by D. N. Carter
Paul looked at Ishmael, who shook his head in agreement. Percival shrugged his shoulders, as confused as Paul.
“This is a joke yes?” Paul asked.
“No, my dear boy, no! It appears you are considered a natural and trustworthy diplomat by all sides,” Theodoric answered and handed him a robe. “’Tis what your father started I am afraid.” Paul felt a knot churn up in his stomach. “Now clean yourselves up, get a good night’s rest and we shall speak of it in the morning.”
After bathing and putting on clean and warm robes, Paul bid everyone a good night and headed for his chambers. But as he passed his study room, his mind still awake and running through a hundred questions, he entered rather than go to bed. He used the small ceramic oil lamp to light the large lanthorn in his room. As the room lit up, he sighed heavily both glad to be home but still filled with a real heavy sense of guilt and sadness for what he had put Alisha through. In a few short hours she would be up and it was her birthday. He sat down and gathered several sheets of parchment together and prepared his writing quill. He would write her a small poem as the only gift he could give her. As he sat in silence trying to find the words, he simply could not. Perhaps it was tiredness, he thought, or perhaps it was the many questions and images still running through his mind. His gaze fell upon the parchment tubes his father had left him to look after. Not exactly well looked after he told himself as he reached over and pulled one closer. Quickly he opened it and rolled out its content. Instantly he recognised that several of the sheets were plans for a sizeable chapel very ornately designed. Several other sheets had symbols upon squares. The symbols were identical to some of the symbols he had been shown within the chambers upon the egg shaped granite containers. He knew they represented sounds somehow. Had his father also seen the same images? he immediately thought, seeing how identical they were. Suddenly his study door eased open making him jump, startled.
“’Tis only I,” Theodoric whispered as he entered, closing the door quietly behind him. “I knew you would not be off to bed…too much in your mind eh?” Paul nodded yes. “I have something that may help,” he said with a cheeky smile and pulled out from his robe a Roman styled glass bottle of red wine and two blue glasses. He winked at Paul, sat himself down and immediately started to pour the wine. “I still remember the first glass we shared back at Rochfort…how so long ago that seems already.”
“Yes…it does indeed seem a long time ago,” Paul replied as took the glass of wine.
“I thought my life was all but over back then…until you just happened to appear arguing with Gerard!” Theodoric said as he finished pouring his wine. “You do know don’t you that you gave me back my life, and for that I will never be able to thank you enough.”
Paul looked at Theodoric as he raised his wine glass to him.
“Yes…Rick!” Paul replied and laughed quietly.
“Well, I knew if your father had spoken of me, it would not have been favourably.”
“You were wrong about that though weren’t you?”
“Aye, that I was for I was sure he must have hated me…as well as my Luce. And now look at us. I was such a fool…such a fool,” Theodoric sighed and took a large swig of wine, wiped his mouth and smiled. “That’s better… demon drink and all that!”
“Perhaps whilst we are here alone you will answer some questions?”
“Fire away and if I am able, I shall answer.”
“These parchments Father has entrusted to me. I know they are copies… but what are they really of? For I have but this past day seen these very same symbols beneath the pyramids,” Paul asked and tapped his finger down upon the sheet with the symbols drawn out upon squares.
Theodoric pulled the sheet closer and studied them for a few minutes in silence. He moved the lanthorn closer to shine more light upon it. After another large sip of wine he looked up at Paul.
“These are but plans of a new chapel designed and based upon sacred numbers, proportions and the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. The building also incorporates many sacred features such as the twin pillars symbolism. It will also be called after Roussillon.”
“But where is this chapel then?”
“My friend. This chapel has yet to be built. Look, see the symbol of the Templars…the twin riders upon a single horse. This is marked down as such because both your father and I were told that two brothers, twins no less, would be entrusted to reconstruct this chapel along with all its inherent symbolism and dimensions. To house the nine original knights of the Templar Order. But it would also encode these,” he explained and pointed to the small squares with different symbols inside them. “These are images produced by different sounds. When put together they make a musical scale as well as harmonic resonance that will help unlock one’s higher mind…our higher consciousness but also doorways…portals to other realms. Realms such as the one I strongly suspect you have just been to,” Theodoric explained further and looked directly at Paul.
