Shrouded Piety: Order of Yaktosh - Chapter 3

**Chapter 2 <** **| > Chapter 4**

Now back in the Crusader settlement of Acre, 1250 AD, a fierce debate stirs the Order of the Templar Knights over how to handle the placement of Suri. Her existence as a woman appears to violate the laws of the Order, which strictly prohibits contact with women, especially within the walls of that very holy order. Now under Grand Master de Vichiers, Suri finds herself temporarily housed under the Templar, despite the rule. One faction would simply seek to have Suri expelled from Acre at once; another believes that the decision rests in the hands of the pope in Rome--not the Templar Grand Master or any jury of men. Another faction sides with the will of the Grand Master, even at the expense of their comfort. Suri's place in all of this is that of a confused and illiterate time traveler, as it were, with her French learning going very slowly, and her only true translation coming from the barely comprehensible mouth of the knight Sir Egbert, who now finds himself more or less a mentor to the Crimean Goth amidst an ocean of tension in the Order...

## Chapter Reading

== Chapter 3 – Forbidden One =

A large room of manly voices fought one another in fierce argument over a single controversial matter. Every man was dressed the same in white, some more aged than others, and in one way or another was branded with the red cross of the Templar Order. They all wore the same clothes and raised the sword under the same God in Heaven, but on this fair day in the land of Acre, Jerusalem, a debate stirred a storm within the halls of Templar headquarters.

The chamber that this debate was hosted in featured three podiums, flanked by a cross-shaped window that dominated the position of Grand Master de Vichiers. To his side was Baldrick, and to his other side another high-ranking member, Bérard. The three men oversaw the raging debate among members with contempt and stress, so much chaos existing among men that the debate speakers could hardly be heard.

Despite the chaos in the chamber, the knight who held the floor appealed to the Grand Master, “… and so I state under the judgment and record of God my opinion, for the sixth week in a row, that the Grand Master of the Order, respectfully, does not carry the authority to contradict the agreed upon oath that women be kept separate from the Order. No exceptions!” Those many who did hear this reacted in a variety of manners raging from applause to outrage. “This issue *demands* the intervention of the Holy Father, if the issue is to continue tearing our sacred order apart!”

An unrecognized speaker shouted, “No women!”

“The woman is an agent of destruction to the order we deem necessary on Earth!” another supported.

“Summon Rome!”

Another responded, “No Rome! Banish her now!”

Vichiers said to the recognized speaker, “The issue remains that given the unorthodox nature of Suri, that her status of being a mere ‘woman’ is questionable. The Order has not taken in a simple woman, but instead an anomaly once supported by a holy Father Modestus.”

“Send her to Rome!” an angry knight shouted.

The recognized speaker played on this, “Yes, if you will not seek the wisdom of the Vatican, then is it not at least there in Rome this woman should be? Rather than provoking chaos here in the walls of the Templar?” Before de Vichiers could answer, he added, “Why is this special woman among men and broadswords of all places?”

Finally, the quieter faction of knights in the room became louder, “Shut up and step down! The Grand Master is the Order’s authority, not the pope!”

One, however, retorted, “The pope supersedes the authority of the Grand Master!”

“But the pope has not raised any issue with the conduct of the Order!”

An especially aggravated member of this faction shouted with saliva out the mouth, “The Grand Master has always dictated the ways of the Order! You are all traitors against the order that keeps the Templar whole!”

“Tradition!” someone screamed.

“No women!”

“Preservation! Protect the Grand Master’s authority!”

“Send her to Rome!”

“Send her back to Crimea!”

“The pope’s authority is first and final!”

“She is a woman!”

Grand Master de Vichiers closed his eyes and sighed as objects came to be thrown around the chamber, opening small and mild brawls between knights. Baldrick poked at his inner cheek and slowly looked over at the Grand Master with slight distress. Bérard leaned toward the Grand Master with an unimpressed look.

