” Abi asked.

  “No he did not explain. He detailed their journey to Alexandria and what that evil minded Turansha tried to do. That affected me badly…for that man will stop at nothing, I fear. I should have killed him when I had the chance,” Philip replied and shook his head. “And as for my dear friend Firgany…truly a great loss.”

  “We know…but I have since spoken with him. He watches over Alisha still,” Kratos said and winked. “Philip, when you have hidden that which must be hidden again, near Balantrodach, only then can I resume the installation on the island in the New World.”

  “Kratos…I have always felt and known that the day would come when I would be tasked to do so. ’Tis why I have spent so many years preparing everything…the stories, my writings and my cathedral designs,” Philip answered and sighed.

  “And you have done more than was expected. But the time will also come when you must pass on that mantle to another…And who, will be your decision alone,” Kratos said with a reverence of tone that made Philip look at him. “You tried to find a better way to carry the messages from the past to the future…but please accept that it shall now fall to Paul to find that way so please listen to him when he tells you there is a better way to guarantee the message and codes from antiquity can be carried across time without the use of force or religion…for that is his gift to the world.”

  “And what is that?”

  “He does not even know himself yet, but he shall…should he get to Cairo as he has been advised.”

  “And in the future, people will remember as promised?”

  “That, my dear friend, I can indeed promise. Even if they lose the very codes, there will be those souls reborn whom, despite the veil, will remember and tell them within new stories…new technologies and new legends will be born from the higher imaginings of those enlightened ones…but having physical proofs, as that is what the majority in this world seem to need and see, they will greatly help to re-educate man…help him remember who he really is,” Kratos explained solemnly.

  “And this island in the New World…what shall it be called and how can you be so sure what is hidden shall remain so?” Philip asked as Abi looked at him, the tiredness in her eyes growing.

  “Why, Philip, there is but only one name we could call it…Oak Island of course,” Kratos replied with a large smile and raised his eyebrows. “And once sealed, it will only again be accessed when the very world itself enters the ring of light and changes its position…only then will its sealed vaults empty. And only then will it confirm what will then be found within the recovered Chambers of Creation from the four corners of this world… for only then will the vibrations that govern this realm of existence be correctly matched!”

  “Oak Island…how appropriate,” Philip smiled.

  “Indeed. Before you leave, you must take with you the Crimson Stone to place in Scotia,” Kratos said and began to walk toward the remnants of a small fire in the centre of the room. “You have much to do and not a lot of time to do it in. Now you must tell me how your plans for the Temple Church in London are progressing.”

  Port of La Rochelle, France, Melissae Inn, spring 1191

  “Crimson Stone…and Abi pregnant!” Sarah remarked utterly bemused.

  “Tenno…the dirty sea dog,” the Genoese sailor laughed.

  “Lucky sea dog,” Simon commented, his eyes wide as he stared off in thought.

  “Atl…New World…New Scotia, Oak Island…can you explain more?” Gabirol asked.

  “Check the map I gave you. You will see New Scotia already marked upon it. ’Tis where Tenno went and passed through as he claimed. And there are Templars there right now as we sit here this day,” the old man explained. “And Atl, well that is a land of great antiquity now buried and hidden beneath snow and ice, apart from a small inner sanctum. A paradise on earth almost.”

  “Then if this is so, why are we not told?” the Templar asked.

  “Only the most trustworthy have been selected so far to venture there…to prepare the way. It may be many more years, perhaps even hundreds, before all will know of its existence…to reveal it now would confirm this world is not flat and open up a whole new exodus to the New World…before its time,” the old man explained.

  “But you tell us now. Why?” Gabirol asked, looking confused.

  “Because you in this room…’tis to you that a new responsibility will be passed on to, if you so choose to accept what I offer when this tale concludes.”

  “Me…but I have never been chosen to do anything, certainly not of any worth,” the Genoese sailor interjected loudly and laughed.

  “No…but there comes a time in everyone’s life when an opportunity presents itself to be called to a higher calling…one of which, of course, you are more than free to reject,” the old man explained, looking at him directly.

  “I think I know who you are now,” the Templar said quietly an
d raised his sealed envelope and waved it before placing in back upon the table. The old man raised his eyebrows. “But I shall not say until you have finished this story,” he smiled and winked.

