by D. N. Carter
“I do truly swear, and I mean it, I will never ever leave your side again,” Paul remarked and kissed her again. “And Theo…we have much to ask of you…later.”
Percival looked over at him. Paul nodded back and they both knew things would forever be different. They knew now that somehow, despite the distance separating them from their birth countries, they were related. They had also shared an experience very few would believe let alone understand. But any doubts Paul had had about the events and similar previous ones being real were now truly dispelled. Percival had once again been with him and this time the woman they had both seen, the images they had witnessed they both saw, and the time loss had been a shared experience. Paul smiled at Percival as tiredness began to take its toll on them.
Port of La Rochelle, France, Melissae Inn, spring 1191
“I recall you explained about the story in both Islamic and Christian tradition about people entering caves and coming out many hundreds of years later…but Paul and Percival…really?” the farrier asked, unsure if what he was being told was the truth.
“I swear to you upon this very sword,” the old man started to say and placed his hand upon the sword. “All that I tell you is the truth.”
“Even if some is not, so long as these are genuine, that is all that I am concerned about,” the Hospitaller remarked and raised his sealed envelope.
“They are genuine, my friend. And as I have said already, if you choose to accept the commission contained within them, you will be carrying on a great challenge and honour,” the old man answered immediately.
“I mean no offence…but some of what you say is so fantastical it beggars belief,” the Hospitaller replied.
“True enough. But you and your brother’s surname is Seincler is it not…and I can promise you this, in time, your name will be remembered for the deeds you have yet to do. And has not your surname oft been writ as Sinclair, after Saint Claire?”
“Aye…but that is a name our father forbade us ever to use or repeat. How do you know these things?” the Templar asked suspiciously.
“In good time, my friend, all in good time,” the old man replied and smiled disarmingly.
“I heard you mention the real name of Kratos as being,” Gabirol said and quickly checked his notes. “Ah…you called him Mer El In. That sounds remarkably too close to the mythical Arthurian wizard Merlin.”
“As I keep telling you…all that is considered just myth and legend was once based upon real people, places and events. Perhaps over romanticised presently, but all carrying a kernel of truth,” the old man smiled.
“I have heard of Merlin…does it mean something then? And the word pyramid. ’Tis something you have mentioned much of yet I have never heard this word before,” Ayleth remarked.
“Pyramid is made up from several words and has several different meanings for each. That is the beauty of word play…and so too is the word Mer EL In,” the old man replied, looking at Ayleth. He paused for a few moments before continuing. “The word pyramid will become familiar enough in time across the whole of Europe…but on one aspect alone consider the part Pyr, which means fire amongst many other things. How many times does God appear in the Bible represented as fire? Take the burning bush for example. Wherever God appears there is always fire connected somehow. And the Altar of Stone by now you should all surely realise is one and the same Great Pyramid itself. It alone sits at the centre of all our world’s landmass…though it may be a while before mankind confirms that again.”
“That is what concerns me,” the farrier interrupted. “You say so much that will not be proven or discovered, as you tell us, for many years.”
“Yet you believe a book where an unseen and unknowable entity commands you to do things and tells you things you cannot possibly know, and you accept that as gospel…literally?” the old man asked him.
2 - 37
“Yes for it is the Lord’s book…,” the farrier replied, his face turning red.
“The Lord’s book? Okay, well let us consider the sources of the word and term pyramid. In Greek πύραμίς, or the plural πύραμίδες, had two meanings. The first was ‘wheat cake’ because Egyptian buildings reminded the Greeks of pointy-topped cakes. Later the Greek word ‘puramis’ signified a monumental structure built of stone with a square base, and sloping sides meeting at an apex. But the origin of the Greek word ‘puramis’ has a special history. There is one version that proclaims that the Ancient Egyptian ‘Pir E Mit’ meaning ‘division of number’ or ‘division of perfection’ was taken from the Greeks. The Greek word puramis is an alternation of the Egyptian pimar. The Greek word puramis crossed into Latin. The Ancient Egyptian word for pyramids is Mr, pronounced as ‘mer’, also the root word that starts Kratos’s original name as well as Merlins. In Arabic the word for pyramid is pronounced ‘haram’, meaning ultimate age or size. Consequently the term pyramid in the Arabic world means ‘the most ancient and largest construction ever built’,” the old man explained.
“You told us before what Mer meant,” Gabirol said as he flicked through his earlier notes. “Yes here it is. You said that the Mer part means ‘ascending place’. Ah but that was to do with the Merkaba star,” Gabirol sighed.
