LITMIR.BIZ

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only to follow in your footsteps, father.”

      Sir Rudyard his arms around them both in a warm embrace. “Good. Follow me, lads.”

      He led them across the great hall to a side door. They strolled along a walkway, crossing a small grassy yard, and came to a stop at the base of a building unlike any Connor had ever seen. It was a tall octagonal structure, each corner supported by a single, majestic arch. The eight arches together curved to a high peak, giving the building the appearance of an elongated spider. Between the arches hung thick curtains that slowly moved in the evening breeze. The three men ducked around one of the curtains and entered the shadows of the temple.

      Their eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. Connor gasped in awe at the stunning beauty of the intimate sanctuary. Beneath their feet, inlaid with black and white marble, was a detailed tiling of the eight-pointed Templar Cross. Slicing the Templar Cross through its heart was a thin gold line aflame in a narrow beam of the afternoon sun, penetrating through a narrow gap in the curtains. Above, a huge cross-shaped chandelier hung majestically, its candles illuminating the vaulted ceiling, giving Connor the feeling he was inside a giant eggshell. A five petal rose has been painted onto the inside surface of the ceiling.

      He then noticed the beauty of the curtains themselves. They were not just simple coverings, but elaborate tapestries of people and places detailed in vivid, almost lifelike colour. Sir Rudyard followed his eyes to the side of the sanctuary. “Each tapestry tells a biblical story that remains close to the heart of every Templar knight.”

      “They’re incredible,” whispered Connor.

      He took in each scene. The first one he recognized as Mary Magdalene meeting Jesus in the garden after the Resurrection. Next to it was a powerful image of David defeating Goliath with the sling. Connor, however, couldn’t take his eyes off the tapestry to his immediate right.

      “Do you like that one?” asked Sir Rudyard.

      “It’s breathtaking,” said Connor, awestruck. “But I don’t recognize the scene. What is it?”

      Sir Rudyard stepped forward and pointed to the tapestry. “This tapestry describes the construction of the Temple of Solomon. It was a structure designed for God Himself, one in which He could reside, if He so chose. Look at the some of the decorations chosen for God by King Solomon. Palm trees made of solid gold, huge brass lions guarding the doorways and intricately carved statues . . . these were displayed throughout the Temple. Even an indoor sea of molten metal decorated the perimeter of the room!”

      “Incredible,” muttered Connor.

      “Those two pillars near the bottom of the tapestry,” pointed out Angus. “Those are just like the ones outside the castle.”

      “Well done, Angus,” agreed Sir Rudyard. “The original Jachin and Boaz. Behind those pillars was a very special room.”

      “The Holy of Holies,” answered Angus.

      “That’s correct. The Holy of Holies was the room in which God Himself would reside. Hiram Abiff, the architect of the Temple, designed and built Solomon’s Temple using the perfect symmetries of mathematics. It was the mathematical perfection of the building that allowed the Temple to be worthy enough for God Himself to call it home. That is why we strive for all of our temples, including the one we’re standing in right now, to be mathematically perfect.”

      Connor peered closely at the tapestry. “What is that golden box, the one sitting on the pedestal within the Holy of Holies, Sir Rudyard?”

      “Do you see the two golden angels on top of the lid, wings extended towards each other, their tips almost touching? That is the Ark of the Covenant. It is made of solid gold.”

      “Solid gold?” repeated Connor, trying to imagine such a huge quantity of the precious metal.

      “Yes, but the real treasure was actually the item kept within the box itself.”

      “What was it?” asked the boys, in unison.

      “The Ten Commandments. The very tablets on which God had written his laws on Mount Sinai for Moses to take to the Israelites. It is said that an army who goes forth into battle with the Ark of the Covenant fights with the power of God. Needless to say, an army led by the Ark becomes invincible. The Bible records battles where a powerful light flashed out from the Ark, destroying entire enemy armies in a single instant. After word of The Ark’s power reached nearby kingdoms, attacking armies would flee at the sight of it.”

      The boys stared silently at the image of the golden box. The possibility of such a thing existing on Earth was simply too overwhelming for Connor to even contemplate.

      The chapel grew noticeably darker as the sun dipped below the jagged hills of Orkney Island. Noticing the loss of light, Sir Rudyard led the boys outside and back into the castle.

      “You have had a long journey. Your battle training will begin tomorrow, so I suggest you find a mat in the Great Hall and get a good night’s sleep.”

      The three said good night and the boys walked across the Great Hall, pulled out two unused woven straw pallets from a pile in the corner and joined a dozen other men already asleep on the floor. Angus’s eyes were shut before his head hit the ground, and in no time, he was snoring contentedly.

      Connor collapsed onto his pallet and allowed his body to sag under the exhaustion of the past three days. His mind, however, swam with the wonders of all he had just experienced since arriving at Kirkwall Castle. He simply couldn’t fathom what might be in store for him on the morrow.

      Six

      Connor and Angus quietly arose before dawn while dozens of knights remained sprawled on the floor of the Great Hall, snoring off the previous evening’s consumption of strong ale. They quietly piled their mats in the corner of the room then made their way out into the fresh air of the outer bailey. Striding through the morning light, they wandered excitedly around the compound until they could peer over the wall of the sea fortress. They were surprised to see so much activity on the shore below. Leaving the comfort of the small village on the opposite side of the bay, a handful of fishermen made their way down to the dozen skiffs lined up on the shore and pushed them out into the cold sea, their nets ready to haul in the day’s catch. Only one of the large still lay beached on the water’s edge, and workmen continued to swarm all over its length. The boys were amazed as the sailors carefully inserted a huge, newly-hewn mast into the heart of the ship using a complex set of pulleys, scaffolding and ropes.

      The boys turned away from the wall and made their way to a small stone hut at the southernmost tip of the fortress. It was positioned so that it overlooked the entire harbour, giving the building a clear view to any ship that left or entered the waters of Kirkwall. Connor and Angus could hear a bellows sucking away at the morning air. Sparks danced out of the chimney to the rhythm of the bellows, a cloud of fireflies lighting up the morning twilight. The boys smiled at each other, and they jogged toward the stone building.

      They pulled up short of the building and stared at two strange, but very large metal objects pointing out beyond the castle wall. The cylindrical objects seemed to be keeping watch over the waters of the harbour. Connor ran his hand along its cold smooth surface, the shape reminding him of a gigantic carrot with its pointy end chopped off. Eight thick metal rings were spaced evenly along the length of the cylinder.

      “Hey, look at this!” said Angus, standing at the narrow end, his heels teetering on the edge of the precipice.

      Connor leaned over with his friend. “What?”

      “See? Look inside. ’Tis hollow. What do you suppose it does?”

      “I don’t know,” answered Connor, getting down on one knee to look into the dark hole of the second strange object, “but I reckon someone in the hut might have a clue.”

      They left the edge of the cliff and wandered over to the open door. Inside, Sir Rudyard’s friend Tomasso was shouting instructions in Italian over the roar of a huge bellows that hung from the ceiling like a monstrous, overweight

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