  The old man part nodded his head in acknowledgment.

  “Why does Philip need to go to Scotia, Alba whatever it is called?” Peter asked.

  “And Crimson Stone…what is that all about?” Sarah interrupted, asking again.

  “Let me answer Sarah first then, if you will? For the Crimson Stone is one of the reasons why crimson became a holy sacred and now royal colour,” the old man started to reply and discreetly pushed the crimson coloured wristband up his arm to hide it from view. The Templar however saw him and smiled again. “It will be, as explained previously, at least another eight hundred years before the full knowledge relating to the Crimson Thread will again be fully revealed…as Theodoric detailed, and that the Crimson Thread would have to be hidden and protected. You may recall it was the Prior de Sion who made the active decision to form a military arm to protect that line…the Knights Templar!” the old man said and paused. “Do you recall how I explained how Abi told Paul to know and accept that the Crimson Thread of an ancient bloodline that far outreaches any of the royal bloodlines now being sowed within royal families runs through his veins? How he had the right to wield this sword?” the old man said and placed his hands upon the sword. “How Paul carried the wishes and ambitions of all his ancestors to establish a line of leaders who would heal, protect and educate their peoples? To lead by example doing service to others, not service to self?”

  “I do,” Simon interrupted enthusiastically.

  “So do we,” Sarah said immediately and looked at Simon scornfully.

  “Then know that the use of crimson as a symbolic colour originated from stones found near Stonehenge in Britain. For there, a river runs through the land and through ancient stone monuments, many now buried and still hidden, that have stones with a unique property. When the stones are taken from the river and left to dry in the sun, they turn a bright crimson colour. Truly a magical thing to see. So they were regarded as special, holy almost, especially as they were used for healing.”

  4 - 19

  “How can stones heal?” Ayleth asked, puzzled.

  “By their very properties,” the old man answered and took his hands off the sword and sat back. “The evil Turansha knew all of this and the significance of the Crimson Thread.”

  “Yes, you previously explained that,” Gabirol mentioned.

  “Oh good…I thought I had,” the old man smiled and continued. “And as Kratos explained, Philip had sought a better way of carrying the codes across time, but it would fall to Paul to find a way,” the old man said and paused for several long minutes. “And is why Kratos wished for Philip to travel back to Balantrodach and bury one of the Crimson Stones with letters etched upon it deeply…letters that would lead any who discovered its location to Oak Island and its very entrance…”

  “Why Balan what’s it called?” Simon asked.

  “Balantrodach…’tis the name of the area in which the main Temple Parish is situated, and in the year AD 1128, ’twas one of the founding Knights Templar, Hugues de Payens, who visited Alba and was granted a meeting with King David I of Scotia. The king subsequently granted Hugues and the Knights Templar the Chapelrie and Manor of Balantrodach. There is a wonderfully built Templar church there…” The old man trailed off for a few more minutes.

  “The Crimson Stone…’tis buried there yes?” the Hospitaller said and leaned forward.

  “Alas and sadly no…for it remains here in La Rochelle,” the old man replied.

  “What…where?” Simon asked excitedly, which made the old man laugh.

  “Philip was tasked by Kratos to remove bodies laid in La Rochelle, in Cougnes, to Balantrodach, where they were to lay until a greater more sacred chapel could be constructed not too far away…where they would remain interred until the vibrations of the world again match when it passes through the ring of light…a task which he succeeded in doing…but the Crimson Stone he did not place…hide,” the old man sighed.

  “I do not understand all this talk of ring of light and vibrations,” Ayleth remarked, puzzled, and bit her bottom lip.

  “Then let me explain very briefly…you see all sounds make vibrations, and even light travels in waves as the ancient knowledge tells us…’tis but another reason why the Grand Master of the Prior de Sion and others are known as Navigators, for they understand and can symbolically ride those waves…and as our planet traverses the great heavens, time is measured by the distances between the sun and the centre of many stars…the stars we see that make up the Milky Way…that is proper time, time as used by the gods, or our understanding of God. Every great year, which is roughly twenty-five thousand years, our entire system of planets and sun passes through a ring of light that vibrates differently. It raises our conscious levels as well as physical bodies…that ring of light is over 2,160 years in our time wide… as in that is how long it takes our world to pass through it.”

