by D. N. Carter
“Then what am I to make of the woman of light I saw at Arri’s grave? She told me of a prophecy to come…of three children and three prophecies they would reveal.”
“Ah…so they told you that already,” Kratos remarked and sat in silence for a moment. “Yes there will come a time in the future when three children will witness the same woman of light, bathed in blue no less. Of course they will see her as being the Virgin Mary no less. She will impart to them three prophecies of signs and things to come. All I can tell you of it now is that it will be at a place that is connected to the name of Fatima, after the Islamic tradition. Only two prophecies will come to pass in those children’s life times, the third, about a city lying in ruin, only coming to pass after mankind again starts to remember his past.”
“And such places where roses and lily’s shall be laid down or set out?”
“Yes…and when the people of light, the angels of the Lord, call them what you will, when they have seen and noted the symbol of Mary, as the signature of Virgo laid out across the land, such is what your father and his Order now construct with its cathedrals, then when the final symbols have been recognised, then,” Kratos paused. “Then and only then, after great conflict in the world, will they appear in full open view…starting at the city of ruin….where Arri now lies.”
“But I thought the ruined city was that of Rome…the city of seven hills?” Paul asked, puzzled, trying to recall what his father had often told him.
“No…though many will assume it to be so. Many people will interpret signs as meaning one thing, this or that. Both sides will have equal and apposing arguments how the other side, the other religion, the other way of life is the Devil’s work, and so convincing will be each side, that many will perish when all could be avoided if they focused upon what they do have in common. But it is all part of life’s plan to teach souls to experience and learn…for after all this realm is like a school.”
“Nothing now seems to matter to me for I feel empty, save the love I have for Ailia, and the pain that covers everything for the loss of my Arri,” Paul sighed.
“Do not allow the pain of loss to stop the process of living. As I have said, he is not gone, though I understand that concept is hard to accept and some will argue that you deny yourself the chance to grieve, but you have the advantage of having glimpsed the other realms…not just a dream or fantasy.” He paused. “And you know in your heart you still love Alisha and she loves you. You are simply shielding yourself, which is natural, if you do not believe this.”
“My father taught me that love and trust are like a ceramic plate two people make together. If you smash it upon the floor, it breaks. If you say sorry to it, does it go back to the way it was?…no. So no matter how much she may say sorry, it will never be the same,” Paul explained and rubbed his fingers through his hair, his heart aching again as emotion welled within him.
“I have heard that so many times. But you know what, no it will never be the same again…so you make a new plate but you can make it even better… and stronger,” Kratos replied and smiled as Paul looked up at him.
“Then why am I brought to this place for surely Alisha would be better off without me? If Nicholas can make her happy and protect her, then… then my love for her is such that I would wish them a long and happy life together…’tis her happiness I wish above mine. And how shall I return anyway?” Paul asked wearily.
“You are not listening to me are you? And we shall stay here as long as it takes until you are hearing what I speak. Alisha loves you…and when you again know that, and after I have taught you a few things, plus a list of names, then I shall have you returned to where you left Adrastos,” Kratos explained, Paul’s eyes widening in alarm as he remembered he had left Adrastos. “Fear not, Abi found him. Alisha’s heart breaks for the loss of Arri…and you. Remember that over these next few days as I teach you.”
“Teach me…what?”
“The truth behind the spear of destiny symbolism, the same as the spear of Vishnu, which became another esoteric symbol for the fleur de lys. But together we shall formulate and plan this new order of builders and masons.” Kratos smiled and stood up. “And know and always remember this. Love the image of an infant. Do not boast of your intelligence, knowledge or wit for supreme wisdom adores those who are pure of heart and innocent like a child. She reveals her secrets and treasure to them. This is why the Mother of the Divinity often appears to twelve year old children and adolescents. That is why the lady of the light, oft seen as the Virgin Mary as she is radiant in blue, will reveal her three prophecies to three children,” Kratos explained and kneeled down directly in front of Paul and looked into his eyes with an intensity such that Paul felt he was actually becoming part of him. Kratos laughed lightly at his expression. “Paul, what we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others remains forever. And the truly strong do not exploit the weak, they do not look down upon them, they help them up. Whilst here, you have a choice for I can offer you riches of gold, camels, power, prestige and as many women as you wish… all that any man may desire. The choice will be yours.” Paul frowned at his last remark, bemused, instantly thinking it was some test. “’Tis no test Paul but a real choice.” [109]
Chapter 68
Vows, Oaths and the Nine
Port of La Rochelle, France, Melissae Inn, spring 1191
“I do not understand nor quite believe Paul could have travelled such a distance in one night,” the Genoese sailor remarked disbelievingly.
“In truth that matters not, my friend…but it was true,” the old man replied.
“But surely others would see such things in the sky?” he retorted immediately.
The old man turned to look at the Templar and raised his eyebrows as if he knew he would answer.
“Ah,” the Templar said and paused. “Such things are seen in the skies, my friend. We oft saw things that defy explanation when camped out in the deserts,” he explained, his brother nodding in agreement.
