Crusdae, p.16
Crusdae, page 16
But for the moment the Venetian could only wait. He was still without communication with the outside world and Tarim was not at all cooperating.
That lasted several weeks.
During this time, William of Beaujeu also was fretting, without pastimes as agreeable as Marco Polo's.
The voyage to Oddh had not posed any problems. They captured one enemy ship damaged by an antimatter particle, but its occupants had not possessed any interesting information.
A patrol of Hospitalers came to meet the armada which had settled on the moon Lyzar, and the Grand Master rejoined John of Villiers in the capital of die planet Oddh.
This time he had considerable reason to forget his military worries.
When he made his entrance into the hall of state, he found the Grand Master of the Hospitalers enthroned on a chair bearing the emblem of his order. At his right sat a bishop in 269
a scarlet robe, at his left stood a monk with a weasel’s face whom he had no difficulty identifying as a Dominican of the Holy Inquisition.
Knitting his heavy brows, William of Beaujeu marched toward his ally, who was flaunting a wicked smile.
“Welcome to my domains, noble brother. Your expedition was successful? Permit me to introduce you to His Holiness' legate, Bishop Liccardi, and to the President of the Holy Ecclesiastical Court, Father Evrard, who has already done an excellent work in my estates."
“Salutations to you, my brothers," grated the Templar, lips taut “Can I ask the reason for this little joke? Especially when has John of Villiers arrogated to himself the right to give orders on my lands?”
"That demands a few explanations, I do concede,” the Hospitaler said in a mocking tone. “If Your Eminence would read his papal bull. . . ."
The bishop stood up and drew from his long robe a parchment bearing a lead seal at the end of a ribbon. He unrolled it and read in a loud and solemn voice.
“ To my loyal servant in Jesus Christ William of Beaujeu, by the grace of God Grand Master of the Templars, I Nicholas m, Universal Pontiff by the decision of the bishops and cardinals meeting in Council at Viterbus, under the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit do order and require the Grand Master of the knightly brothers of the Temple as follows:
“'Upon reception of this bull, John of Villiers shall be recognized as legitimate and absolute sovereign of the Planet Oddh, of its dependencies in its star system, and of its Inhabitants.
“ 'Conrad von Thierberg shall receive the same rights and prerogatives on the planet Eth, in the name of the Teuton brotherhood. These rights shall be transmissible to those who succeed them in their courses in the dignity of the Grand Mastery of their orders.
“ 'We declare the Planet Orph a papal domain and install as governor our loyal Paolo Liccardi, who will be recognized by all as papal legate in outreTerre.
“ 'We allot to William of Beaujeu for the services rendered to the cause of the Holy Faith die Planet Baphom, with all authority over its inhabitants, the Baphomets, and this donation shall also be transmissible to his successor named lawfully with pontifical approval in his charge of the Grand Mastery of the brother knights of the Temple.
“ 'We give all powers and competence over these four planets to the Reverend Father John Evrard at once President of the Holy Tribunal of the Church, agent of the Inquisition, who will judge, condemn all apostates, back* sliders, magicians, sorcerers, and blasphemers belonging to the peoples of these afore-named planets, herein comprising all miscreants of Terran race who, overcome by the devil, might show themselves rebel against the orders of Rome or fall into criminal error touching the domain of the Faith.
" 'We are assured that our faithful servant William will show himself loyal and obedient, and that he will not raise any difficulty or any objection of any sort in the application of our desires, this on the salvation of his soul. If however he show himself reticent and rebel, we would be led, not without deep sorrow and regret, to abolish the aforementioned order of Templars, to declare all its members subject to the Holy Tribunal of the Church which might render in their case, with our approval, any sentence upon its members. It goes without saying that, henceforth, all bis temporal goods, Commanderies, domains, fields and forests, moneys of gold or silver, precious objects, be they on Earth or on other planets, would be immediately and without delay confiscated and remanded by us to whomsoever would be judged worth of possessing them. Ships and arms of all sorts would be sent to the Hospitalers and the Teutons.
" ‘In the name of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, pious and full of glory, of her Son Our Lord Jesus Christ, our defender, creator, redeemer, merciful and beloved Savior, of the Eternal Father and of the Holy Spirit, amen.’"
If lightning had struck William he could not have gone whiter, while his rivals looked him up and down triumphantly. He seemed to become smaller, as if crushed by the weight of adversity.
Behind him, his faithful companions, haggard of face, had set hands on the pommels of their swords.
The Grand Master was thinking. In fact they gave him nothing but a domain still inaccessible, taking from him the indispensable alchemical treasures of Oddh. They even threatened him with stripping him of his earthly possessions.
They were going to bum and torture aliens to whom they had promised freedom.
All this under pain of damnation and destitution for him, who had always been a defender of the Holy Faith. Him who had conquered the Holy Places, protected Earth from a frightful invasion.
A wave of rage overcome him.
One moment he thought of spitting his spite in the faces of these jackals, but he did nothing of the sort Turning his back, William drew himself up to his full height and, flanked by his brother servants, quitted the hall without saying a Word.
