Chapter 39: Selection Ceremony (Part III)

Only two children were left in the huge church.

The Temple Church was originally a Saracen temple. This temple followed the ancient basilica architectural style, which is to say, a huge rectangular block.

The building was surrounded by colonnades for worshippers to rest, and the interior was a vast hall. The longitudinal pillars divided it into several long spaces—starting from the gate, there were the narthex, the nave, two side aisles (the nave was much higher than the side aisles, allowing for high windows), the main hall, the north and south transepts, the high platform and altar, and finally a semicircular apse.

From the north gate to the semicircular apse, it was about three hundred feet long, while its width was half the length, consistent with the height.

Such a magnificent main hall was not abandoned after the Crusaders recaptured the Holy City. It was first used as the temporary palace of the King of Jerusalem in the Holy City. After the Castle of the Holy Cross was completed, the Templar Order needed a station, and the then King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II, bestowed this place upon them, hence the name of the Templar Order.

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon in 1119 lived up to their name. The Templars didn't have much money, or rather, the money was all used to configure weapons, armor, horses, and other military equipment to fight the pagans. After moving into the Temple, although they transformed it into a Latin cross church for the first time, the method was very rough—in short, they kept everything they could keep and saved everything they could save.

Seven large lamp racks hanging at the highest point, which could hold candles or burn lamp oil, were kept, as were twenty-eight small lamp racks and forty-nine torch racks fixed on the pillars.

They were all lit now, especially the large lamp racks. The oil bowls were filled with clear olive oil. The olive oil was spiced, so along with the light, there was a fragrant atmosphere—myrrh was clear, frankincense was sweet and sour, and sandalwood was mellow.

Seventeen small marble "niches" were kept, and statues of saints were placed inside—because seventeen was a number belonging to pagans (Note 1), so later another one was added to become eighteen.

The saints either had compassionate faces or solemn expressions. According to custom, each saint held the instrument of torture they suffered when martyred—Saint Peter leaned the inverted cross on his shoulder; Saint James held a long sword, while Saint James the Less (same name) held a club; Saint Bartholomew held his own skin in one hand and a skinning knife in the other; Saint Simon raised a saw, and Saint Jude (not Judas) faced him, also raising an axe...

A prayer niche that could almost be said to be the symbol of the Saracen temple (located in the semicircular apse) was kept because it used gold, silver, and jewelry. Only the Saracen scriptures written on it were ground off, and a cross with a statue of Jesus being nailed was placed inside, with the letters JNRI above it.

When the Savior was nailed to the cross, the Roman Empire's governor of the Isaac province, Pilate, wrote such a sign and placed it at the top of the cross—Jesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum—which meant "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Isaacites."

It is said that every Templar knight had to kiss this cross before joining the Order.

And to transform a rectangular building into a hall where at least the internal space was a cross, of course, it was necessary to separate the extra space. The Templars at that time didn't use stone or brick (too expensive!), but used cedar wood planks produced locally.

The pale cedar wood plank partition walls stood in the Temple for a long time, until the funds of the Templar Order became slightly more abundant, and then they hired painters to paint colorful egg tempera paintings on these cedar partition walls. The content was probably the most common ones like "Christ Pantocrator," "Dormition of the Virgin," "The Special Grace of the Sacred Heart"...

This approach, which probably didn't go through the brain, led to these old wooden partition walls being unable to be replaced before they completely rotted. After all, no one wanted to take the responsibility of destroying the holy icons.

Most painters at this time still adopted the "side-view frontal law" inherited from the ancient Egyptian period. Like the screen they saw in the chapel of the Castle of the Holy Cross, the saint's face faced the audience, while the body was turned to the side. Whether it was the Virgin Mary in blue, the saints in red, or Jesus Christ wrapped in white linen... even the angels flying in the air, or the demons trampled in the mud, were all like this.

People walking between these pictures would feel as if they were being stared at directly by countless eyes, which was indescribably terrifying.

Of course, the only one who should have this feeling was Cesar. Baldwin had lived under the gaze of these eyes for nine whole years, from when he was still in the cradle to when he was discovered to have contracted leprosy. These saints, to him, were more like relatives and friends hanging on the wall. Before, he thought he could only see them in his room for the rest of his life. Now seeing them, his heart was only filled with joy, not fear.