“Grand Master, we have been having this debate for nearly a month now. Just look at the chaos that bringing this Suri has caused.” The three men gazed upon the shouting and fighting going on between large groups of holy men and could each agree that things had escalated too far. “If this issue persists, a schism of the Templar is but inevitable. We can’t sustain this debate, it’s time to decide.”

Vichiers turned to Baldrick, who offered his own thoughts, “You’re enjoying a lot of support—mine and Bérard’s included—but there is no one left here to persuade, everyone in this chamber has made up their mind and is sticking to it.”

With all of this in mind, de Vichiers stepped forward and raised both his hands into the air.

“Knights of God’s Templar! I have reached a decision!” In time, all chaos in the chamber reluctantly settled with anticipation for an inevitably controversial decision. “I have heard for weeks now the concerns of members over the rescuing of Suri of Yaktovus. It is and always has been true: No women in the Order, or more to the point, no women *for* the Order. Women are a wonderful gift from God, but one we knights must never know.” He still had the chamber quiet to this point. “This woman, Suri, although a woman, is not the kind of situation we had under consideration when declaring the rules of this Order… yet I cannot command anyone to see it from this perspective, and so I shall make no attempt to. If you do not agree to being in the presence of Suri, it shall not be so.” This decision was respected by the chamber with continued silence, and for a moment, seen as the conclusion to the issue. “But Suri will not be leaving our hospitality, not yet. Those who share my perspective on the matter are permitted to share the same room as her, but never to enjoy her in any way.” Vichiers patrolled the chamber audience with strict eyes. “Those who do not share my perspective needn’t worry, for Suri Yaktovus is forbidden from ever falling into your gaze. She will remain only in the furthest south section of the headquarters and no further. If you do not consent to even the sight of her, stay away.”

The Grand Master immediately turned around without even the slightest effort at a proper conclusion, taking himself away from the now silenced scene with haste. Baldrick and Bérard hesitantly followed, therefore putting a presumed end to the chamber debate. Every knight left in the chamber, surprisingly, now fell rather silent and civil to the declaration, not everyone in agreement, but no one ready to throw a fit at each other like before.

On a hot march away from the chambers, Baldrick and Bérard eventually caught up with the Grand Master, with the latter quick to critique the decision.

“You’re segregating the Templar? Do you really think that’s the best solution to this issue?”

Baldrick chimed in, “Considering the desperate situation in the Holy Lands, dividing our knights may do us more harm than good.”

But de Vichiers defended, “It is a temporary division, and I would argue a rather inconsequential one.” He opened a door, entering the exact southern section he now forbade from most knights. “Suri will not be here forever, and the knights can still live amongst each other freely. But if they cannot tolerate Suri, then they will need to socialize in another part of the castle. I never said that recovering Suri would come without some bite…”

Finally, he opened a much smaller door, and upon doing so immediately found Suri sitting at a chair and desk with Egbert. Suri was no longer in her traditional Gothic garb, but now clothed in a very bland single tan robe and hair that was incredibly long and unmaintained. Suri had no access to tools for doing her hair, and no one in the Order would dare touch her, let alone her hair.

“Hello,” Suri greeted in French. “Good day. How are you doing? Thank you.”

Vichiers nodded to the Crimean, “I am good, Suri. Thank you.”

“Thank you, goodbye.” Suri gave him a rehearsed bow, heavily exaggerated.

Egbert asked, “I will presume the debate continues?”

Baldrick stretched and groaned, “No, it’s settled.”

“Oh?”

The Grand Master spoke for himself, “Indeed, it is settled. Suri will stay, but those who do not agree are forbidden from stepping forth in this direction of the castle.”

Egbert raised his brows, “Oh!?”

Bérard, even through his own disapproval defended, “It is a temporary edict.”

Egbert laughed without a smile, “If ‘temporary’ is contingent on Suri’s education, you can forget about that edict ending in our lifetime.”

“Why? What’s the matter? She sounds great, you’re doing a great job,” Bérard complimented.

“Are you joking? Listen to her.” Egbert turned to Suri, “Suri, how old are you?”