While stalking back to his ship, he pursued somber thoughts. After all, this was what he might have expected, like the emperors, could the kings and the pope himself have endured that the representative of an order of soldier-monks should become the most powerful lord the Earth had ever known? These cowards owed him everything. Without him they would be nothing but dogs fawning at the feet of the foul Baphomets, and behold how they showed him their gratitude. Was this the image of Christ? The accomplishment of His word, of His justice? How could die just and good Lord allow such exactions? Unless of course, the Holy Trinity was nothing but a false image and the real God of the universe laughed at the weak worm that he was? All his old doubts came flooding back. But if this were a testing? If he found, he, William, found himself in the position of Christ tempted by the devil on the mountaintop, faced with the riches of the universe? Must he like Jesus, turn the left cheek when someone had struck him on the right? Could it be a question of saving his immortal soul? He must think it through, but the power he held had drained Ms spirit and he had seen himself complacently becoming the richest of the rich. How to reconcile power and asceticism? And if the order must die by his foiling? Proud and brave, the Templars had been praised and adored, and now all the world was jealous of them.
Without even realizing it, he reached his flagship, his soul afire, without having made a decision. Then he saw an elur racing up at full speed, ridden by his faithful marshal Peter of Sevry.
Peter leapt to the ground and crossed himself, groaned in a strained voice: “Good brother, I have sad news. A ship has just come from Earth with a message from Thibaud Gaudin. Here it is. I know its tenor from our brothers in the crew, who told me the terrible happenings....”
“Faith, they couldn’t surpass what I’ve just heard. Follow me. We’re going back to Lyzar at once. All the brothers must leave Oddh without delay to come to join us.”
Without a glance at the marvels which spread across the screens aboard, the two Templars, seated in the command post, waited until the ship had taken to space before they spoke again. During that time, William had carefully read the report of his representative on Earth.
Surely what it reported in no wise helped the already embroiled affairs of the Grand Master.
Thibaud Gaudin advised him that the kings and emperors had not waited for the papal injunction to rush to the spoil. All the Templaries of lesser importance, in France, in England and in Germany, had been attacked and seized by royal or imperial troops. In France, the Templar domains had been confiscated. Only the fortified Commanderies were holding out by passive resistance. Well shielded behind their thick walls, the Templars feared nothing in the near future, at least while they had proviso ns. Already the situation was worrisome in certain Templaries and Thibaud Gaudin had to use ships to reprovision them.
The besiegers, however, appeared still undecided. They did not rush to all-out assault, probably waiting for the papal decision to abolish the Order of the Temple.
Thibaud Gaudin refused to use the thunderballs against the troops of their suzerain without express order, for each Templar carried graven in his heart the motto:
My body is the king’s;
My soul is God’s;
My honor is mine own...
So he asked William to let him know quickly what he must do.
The Grand Master, when he had taken in this terrible message, buried his head in his hands. His reason tottered. Everyone had turned against him. The pope, supreme authority of Christian folk, representing Christ on Earth; his king to whom he had always been faithful, making him many loans of money; his very allies to whom he had trusted his ships, his thunder weapons... and they owed him everything!
But his pride quickly got the upper hand. No! He, William de Beaujeu, would not fail his brothers who had entrusted to him the supreme title of Grand Master; they expected salvation from him; he would save them, though they all denied him.
The high dignitaries of the Order were now at his rides, anxiously waiting for his decision. John of Grailly and Otto of Granson were there, and they were also torn between their duty as vassals of the kings of Prance and England, and their friendship for their comrade in arms. They must decide quickly.
“Noble brothers,” declared the Frenchman, “I have never received any order enjoining me to withdraw my troops from your fleet Consequently, you can still count on the men of France.”
“Dose voids are trut’ for me too,” the giant swiss Otto of Granson assured him. “Besides, I am a mercenary who sells his services to whoever he likes; and I haf decided to stay true to your cause. My men at arms will continue to fight at your side.”
These words went straight to William’s heart He sighed deeply, signed himself with the cross. “Thank you,” he said, “my brave companions, for not abandoning me in adversity. May the Holy Spirit inspire me, for on my decisions depends the future of the order. We see things before us, and what remains for me at the moment? My fleet is still powerful, even if it’s stripped of Hospitaler and Teuton forces. Kubla too remains loyal to me, and I can count on his Mongols. The situation is then grave, but not desperate. After all, we still have the houbits...”
A deep voice then made itself heard. Houen-Lun, coming out of his meditations, had decided to intervene in the debate. The Tibetan had played a major role in the success of the Templars, and all of them began to hope.
Alas, he had quickly to disenchant them.
“Noble William, I must, to my great regret, tell you that you can no longer count on my help or that of my companions. 1 have thought carefully before taking this decision. My convictions forbid my actively intervening in the unrolling of events in this world. The houbits therefore will not be ac-treated to kill the Baphomets. They will keep their euphoric powers for a few years, but they will not become deadly traps for their minds. You must fight henceforth without relying on our psychic powers. But I shall not abandon you yet. I am waiting for the return of Tarim, who is on Baphom. I will relay you his messages, if need be. Later I will ask you to set us out on Lyzog. There is no ecclesiastical court there to condemn us. The Lyzogans have beliefs close to our own. They will let us create a community and recruit adepts. My decision is without appeal.”