“Recall how I mentioned that Muhammad ascended in almost the same manner at the Dome of the Rock having been taken there by what Muslims call ‘the Buraq’? ’Twas also said to have transported Abraham, known as Ibrahim, when he visited his wife Hagar and son Ishmael. According to tradition, Abraham lived with one wife in Syria, but the Buraq would transport him in the morning to Mecca to see his family there, and take him back in the evening to his Syrian wife. Abraham and Hagar travelled eight hundred miles of uncharted desert, some nine hundred years before history records the first caravan route was ever established along the Red Sea. Abraham had dropped them off under a tree in the middle of nowhere, which is supposed to have eventually become Mecca, and then Abraham ‘set out’ on his thousand mile walk back home. I think we can all see it makes no sense by our conventional means, and do not forget the many references within the Bible itself of prophets being taken up in the sky, travelling vast distances and also to heaven,” the old man explained. “And remember the stories how men flew great distances. ’Tis but an application of natural principles and man will again relearn them.”
“So Paul is a prophet…and when will we relearn how to?” Simon asked, excited.
“Not in our life times I am afraid, Simon…and Paul may have been a prophet of sorts.” The old man smiled as he replied.
“Then what of this new Order Kratos spoke of that Paul would start?” Gabirol asked.
“Of builders…of men and women from all walks of life and backgrounds. But the world is still not ready for it yet clearly,” the old man answered.
“Then what was the point of Paul and Kratos even discussing such matters?” Peter asked.
“Because, as Paul wrote within his journal, even if he could not start it now, the foundations would at least be laid…by others who would take up the commission,” the old man explained quietly and looked at Paul’s journal beside Gabirol.
“Why, is all that he planned within these pages?” Gabirol asked and pulled the journal clo
ser.
“Yes. ’Tis all in there, except certain details of what Paul learnt and saw whilst with Kratos, and those details I am afraid I cannot reveal for I know not of what happened save for a few parts,” the old man replied. “But I do know, as his journal indicates, and as per parts of what I have explained already…’tis to the twin brothers who take up this charge and secure its passage forwards,” he said and looked at the Templar and Hospitaller. “But also there would be men and women, scribes, sailors to navigate, stone masons to inscribe and build, tailors to clothe and fashion regalia and farriers with their horses to transport and others not yet known,” he said slowly, deliberately looking at their surprised faces all in turn.”
“But I am not headed for Britain or Alba as you say they are heading if they so choose to,” Gabirol said and pointed to the Templar and Hospitaller.
“No Gabirol…your destiny lies elsewhere…in the City of Florence where, if you are in agreement, I have a comfortable abode you may have as payment, as well as learned and wise men and women who wish to learn more…”
Gabirol gasped and shook his head, then gulped, surprised by the sudden rush of unexpected emotion.
“You are not all here simply by chance,” the old man stated and looked at Simon and Ayleth. “Yes that includes you two. I already have your names…and how, I will reveal.”
“Well I am staying right here thank you very much,” Sarah interjected and looked at Stephan, alarmed.
“Fear not, dear wife. We have our duty here trust me,” Stephan said reassuringly and smiled.
“Sounds to me like Paul is being tested in the wilderness just like Jesus was…and camels…was Theodoric likewise tested with camels?” Simon remarked and asked, looking at everyone.
“See Simon…you have much to learn about yourself for you are far wiser and brighter than you think you are,” the old man smiled. “In a fashion ’twas a time for testing Paul, for he was given free agency to decide and choose.”
“Would that woman have really made love to him as she offered?” Ayleth asked curiously.
“No…for she knew he would not take up her offer. ’Twas a lesson…an exercise on proving a point.”
“But if Kratos was able to offer all those things, is that not like the Devil then as he was able to offer all of that to Jesus, as the Devil was master of this world?” Gabirol asked, perplexed.
“No, my friend. There is no figure that stands upon hoofed feet half man and half goat. ’Twas all allegorical and symbolic the story of Jesus in the wilderness, the symbolism I have already explained.”
“I am not bothered about that part, I just want to know if Paul chose Alisha or power and wealth…and other women,” the Genoese sailor asked.
“Well we know he must have returned for this journal to be here with us this day,” Gabirol remarked.
“Could have found it abandoned somewhere…or sent to Alisha?” Sarah commented and looked at the old man.
The wealthy tailor was rubbing his temples with his fingers, still trying to comprehend and make sense of what the old man had just revealed about having their names and all of them being part of the new Order Paul had planned and if they so chose to accept the commission.
“No…he lives…or his memory and legacy certainly does…for I feel it…in a strange unknowable way,” he said and looked up. “I am sure Theodoric was at one time likewise given a similar choice…perhaps he chose the camels in error, ’tis why he says never mention it to Sister Lucy?”
“You are nearer the truth than you can imagine,” the old man acknowledged. “Theodoric himself was once in a very similar situation…and after Sister Lucy had been married off, but that is all I am prepared to say on that matter.”
“You said that Paul would learn all about the real details of the New Jerusalem as written in the Bible and the spear of someone…who?” Ayleth asked.