Suri thought for a moment, and without any expression replied, “More than four.”

“That’s not so bad.”

Egbert rolled his eyes, “Suri, what is your favorite food?”

She quickly answered, “I drink salt.”

Everyone in the room looked to de Vichiers—including Suri moments later. The Grand Master lowered his brows, “What?”

Egbert stood up and lectured, “Grand Master, this is not working at an efficient pace. I understand that you want to personally civilize Suri into this modern age, but goodness, we need help! Suri needs a *real* teacher.”

“Suri has a real teacher. You understand her native language.”

“*Barely!*”

“And you understand where she is from, you can help contextualize for her.”

Egbert smirked, “You credit me far too much, Grand Master.”

The Grand Master further complimented, “I trust you more than any man in the world to make a modern woman out of her. Help her understand us, and she will help us understand her, and then, perhaps… something greater…”

Baldrick wondered with genuine wonder, “What?”

“Everyone has a purpose in this world, but we all have only so many years to fulfill it.” Vichiers clarified, “Suri’s purpose is requiring of far greater than a few decades, it would seem, and we must help her discover it.”

Baldrick then wondered as well, “And what if that purpose is for evil?”

The Grand Master shook, “Consult God, and know this to not be the case.”

Suri blinked aimlessly to the entire conversation, only picking up bits and pieces of the entire conversation, all the while she held onto the necklace hidden down her dress.

About three days later, the castle would calm down from its tense period of debate and resume regular monastic duties. As the Templar were not currently active on any military mission against the Muslim world at this time, a regular day mostly saw the knights offering prayers, knowing and embracing scripture, readying their horses, and maintaining their bodies in the name of health and Order.

One knight on this day idled about in a southern chamber, surrounded by several fellow knights, and was performing a mental checklist duty by himself. The man had a hand to his uncut beard and remained perfectly still in thought for the entire process, only his eyes moving in-sync with his thoughts.

“Josse.”

The concentrated knight broke out of his processing trance and turned his head. A fellow knight had entered the chamber with the quick intention of approaching his companion.

“Garnier,” he greeted back with a nod.

“I was surprised that you of all people would pass on exercising your stead this morning.” Josse reacted to this with a strict cross of his arms, as if offended by the comment. “What possibly could have distracted you from your favorite time of day?”

“Amusing you should ask,” Josse noted, “I asked that stutter-tongued one, err… Roul, to care for my horse today. A good lad he is to help me.”

“Ah?”

“Indeed. But my absence was not unwarranted. Piers… the one who sleeps below you, he missed yesterday’s reading due to the Devil dealing a cheater’s blow to his gut. Responsibility for his correction came upon me, so I had Roul care for my horse while I read Piers up to speed.”

Garnier nodded, “Well, then I know he appreciates the service.”

“Ah, but the poor fellow had but a single meal these past two days, and his ailment very much revoked what much he did eat. Wickedness finds its way into the soul at the most inconvenient of -”

The sound of a door opening in the chamber interrupted most knights from their talk or acts, simply curious to investigate if the entering knight was anyone of greater reputation. He was indeed of such reputation; however, this was not the reason so many knights proceeded to gasp and grunt. The two knights who had just been talking both dropped their jaws and with tight stares.

Uncomfortable with the situation himself, a revealed Egbert looked away from his brethren and muttered a language no one recognized. The foreign tongue was not what disturbed everyone, rather it was the wild-haired Crimean woman now standing before a room of white-robed men with beards. Not a single man was left unafraid, and the feeling was reciprocated by Suri, who for an extended time remained still with hands behind her back and eyes wide.

Continued silence and awkward nature led Egbert to eventually wave at Suri, “Go, go. Speak.”

Suri looked back at Egbert, blinked, then looked again to the room. Already some men were shielding their gaze or actively ignoring Suri, others were even slowly inching toward the opposing door, looking to retreat from the scene. These were *all* knights who consciously chose to reside in the section of the castle where this controversial woman now lived, but her reveal was nevertheless very overwhelming to most.

