The abbot listened to the spiritual experiences of the pilgrims.
Dreams were the fuel of life. Listening was more important than talking. Listening to people also enabled him to pray for the people in need as he came across a lot of suffering. Many pilgrims carried their heavy burden of sorrows and pain up the mountain to get relief. He could help sometimes since many people were looking for work. The farmers told him when they needed help on their farms and the monks in the monastery were always glad to have a few more hands.
The more he listened to the pilgrims, the more he realized how powerful prayers were.
"It was impossible to predict where the rain of prayers would fall, blessings were always falling on earth. God moved in mysterious ways, after all. Divine inspiration was often required to get the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together. The pilgrimages were the dramatic resolution of problems for the individual and the whole community. The consciousness was entering the spiritual element of heaven connecting the pilgrim with a new reality.
Marc went to the abbot in the afternoon and said, “Julian has arrived in Saint Peter.”
The abbot smiled. Things were falling into place. Julian had lost his home when he was a young man and had been trying to find it ever since.
Julian sat next to the abbot. He put is bag on the wooden table.
“This pilgrimage was awesome. I kept on saying the same sentence over and over again.
“God have mercy on me, God have mercy on me.’ The meditation of that sentence was very powerful and opened the door to the subconscious. It felt as if I was walking in other elements. Layers upon layers of wisdom were falling from the sentence as I got closer to its truth. When I thought that I had found the true meaning I opened my eyes and I stood right in front of the church at Mount Jesus. I opened the door. It was silent as I was the first pilgrim arriving there. Then waves of emotions went straight through my body. The face of Jesus was showing up above the altar. I went towards the apparition. When I wanted to touch the image it disappeared.”
“It must have been awesome to arrive at Mount Jesus. I know how it feels to have a close encounter with God,” said the abbot, who had rarely been so happy to meet Julian. After a time of reflection he said,
“I have known you for many, many years, Julian. You have always been a good friend to me. You have found places of worship nobody else has seen before and opened our eyes to new miracles. We need you on a very secret mission now. We are heading off on a long and dangerous journey to the sea of death. You must help us to show us the way there.”
“I have heard about the abduction of Christian. I met him once on a pilgrimage to Mount Mary. I was hoping that you would ask me to help,” said Julian.
“That means that you are coming,” said the abbot.
“Yes. Of course I am,” said Julian
“The Saints will help us to rescue Christian. They are the children of our prayers sent to us by the Holy Spirit. Saints are the souls and hearts of our villages. “
“The dragons are rising over the mountains in the north. The shadows of the Underworld are falling on the light of Christmas,” said the abbot.
“They took the Morning Star away from our children,” said Julian.
The men met in the church of Saint Peter before they began the dangerous journey. Abbot Antony, Brother Benedict and Steve gathered with the friends of Saint Peter, Maurice, Verena, Catherine and Julian sat in the first row. Brother George stood at the altar.
The orphans sat in the second row. They were still talking when Brother George started the ceremony. Clemens, a grumpy old man, who was half deaf, said in a loud voice:
“Quiet! I cannot understand a word of what they are saying.
“Let them talk. Children listen with their hearts,” said Brother Martin.
“Jesus said let the children alone and do not hinder them to come to me for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.”
Mathew 19:14,” said Brother Thomas who had overheard the conversation.
“To be pure in heart is what matters. The heart of a child is clean and has not been poisoned by sin,” said Brother Martin.
“My dear friends,” started Brother George.
God has brought us together. He has made our community stronger by sending us our friends Maurice and Julian. But we could not leave tomorrow without the map of Saint Beatus. It will show us the way to the Underworld. Our world will sink into darkness if we cannot rescue the Morning Star.”
“Without the help of Verena and Margaret this journey would not be possible. Get their advice and help if you need anything. Together we form a body standing up against evil. We will fight for the morning star as it has been promised to us. The nights will get darker and the days shorter from now on. But we will emerge from darkness carrying the sign of victory, the Morning Star, in our hands. Your prayers are the light in the darkness and will show us the way. Do not give up on the sick and deceased people.
“Do not be afraid children; you will be filled with joy every day from now on. Our prayers are a fortress. Every day will draw you closer to Christmas Eve and the celebration of the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ,” said Brother George.
A big fire was burning in front of the church. Simon and Luke had collected wood in the nearby forest to commemorate the departure of the Company of the Morning Star.
The Departure for the Underworld
The war horses were neighing and scratching on the ground as if they knew about the dangerous mission ahead. Some people of Saint Peter believed that the horses had fought battles in ancient times. They had seen the warrior monks descending in the fountain in front of the monastery to fight the battle of All Saints. The descent into the fountain of time had been followed by a bright light late in autumn.
The battle of All Saints was one of the biggest mysteries and kept secret. The people believed that the warrior monks travelled back in time to fight the battles in the past defending the human soul against the demons of the abyss. God had created the human soul before he had created the body. Some people believed that the human soul had been an angel who possessed divine knowledge. The angel had been walking the earth together with the other angels. But the angel had been killed by a demon. Only the abbot knew what happened because he had been on a time travels. He kept the knowledge secret.
