Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 16:50:10 -0600 Reply-To: "Robert A. Gansler" Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Robert A. Gansler" Subject: Knights Temporal, Part 1 Knights Temporal A ContiNEWity story by Bob Gansler Part 1 He is immortal, born in the Highlands of Scotland over 400 years ago. He is not alone. There are others like him - some good, some evil. For centuries, he has battled the forces of darkness with holy ground his only refuge. He cannot die unless you take his head and with it his power. In the end, there can be only one. He is Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander. They were formed in 1118, in the court of King Baldwin II in Jerusalem. For nearly two centuries, they battled the forces of the Saracens, trying to keep the Holy Land in Christian hands. They were apparently destroyed in 1314 by the machinations of Church and State. They moved silently down through the centuries, enacting many secret plans, struggling to reach the time of their triumph. No one knew they were still among us --- until now. They are the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and Temple of Solomon - the Knights Templar. _____________________________________________________________________________ Introduction to the Knights Templar _____________________________________________________________________________ The Knights Templar, officially known as the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and Temple of Solomon, were an order of Knights that came into existence in 1118. A French crusader named Hugues de Payens was joined by eight others in adopting a religious rule based on St. Augustine. They presented themselves to King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who heartily welcomed them. He provided them with accommodations at the site of King Solomon's Temple. They were charged with keeping the Holy Land, then in European control, safe for pilgrims. In 1139, de Payens' successor as Grand Master, Robert de Craon, won a special dispensation for the order from Pope Innocent II and the Order was placed under direct papal jurisdiction. The Templars were independent of any other secular or ecclesiastical order. Their charge was now expanded to defend the Church against all enemies of the Cross. Despite the power of the Templars, Jerusalem fell to the forces of the Saracen leader, Saladin, in 1187. After this victory, Saladin had all of the surviving Knights beheaded along with one other Christian noble. The Templars continued to hold territory in the Holy Land until Acre fell in 1291. With the entire Holy Land now in Muslim hands, the Templars were without a purpose. They continued their extensive banking activities as they tried to organized a new Crusade. King Philip IV of France was indebted to the Templars financially and feared their power, which no secular leader could control. He needed money and the Templars had it. After the death of Pope Benedict IX (in which he probably had a hand), Philip had his own man, Bertrand de Got - Archbishop of Bordeaux, elected as Clement V and had the papacy moved to Avignon. With the apparent blessing of the papacy, Philip proceeded against the Templars in 1307. The Templars were arrested and tried for heresy. They were subjected to excruciating torture in order to extract confessions. After years of papal inquiry, the Council of Vienne was convened, in part, to deal with the Templars. Acting alone, Clement dissolved the Order and reserved the judgment of four of the Templar leaders and a mysterious Oliver De Penne to himself. Jacques De Molay, the last Grand Master of the Order, was burned at the stake on March 14, 1314. The others were burned as well. Soon after the mass arrests in 1307, Philip had his officials go through Templar facilities in search of the Templar treasure, but very little of the Templar wealth was found. The Templar fleet had sailed from the port of La Rochelle before the arrests, supposedly with the lion's share of the Templar wealth, and was never heard from again. Rumours have abounded over the centuries about what happened to the Templar fleet and its treasure ... _____________________________________________________________________________ One man one goal one mission, One heart one soul just one solution, One flash of light yeah one god one vision. One flesh one bone, One true religion, One voice one hope, One real decision >From "One Vision" by Queen _____________________________________________________________________________ THE PARIS TEMPLE - PARIS MAY 25, 1992 As Alfred Cahill entered the former headquarters of the Paris Temple, a man in a black raincoat watched Alfred's every move through his binoculars. The man was about to put down the binoculars when another figure stalked up to the entrance to the Temple. In the dark, autumn Parisian night, the man's quick glimpse of the figure did not allow him to recognize who it was. However, the gleam of steel in his hand made it clear to the man what the figure was - a second Immortal. "They will profane our ancient home with their battle," the man lamented. "But what can be done? Nothing, until we are restored." The man waited outside for a few minutes. He waited for what he knew was inevitable. He waited until he saw the sparks of blue lightning, the howling winds, the scream of victory, or was it pain. He waited until he saw the Quickening. "Tis done," the man noted. "But which one was the victor? Cahill or the other?" The man brought his binoculars to his eyes once again. He trained them on the entrance to the Temple. Whoever won was sure to come through that doorway. How could they know of any other way? The man focused his attention on the doorway. He saw a man in a black raincoat exit the Temple, but before he could get an adequate look at the victor, a car passed in his line of sight. He saw enough to discern that it was not Cahill, but he could not make out the face of the victor. Not that it would have made much difference if he had, the man figured. How likely was it that he would have seen this Immortal before? After a few minutes of waiting, the man cautiously made his way into the Temple. His guard was up, and his eyes scanned his surroundings, looking for anything that might pose a threat. His senses were well trained from his years of experience. He would not be taken by surprise. The man of mystery read the inscription as he entered. "Here lies Jacques De Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar." He laughed. "If only they knew the truth." The man slowly, almost respectfully, walked through the dark Temple. No sounds or signs of life could be detected. As he passed the giant Templar cross, he paused momentarily and bowed his head. He snaked his way through the arches until he came upon the cistern. Outside of the cistern, the man found the expressionless head of Alfred Cahill. It had rolled up against the wall and stared at the man with its dead eyes. The man made the sign of the cross and bowed his head once again. "Poor, poor Alfred. You truly were not ready to join us. Your faith was strong, but your mind was not ready to accept all that we taught you in what little time we had," the man lamented once again. He peered down the cistern. At the bottom in a tangled heap was Cahill's body. The man noted that Cahill had donned the armor and tunic of the Order. "At least you died like a Templar," the man whispered. He reached down to pull Cahill's body out of the cistern. He then dragged it over by Cahill's head. A bead of sweat ran down the man's forehead. He wiped his brow and took out a cellular phone. He punched in the number and waited for an answer at the other end. "Yes?" was the greeting he received. "This is De Penne. There was an Immortal here, but he is no more." He continued "We may bring our treasure here and re-establish the Order in its true home." "His will be done." was the reply. "Non nobis, Domine, non nobis sed nomini tuo da gloriam," De Penne intoned and then punched a button to hang up. He placed the phone back into his jacket and thought back to the second last time he had been here at the Temple... =========================================================================