“It could be argued that both Kratos as Mer EL In and the fabled Merlin denotes that they are men of great renown connected with that communication device with God you all know as the Ark of the Covenant, which I also explained previously, then Mer EL In can be seen as an individual who helps, or will help, mankind ascend spiritually,” the old man explained and laughed lightly at Gabirol’s expression. “And remember El is the root word for God!”
“So what does the pyramid tell us…or more correctly those that built it…like that woman?” Simon asked.
“Many things, Simon…many things. But as an altar of stone, I suppose we could sum it up that they, those who built it for future generations’ benefits, were saying, speaking out to all of us across time, to trust them in what they state and show as provable evidence. To listen to the voices from the past calling out across time to remind those in the future. But there is also a warning…one that warns us that in the future there will be those few, few but powerful, who will deliberately orchestrate hate and intolerance and wars. They will deny the past by teaching falsehoods in history. Only when most wake up to reality and take back that power will wars cease and peace be returned…”
“And you believe that?” the Genoese sailor asked bluntly.
The old man looked at him intently for a few moments in silence.
“I know so,” the old man replied.
“And in the future, all it will take is for people to remember and simply go out there, to the point and lay a rose and a lily?” Ayleth asked, bemused, and pointed toward the large windows.
“Yes. ’Tis really that simple,” the old man answered and smiled. “As I keep saying…all of nature and God’s plan is really quite simple. Empathy and love is all it takes. Empathy!”
“You mentioned the woman claimed Jesus was re-enacting prophecies and a connection to Ancient Egyptian sun myths. How so?” Gabirol asked.
“That I shall come to, my friend,” the old man replied and smiled as he pulled the sword across the table closer to him.
Chapter 60
Once and Future King – Arthur
Gabirol checked through his earlier notes and read a page carefully before looking up at the old man. The old man could see he had a question and he waited as did all the others. Simon coughed deliberately loudly to get Gabirol’s attention.
“Sorry…but what you said earlier about this town hiding a great secret in plain sight. You now tell us that a simple act of placing a single red rose and white lily is all that is required to send a signal…a message that we have remembered. And I am beginning to see now that what you have told us means that indeed Mary Magdalene came ashore here, had a daughter, but also went on to have a son later on the Island of Iona…yes?” he asked.
“That i
s correct,” the old man replied with a slight nod.
“And when you told us that a great key was hidden in a church, where the square meets the corner on the church you said, then if I understand correctly what you have told us, then the nine original knights of the Order were buried here in La Rochelle until very recently when Philip removed them to a place in Alba…yes?” Gabirol further quizzed. The old man nodded yes again in silence. “Also that the bodies of Solomon and David were also found, recovered and transported to a safe location…this Oak Island you speak of?”
“Yes…though in truth the final resting place of Oak Island has still to be undertaken,” the old man replied and looked at the Templar and the Hospitaller.
“I get the feeling we have work to do in Alba that will connect us to that task,” the Templar remarked and waved his sealed envelope. He held it up for a few moments before smiling broadly. The old man shrugged his shoulders very slightly and smiled back. “Brother…I hope your bags are still packed.” The Templar smiled again and slapped the envelope against his brother’s arm then gently squeezed Miriam’s hand. “And if you will, I pray you will come with me.”
“Just try leaving without me,” Miriam replied instantly, smiling.
The old man closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and then looked up toward Ayleth. All followed the old man’s gaze and looked at her. She started to blush.
“You have a question,” the old man said to her directly.
“I do…and…” She hesitated, looking at everyone. “If I were to go outside right now and place a red rose and white lily on the circle where Paul and Alisha were married…where the single lanthorn burns nightly, will that signal show that we have remembered and will God send his messengers as promised?”
“It would be the start,” the old man answered. “But, and this is the big but, now is not the correct time for as I have explained previously, it can only happen as the world we live upon changes physically and our position in the heavens not only enters the time of light, but also the zodiac position of the water carrier…Aquarius. And when, during that time, people remember, then as those symbols are placed, so within a short time will those that we would call messengers of the Lord make their presence known.”
“But I thought Mary came ashore at Roussillon where Theodoric came from or have I missed something?” Simon asked, scratching his head.
“You heard correctly,” the old man said. “But after landing there and staying a short while, they travelled here, to La Rochelle, where they stayed a great many years. And as Paul was to discover, another Roussillon will be planned and built… in Alba,” the old man explained, looking again directly at the Templar and his brother Hospitaller.