Becoming a bit frustrated, Egbert again tried to speak the tongue of the Crimean Goths, and this finally pushed some success as Suri proceeded to step forward. Unfortunately for the two knights who had just been in the middle of discussion, Suri made direct eye contact and made a clear sign of interest in engaging the two.

“Oh, uh, uh…” Garnier looked around in a panic, “U—Uh..! Uh!” The next thing he knew, Suri was standing before him, a very short woman in contrast. “Oh. Uh…”

Suri swallowed her fear and spoke robotically, “Good day. How are you doing? Th-” she stopped herself short of a premature finish. “How are you doing?” she repeated.

Josse, despite appearing rude, took an approach of intentionally looking right over her head, thus refusing any visual contact with Suri. The same could not be said for Garnier, who was so stunned that he found himself staring directly into the woman’s bright pink eyes. He was doomed as far as hiding his fear went.

“I… I am well. Thank you for your concern… ‘Shuri.’”

Suri continued to speak robotically but with much more energy imposed, “My name is Suri Yaktovus. Thank you!”

Josse moved his eyes a different direction completely, having briefly spotted the tip of Suri’s hair, and by extension disturbing himself. Garnier had already reached his limit with Suri’s attempt at talk.

“Yes, Suri…” he swallowed and took a not-so-subtle retreat towards the door, “I must take leave!”

Suri blinked in startlement as not only did Garnier leave with haste, but so did his companion Josse. What was more, three other knights seized the moment to join in on the retreat, as well as four others who were now inching toward the door. Only a brave six men refrained from taking any retreating moves.

The emotional harm had already been dealt, despite the politeness of the men who chose to stand their ground. Following one loud gasp of hurt feelings, Suri yanked her necklace out from under her shirt and raised it up, what followed would put any remaining bravery in the room to bed.

In a matter of seconds, Suri’s necklace began to glow a blinding bright white, so much so that all the knights would be forced to shield their eyes by the sleeves of their clothes. Egbert was the only one in the room still trying to keep an eye on Suri.

“Wh- What the..!?”

It all happened so suddenly. One moment Suri had taken out her necklace and flashed everyone with it; the next thing anyone knew, Suri was gone, and her necklace fallen to the ground. No one had any clue what had just occurred, but Egbert had the slightest bit of context given his past experience with Suri in Crimea.

“Suri!”

Egbert charged forth and fell to a knee, collecting Suri’s necklace by the hold of a single hand, and dropping his jaw in astonishment. The necklace was cold despite the incredible energy it had just emitted seconds ago, and there was no hint of Suri anywhere.

“Suri! Where did you go!?” Egbert panicked. He shook the necklace around. “Suri! Hello? Suri! Suri!?”

A few minutes later, Grand Master de Vichiers threw his hands out and with both brows down furiously, “What do you mean Suri vanished!?”

Egbert presented the necklace to Baldrick, but said to Vichiers, “She panicked, then blinded us with her necklace, and finally disappeared.”

Baldrick examined the necklace for a few moments before declaring, “She must have fled the scene. Grand Master, we can’t let her run around the castle, you *just* declared to the Order that she would be restrained to the southern corners.”

But Egbert intervened, “Well, that’s the interesting part. I… don’t think she has gone anywhere.”

The Grand Master inquired, “How do you mean?”

“I… I think she *is* the necklace… or is in the necklace… invisible to the eye?” Egbert put a hand over Baldrick and pointed to the necklace, “I think she has some kind of control over how she is presented, and that necklace is some key to where she is.”

Baldrick raised the gold star for the two to take a better look at. “You think she opened some kind of door with this?”

“No. Well, actually, yes. It’s difficult…”

Grand Master Vichiers wondered, “Well, how do we get her back? Do not tell me we need to return to Yaktovus.”

“I hope not, but I really cannot say.”

The men all came to be silent for a time, each meditating on how to interpret the mystery. Of course, coming from a holy order, all three were on the same page to one end.