Other people thought that the lights were just shooting stars which were quite frequent at the end of summer. In Jack’s opinion the monks were conquering the evil spirits. If they won the battle a new year could start with the first Advent and Christmas. If the battle was lost, the apocalypse would descend on the earth.
Brother George was in good spirit when they left Saint Peter in that morning. He remembered a song his father taught him when he was a little boy. The path meandered through the green valley. The Mountains of the Angels rose majestically into the sky. Julian rode in front followed by Brother George. Behind them rode Benedict with Brother Thomas and Martin together with Maurice and his soldiers as well as a dozen monks scattered around the group to detect enemies.
They had been riding for a while when some scouts came out of the forest.
“There are Roman soldiers approaching from the East,” said one of the scouts. His horse was nervously moving up and down.
“We have to reach the mountains as quickly as possible to seek shelter in the rocks,” said Brother George.
Brother George’s horse, Pegasus, stood on his back feet as if anticipating trouble. His mane blew in the wind. The Roman soldiers were advancing fast and cut into their way. There were six Roman soldiers including one officer. The officer realized quickly that he had no chance against the men of Saint Peter. Maurice and Brother George did not want to get involved in an unnecessary fight. One of the officers looked at Maurice suspiciously. Then he turned the reins of his horse to the right side and rode away followed by the soldiers.
“Why did the officer stare at you?” asked Brother Thomas.
“He
probably knew me. They only time you do not recognize me is in the night,” said Maurice.
“You’d better stay with us and quit with the Roman army,” said Brother George.
The Salvation of Christian from the Reptilians
The mountains in the north rose like a shadow of death into the night sky and the dragons circled over the black mountains like bats. The Mountain of the Skull appeared in the dark landscape. It was thus named because the cave leading into the valley of death looked like a wide open mouth from a distance.
“That is where we have to go through,” said Brother George pointing at the pathway.
“I remember this place from a dream,” Julian said.
“I dreamt of a big stone crashing on the earth and leaving a crater. The skull is the remains of a star which burnt out millions of years ago. The skull attracts the souls of fallen angels which were thrown in the sea of death. They used to be evil beings. Now they are dead and evil souls.”
“They were alive, now they are dead,” said Victor one of Maurice’s soldiers.
“Isaiah 26:14,” said Brother Thomas.
“How do you know that these spirits still exist?” asked Brother Benedict.
“If they were dead you would not feel them. They are the incarnation of the seven cardinal sins:
Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride which have been tormenting humanity for millions of years. They fell in the abyss,” said Victor.
“King Bloodstone descended into the abyss to revive these spirits.” Julian rode into Dark Mountain.
Hally, Steve’s shepherd dog became increasingly nervous. Her ears were close to her head. She was almost crawling. Her tail moved nervously.
“Something is following us,” said Julian starring in the darkness behind them.
“The creatures in this mountain used to live millions of years ago”
“Like the dragon on our shields,” said a monk holding his shield up.
“The animal on your shield is not a dragon. It is an angel who defended the earth against the dragons of the sea of death millions of years ago. The battle of the past reflects in the future. If you understand the past you will understand the future,” said Brother Benedict.
“The earth angel is your guardian angel protecting you wherever you go. Your guardian angel protects your soul on the way to heaven. Our ancestors have been helped by the angels and Saints when they were in trouble,” said the abbot.
“Can you hear the howling?” asked Brother Benedict.
“It is the cry of the wolf of pride. Sin spreads like weed and takes over the space where flowers ought to grow,” said Brother Martin.
“It only attacks you if you cannot control your pride. Your Sins will eventually kill your guardian angel and will leave you unprotected against evil. They will lead your soul into death. You become the slave of your vices if you have not defeated evil in your life time,” said Brother George.
The beast was hiding in the darkness and nobody could see it. Maurice and Brother George rode up and down the ranks to protect the men from any attack. The howling of the wolf fell silent. They were riding between blocks of rocks which cracked off the mountain of death thousands of years ago. Snakes hid under the crevices. It looked like the ruins of a destroyed city. The rocks were pitch black from the fires that raged through the Underworld with the high and low tide of the sea of death.
The path became very narrow. One man after an other rode through the passage. Maurice stayed in the middle to fend off any attack. His eyes roamed the landscape. A noise howled between the rocks sounding like the winter wind through the trees. The noise chocked off. Maurice spotted the flutter of black hair behind a rock. He could spot the shadow of an animal in the darkness. He tore the reigns of his horse sideways and galloped toward the black shadow. Its enormous body appeared in the dark. The ugly beast stood upright on a black rock snarling its long sharp teeth and getting into position to attack. The hair stood still like the bristles of a brush. The beast jumped from the rock toward one of the monks. The wolf was in the air. His long and sharp white front teeth were ready to strike the throat of his victim. Maurice leapt between the wolf and the monk. He threw his spear towards the animal hitting the animal in the chest. The wolf fell to the ground like a stone.