So saying, the Tibetan went back into lotus position and his eyes went into the beyond, contemplating visions he alone could see.
A deathly silence fell over the gathering. The soldier-monks dared not look at the Grand Master any longer.
But this news did not seem to surprise William overmuch. He had always known that the Tibetan’s position was in contradiction with his belief and one day or another he would desert the Templars’ side. Alas, everything was crumbling about him. Without seeking to draw Houen-Lun back from his decision, the Grand Master began in a brittle voice: “Well, the situation is no longer grave, it’s desperate. I refuse, you see, to fight the Hospitalers and the Teutons. They are, like us, Christian, and they’re only obeying the orders of the sovereign pontiff, even if the terms of the bull are unacceptable to us. I can’t make up my mind to give the order for my loyal Thibaud Gaudin to use the ships and the thunderballs. The kings are our suzerains and we don’t know how to deny the oath that binds us to them, even if, instead of helping us, they crush us . . . Have a letter sent to Thibaud at once by message dart, and bid him gather all the Terran ships and put on them all our brothers who are still free, without forgetting our stocks of thunderballs, and head for Baphom at once. All the documents regarding the alchemical secrets and those having to do with the making of starships have to be burned to the last We must not have these terrible arms serving our human brothers to commit massacre among them.”
Brother Joubert went off in a hurry to execute that order, while William went on.
“I don’t have much choice left, actually. My heart is broken at the thought of leaving the poor Odeous, the Ethir and the Orpheds in the hands of the Inquisitors, who are going to hunt them and bum them at the stake, but I have no choice. My honor is in question. I’ve lived all my life fighting for the Holy Faith. Like Christ in his passion, I cry my despair, aye, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Thou who once saved St. John at Acre by giving us weapons that let us defeat Bibars? But Thy designs are inscrutable and I must doubtless rejoice in my misfortune, for it assures the salvation of my poor tom soul, crushed by a dire destiny . . . Well, now, my brothers, there’s nothing more left for us, but to finish our existence as we began it, and the way we would have wished when we pronounced the vows to join our holy order; then you knew the great disciplines of the House and its inflexible commandments you swore then obedience to your Grand Master elect and promised not to abandon your brothers. Remember on this day of trial the words of St Bernard: *1110 knight of Christ kills in conscience and dies at peace. Dying, he works out his salvation, in killing he labors for Christ Doubtless he should not kill the pagans at all if he had another means of stopping their invasions, but it is better to commit massacre than to let the menace of sinners hang over the head of the just.’ So down with the filthy Baphomets. Death surely awaits us, for we will have to face satellites that vomit terrible walls of fire, but your honor will be safe and your salvation assured. For myself, I look upon the end of my days in this vile world as a deliverance.
“This age is too vile and low;
Yea, I fain would go;
when I think on the lords
And their deeds and their words
dead, now, long ago!”
William fell silent, his face reflecting vast sorrow. For him even the hope of gaining a day of the heaven promised the faithful servants of Christ was only uncertainty. His faith wavered under his experiences and only despair possessed him.
But he lifted his head when his faithful companions drew their swords and thundered out a hymn in their rough voices.
“God Almighty and Eternal
Who guided good St. George,
Thy knight and holy martyr,
Gave him grace and merit
In martyrdom and passion;
By him and Virgin Mary,
Most Holy Mother, She,
For Christ’s sake grant us strength
To keep our vow and laws.
May we win to Heaven,
Thou God forever King:
Non nobis, non nobis Domine,
Sed Nomini Tuo da gloriam."
A few hours later, the ships of the fleet came to rest on Lyzar, one after the other, to complete their refitting in arms and munitions.
Their hearts were heavy, but the soldier-monks* resolution was well and deeply anchored in themselves. They could not hope to destroy the vile race of infidel Baphomets, but at the least they could fend invasion away from Earth and let the Hospitalers and Teutons gather their forces, giving them a chance to survive.
The former would stay on Oddh, without expecting to oppose the movements of their ex-ally's squadrons. John de Villiers had been advised of the decision his rival had taken and could only congratulate him on it Evidently, William was not contesting the papal division and was going to seek a glorious death. Good riddance. This Templar was becoming altogether too bothersome. It did not stop file Grand Master of the Hospitalers and that of the Teutons from putting their own squadrons on a war footing, for they had not forgotten the power the Baphomets had, after all, being filthy and very fearsome miscreant creatures. They had no intention at all of stopping the Templars from destroying themselves in an attack on the barrier of satellites protecting Baphom. But they wanted to be in the immediate neighborhood to watch the peripheries of the drama, and, one never knows, to participate in the combat After all, French, English, and Mongols remained faithful to William. The Tibetans seemed to have abandoned him, but with that astonishing man, anything was possible. He was capable of succeeding against all probability, in getting control of Baphom and its treasures—which had been imprudently allotted him by the Pope.
