Somewhere in Alton
1301 CE

I have seen the world change, and with the privilege of knowledge, I have read too. It’s always an isolated incident which changes the course of anything, be it war, a sailing ship, or an ordinary life. It’s only after you have survived the aftermath, you realize why it all happened, and why it was so important to God to write that detail in our books. Recently, I have come across many of such incidents. I was wondering if God was amusing himself with my story, given that I was now stuck in his house.

I was hiding in the church’s cellar, when I heard a hurried voice, “Follow me” said a timid looking man offering his hand. “Why?”, I asked, not certain if it was an enquiry or a demand. “I will tell you later, let us go”, he rapped out the words and pulled me up, forcing me towards the door. I could feel my head become lighter as I stood up to walk, after hours of sitting in the same position. The way that he was dressed, I could tell he was a peasant. I had learned to speak only when asked to, learnt it the hard way. “Why?” I asked again one last time in an attempt to seek answers. “I believe you would do the same for someone in need one day. You seem like a good man,” he whispered, hastening to get the two of us out of the church, someplace safe. “What’s your name?” I asked quietly as we entered a small hut. “Orvyn Payne” he said while holding the door for me.

Orvyn is a good lad, hard working. He looks after his old mother, his father had succumbed to illness. He was in love with a woman, an old friend of his, but she was forced to marry one of the guards of the land for the sake of her family. “A bad curse is upon me, I shall not have friends,” he said. I pitied the fool, because lately, I was the curse for anyone around me. “I am afraid you will have to look out for yourself now, everyone will be hunting you down,” I said. “Don’t be afraid, if anything should happen to me, it shall be for the greater good,” He paused, “and you shall look after my mother for me.”

Seeing his trust and devotion reminded me of someone else. Someone I couldn’t get to, someone I had lost forever. Only if I knew it was going to come down to this, I wouldn’t have made the promises, never given the hope. Yet here I am, hiding inside a peasant’s hut, counting my days, counting his days, and now, his mother’s too.

—

I still remember the day when it all started. “A plague is coming,” I announced, “everyone will perish. We have to save ourselves, kill all the rodents.” “How do you know?” asked a voice amongst the crowd. “I have seen it, in a few years, most of the bloodlines will end.” I should have stopped to think about what I just said, but in the excitement, I spoke the truth. “It’s a wicken,” another person shouted. “Pagan!” and many such chants followed against me. I tried to calm them down, trying to douse the fire with fuel. “He must be tried before the church,” a woman suggested. Everyone seemed to loudly agree on that, as they all shouted and screamed, my cries drowned by their violent belief of assumptions. I tried to fight and run, but I couldn’t fight the hundred of them all alone. I was thrown into the church’s cellar, to be tried the next morning. I am sure I was being guarded from the outside, I could hear the rustles and the mumbling voices.

Just around midnight, when the moon was at the zenith, Orvyn came to me like the guardian angel Michael, who had descended to redeem me. “Some believe in you, I am one of them,” he told me after supper. “If you can risk your life trying to help the ones who haven’t been born, we can listen to your reason.”

The reason was much more complicated than he thought. I was no wicken, I didn’t know any magic. I was just a scholar from the future, stuck here because of an accident. An accident that was born out of desperation.

Orvyn brought a few friends with him the next day. “These men believe in you, Wysten,” he said, “this is Jeremiah and Burkhard.” They all gave me a brief bow as he introduced each of them. “They have some questions you might have to answer.” “I will answer with all honesty,” I assured. Burkhard was the first to ask, “Who are you really?”. I had given it enough thought, and I had decided to give it to them straight, “I am a clerk, from the future. I studied in Durham but I came across a journal. It had a spell which was to help me go back in time. I was supposed to go somewhere else, but I am here now, amongst you. I thought, since I am here, I might as well do some good. Believe me, I am not lying, I don’t have any powers and I don’t know any magic. I thought I would lie to you, but you came to me in faith, with trust. If I didn’t respect that, it would hurt you as well as me in the days that will pass.”