  “When does this start?” Gabirol asked, looking serious.

  “Not until the Age of Aquarius… AD 2003 give or take a few years.”

  “And stones vibrate…is that connected then?” Gabirol asked.

  “Yes they do. ’Tis why the architects of sacred stone monuments chose their stones carefully. ’Tis why Stonehenge has specially selected stones taken from Wales…for their unique resonating and vibrational properties. Sound vibrates to form various patterns. This can be demonstrated if you place salt or sand upon a shield and vibrate the sides or especially so upon a large drum. The patterns they make are all geometric and perfect…’tis a practice the higher initiates of the Templars have observed and documented. Many of those sound forms Philip knew all too well and had drawn them down…images he included within the designs of several of his plans, including one he compiled alongside Kratos that is to be encoded within a new sacred chapel.”

  “And where exactly is that to be built?” Peter asked. “I would love to be involved in that,” he added.

  “Then perhaps you shall for its foundations have already begun…but it shall take many more years before the chapel above is begun…and it is in a place called Rosslyn…,” the old man answered.

  “Rosslyn…sounds identical to Roussillon where Theodoric’s family came from and where you claim Mary really came ashore,” Gabirol noted.

  “Linguistically identical even…and for that very reason.” The old man smiled.

  “Can I ask why was Kratos sealing his home?” Ayleth asked.

  “’Twas not really his home, Ayleth,” the old man answered. “But the time had come when he had to seal off the entire complex, including the many others on the island and neighbouring island too. To make sure that it remained intact along with the many ancient ancestor remains…remains that will one day be recovered and seen for what they really are. When it is discovered again, its construction will remain a mystery for many years until mankind’s awareness and knowledge has increased enough to recognise what it is they are really looking at. They will argue over its purpose, its age and who built it. It has been sealed so that only the first thirty rooms located over three levels can be accessed. But eventually, nearer the time of the passing of the dark sun and ring of light, deeper passages and rooms will then be found. Of course as is the nature of man, they shall at first claim it was but a simple rock cut tomb, just as they will claim the pyramids at Giza are just simple tombs of Pharaohs…”

  “So when was it built?” Peter asked.

  “Kratos said it was finished during the period as the earth passed through the zodiacal sign of Taurus, the Bull…so many thousands of years BC. Huh, the very last thing Kratos did alongside Philip as they sealed the entrance was to leave a sleeping woman figurine…Kratos laughed at how that would cause so much intrigue later when it is recovered,” the old man laughed.

  “Why?” Simon asked.

  “Man i
n the future will find items from the past but sadly place upon them their own perceptions as they see things then, not as they necessarily were…he also laughed at how future man will wonder how they illuminated the temple, just like the Giza pyramids, for no trace of soot nor burning torches is present. You have all seen how much a roof can darken from burning torches…”

  “So what did the little woman figurine mean?” Ayleth asked.

  “It was Kratos’s way of saying that Mother Earth sleeps but will awaken. It represents a rite of initiation, incubation to be more precise as to sleep within the Goddess’s womb is to die and to come to life anew. Just like all the other sacred initiation rites where the candidate enters a sealed cave or room and where more often than not, this type of initiation was known as ‘temple sleep’ whereby if he or she falls asleep, any dreams were thought to be influenced by deities, and might provide insight about the past, the present, or the future.”

  “Like Paul’s dreams,” the wealthy tailor commented.

  “Yes,” the old man replied and paused before continuing. “Upon Malta, there are many many more temples and stone circles that lay buried. In time they will be uncovered just as those many thousands all across our world will be and prove that they are all linked. What are missing though are the original temple structures that once stood above the underground chambers. Great structures long since dismantled but which many more temples across the world were copied from.”

  “So the other passages below it…where do they lead?” the Templar asked.

  “My friend, as I have explained before, there are indeed great passages and pathways that cross our world. In Malta, there are many that stay hidden, and shall remain so, of great halls. There was a time when what we would truly call giants did inhabit and use them. Not just giants symbolically but real physical giants at a staggering height of some twenty-four feet tall…,” the old man explained and nodded it was true.