“Then where are the nine knights now?”
“Exactly where your father has placed them…in Balantrodach in Alba. ’Tis up to the twin knights, whomever they turn out to be, to commission and complete the new chapel. ’Tis not for us in our time, to do so ourselves. But it is charged to us to find the two knights in question that they may carry out their great commission.”
Paul pondered Theodoric’s words carefully.
“Is Percival my twin brother by any chance?”
“Don’t be daft, you silly bugger!” Theodoric laughed a little too loudly and quickly cupped his mouth. “No…your father and I, when we shared what I suspect was a similar experience to yours, were told that two brothers, twins, would be the ones to pick up this task. All we have to go on is the name Seincler…and that is all. And that they will in time recover the bodies of the nine knights now hidden at Balantrodach as you know to a place South West of Edinburgh in Alba. It will be named Roussillon as I said in memory of where the Holy Family first came back to France before eventually heading ‘back’ for Britain. A sacred and holy location with peculiar properties within the land itself.”
“So I can rest knowing it is not for me to do?” Paul asked.
“Rest only after you have found these twins. ’Tis something your father is still doing.”
“And they definitely have to be twin blood brothers…not say brothers in arms?”
Theodoric looked at Paul and shook his head no.
“Theo…where I have been is almost impossible to describe and explain, but a woman we met there…she said that there will be signs in the heavens in the last days that mirror the image of the solar wings…and then men will seek out the those that know by their seals…apples and bees and harps. But I do not understand what she means.”
“The twin dark star…when it comes back around. Your father and I were once shown and given details of the protective shield that protects our world. As detailed and retold within the Norse legends. The Ancient Egyptians likewise knew these things and how the image of both the approaching twin dark star and the image of the protective shield around us look. I have a drawing I keep within the pages of my Bible,” Theodoric explained, put his drink down and pulled out his small leather bound Bible. Inserted in the rear section he had several small sheets of vellum and parchments. Carefully he removed one and gently unfolded it flat on the table in front of Paul. And as we learnt, many of the Ancient Egyptian myths are in fact identical to even older ones from Sumeria and Babylon, which in turn were picked up and used by Jesus and his followers.”
Fig. 60: Winged Discs.
“Such as?” Paul asked and sipped his wine. He shuddered at the taste.
“’Tis a good wine,” Theodoric laughed, seeing his face purse up. “Whatever you saw and heard beneath the pyramids, you must not speak openly or unguardedly about it. And do not draw what you saw…by all means do so using symbols and allegory but not in detail as you are capable of.”
“Like our good old friends the Druids eh?” Paul
quipped and took another sip.
“Absolutely…’tis why it took over twenty years for them to memorise everything…well, not everything but a lot.”
“And what of this…truly?” Paul asked as he lifted his sword into view and placed it upon the table in front of Theodoric. “I know so very little of just exactly what this really is and does.”
“Hmmm,” Theodoric sighed and rubbed his chin. “I can tell you it still has one more symbol to be put upon it for your father and I saw what this tool would one day look like.”
“Tool?…’Tis a weapon, Theo,” Paul remarked and half laughed.
“No, Paul…’tis a tool. It can be used as a weapon when required, but this is more than just a weapon. Surely you must know that already? And it will be you that puts the final symbol upon it as you have the others already.”
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“I have only put images I liked upon it,” Paul replied, looking puzzled.
“Paul…they are symbols. Trust me on that fact.”
“So what is the last symbol?”
“Don’t ask me you are the one who will come up with it,” Theodoric laughed and took a mouthful of wine. “Lord, that is good wine,” he smiled and licked his lips.