“How does the Bible inform us here?”

Baldrick beat Egbert to the punch, “There are very many links that could be made.”

Egbert, however, said, “But we do not know exactly where Suri went. It would be hard to draw any connections without first knowing where she went, and whether that necklace has anything to do with her disappearance.”

“Come now, Egbert. You do not think a blinding light followed by her disappearance is evidence enough?”

He took the necklace back from Baldrick and acknowledged, “We did witness her originally emerging from the spot of this necklace.”

This was all that needed to be said in order for Grand Master de Vichiers to raise a hand and assert, “If out she came from that relic, and back into it she went, then out from it she shall again come.” He looked Egbert in the eyes and commanded, “The necklace will be entrusted into your care. Pray multiple times a day for Suri’s safe passage back into His Earth.”

“But Grand Master, there are so many variables to consider. Does the necklace require direct sunlight for her to emerge? A particular prayer? The presence or lack of persons? We still do not know where she is.”

“Again, I entrust the necklace into your care. I trust that you will discover these answers.”

Egbert became loose for a moment, barely hiding his discouragement, “Very well…”

Later that night, Egbert stood by his private chambers with the Bible placed over a short table, Suri’s necklace before it, and the Templar himself down on a knee completing a nightly prayer. Despite the great attention that Suri’s necklace was being granted in this scene, it would take more than four minutes of rapid fire prayer before her name would come up. Important as the Suri mission was to him, he was a Templar and servant to God far before he was a caretaker for Suri.

“… and if by interacting with your creation, Suri, I should violate our Order’s oath to you, oh Lord, then shall you please let down your divine punishment so that I may know your designed path, so it must be, thus it shall be. Amen.”

Egbert remained on his knee and with hands together, but his eyes slowly dragged down from the holy book to Suri’s necklace. It remained cold, motionless, and its gold texture blending into the shadows of the otherwise dark room. Although he tried to maintain his professionalism through and through this situation, he could not fully combat his temper.

“Come now, Suri. Where did you go?” he lectured at the necklace. The knight picked it up but remained on a knee. “Where did you go? What do you want? How do I reach you? Deliver to me a sign!”

Nothing came from his lecture, which prompted even madder eyes from him. He began to shake the necklace around, impatient for some supernatural event to arise from silence.

“What is the point of this necklace!?” He shook it around some more. “What is it for? What does it do? Can I activate this somehow? Suri!”

His frustration was understandable. The Knights Templar were enduring a time of struggle in the tug-o-war over Jerusalem; Suri’s insertion into the Order’s halls only further escalated the time of struggle, for now she brought great division and therefore infighting to an otherwise well-mannered organization. Worst of all, after causing this division, Suri was nowhere to be found, making the entire drama all for nothing if she was not to return.

Knowing the stakes at hand, Egbert escalated his effort with a new approach. Again raising his voice at the necklace, he this time spoke his broken Crimean Gothic language, making demands of Suri that more than likely made no sense at all. He seemed to realize this, too, for following this Egbert stared down at the floor and released a heavy sigh of frustration.

“…I am shouting madness at a woman’s accessory. Have I lost all mind?”

That was all the effort—and embarrassment—he was willing to exert on this night. Without further ado, he released Suri’s necklace and turned to his bed without removing any of his clothing. For a man who had just endured a stressful status quo, Egbert would place a hand over his bed with a look of serenity about him, as if God had just relieved him of his troubles in an instant. With that, all would seem to dictate an end to an eventful day, but…

Just as Egbert had placed his rear over the bed, a shining light struck him from the corner of his eye, and he knew instantly to shield his eye from what would once again become blinding to the gaze.

“Oh, now what!?” Egbert panicked.

Suri’s necklace rose in the air, radiating immensely, so much so that a beam of light would shoot out of his window toward the night sky. Slowly, from the light, the figure of the Crimean Goth began to emerge from thin air from foot to head up until the necklace found itself secured around her neck once more. The light began to fade simultaneously as her bright pink eyes were revealed to Egbert. The knight was yet again left in shock by this supernatural occurrence.

