Temple Sword

Chapter 10 William's Past

The cellar door was opened silently, a black figure slipped in, and then closed it quietly.

Antal leaned against the door and listened for a while, and when he was sure that no one was following him, he walked in the direction he was most familiar with contentedly.

As a child, he often came to this well-designed wine cellar.The vaulted ceiling and the simple, all-beautiful columns fascinated him, and though William disliked him playing downstairs, Antal took every opportunity to sneak in.He imagined this place as Solomon's temple, and it was his duty to protect it, and he called those fat casks a fortress.

But over the past few months, he's been more interested in what's in the barrel than naive games.Each time he pretended to sleep in for a while, he would sneak out of his room and sneak into the wine cellar to find a cask or two for a pre-bedtime drink or two.

The cold weather made it difficult for the boy to fall asleep, but good wine could warm every bone in his body and make him dream again and again.He need not yet be afraid of William discovering him, for after the night's prayers his uncle retired, as usual, to his chambers and indulged in mysterious activities of which he would not say a word to Antal.

It all started three years ago, when Francis and Gregory, two court artists from Visegrad, had just arrived here.The musician was always cheerful and talked a lot, but the painter seemed to suddenly become silent from the second day of his arrival.

When Antal was practicing sword moves to the music with Francis in the yard, Grigory and William locked themselves in the knight's room, and the two disappeared directly from the sight of other people in the manor for several days. It was never said what they were doing in there either.

The musician and painter lived on the estate for two full years, during which time Antal became used to the epee and other unusual sword moves as something in his nature.After a hard goodbye to the two, the boy started chasing William's ass to find out what he was up to, but he still didn't say anything.

"I once wandered in the desert for five days without food or water," William said with a mysterious smile. "My skin hardened and cracked, and my physical strength was exhausted. In the end, I couldn't even walk. If it wasn't for A Jewish businessman has spotted me, and I'm going to be food for vultures in no time. Do you think you can beat me down with your incessant annoying childish questions?"

When Antal realized that he was helpless, he had to accept that he would never be able to get the truth out of Uncle William's mouth in his life.

A big smile spreads across his little face as he finds what looks like the cask he fetched the wine from the day before.This wine barrel was the largest inside, and there was still at least half of the wine in it, so he didn't need to worry about it running out if someone noticed it.

He took out the wooden goblet he had concealed in his cloak, and crouched over the cork of the cask to fill it.

"Deus Vult." Like the crusaders who marched against the Saracens, Antal took his actions as God's will.As a result, before he finished speaking, the cellar door creaked open.

"Antar, is that you?" He heard his uncle's voice, "What are you doing down here?"

He shuddered with fright, and for a moment he even thought he might be able to hide, but before it was too late, William had found him.

"It's me." Antar said slightly tremblingly when William appeared from behind a wooden barrel, blocking his only way out.

"What are you doing here?" William frowned.

"I was thinking about... going for a walk before bed."

The knight moved closer to him, raising his eyebrows. "In the wine cellar?"

"No, I was in the yard, I looked at Sarecher, wandering in the garden," Antal said nervously, feeling stupid.He knew very well that he couldn't fool his uncle, and William's eyes could see through all the little ideas he had hidden.

"So how did you get here from the yard?"

"I'm starting to think about the past," Antal forced a smile, "Do you still remember that I came here pretending to protect Jerusalem from the Saracens?"

"I remember." William nodded.

"When I think about that, I feel like I have to come down and I don't know why..."

"I know why." His uncle moved him away from the barrel, bent down to look at the stopper of the wine barrel, and the empty wooden cup still placed under it, and Antar's face instantly turned red to his ears.

"For God's sake, boy!" sighed William, "do you think I'd refuse you a drink if you asked me nicely?"

Antar didn't know what to answer, William picked up the cup and sniffed it, then gave it back to him.

"Good wine is like a prayer," William said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You can't drink it in a hurry on the sly, you have to taste it, let it swirl in your mouth, enjoy every drop..."

"Forgive me, uncle."