They all stared at me, as if they had seen a ghost. I was skeptical and ready to flee. I had gathered enough information of my whereabouts now, staying with Orvyn had given me some strength and time to think. Eager to hear a response, I asked, “Men, what is it going to be?”. This snapped them out of their trance. “I don’t understand, are you an angel?” asked Jeremiah. He seemed like someone who was looking for a miracle, just like Orvyn, just like me. “No, I am a man, like you,” I replied with a slight smirk, “but I know about the future. I have the knowledge of what is to happen, when it will happen and how it will happen. I want to help everyone I can with this knowledge.”

“But why?” asked Burkhard. “Does God want to redeem us? Deliver us from evil?”. I thought about it for a while, and said, “Yes”.

—

A few days passed, I spectated from inside as it wasn’t safe for me to roam freely. If I am seen, it would put Orvyn and others in danger as well. I will be doomed at first sight as it is. The whole village was looking for me, including the guards. A knight named Sir Christopher was the provincial master, and he was a Templar. There was no way that a Templar would allow heretics like myself to exist on his land. I noticed that the cavalry was going in each and every house, making inquiries about me, hunting for me. I knew I had to do something to get Orvyn out of the line of danger. I already owed him a lot, I couldn’t ask for more. I was about to walk towards the woods, when his mother saw me. I looked back, frozen for a moment. We both exchanged glances, she knew I was supposed to stay inside, that I was to be kept safe. On the other hand, I knew their lives mattered a lot more than mine. I was a mistake, a literal tragedy. They were just peasants trying to earn their bread in these times.

I went close to her, making sure nobody saw me. “Mother,” I kissed her hand and kneeled before her as I spoke, “I have to go, for the good of you and your son. I will never forget what your family has done for me, but this is my burden to bear. I can’t let you have any of it. I know because I had a mother too, and I won’t see her now, but Orvyn and you deserve to be together. I am a mere tragedy, thou shalt nat be afraid.” I bowed down to accept her blessing and take my leave. All of a sudden, she started to cough and nearly collapsed, had I not held her in time. I looked around to see if I was being watched, then I carried her inside and laid her on the bed. I wanted to call for Orvyn but it would raise a lot of suspicion. I held her hand, comforting her on Orvyn’s behalf, getting her water. “God will bless you, my son,” she said, in a pained voice. I tried to keep her relaxed, and she tried her best to breathe. Orvyn entered the hut and stood at the gate, trying to process the situation. I looked at him and asked him to come over quickly.

“O mother, why now?” he begged, tears in his eyes. “It’s all God’s will, my son,” she whispered. She breathed her last, holding on to Orvyn’s hands. I could feel her soul depart from her body as she looked coldly into the blank space. Orvyn let out a moan of pain, collapsed into my shoulders. I wish I could explain it to him that we shared a similar pain, but I was too numb again. I had lost too many people already. That’s what made the two of us so similar. We had nothing to lose now, other than ourselves.

—

After his mother’s last rites, we only had each other. I couldn’t help in farming, but I used my skills to help with work back home. He didn’t have any visitors, so I didn’t have to worry about getting caught off guard. Jeremiah would come over sometimes, would share a supper too. “Somebody betrayed us,” Orvyn rushed inside one day, “the cavalry is coming here for you as we speak.” My spine ran cold and I could feel the first drops of sweat at the end of my eyebrows. “You must run or hide, we don’t have much time. I will distract them maybe,” he rushed outside. “Orvyn, no…” I tried to stop him but it was too late, he had drifted away to catch the attention of the cavalry. As soon as they took the bait, he disappeared into the fields. I couldn’t see him but the cavalry was catching up to him. What have you done, brother. I sneaked out of the house towards the woods when I was stopped by Jeremiah. “Come with me, brother. You need to be kept safe.”