“Suri!” he greeted with franticness.

Once the light completely settled, Suri looked down at her mentor and greeted back, “Good evening. How are you doi-”

Egbert surprised Suri by leaping to his toes and shouting, “Where did you go!?”

Suri gawked in place, dumbfounded by his question and energy. “Where did I go?”

“Yes!” Suri! Where have you been!?”

She still gawked still, computing what she had been asked. “Where did I go? I go…” she paused, clearly struggling to verbalize an answer. She instead pointed gently to her necklace. “Here, I go here. That is where I go to be alone.”

“Where!?”

Suri blinked, still confused. “Here,” she repeated, with a finger to her star and spear.

Egbert sought clarification, “Where is ‘here?’”

“Where is here. Where is here?”

“Yes!”

Suri became especially quiet, but somewhat pleased him by showcasing an obvious effort at hard thought. The Crimean was motionless and faceless for a lot of this thinking.

“Here is… empty.”

Egbert cupped a hand over his mouth, not pleased. “Empty? Is that good?”

“Empty good?” Suri again became silent, but this time she appeared to understand him. “I do not know.”

The man quirked his mouth, “Nonsense, sure you know. Is this empty place on Earth? Heaven? Hell?” Suri seemed especially surprised by this question; Egbert raised a brow, “Eh?”

“I do not know.”

The knight closed his eyes and sighed. “Well, are you okay?”

Suri cleared her throat, “I am well. Thank you. How are you?”

Egbert did not bother. “Look, I do not know where you went today, but you must be very tired. Let me lead you to your chamber.”

Very little of what Egbert said registered with Suri, who gave him a very puzzled look as he proceeded over to the door. His gesture for her to follow was self-explanatory to her, and so they left his private chamber together.

Finally, Suri was delivered back to her own chamber—about just as minimal in possessions as Egbert’s—and her immediate approach of the bed signaled that she had come to understand that this is her private chamber. She looked back and gawked at him once more.

“There, you’re all safe now,” Egbert claimed. “Thank the Lord.”

Suri nodded, “Thank you Jesus, Baphomet. I am safe. Thank you.”

Egbert leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, “There’s that word again…” he thought aloud with suspicion. “Can you try and explain to me what ‘Baphomet’ means again?”

No answer was given, only a finger to her necklace. This was not a new development to Egbert, however, given today’s events, it did give him a theory.

“Is ‘Baphomet’ the empty place?”

Suri felt for her chin in thought but did not answer.

“Not empty.”

“What?”

“The place…” she said pointing to her necklace, “It is not empty all of the time.” Egbert dropped his brows, really concentrating. “It is empty when she is not there. She is there every day, so, not empty.”

“She?” Egbert rubbed his own chin. “She is… Baphomet? Or..? Baphomet is the place?”

“I do not know.”

Egbert jested, “Neither do I.” After breathing in, Egbert turned around toward the door, “Goodnight, Suri.”

“Egbert.” This put the man’s hairs up in surprise and caused him to turn back around with a grunt. “You are Egbert.”

The knight nodded slowly, “So, you are catching on.”

“Goodbye, Egbert.”

The man took one last look at her, then with a parting nod, said nothing and went out the door, leaving Suri to herself yet again.