"I've had to forgive you too many times recently, don't you think?" William's face was still friendly, and for some reason he didn't get angry this time, "Let's drink together, you little guy! Only a cow can drink wine……"
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"Uncle, how many battles have you fought in the East?" the boy asked timidly.Whenever he brought up the Holy Land, William never answered him and sent him away angrily.

This time, however, the atmosphere was different than before, seeming more intimate, relaxed and genuine.William's attitude is also quite special. Antal was ready to be scolded, but it didn't happen.

"How many battles have I fought?" William looked at him and asked very lightly, "I don't know myself, maybe too many..."

"How many heretics have you killed?"

William's face turned into a bitter gourd, and he let out a short, coughing laugh.

"None," he said.

Antal didn't quite understand, he looked at his uncle silently.

"Are you waiting for an explanation, kid?" William asked. "Do you really want to know what the Holy Land looks like? Want to know what we did there in the name of jihad?"

"I want to know." The boy nodded, "Please tell me."

"Well, whatever," William agreed, taking a sip of his drink and leaning back in his chair. "I was a child when my father died. I had nothing in this world but my mother and my sister. My father left behind only a sword, a bloody coat, a hand of Eastern soil, and a strange The name of a holy place known to many people.

I burned my coat, took my sword, and almost without a second thought, set off with some blind pilgrims to the East, without even knowing what awaited me there.I don't know if my father's land is still my father's, or if anyone still remembers his name.

I just know that I can't continue to stay in the place I call home because my heart is full of hate, anger and power.I thought I would find some peace in a new world like the Holy Land, which is what all those who go to the East look forward to..."

"How did you become a Templar?"

"When I finally reached Acre, I was skinny, hungry and weak, and the meager purse I had taken from my mother was empty. I could barely draw my father's sword, let alone myself ...they almost kicked me out for a beggar when I showed up at the monastery in tattered clothes.

I can barely explain who I am, where I come from, and what I want to do.Fortunately, a knight stationed in Acre recognized my father's name. This is the blessing of fate. They fought side by side many years ago.The knight led me directly to the papal visitor, and secured me admission to the monastery.

There I was trained to be a squire and then a knight.During this period I learned Latin and Arabic very well, and learned how to fight with the sword and ride a horse.Later, I learned to read and write with great difficulty, and I had to study twice as hard as the other apprentices, because I entered the monastery at a very old age, several years after the others. "

Antal didn't interrupt, he frowned and listened quietly to Uncle William's story, which he never had the chance to hear.

"You've read a lot about the Sultan of Saladin, haven't you?" William looked at him. "He was a formidable ruler, but at the same time wise and calm and respectful of his opponents. When I was appointed in Acre At the time of the Templars, the enemy was already Baybars al-Bunduqdārī, and we were only afraid of him, even though we dared not say so.

Unlike his predecessors, Baibars disrespected those who opposed him.He ascended the throne by murdering the previous sultan and threatening the nobles to support him.He doesn't know how to compromise, and if he commits to a treaty, he tends to break it.He killed all the crusaders who surrendered in the besieged castle and had their heads staked, saying he would not negotiate with heretics.

He was determined to kick out everyone who he didn't think belonged to the Holy Land, all Christians from the West, even the Tartars, everyone but the Saracens... We managed to make a temporary peace with him, but it forced The result came shaky, neither side complied with it, and this is the beginning of all of us turning into beasts...

Baibars eventually died, and two more men succeeded to the sultan's position, but nothing changed, and his successors continued his policies.It took us many years to come face to face with the Saracens army in a real war, but we were not idle until then, we slaughtered a lot of unarmed residents, women, children, old people...it doesn't matter , because they killed us too, although that certainly cannot be used as an excuse for our actions. "

William took a sip of his wine, turned around and looked ahead quietly.Antal didn't dare to speak, he knew that this person was looking back far, far away, looking at his other life.

"I've never killed a heathen, Antal," he said finally, in a low and weary voice, "they all have strong beliefs, only our priests say they worship another god, so it's not a sin to kill them but the way of redemption.