“Theo,” Paul said quietly as he studied the symbols. “When I was beneath the pyramids…both Percy and I saw you and my father. You were young and father stabbed this sword into a standing stone. But there were people of great height who appeared to be part invisible. One acknowledged me but you two could not see me,” Paul explained and looked up at him. “I felt it was somewhere in Alba…Glen Lyon perhaps? Is what we saw real and where and when was that?”
Theodoric took a large mouthful of wine and downed it. He sighed as his mind clearly thought back upon the event.
“Aye ’twas real, my boy…but no it was not Glen Lyon really,” he replied and paused for several moments. He shook his head before looking at Paul. “’Twas in fact the now lost lands of Lyonesse, the Legendary City on the Bottom of the Sea as nowadays recounted in Arthurian legend. Lyonesse… the so-called home country of Tristan, from the legendary story of Tristan and Iseult.”
“But I thought that was just a myth based on older stories?”
“No…’twas a very real place until recently…and I do mean recently. The lands it sat upon simply dropped, the sea came in and swallowed it and all that remains now are the former tops of its hills. You know them as the Isles of Scilly. Check old Roman records and you will find details about the land and its people,” Theodoric sighed as he explained. “The story of Tristan and Iseult is but a tragic story of love and loss inspired by Celtic legend. It is the inspiration for one of the Arthurian romances…of Lancelot and Guinevere, as both stories push the boundaries of love, family, loyalty, adultery and betrayal. Most of the land had already sunk when your father and I visited what was left…that was when the event you saw happened. Most of Lyonesse disappeared on November 11th 1099 though it had started to sink back in the sixth century. But very suddenly the land was flooded by the sea. Entire villages were swallowed, and the people and animals of the area drowned. Once it was covered in water, the land never re-emerged. It was once attached by a land bridge to the Scilly Isles in Cornwall. ’Tis almost an identical story to that of Atlantis eh?”
“Yes…yes indeed,” Paul replied as thoughts of Nicholas entered his mind. He shuddered momentarily as he thought Nicholas could be his own Sir Lancelot who would steal his Guinevere, his Alisha. He blinked and shook his head trying to dispel the idea.
“My friend. I see you tire so I shall bid you a good night…what is left of it,” Theodoric said and stood to leave.
“I shall not sleep for my mind still runs too awake. Plus I need to know why my father thrust the sword into the stone…something about it costing my mother’s life. But I also must ask of you about Luke,” Paul said and grasped Theodoric’s forearm and beckoned for him to sit back down. “And this sword…why do I keep wanting to call it Durandol?”
“You mean Durandal or Durendal…’tis from the French durer meaning to endure. You carry this sword, you must endure! But the actual Durandal was the sword of Charlemagne’s paladin Roland. Some say it is one of the Four Swords of Power used to create ley gates and ley lines that date from the Time Before Time.”
“What is a paladin?” Paul asked, bemused.
“Paladin is like a great knight. Roland was the bravest and most loyal of the twelve legendary paladins, or knights, who served Charlemagne, king of the Franks. Twelve again eh? Like the Arthurian legends, many fanciful tales about Charlemagne and his knights were written and now, in most cases, spoken of as if fact. But as you know, all myth has its roots in truth,” Theodoric answered and paused. He took a final mouthful of wine before continuing. “It was said that Roland stood eight feet tall and carried a magical sword called Durindana or Durendal that had once belonged to the Trojan hero Hector. You see, Paul, like the sword you have been entrusted with, there are some who believe that God or his messengers, call them what you wish, help us out by bestowing such weapons to a select chosen few to do great deeds…”
“If that is so, then after what I have put Alisha through, I will gladly pass on this sword for it is a burden I feel I cannot honour. For I refuse to leave Alisha ever again as I swore to her.”
“Paul…’tis something beyond your control I think you will discover… what will be shall be.”
“Percival is a more deserving man than I to have this,” Paul remarked and unsheathed the sword, its brilliant almost white blade reflecting beautiful colours from the light of the lanthorn.
