Ancient Tome

* Find in Ashbury Castle during quest Healthy Carrier.

## Description

A thick tome containing many pages of William Marshal's memoirs.

1217
An angel came to me... Blessed be to God! Michael appeared to me last night in all his
glory, shaped in glorious blood, to grant me eternal life at the dusk of my life. (...) The
apparition was so sublime and terrible that I could not help but lower my head and close
my eyes. Struck by the divine gift, I fell to the ground, only to awake the next night. "You
will serve me as you served your kings", said the angel before striking me with all his
power. "You will protect this land through the eons to come". (...) For all who knew me, I
should now hide and retreat, for they consider me dead. Soon, I will leave the company
of men to serve my new purpose. Blessed be God!

1350
Michael appeared to me last night in my retreat under Temple Church and asked me to
prepare for battle. The land must be saved. Death is everywhere. The Black Death. An
epidemic sent by the Devil himself to punish mortals all over the world. My arm is
strong. In the name of God, I shall smite the enemies of mankind. England shall prevail.

1569
It is almost twenty years since my fight started against the Devil and the end is uncertain.
From time to time, the plague, the Black Death reappears in a village, in a town, and
each time the vicious minions of Hell approach to get their share of the mortals suffering.
Vampires. Dreadful creatures. I won't let this land collapse. Until my last breath. I'll serve
and protect England.

1578
Tonight, in the small village of Hoddesdon. I met the most delicate soul I've seen for a
long time. She was singing for the dead, singing for those she knew and loved, those
killed by a new plague outbreak, without fearing for her own life. Her voice moved me
so I chose to let her live. I offered her eternal life as a reward for her virtue and most
pious attitude. Her name is Elisabeth Englewood. I'm not alone anymore. Together, we
shall praise God in all His glory, for the eons to come.

1618
My heart is breaking. My soul is bleeding. Tonight, my dear Elisabeth left me. I have
taught her I knew: all she needed to know. Now, she must walk her own path through
the ages. This is her wish and I will respect it. (...) Elisabeth Englewood, my sweet
daughter, is gone, for she now wants to be known as Elisabeth Blackwood. I made her a
promise: if she ever comes back to Hoddesdon, she will find me there, managing The
Bull Innher parents owned before dying. (...) William Marshal shall disappear for a few
times too now that the Black Death is no more. Until we meet again. I shall be known as
William Thorne, waiting for my angel to come back.

1665
The Devil is at work again. The Great Plague is back, reaping thousands of lives in
London. I must sell the Bull Inn and go there. Once more, William Marshal shall protect
the land.

1666
What have I done? I let the Devil infect me. God, forgive me! The terrifying creature I
had to defeat was a demon straight from Hell, an abomination of the flesh, a walking
Apocalypse. I had to trap the dreadful creature in Saint Paul's church and set the
building on fire. Without the advice of Michael. I don't know if I could have defeated my
enemy. The flames cleansed the city of the demon's presence, but half of London burnt
down. Ever since, I have dreamt of a red flood, of slaughter and rage. It's like the
Disaster had tainted my blood, my very soul. For the first time in centuries, I am afraid. I
shall crawl back to my retreat, and pray to God for mercy for my infected soul.

1667
Elisabeth came to me. She said she felt my pain and rushed to save me. My poor
daughter. Blinded by rage, intoxicated by the blood of hate, I bit her... She fled, shocked
by my betrayal. I laughed and cried as she cursed me. God, have I betrayed you? Have
you abandoned me?

1712
My prayers have been heard. I have found the strength to resist the need for blood. The
never-ending hunger. My poor Elisabeth, will you ever forgive me? I've heard you now
kill and take pleasure in bloodbath with this new progeny of yours. You're a victim in all
this. What have I done? I swear I will find a way to make amends for what I have done to
you. I swear I shall only rest once I know how to appease the blood of hate.

1785
The Brotherhood of the Saint Paul's Stole finally agreed to meet me in London (...) They
proposed to meet inside the new cathedral of Saint Paul. I like the wit and solemnity of
these men. What a symbol, to choose the place where I defeated this Disaster, but also
the place where I fell. I agreed to their proposition (...) There, in the sacred silence of the
church and under the eye of God, they respectfully listened to me. They acknowledged
my victory against this evil creature, the Dus-Astro, the "eater of stars" who only wished
to spread death and pestilence all around her. Since they acknowledged my will to save
London in 1666, they heard my request, my burning desire to stop the blood of hate.
Their Primate promised to come back to me with an answer (...) The Primate of Saint Paul
wrote back to me with just a name: the Tear of Angels. According to him, this ancient
artefact could heal anything. Cleanse any blackened soul and purify my blood. Blessed
be the Lord, it took me more than a hundred years to find a cure for the blood of hate.
but I may finally have found it. Soon, the rage shall end. Soon, I may repair the wrong I
did and cleanse my failures. Now all I need to do is retrieve the necessary ingredients to
create the artefact (...) Blood of the purest heart mixed with the blood of a king... To find
such rare ingredients is not what worries me the most, for time is on my side. It's the last
part that worries me: pure essence of garlic. I'm afraid it will literally hurt like hell when I
drink the antidote. But if that's the price to pay to cleanse my soul and correct my
mistakes, I am ready to endure this excruciating pain.

1786

I finally managed to gather all the ingredients needed to concoct the Tear of Angels:
Blood of the purest heart for the fortitude, Blood of a king for courage, Garlic essence,
for the painful cleansing. After months of impatience, almost made mad by the hunger. I
waited again and again, until finally Elisabeth cautiously came to me. As promised, I had
chained myself to be sure I would not attack her again. I did not recognize my sweet
daughter at first, for she only was Lady Blackwood now, the dreadful mistress of the
dark who took delight in slaughter and carnage in France. She smirked as I spologized
and cried for what I had inflicted to her. She shouted at me when I tried to explain to her
that my bite had infected her, had given her the blood of hate, now burning in her veins,
in her soul. I told her I have found a cure, and that I had managed to create one dose of
antidote... I gave it to her, to give her back her preivous peaceful life. In exchange, I only
asked her to take care of me, for I intended to be locked down in my tomb, chained if
necessary, to impeach me from feeding on any mortal or immortal. She reluctantly took
the Tear of Angels and left. I hope to see her again soon, cured and at peace.

1794
She came back to me finally. Cured. Healthy. Joyful. My Elisabeth. She told me she had
drunk the antidote about a year ago in France, after witnessing - and taking part in - the
massacre of an entire orphanage caused by the blood of hate. That's when the Lady
Blackwood died, she said. She promised she would take care of me, now. That's all I ask
as I repent for all the murdered souls caused by my negligence of more than a hundred
years.

1795
My dearest daughter came back last week to tell me the good news. She has recently
bought a castle in Scotland. She will soon finance the renovation of the castle crypt to
provide me a new retreat. Far from temptation, far from the noisy, crowded cities. I can't
wait to embrace the solitude. Find the peace I need to refrain from killing. God, please
give me the strength to resist the urges during the journey from London to my new
domain. Before I leave, I should give a copy of these memoirs to the Brotherhood of
Saint Paul's Stole, without the most shameful and sensible information, of course. Soon, I
shall leave London to pursue my penance. There, I shall find peace at last, with the
support of my resuscitated Elisabeth.

## References

1. ↑ Maybe a fun fact, but Herts Memories has an article about "The Bull Inn" in Hoddesdon which was run by a William Thorne in 1618!