He straightened his face, composed his mood, held Cesar's arm, and placed him opposite himself—separated by an altar filled with candlesticks and ritual vessels. Under their knees was a rough burlap cushion, stuffed with unwashed wool.

When the Selection Ceremony was first held, children could only wear linen robes, be barefoot, and kneel directly on the ground. Regardless of whether they chose a day, the sweltering Saint Eusebius Memorial Day (August 2nd) or the Epiphany (January 6th) like Baldwin, it was all like this.

But after a period of time, women came out crying and begging, worried that their children hadn't received the favor of the saints before they returned to God's feet to enjoy happiness. The chaplains were helpless and had to make a little concession, allowing a cushion or something to be prepared for the children when holding the ceremony, but the materials used could not be too luxurious.

The cushion under Cesar and Baldwin's knees, even an ordinary shepherd could take it out, but it was stuffed full of wool, and the size was even larger than the one under the king's knees. A short boy could completely curl up on it and take a nap.

"Does anyone really do that?" Cesar asked curiously. If someone fell asleep during mass, they would definitely have to buy indulgences, or be beaten on the bench.

"I don't know," Baldwin said. "But if you ask, regardless of whether they were selected or not, they would inevitably tell you how they spent a grueling and difficult day and night—harassed by countless demons, interrogated by countless saints, and completely relying on a strong, pious, and pure heart to support themselves until the door opened."

Cesar thought about it and could only say so.

"I'll only tell you..." Baldwin whispered: "I didn't tell the teacher about this, nor did I tell my father, but after taking the teacher's potion, I really saw the devil."

"What kind of devil?"

"... A leper exactly like me—covered in sores, with missing limbs."

Cesar wanted to hold Baldwin's hand. Baldwin reached out, but the altar was too big, and they could only touch each other's fingertips. "When I saw it, I wasn't afraid instead. It intimidated me, saying that this was my future—destined to die miserably in pain and despair, alone, without a single person by my side—but I immediately said, I still have you, you will definitely be by my side."

"The devil is the best at lying," Cesar said. "You will become a knight, you will also become a king, and I will always be by your side."

"Even if I drive you away, don't go."

"Even if you drive me away, I won't go."

Baldwin laughed happily, and then cautiously took out two small fish bladders tied with hair and waxed.

When holding the "Selection Ceremony," the selected person could not wear weapons, jewelry, or fine clothes, and could only wear the simplest linen robe. The robe only reached the knees and had no belt.

For the sake of caution, Heraclius didn't even put the potion in a glass bottle, but used the fish bladder of a deep-sea fish. This fish bladder, after being processed, could hold a little liquid, and the user could swallow it whole, leaving no trace.

Cesar hesitated for a moment, and Baldwin saw his thoughts. "If it were anything else, I could indulge you..." But not this time.

Baldwin watched Cesar take the fish bladder. "Baldwin, my friend," Cesar said: "If something happens..."

"Are you worried about those enemies in the dark," Baldwin interrupted him: "They might have other means, but we are in the Temple."

"The knights of the Templar, Holy Sepulchre, and Hospital Orders are all here, and my father, the King of Jerusalem, is also here, and under the gaze of Jesus Christ and the saints, what can they do?"

"But if you didn't swallow the potion to protect me, if you were selected, that would be fine, but if you weren't selected—my remorse would be endless, even if I stood before God, my first tear would definitely be shed for this."

Cesar had no choice but to swallow the potion.

Before the potion took effect, Baldwin was still instructing him, "Pray, pray. If you really cannot believe in a certain saint, then treat him as your teacher and love him. Remember, before the saint, you are like a transparent crystal. He can see you clearly, so, rather not believe than lie... absolutely do not try to deceive the saint!"

Baldwin's voice gradually faded away. Heraclius was indeed a chaplain proficient in medicine. Although Cesar still didn't know what kind of effect these potions could exert until now, the side effects produced after taking the potion were visibly reduced. You know, there were no instruments and reagents available now.