“Paul as I have explained earlier was in the main already aware of much of what the New Jerusalem symbolism and values meant, that in short it referred to a new time of man, the fifth age, after the Phoenix had flown and a new world is reborn upon this same earth we call home. Do you recall I explained the mathematical details?” the old man asked and looked at them as they nodded yes. “’Twas how those same details were carried over within other religions and teachings that Paul learnt, but also how the Indian Lord Shiva had a spear, its shape identical to the fleur de lys. ’Twas a trident and we all know the many gods who are associated with that. It also became known in Christianity as the Spear of Destiny, the supposed spear that pierced the side of Jesus. The trishula, or in Sanskrit the triśūla, means three spear. Like Alisha’s three pronged dagger almost. There are many other gods and deities who hold the trishula, the three points having various meanings and significance ranging from various trinities, creation, maintenance and destruction, past, present and future and the three guna. When looked upon as a weapon of Shiva, the trishula was said to destroy the three worlds…the physical world, the world of our forefathers, representing culture drawn from the past, and the world of the mind, representing the processes of sensing and acting. The three worlds are supposed to be destroyed by Shiva into a single non-dual plane of existence that is bliss alone. In the human body, the trishula represents the place where the three main nadis, or energy channels, ida, pingala and shushmana, meet at the brow. Shushmana, the central one, continues upward to the seventh chakra, or energy centre, while the other two end at the brow, where the sixth chakra is located. Paul learnt much on this subject, but as I have already said, he did not write of his experiences during his time on Jabal Al Lawz save a few lines only.”
“How long was Paul away for and who found him?” Peter asked.
“’Twas nearly a month later…exactly where Paul had left Adrastos. Tenno had remained, true to his word, beside Alisha and Ailia constantly whilst Thomas, his men, Nicholas and Upside searched far and wide…as much as they dared venture and in some instances into hostile held lands. Abi accompanied them often but she knew he would not be found until it was decided they would be allowed to find him. She was able to spend some time with Tenno, but with men, especially knights, being so few, she had to split her time between helping Alisha and being with Tenno and out searching, or be seen to be searching at least.”
“Did Abi take that opportunity to tell Tenno he had a child with her?” Ayleth asked.
“No, for she thought it not wise at that moment,” the old man answered.
“And Alisha?” Sarah asked.
“She just existed from day to day, the pain and heartache of losing Arri a deep wound in her soul, plus the guilt and loss of Paul was nearly almost too much. Sister Lucy was at times quite hard on her, but it served her well for otherwise Alisha would have probably fallen into a pit of despair,” the old man explained and sighed. “But dear Ailia, just like Arri before, she went around with a constant smile upon her face and told everyone daily her father would come back. She just knew he would, she kept saying.”
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“Was Nicholas still a Templar?” the Hospitaller asked.
“He kept his mantle wrapped up inside his horse satchel…but vowed he would not put it back on until he had found Paul and delivered the poem…and only then if Paul did not kill him and also forgave him. But after a month, there came a time with tensions rising, that Thomas and his men could no longer wander aimlessly daily and neither could Brother Teric and Master Jakelin spare their men any longer in the search. ’Tis why, very reluctantly, Upside had to leave the search and rejoin his brother Templars in Kerak…after much talk with Nicholas and his pleading that Upside must return to the Order. The fault and guilt was Nicholas’s and his alone he argued and he begged Upside to follow his own calling. So Upside returned to his normal Templar duties, but at least he was able to stay at Kerak.”
“So Upside actually left the search?” Gabirol asked.
“Only very reluctantly, but as I said, he and his men operated out of Kerak so at least he
was on hand should anything change, but Nicholas vowed to find Paul and then and only then would he return to the Order if Master Jakelin would let him.”
“But why were so few knights available…were they all off with Reynald?” Sarah asked.
“Alas it has always been the case that there were, and are, never enough trained knights to defend all the territories…’tis why the qualification for knighthood was lowered. Sometimes even local Christians could become knights, as certainly happened during the siege of Jerusalem, which we shall come too soon. Many so-called eastern fashions were in fact Byzantine by the way…but it was the early influx of Italian merchants that had posed such a threat to the emerging aristocracy in Jerusalem with many knights of French origin looking down their noses at knights of Italian origin…and yet all were despised as half breeds by men newly arriving from Europe. It was from that mix and attitude that the Mareschal, or Marshal, of each Latin state was charged with recruiting men and knights…but in reality his powers were limited. Some knights were excused service on foot or where their horses could not carry them. Some knights can be called to serve from the age of fifteen and some up to sixty. A knight is not beholding to serve if he has lost his fief to the enemy though. Many troops are recruited from men owing feudal obligations such as the Church, indigenous landowners and military orders, though in truth it is the military Orders that supply mounted knights and sergeants as well as large numbers of infantry. In a major emergency, such as befell the kingdom in 1187, an arriere ban is declared, which in theory at least means that all free men have to muster and even visiting pilgrims can be called into service as infantry. As the numbers are always so low, mercenaries and the majority of mounted sergeants are hired in from outside the area. That is why so many western mercenaries often stay in almost permanent contracts,” the old man explained.