“Who did this?” I asked, hyperventilating. “I am not aware, but I heard rumors that Orvyn was housing you. Whoever spread the rumor, must have seen you. Orvyn never mentioned you to anyone other than me or …”, “Burkhard,” I cut him off before he could say his name. “He betrayed us.” I could sense Jeremiah’s muscles getting tense. “What do we do now?” he asked frantically. “We shall get Orvyn and get out of here at the earliest,” I said, “Can you arrange for 3 horses?”. “I shall try,” he took a deep breath,” but where will we go?”. “Italy”, I said sharply, “it is far in the South East direction, we will have to cross the sea.”

His small face had shrunk further, I reckoned he didn’t know about Italy or the sea. I motivated him to get moving with confidence. He sprung into action, clearing his mind, then his face and finally walking out as if nothing had happened. Interesting piece he is, indeed.

—

Only if I knew it would all come down to this, I would have fought Orvyn away at the church itself. I would have run away before I entered his home. I would have asked him to flee with his mother. Now, neither of us have anything left. Jeremiah brought me the news of his demise. I know who did it, and yet… When will this ever stop? When will we stop losing our friends, the ones we love?

Only Jeremiah remained, he was the sole ray of hope in this perpetual fever dream. “It shall be good, brother Wysten, he made his peace with life. Let it be easy on your heart, your mind,” he said. “I can’t fight anymore, Jeremiah,” I screamed, weeping uncontrollably. “Now, brother, think before you speak. You have a bigger purpose. You have to make sure the sacrifices that we have made don’t go in vain.”

You are right. It ends tonight. I am ending it.

—

Today, I have finally figured out what to do. I have planned out my intentions, and through God’s grace and will, I shall execute it. Jeremiah has arranged for the horses. “The two of us will have to escape Alton, this land of Sir Christoph, for good. Once assured, we will move through the forest. We don’t have much time, and if we follow the chartered course, we can reach Italy.” Just before the exile. If anything should happen to me, Jeremiah will carry the message. He will make sure that we live through the centuries, for it is necessary, I know that now. Too many people have tried to suppress this for centuries.The knowledge, the potential, the purity, shall become immortal through time. Dante is the only way. This conquest is the only reason why I have to live this nightmare again and again, because if I don’t, everything will fall into the hands of the church, once and for all.

Our horses galloped through the woods and the plains, as far as the land stretched. I had never seen so much of nature at once in my whole life. I just wished I could lay here and spend an eternity with Beatrice. We would talk about our day in the gardens of Durham, sharing some coffee, maybe some snacks. “We need more trees,” she would say, and I couldn’t agree more. Now seeing all this green, I wished she was here to see it. She would have enjoyed this place; maybe a little lesser because of the life that follows.

I heard the neighing of horses echoing through the woods, but these weren’t our own. The cavalry was closing in. “Jeremiah, halt for a moment,” I said boldly. We stopped and got closer to each other. I handed him my journal, “You have to look for a man called Dante Alighieri, in the city of Florence. Hand this to him and tell him this, ‘interpretare e compilare’. He will know what to do,” I turned my horse in the opposite direction, towards the bolting cavalry. “I will buy you some time.”

“But brother, you are needed …”, he stopped when I stared back at him. “We don’t have much time Jeremiah, get on the ship and do what I said. Don’t let our brothers’ sacrifice go in vain.” He nodded, comprehending my intentions correctly. He galloped towards the docks. Once I knew he was gone, I started to race back towards the cavalry. Long live the truth.

My journal was filled with my story, all the secrets I plundered from Sir Christopher’s chests and the near future of the wars and the plague. It has all the spells, even the altered ones which I am supposed to read in the future. Now, Dante has to just encode and write the necessary information in his journal now. Jeremiah will find solace there, he is a kind soul, and I left enough material for him to learn, he will lay the foundations for the New Order with Dante and the Teutonic Order. These sacrifices shall live through the centuries, up to the day I discover them again, ripping it all open for the world to see. Everyone will know the true power of God.