Cairo, Egypt, July 25th 1183
Paul wiped his head with his sleeve with Alisha sat beside him just holding his hands looking down utterly exhausted and emotionally drained. Percival and Nyla sat holding each other, their eyes closed, when the main door from the hallway into the kitchen opened. Arri stepped down into view rubbing his tired eyes with one hand whilst holding Clip clop in the other. When he saw his father sat at the table, he opened his eyes wide, his mouth opening wide and ran around Percival and Nyla. Paul just managed to turn in his chair, when Arri jumped up and threw his little arms around Paul’s neck.
“I told Mama so many times you would come back. I told her you would not leave us,” Arri exclaimed excitedly and clenched his little arms around Paul tighter. Alisha looked up at him as he looked at her smiling, nodded and appeared to wink with both eyes. Alisha let out a little chuckle at his expression. Paul held him tightly. “And I told her you would be back in time for her birthday…tomorrow. Now where have you been? You made Mama very sad!”
“That, my little man, I shall tell you all about after I have slept,” Paul replied laughing at his remark but quietly shocked inside. If it was Alisha’s birthday the next day, then he and Percival had indeed been away longer than he had realised and nearer two months. He shook his head, confused, but also very glad to be home.
“I shall sort you both a hot bath,” Sister Lucy said as she brushed past Theodoric, gently squeezing his shoulder as she went.
Paul lifted Arri and sat him on the table. He clasped Alisha’s hand and placed hers against Arri’s. With both of his hands he held theirs together, Arri’s face glowing with happiness. Alisha forced a brave smile but Paul could sense the pain and emotional exhaustion she was feeling.
“You two. Please listen to me and believe me when I say I swear to you this hour, that from this day onward, I will never, ever, leave your sides again. This I truly swear and mean by all that I am. I swear it upon my very life…I swear,” Paul said emotionally. Arri waved Clip clop excitedly but Alisha just looked into his eyes. Paul knew his words probably sounded hollow but he meant every one of them. He felt sick seeing the broken look in Alisha’s eyes. Gently he kissed the side of her face. “I swear it,” Paul whispered to her.
Alisha looked deeply into his eyes for what seemed an age. She looked exhausted and pale and it was all down to him. Knowing that only served to make him feel guilty. Alisha held Paul’s hand and kissed the top of it softly.
“You ever…ever put me through this again, and I swear, I will kill you myself,” she said quietly, her pain very obvious as she fought to control her emotions. “I love you…but the strength of my love is what will kill me,” she whispered even quieter so Arri could not hear, pulling Paul closer. She kissed him on the side of his cheek then stared into his eyes. He could feel the love but hurt inside her as if it was a tangible force he could physically touch almost. She raised her eyebrows as if to ask if he understood her. “Well?”
“’Tis you that wields the sword through my heart,” Paul replied referring to his original poem he had written to her back in La Rochelle.
Alisha leant closer and put her arms around him. She closed her eyes and rested against him. Arri waved Clip clop excited again and put his left arm around Alisha and his right arm around Paul. They remained like that for nearly an hour until Arri started to fall asleep. Paul decided he would write Alisha another poem by way of apology but to reinforce his genuine desire and promise never to leave them again. Alisha gently carried Arri upstairs back to his bedroom when Theodoric beckoned Paul and Percival to follow him as the hot water had been put into the baths ready for them.
Sister Lucy laid out two large towels, one each for Paul and Percival, and turned to face both of them as they entered the large bathing room. Steam rose from the large sunken bath as Ishmael entered the other door excitedly having only just returned and hearing the news they were back.
“My prayers have been answered,” he said enthusiastically and rushed across the bathing room and grabbed Paul’s arms. “I wish to know all there is to where you have been, my friend…everything!”
“Aye, you and me both,” Theodoric said aloud as he entered carrying two clean robes.
Paul looked at Theodoric.
“And as I said, we have many questions of you Theo, such as what is it you must tell us about Luke…Saint Luke that is. And what and where is the standing stone you and my father visited where he thrust this sword into it?” Paul asked.
“And who were the semi visible giants?” Percival interrupted.
Theodoric looked a little shocked at their questions.
“And Paul…Saladin’s secretary Al Isfahani…he wishes to meet with you again as soon as possible for Saladin himself has a great request of you,” Ishmael explained excitedly.
Paul looked at Theodoric again, puzzled.
“Ah…yes. You may have to break…or at least bend…that promise you made Alisha and Arri,” Theodoric started to explain. “It would appear that you made an impression on quite a few of Saladin’s senior command, especially Husam’s. Would appear that Saladin himself has approved the formation of a Muslim contingent of several squadrons of Templars…and he wants you to broker the formation.”