by Tracey Alley
small rise overlooking the triangular harbor, a squat rectangular building made of pure white marble with graceful archways and two enormous, perfectly round openings in the roof glazed with real glass, allowing Belenus’s pure and holy rays to illuminate the temple. At the eastern end of the temple, right up against the cliff, was the monastery’s library. It was built like all the monks libraries, shaped like a five-pointed star with each point of the star representing a different area of learning while the main office and reception area, for those rare guests the monks allowed into their libraries, were received in the centre of the star. Unlike the temple, which was only a single story, the library was comprised of many floors, two of which were visible above ground but Michael knew there were at least two levels cut deep into the earth, and probably more than that. The monks did not give up their many secrets easily, even to friends of long standing.
As Michael drew nearer to the temple he noted with sadness, although not surprise, that the temple doors were boarded shut, no lamps shone in any of the windows and there was no sign of any activity. Ulrich had obviously moved just as quickly and as brutally against the temples as he had against the Knights. Michael could only pray the monks had not fallen victim to the same fate. More than ever before Michael needed the assistance of the monks, in particular their intimate knowledge of Saxenburg’s subterranean caverns. Using the caverns was the only was that Michael could evacuate all the Knights before Ulrich's impossible deadline.
The Black Lotus Monastery
Although it was not boarded up the library was closed and dark with little to indicate whether or not there was anyone inside. Given the secretive nature of the monks the closed library may have had little to do with any moves Ulrich may have made against them. Taking a chance that someone remained in the library Michael marched to the front door and knocked.
“Sharper than a sword, deadlier than poison, brighter than the Eastern star, endless as the ocean,” came a muffled voice from behind the heavy wooden door.
“Only knowledge can be as sharp as a blade, as deadly as a poison, brighter than any star and like the ocean has no end,” Michael replied, praying he had remembered the correct wording.
Hearing the bolts slide back from inside Michael breathed a sigh of relief, he must have remembered the code correctly. The heavy door opened silently inwards, revealing a patch of even deeper darkness inside, and after a quick glance around the deserted streets he stepped over the threshold. Once he was inside the door was bolted closed behind him, leaving him standing in an absolute and unnatural blackness.
After a few moments, during which time his eyes never adjusted to the dark, which confirmed his suspicion that the blackness was the result of a spell, a young woman approached, carrying a small candle in an elaborate boat-shaped holder that had been carved from bone by its appearance. Tall and slender, with strawberry-blonde hair falling in waves to her waist, the woman wore a long flowing robe of coarse linen, dyed the palest purple and decorated with a single lotus blossom on the left sleeve. From memory Michael knew the lotus on the left indicated the young woman was a lore keeper, had she been a warrior monk the lotus blossom would have been embroidered on the right sleeve.
“Lord Michael, I am Anifrig chief lore keeper here and I regret to say that I have been expecting you,” she said her voice low and reminded Michael inexplicably of honey.
“I don’t doubt that for a moment Anifrig, given the things I’ve seen since my return. I have come to beg for the monastery's aid if you’ll grant it, and if it’s possible an interview with Solomon.”
“Our aid you shall have, of course, Lord Michael but I am afraid an interview with Solomon will not be possible…”
“Anifrig I’m sure you’ve seen enough to realize that I do not ask lightly, I understand,” Michael began but the young lore keeper interrupted him.
“Solomon has already left Anglia, Lord Michael. Since Ulrich's ascension to the throne life in Saxenburg has become, difficult, shall we say, for any who oppose him, or appear to anyway.”
Michael could only stare blankly before shaking his head. It seemed as though since he had left for Malerok his world had turned upside down, becoming unrecognizable, as though he wandered now in a nightmare. Quickly the knight took hold of himself; the lives of the Knights of Belenus depended on him and whatever assistance the Black Lotus was still able or prepared to offer.
“How long ago did Solomon leave?”