We are all crazy in the east, we have done inhuman things, we should all go to hell for it, believe me, a thousand hells are worth it.I saw a knight rape a girl younger than you until she was covered in blood.A knight who swears to be chaste, a knight in white who swears to God!
We shout that it is God's will, so we start killing, when in reality we are only doing the will of cowards.I'm no saint, Antal, I'm burdened with a terrible sin, I dare not even admit it.I can still see the boy trampled under my warhorse, which I did on purpose.

He beat me just because he was afraid that I would hurt his sister, and he wanted to protect her.I had this scar back then," William pointed to the long scar near his left eye, "the girl was killed by our captain..."

"I... I don't know these things." Antar said hoarsely, his hands were shaking, his mouth was dry, no matter how much he washed it with wine, it was useless.

"Of course you don't know these things," William nodded with a wry smile, unable to see clearly in the dim light, but Antal could swear his eyes were glistening with tears. "We're fighting God's war after all, we're heroes, we're killing monsters, damned heathen brutes.

This is what people at home believe, when in fact we are murderers, we slaughter the children of the same God who created us... My child, what is the fifth commandment of the Lord? "

"Not to be murdered..."

"Well, it's as simple as that. We broke it, the whole West, the whole of Christendom, the pope, the cardinals, the whole of Rome, the whole damn world." William let out a deep anguished sigh , "Over time, everyone who was important to me died, my master, all my friends, everyone I loved.

They were all punished, and at the same time I realized that my punishment was not death, but living their death and suffering the pain of losing them.When I finally came home after 23 years away, all I had left was your mother, and I could only believe that she was my last resort.But when I saw her grave I lost my mind...

Only you saved me from the final madness, Antal, you are the only reason I didn't give up everything and why I didn't burn to death with your father in that stinking hut.I feel like you are my salvation, my last chance to do something good in this life..."

The two were silent for a long time. For a long time, there was only the gurgling sound of William pouring wine for them, followed by the sound of sipping gently and the clinking of glasses on the table.

"After all you've been through as a crusader," Antar broke the long silence, "after all these horrific crimes, do you still want me to become a Templar? You told me something Horrible thing, uncle! I don't want to commit such crimes..."

"I want you to be a knight, not a murderer." William looked him in the eyes. "A true Templar, a knight who does not forget the commandments of God and his oath. Remember this What will happen in the end of the world, in the end we will all be naked to the Lord, let Him measure what we have done in this life...

I believe in the Knights Templar, if they follow the ancient rules and morals, they can still save the souls of the Christian world.But to do this, you need a knight with a heart, not a power-hungry, lying butcher.

Maybe now we have lost the Holy Land, and these centuries of Eastern wars have proved that no matter how much we want Jerusalem, we are not omnipotent.Maybe now we can instead make more conscious decisions and reflect instead of laughing and violating the rules of our church. "

"I will never be a butcher," the boy declared firmly.

"I know, my child." William shook his head, as if waking up from a nightmare, he drank the rest of the wine, slammed the wooden wine glass on the table, and was about to speak to suggest that they all go to bed Suddenly, there was a rush of horseshoes outside the door.The thud of hitting the ground grew louder as the mysterious rider drew closer, then stopped abruptly.

"Lord Barto!" An excited shout came from outside, and the people on the table looked at each other in surprise. "Master Barto, I must speak to you immediately!"

The two jumped up and ran into the yard, only to see a young man standing outside, holding the reins of a black horse tightly.He was panting in the brown overcoat of a Templar servant.Even in the dark, his face clearly showed anxiety and uneasiness. William didn't understand why the Knights sent someone to look for him so late.

"I'm William Barto," said he, "what do you want to say, what can't you wait until tomorrow, and have to come at this late hour?"

"The Pope's Visitor sent me," said the footman, "and I have some very important news."

"Then say it quickly!"

"King Andrew is dead," he quickly crossed himself. "Hungary has no king."

【footnote】

① The apostolic visitor is a church official, and the canonists usually classify them as papal legates.The visitors are different from other apostolic representatives mainly in that their mission is not long-term but relatively short-lived.

(End of this chapter)