by D. N. Carter
“Of course…how blind I have been. A joining of vines, a crimson thread…or blood line. And Rick…!” Paul exclaimed excitedly.
“No Paul, do not jump to assumptions…you have understood me wrong,” Niccolas shot back but Paul could see the alarm in Niccolas’s face.
“I am right am I not? My family tree, my bloodline is connected with Firgany’s…is that it…are they related to me?” Paul asked, his voice rising. He suddenly lowered his head and sighed heavily at the realisation that Alisha could in fact be related to him. “Ha, that would explain why they were so very angry with us and said we could not become as one, as partners… Oh dear Lord, what cruel twist of fate do you send upon me?” Paul sighed even more heavily and placed his head in his hands, saddened.
“Paul, young Paul…you are too quick to make assumptions…so please, hear me out,” Niccolas said and placed his hands upon Paul’s shoulders until he looked up at him. His eyes were welling with tears, his worst fears running through his mind.
“I feel broken suddenly,” Paul blurted out, nearly in tears.
“Then listen to me. Alisha is connected with you, but not as you think nor as a cousin, a half sister or any manner of that kind,” Niccolas said, gently shaking Paul.
“Truly…?” Paul sighed.
“Truly…I swear it,” Niccolas answered with a large smile that made Paul let out a laugh of relief. “Now then, I shall continue whilst we still have time.”
“Yes, please…please do,” Paul said wiping his eyes and sitting up again, his heart racing as his stomach turned with anxiety.
“Your father has this day gone to Rochefort, to try and meet with this Rick personage you met…do not be alarmed, he has gone as we feel he must somehow know something about us all. If he does, we need to know if he is a threat or not. We once knew the very man who owned the old keep house and vineyard where you stayed, but he died many years ago. You stated that the man wore a white robe, possibly an old Templar surcoat. But the Order does not allow its robes to be sold on or used by non members. Under the new laws, the man could only wear the white habit surcoat if he was himself a monk. So you can see your father’s apprehension and concern about this man, especially after he gave you that oil and small box. Your father has gone to great lengths to hide your family’s true history, and for very good reasons. Reasons, as I have said already, I am under oath not to divulge. But know this: your family tree goes back a very long way. Today I have but placed, pardon the pun, a seed of knowledge within you. It will in time grow, and from it, you will learn and eventually understand,” Niccolas said almost reverentially.
“But the parchment charts you produced; they had rose and apple symbols upon them as well as bees all drawn upon my single life tree with nine circles superimposed over it. What relevance do the charts actually have?” Paul asked.
“Dear boy…the charts are but a key to learn and understand things about you yourself. As you will learn, mathematics is the main unifying factor that connects everything and everyone. And everything is done in cycles just as in nature. I shall try to explain as briefly as I can. But the aspect regarding bees, that is one only your father must explain…if ever! Now then, look at these,” Niccolas answered and leant over and removed some small parchment sheets from a wooden box on the table. “When drawing up your charts, I used the same mathematical principle to analyse your name, time, date and place of birth to measure your cycles in this life. Your date of birth relates you to the whole of nature and to the influence of cyclic patterns. It is all related to time. But time under a different definition that perhaps you are familiar with,” Niccolas began to explain.
“How so?” Paul quizzed.
“The actual sequence and measure of time are all based upon mathematical constants. But the definition of time, well, how do we define time? And I am referring to spiritual time, the time that is really ‘intelligence in motion’ because time is actually a growth system that starts from a point called the seeding and extends through to a fruition or harvest when completion of growth takes place and seeds for the next cycle are provided. Everything is done in cycles of time. Like the seasons of a year. Through time and growth all things fulfil their purposes. That is the spiritual purpose of time. A person’s urges are felt through their emotions, and then transmitted into expression. Often there is the urge to make a change, to start something different, or to travel; while at other times there is the urge to settle down, to associate with people, or to get away from people and be out in nature on your own. These are the feelings and urges that can be relative to a particular phase we call a ‘cycle’. To succeed or, more correctly, to learn and understand what you need to in this life time, to spiritually grow and evolve, then you must understand time and the cycles. The answer lies in a better understanding of time and, better yet, how your date of birth creates your personal cycle within time and reveals the best way to guide the many decisions you make. Each cycle phase brings changing conditions that can be understood. Your thoughts, feelings, and actions are influenced by your personal cycle and in knowing the nature of your cycle, you are better able to plan, act and make decisions confidently and at the right time to ensure success. You have to know the quality of your day. Will your efforts succeed today? Or is this a day to further other mundane matters, to buy and sell profitably, or to set up important appointments? In following the natural cyclic forces within time, you will minimise the stress, avoid unnecessary dangers, complete a project or journey, but more importantly, have time to create greater balance and harmony in your life. Everything is about harmony. On your charts I detailed nine cycles, for there are nine phases, just like the nine months it takes for a child to be conceived and then be born. Cycles progress in nine-year, nine-month, and nine-day cycles. The cycles are not the same for everyone at the same time, but each person must pass through the same sequence of cycles. When you learn to create in complete harmony with the cyclic conditions of each passing day, then you will know the best time to start an undertaking and how to follow it through to ensure complete success. Not working with the cycles, either consciously or unconsciously, means working harder and, though there seems to be progress, suddenly finding that your efforts are not rewarded. Days, months, or perhaps years of effort can be wasted; or you partially succeed in one aspect of life and fail in others, and then wonder why. Knowledge of cycles eliminates the uncertainty. Do not be hesitant about the future; master it by linking your mind with time and create the future as you wish it. This is your birthright,” Niccolas explained.