“Four days ago, when the proclamation was made of Ulrich's kingship and pending coronation. He feared for the life of the Princess Ursula. You are unlikely to be aware that the Princess discovered that Queen Urda had been murdered. Ulrich moved, brutally against the alleged assassin, claimed to be the aging Queen’s dwarven handmaid, she was the first of the ritual beheadings in Anglia.”
Michael swore softly under his breath. In light of all that he had witnessed since his return the news was not unexpected but it was another blow, he had known Gilta, the handmaid personally and knew of her complete loyalty.
“If you will follow me Lord Michael I have some things that Solomon left here, he foresaw they would be needed,” Anifrig continued, before she turned away and walked down a long hallway illuminated only by the small circle of light from the candle.
“I am afraid I cannot lift the spell of darkness, nor would it be prudent to do so at this time. One of the local wizards placed the spell after Solomon left. I have rarely ventured outside the library. I elected to wait here for your return. It is my understanding that most of the Anglia guards, the new guards at any rate, believe the library to be abandoned,” Anifrig said.
“A sensible ruse given my recent reception at the Palace,” Michael said.
Anifrig merely smiled in response. Soon they had reached a white painted wooden door at the end of the long corridor. Opening the door Michael saw dim lighting coming from below, moving forward he noted a staircase leading down, lit at the bottom with torches illuminating the staircase and probably the room beyond.
“As you can see Lord Michael the spell need only to be in place on the floors above ground,” Anifrig said, still smiling, “if you will follow me,” and she began to walk down the stairs, after first ensuring the door was closed and bolted behind them.
They passed two other floors before the staircase emptied into a cavernous circular room, roughly fifty feet in diameter that had been rough hewn from the bare stone. From his position on the bottom step Michael saw there were three passages leading off from this central room. Between the stairs and the nearest wall, on Michael’s right, were set up several stone tables, which were essentially giant boulders whose tops had been flattened and polished to create a tabletop. The stone tables were scattered with what appeared to be maps, diagrams and other assorted parchments and scrolls. Against the far wall were innumerable shelves, all brightly illuminated from the many lanterns attached to the stone walls and placed between each shelf. The shelves contents ranged from books and scrolls, to clothing and armor, food and water supplies and even spell components, potions and unguents. Michael was astonished but the rooms held still more surprises.
To his left, against the same wall as the stairs, were a series of cots, arranged barracks style, lining the curve of the wall all the way to the mouth of the nearest passage. The lines of beds disappeared into the shadows but the knight estimated there to be easily four or five hundred of the cot beds. Between the passage near the bunks and the next passage, which was closest to the shelves, was what seemed to be a kitchen area. There was an enormous fireplace cut directly into the rock, which had heavy iron pots resting over or near the flames and a long wooden table directly in front. Set at a small distance from the main table there were other wooden tables, each lined with low, backless benches on either side. From his vantage point at the bottom of the stairs Michael could see little else, as the room stretched out into shadows, but everywhere he looked the room was a hive of activity.
&n
bsp; Michael turned to Anifrig in stunned disbelief.
“How?” he said, stammering in his sheer amazement, “how have you done this?”
“This is not a recent development Lord Michael,” Anifrig answered, gently amused, “when the monks were expelled from Kemet over a hundred years ago the leaders of that time were determined they would never allow themselves to become so vulnerable to the whims of ruling governments again. Perhaps better than anyone in The Kingdoms we know that rulers change, politics change, laws change; only knowledge remains immutable. So the decision was made that all of the various monasteries and libraries throughout The Kingdoms would need to be in some way connected. With some assistance the monks of that time period effectively created an underground kingdom.”
“How far,” Michael was awed by the implications of what he could see, what he was being told, “I mean, just how much land does this ‘underground kingdom’ cover?”
“Far more than you might imagine, Lord Michael but less than you would fear. Our aims remain as they always have, to gain knowledge not power or control. Now, these precautions will be able to bring about a great deal of aid in the coming war.”
“You already know then?” He asked