Baldwin saw the devil disguised as himself in a hallucination, but Cesar had never been able to see his familiar past and people in a hallucination. Was it that this world didn't allow it, or had his subconscious always been strictly following his orders—preventing all possibilities of exposure?

But this time, Cesar clearly felt that something was coming toward him.

——————

Cesar lost consciousness. He felt as if he could still feel the existence of his body, but it had long since lost its relationship with his soul; he tried to find the right way out in a group of chaotic lines, but they gathered and dispersed from time to time, always unable to form the objects he recognized; countless sounds rushed into his body like a tide, making him swell in the noise, and then disappear in an instant, leaving a soft void...

He seemed to see—was that the saint Heraclius once spoke of? That body seemed to be composed of light and mist, unable to see the facial features and contours, but for no reason, he felt a strong impulse. He had to catch up with it, had to talk to it, had to...

There were more and more light and shadows. They walked in front of him, seemingly slow but as if flying or flashing. He couldn't catch up with them, and couldn't even touch them...

Wait for me!

He shouted. A voice—perhaps it could be said so, because it appeared directly in his mind—it said, quick, quick, come, we have to catch up with Him!

Catch up with whom?

The Lord of all nations!

Whom?

He made the desert gush out great rivers, He made steel grow flowers, He made silt condense into roads, He made city-states shatter into sand, He made lions and sheep coexist, He carried thunder, He held light in his hands, no one could be higher than Him, no one could be more just than Him, and no one could be more powerful than Him—quick, follow me, let us follow Him, let us enjoy peace in His kingdom!

Tell me His name!

His holy name is...

————————

Cesar felt empty beneath him, as if falling from a great height to the ground. The hard and cold touch told him that he had just fallen on the stone slab in front of the altar, but he still felt pain as if his body had been shattered, and his memory was intermittent. He didn't know whether he was "selected" or not—he gasped for breath, his fingers tightly clutching his throat. No, no! This wasn't a normal reaction!

Unless Heraclius brought the wrong potion, but even the first time, his reaction hadn't been so intense. Cesar turned over and couldn't help but want to vomit, but they hadn't had a drop of water the night before the ceremony, and only a bright trace remained on the ground.

He turned his head and wiped his face on his shoulder. He clearly felt his heart racing, as if it would jump out of his chest or throat at any time, so he didn't waste any extra strength and just crawled on the ground toward the other side of the altar. Baldwin was silent there, and the situation might be even worse than his—after a few breaths, he saw Baldwin lying on his back, tilting his head, unconscious.

Cesar pulled off Baldwin's veil and opened his eyelids. Seeing those pupils that had shrunk to the size of a needle tip and didn't react even in the sudden light, he couldn't help but close his eyes.

He placed Baldwin on his knees, leaning against the altar, and used his fingers to grope for the candlestick placed on the altar—he almost couldn't hold it. Fortunately, before it ignited his robe, he blew out the candle, then bit off the candle with his teeth, revealing the sharp spikes on the candlestick. These spikes were used to fix candles, and because they were used frequently, these spikes were sharp and bright.

He used the spikes to prick his fingers until they bled, and after the fog in his head dissipated a bit, he went to prick Baldwin's fingers.

It took a while for Baldwin to wake up. He knew he might have made a mistake again and even implicated Cesar, but now wasn't the time for apologies. "Is... is it, what?"

"I..." Cesar was about to say, he didn't know, but suddenly, a strange smell awakened those memories that had been forced to sleep.

Every young doctor had seen, smelled, and touched those things that only needed a little bit to turn people into beasts and devils instantly, because their profession was special and they could come into contact with some strong painkillers, which were easily targeted by some people with ulterior motives. In the past cases, there was no lack of doctors who were careless and had their blank prescriptions and passwords taken away by friends, leading to their imprisonment.

"It is..." he said breathlessly: "I smelled... the scent of... poppy..." He was looking up at the lights, although they weren't that brilliant, they were bright enough to hurt his eyes, those large lamp racks, small lamp racks...

He had seen servants lower the lamp racks to clean them in the castle. These lamp racks were fixed with bowl-shaped lamp holders. Adding olive oil and twisting on the lamp wick could burn for a long time.

If someone didn't add olive oil, but ointment made from those sinful fruits...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 40 =====