“Well, getting back to Roland, or as he was otherwise known, Orlando. He was the son of Charlemagne’s sister and after living as a poor peasant in Italy, he was welcomed to the court of the king after his true identity was revealed. Although a powerful warrior, Roland’s concern with winning honour and fame eventually cost him his life. The story of his death is told in the famous epic The Song of Roland. The poem concerns Charlemagne’s defeat by the Muslims in Spain in AD 778. Charlemagne had sent a paladin named Ganelon to negotiate with the Muslim leader. Instead, jealous of Roland, Ganelon plotted with the enemy and revealed the route Roland’s army planned to take. The Muslims waited for Roland and ambushed him at Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees mountains. The other paladins told Roland to blow his ivory horn to summon reinforcements from Charlemagne, but Roland refused to call for help until the battle was almost lost. By then it was too late. When Charlemagne’s troops arrived, Roland and many of the bravest paladins were dead. At the end of the story, Charlemagne had Ganelon killed for his treachery.”
“Why is there always such treachery?” Paul sighed, looking sad.
“’Tis what makes this world I am afraid. Man’s selfish ego unfortunately. Too many are afflicted with the selfish attitude of service to self… instead of service to others. ’Tis why I believe you are blessed that you have Thomas and his men…for never in all my years have I ever met such a rabble of noise, bad behaviour, insubordination yet utterly loyal and free of egos, as they are. A truly rare breed, my friend.”
“Yes…there is something uniquely odd about them all isn’t there,” Paul remarked and smiled to himself. “But still you do not answer about what Percy and I saw and about Luke.”
“Hmmm. Let me simply tell you that your mother refused to reveal the whereabouts of the sword you now carry. ’Twas known then as Caliburn, which I am sure you know became known as Excalibur, but there are others identical to it…,” Theodoric started to explain and waited to see what reaction Paul gave to its former name. “This does not surprise you to hear the sword was once named such?”
“Nothing surprises me any more,” Paul replied.
“’Tis a matter for your father to explain to you one day, for only he can explain about your mother.”
“Well I also wish to know more about your tattoo for I am certain I saw an identical image of it whilst underground…and I know that so much of what is kno
wn about Jesus has either been copied from ancient times or is a continuation of some secret. A secret I am sure is connected to Luke somehow for they told me I must ask you…about Luke?” Paul explained and asked, looking at him intently.
“Luke…I will explain that in a minute after I have briefly, and I do mean briefly, explained a little about Jesus and my tattoo,” Theodoric said, checked the wine bottle and poured out the last remnants into his glass. Slowly he drank all that was in his glass and took a deep breath. “Jesus or Egyptian myth? Let me say that both stories tell of a divine son of God battling the evil one. A son is born, an official date given as the winter solstice of December 25th. Born of a virgin called Mary or Mery. Three wise men follow a star in the east…always the east. The Divine son or God is mentioned at ages twelve and thirty and known as the holy baptiser of souls. Both mention a god with twelve followers who perform miracles such as walking on water, raising the dead and healing the sick. God is anointed and Lord of Truth, Lord of Light and Lord of Resurrections. God is associated with the cross, symbolising eternal life. As in the Christian cross based upon the earlier Celtic cross and the Egyptians have the Ankh, the Cross of Life. God or Jesus is buried for three days, resurrecting and ascends into heaven. All of these facts are found within Ancient Egyptian texts and myths thousands of years before Christ…the image of the son Horus cradled by his mother, Isis, is identical to that of the Virgin Mother and Christ. So many Ancient Egyptian and even older practices and symbols are carried over into Christianity. This is because they are carrying on an ancient sacred set of codes. Just as your father, I and Firgany have tried with additions to the Arthurian romances…but I fear we have not been as successful as we had wished. ’Tis no accident nor coincidence that history repeats itself.”
“Well so long as it does not try and repeat itself through Alisha and me… for I swear there have been many times I have looked at her and wondered if she is yet another Mary for she is certainly other worldly. I have seen the effect she has upon people simply by touching them,” Paul remarked.