Brother George arrived.
“I have not seen the beast.”
“I thought the beast had already disappeared and did not pay any attention to it anymore.”
“You did not observe your environment properly. The dogs behavior indicated that the wolf was still around,” said Maurice.
As it was getting late the men decided to stay for the rest of the night. They did not light any fires and tried to be as quiet as possible.
A long day lay ahead of them tomorrow. Nobody knew what the day would bring. Brother George prayed for the people in Saint Peter before they went to sleep. Some of Maurice men and the monks organized the guard shift over night.
They hid in a cave underneath a tree. Steve could see the night sky through the roots. He remembered the time he had been sitting with Catherine on the bench in the village of Saint Peter gazing at the stars in the sky. The Morning Star was shining through the night into the dawn showing the way from darkness into light as Jesus Christ did. The light was evoking emotions. In that moment Steve had seemed to understand the language of the stars. Time stood still. An oak tree stretched its long branches over the bench. The leaves blew in the summer breath touching his shoulders. Steve and Catherine were counting the shooting stars which were particularly numerous in August and September.
When Steve woke up, the dream had disappeared. The old year was withering away. Only a few days were left until the celebration of All Souls. A new liturgical year was rising behind the horizon. The New Year nourished the hope for a life without fear. A time people could live in freedom without being harassed.
A bird was drawing big circles in the sky. The black shadows of its wings fell on the ground as the bird sank lower. An old tale about Lucretius, a bird luring its victims into its nest to feed them to its chicks, came into the Steve’s mind. The black bird drew huge circles in the dark sky of the ancient world of sunken spirits. The eyes of the bird were pierced the air like needles. They stung like the bite of a snake poisoning the mind.
One of Maurice’s soldiers was looking in the sky, watching the scavenger. He was hit by the dark beams penetrating his mind. He was paralyzed, imprisoned by the mesmerizing eyes of chaos.
“Do not watch the scavenger! Look on the ground! We are in the kingdom of Sobek the god of crocodiles. Sobek is the god of the dark waters and his father his Set,” said the abbot.
“Set was a god of the Ancient Egyptians. I thought he was dead,” said Brother George.
“The body dies but the soul does not. It goes to another world. We are in the world of evil… The crocodiles are pets compared with the creatures living here,” said the abbot.
“Crocodiles do not eat their prey after killing them. They drag the dead bodies under the water and hide them under rocks. The eyes of the bird are the eyes of chaos and will paralyzing you. The crocodiles will then leave the rocks and tear your body apart in the dark waters,” said Maurice holding the Holy Lance in his right hand.
Brother George was riding next to Maurice. Hissing noises were coming from behind the rocks. Brother George looked into the eyes of the crocodiles which were blazing behind the rocks. He pointed Ascalon his spear in their direction ready to fight off any attack.
“Wait!” said Brother George holding his shield in the direction of the vulture trying to hit the men with its eyes.
“The earth angel, the sign of Saint Peter shone in red and golden colors on the shield. The bird uttered a shout of agony when its eyes fell on the shield. It was as if the bird was hit by an arrow. It fell like a stone its wings tight to the body. Just before it would have crashed to the ground it opened its wings and flew away.
“The bright co
lors of the shield must have irritated the bird of chaos,” said Brother Benedict.
“I do not think so. It is not the first time that a spirit of the Underworld has been scared by the shield. I think they are scared by the earth angel on the shield,” said Brother George.
“It appears as if they were frightened off by an event in the past,” said Maurice watching the crocodiles creeping towards a volcano.
A big black castle emerged on the horizon like a black cloud. The castle of queen Jezebel looked like a prism connected to the dark sky with a chain resembling the tale of a tornado. The chain swung like the body of a cobra in the dark night. A tiny little man appeared on the way to the castle. A bitter smile covered his face, which was wrinkled like the gills of a shark. His movements were fast.
“I will give you anything you want,” said Solek, the servant of the crocodile god to the men of Saint Peter.
When the little man did not get any response he pointed into the desert saying:
“Can you see that?”
“All the treasures in the world are buried in this desert. Take it! It is all yours.”
“How much gold are you prepared to give for peace? How many diamonds for love?” said Brother George.
“The wealth underneath the desert is beyond your wildest dreams. It will allow you to buy an army and crush your enemies like empty eggshells. You will be invincible and you will be able to rule the world with all the might of the Underworld,” said Solek.
“We believe in the wealth created in our communities. We are following the word of God not the glitter of the golden calf,” said Brother Martin.
Solek opened his big mouth showing his brown rotten teeth. But before he could say anything Brother Leo said,
“Does the sun rise in your land? Does Christmas live in the hearts of your children? Do you believe in a soul continuing its journey after death?”
“The sea of love is a drop in the desert of your desire. Open the gate of hell and indulge in the carnal pleasures. They are the real values in life,” answered Solek.