Paul smiled very broadly upon hearing this as his mind thought of Alisha.
“My chart showed my connection to Alisha’s charts. So does that mean we do in fact have a shared future?” he asked.
1 – 10
“Paul, you are indeed connected and your paths cross on many aspects. But, and this is a big but, but you have choices you can make as does she about your involvement with each other. It is all part of the right of free will and free agency,” Niccolas said rather solemnly.
“But at least it means we will see each other again,” Paul smiled even more.
Niccolas nodded his head yes in answer.
“Your charts mainly reveal, briefly, the natural unfoldment of the rhythms of cycles from one to nine and how you can make use of these qualities whether yearly, monthly, or daily. I used the symbol of a plant as a visual image to assist you in understanding the nine stages of growth that draw a parallel to your cycles. The First cycle is the starting point of a nine year era in your life when new ambitions and activities should be sown and cultivated carefully over the following cycles. It is a time to make changes in your thinking and a time to work hard. Action is the keynote. In this cycle, there is little to show for efforts expended as it is the seeding or starting time. In plant growth, the First cycle is like the seed just being planted. In the Second cycle, you can continue to further your ambitions but include greater contact with people. Progress is made through sociability an
d discussion. It is a natural time to think about and benefit from the ideas and perspective of others. Be a good listener. If in business, build your clientele and make yourself known. It might be a good time to consider a partnership if in business. In plant growth, the Second cycle represents germination when the little roots from the seed draw nutrients from outside sources. The Third cycle represents self-expression, getting yourself known through your own promotional efforts. This period of time brings some promising conditions and it is the time to draw upon what has been learned from others and from your own thoughts to further the growth of ideas and activities. The Third cycle is optimistic and promising, but can close with a disappointment if you are overly optimistic. In plant growth, the Third cycle represents the sprouting, the first promise of growth. The Fourth cycle represents the strengthening and testing of activities which were started in the First cycle. Strengthen the foundation of efforts by attending to and being aware of the technical details. It represents a time for caution, a time to work hard, and the time to systematise efforts, to exercise patience and optimism. Do not start anything new. Save your financial supply. In plant growth, the Fourth cycle represents the root growth, the foundation for the plant’s future growth. The Fifth cycle represents the opportunity for expansion of activities, new action to be taken, a time for new experiences, education, travel, and change supported by the strong foundation built in the Fourth cycle. Make necessary changes to further your ambitions. In plant growth, the Fifth cycle represents the rapid expansion of the plant above the ground because the strong root system can handle it. The Sixth cycle is often the indicator of the harvest. It is a time to put your affairs in order to prepare for the fruition, paying bills, settling accounts, taking on responsibilities, and making decisions. It is the right time to consolidate after the rapid growth of the previous cycle rearrangement of affairs and settling indebtedness, if necessary. In plant growth, the buds appear; another indication of the harvest to come. The Seventh cycle represents a time of reflection, to step back and attach to your activities thoughtful consideration of where you are, and whether you have maintained your ideals and goals. As much as possible withdraw from activities to think into the deeper things in life, enjoy nature to find peace and relaxation. In plant growth, the Seventh cycle represents the flower stage when pollination takes the plant to the next level of growth. The Eighth cycle represents the harvest of efforts, the time when tangible results of thinking and efforts are forthcoming. Rewards are commensurate with your efforts. Work to bring accomplishments to a successful conclusion. In plant growth, this is the harvest, the fruit is on the tree, the fulfilment of the plant’s purpose, in which the seeds for the next cycle of growth are now contained within the core. The Ninth cycle is the time to plan for the coming new cycles of One to Nine again. Conditions in the nine cycles are indefinite. Do not start anything new now. Rest a little more; take that much needed time to rebuild your energies. People tend to be more emotional in cycle Nine so be objective to avoid friction and involvements. In plant growth, it is the period of resting, the wintertime for the plant,” Niccolas explained as he showed him little drawings of a rose bush in different stages of growth from seed to full bloom.[6]
Paul shook his head bemused. His gaze fell upon a large velum map on the opposite wall. He had seen it many times but was only now seeing the little tree symbols up the sides. The map showed the entire known world but also other coastlines he was not familiar with. But as he studied it further, vague recollections of the images he had seen in his dreams started to enter his mind. Almost like flashes, the images seemed almost identical in outline to the map on the wall. Niccolas noticed Paul staring at the map. Paul stood up and moved to stand in front of it.
“This map, it shows places I am familiar with…but these, what are these lands for I have not seen them before? Well, apart from similar in my dreams,” Paul asked.
Niccolas walked over and stood beside him.
“This is but a pale copy of some older maps I once owned. I have tried to piece together all the maps I had into one whole world view.”
“But these lands…they are not known?” Paul quizzed, pointing to two larger continent sized lands on the left hand side of the map.
“Not yet they are not…but they will be. I must correct myself. They are indeed lands known to some of us already. And we in turn received our map knowledge from even older, far more ancient sources. Getting there is the problem at the moment. But we have papers from our northern Nordic brothers that proves they have already been there and returned,” Niccolas explained.
“My Lord…then all that I learn with maps and my love for ships must clearly point towards this as being my path in life…to sail to these lands,” Paul said excitedly. “There were a couple of ship symbols upon my chart, that I do recall.”
“Perhaps…but to take this knowledge outside these walls, at this period in time, will provoke a severe backlash from the Church. Remember, as far as the Church is concerned and teaches, this earth is but a few thousand years old…and flat. You start saying different openly, I fear it will have dire and catastrophic consequences upon you.”
“But that is madness…Even Islam accepts and teaches the world is not flat but is a sphere,” Paul retorted.
“They do. But even some of their more learned scholars argue whether we go around the sun with many still maintaining the sun goes around us…but I digress and we must leave that for another day.”
“Oh how I wish that I may one day be able to prove all this…,” Paul said and gently traced his finger around the outline of one of the countries on the map. His gaze fell upon a circle boldly drawn within the middle of the map and a dot at its centre positioned directly over the word ‘Jerusalem’. “I see you have singled out the holy city of Jerusalem as the centre of this world,” Paul exclaimed pointing to the circle.
“Ha, very observant…but not exactly totally correct. Look again,” Niccolas replied and tapped his finger upon another circle with ‘Cairo’ written within it. “That is the centre of the entire world. And that circle over Jerusalem, as you can see is drawn out across the whole of that region as far as Mount Arrarat, down to Gulf of Arabia.”
“Then what does this circle stand for?”
“It is but quite a small circle really, but within this little area, everything, and I mean everything that has ever been written within the three great books of religion, the Talmud, the Bible and the Qur’an, all took place within this area. So ask yourself, does that mean that other peoples in parts of the Lord’s great creation of the world are less worthy, Godless even or worse?” Niccolas stated.
“Seriously? All within that small area alone?”
“Seriously.”
Paul leaned in closer to the map. Niccolas had clearly spent a great deal of time working on it for as he looked closer he could see thousands of place names, symbols and details relating to the physical typography of the lands. He then noticed tiny rose symbols near Jerusalem, La Rochelle, places in England and Scotland, Italy, Spain, Roussillon and Freju in southern France, and a couple in the lands to the left of the map. Puzzled, he stood back, looked at Niccolas, who was standing studying his reaction to the map. He simply smiled and nodded at him.
“You have so much more to learn, young Paul,” Niccolas said softly.
Port of La Rochelle, France, Melissae Inn, spring 1191
The old man stopped talking as he noted that several around the table had their heads bowed low. The stonemason had his eyes shut. It was getting late and people were clearly getting tired.
“Peter!” Sarah said loudly, the stonemason opening his eyes quickly and sitting up.
“I am awake…I am listening. Was just resting my eyes…honestly,” the stonemason responded and coughed.
“Your name is Peter?” the old man asked.
“Aye, ’tis that,” the stonemason replied.
“You were asleep,” Sarah said.
“No…no I was not. I heard eve
rything…all about the apple and rose and that they both come from the same family, and, er, about vines and how it symbolically represents the interweaving of family tress…,” he quickly explained.
“My…and goodness…perhaps I should have explained things as straightforward and as simple as you just so eloquently put it in one sentence. Would have stopped me from boring you all,” the old man smiled.