To be continued…

**Chapter 2 <** **| > Chapter 4**

## Chapter Summary

1. The chapter opens in a chamber within the Templar headquarters in Acre, where yet another episode of uncivil debate over Suri's future rages on. Grand Master de Vichiers and his supporters seek to keep Suri as a long term guest of the Templar Order so that they can come to understand her and potentially utilize her hidden talents for holy deeds. His opponents would rather see this matter settled by Pope Innocent IV, or more radically to just have Suri removed from their care without further attention to the matter.
2. This debate has raged for about a month without any progress, and so at the risk of dividing the Templar Knights over it, he decides to compromise by keeping Suri in this castle, but strictly confined to the most southern section of it. Knights may choose whether they allow themselves to interact with Suri or not in this section. This essentially segregates the Templar Order between those who are okay with being in Suri's presence, and those greater number of knights who make it forbidden to ever be in her presence.
3. Vichiers explains his edict to Egbert, who has been this past month educating Suri on speaking and reading French. Egbert was designated the role of being Suri's mentor due to him specializing in speaking a fraction of Crimean Gothic language.
4. Despite being the closest to Suri, Egbert stresses his opinion that Suri should be sent to an actual French tutor. He cites her slow progress in understanding French as evidence that her place in the Templar Order is a bad idea--causing division and turmoil while ultimately not creating much progress with her either.
5. Vichiers rejects Egbert's concerns, justifying the arrangement by pointing out that Suri is an immortal being with purpose that has not yet been realized, and that they must help her find the path there.
6. Days later, a different chamber in the southern side of the castle features knights conversing or attending to other less significant matters. On this day, Egbert decides it is time to put Suri's current French learning to the test, so he unveils her to allow her some social practice. Despite these all being knights who willingly chose to stay on the Suri side of the castle, most are petrified of her and start to shy away from the room.
7. Suri corners two knights and shyly attempts to converse with them, at first succeeding, but ultimately scaring the two knights away due to their fear of women. Suri, agitated and flustered, responds to this and the several other escaping knights by using her supernatural ability to disappear. Following a blinding light from her necklace, Suri disappears, leaving only her necklace behind on the ground.
8. Egbert, Baldrick, and the Grand Master debate briefly on how to handle the situation, and to this point in time are unsure of where Suri went. They quickly apply reasoning and figure that Suri has somehow intertwined herself with the necklace and is not far, though there also exists fear that she is back in Yaktovus, Crimea.
9. Once more, the Grand Master designates Egbert as responsible for Suri, even in her absence, and therefore entrusts him with figuring out the source and reasoning behind Suri's sudden disappearance. Egbert takes the necklace and goes off to investigate.
10. Much later that night, within his private chamber, Egbert conducts a lengthy prayer, and at the very end brings up the Suri situation, but also pleads for divine punishment if his relationship with Suri is deemed a sin. Following the prayer, Egbert demands that Suri present herself, and grows frustrated at trying to figure out how to activate the necklace as she had done.
11. None of his demands work, and finally, out of desperation, he makes a plea to her in Crimean Gothic to the best of his ability. This leads to no results, so Egbert decides to rest the issue for now and go to sleep. On his way to bed, however, the necklace once more glows, and Suri emerges from the light with the necklace again around her neck.
12. Egbert proceeds to interrogate the otherwise friendly Suri.
13. When asked where she went, Suri merely pointed to her necklace. She added the most minimal information that she goes here to be alone. When asked to expand on this, Suri vaguely details that the place she goes is 'empty.' When asked whether this place is good or bad, she answers that she does not know. When pushed on whether this place has attributes of Earth, Heaven, or Hell, Suri again answers that she does not know.
14. Giving up on this for now, Egbert takes the assumption that she is exhausted and leads her back to her own private chamber.
15. Upon returning Suri to her room, Egbert thanks Christ out loud, prompting Suri to similarly praise Christ, but also Baphomet. Egbert, having heard the word 'Baphomet' several times in the month he knew her, interrogates her yet again on what this means. Due to the poor communication, Suri misleads Egbert by pointing to her necklace, thus leading him to guess that Baphomet is a place, not a being.
16. Expanding on this possible lead, Egbert inquires if Baphomet is the empty place Suri claims to have been to. Interestingly, Suri backtracks a bit now and corrects herself, now explaining that it is not usually empty, because 'she' is usually there with her.
17. Now very confused, Egbert asks for clarification if 'she' is Baphomet, or if Baphomet is the name of the place. To add to the confusion, Suri answers that she does not know.
18. Finally tiring of her complexity, Egbert bids her goodnight. One final surprise to him, however, is when Suri responds with his name, revealing that Suri recognizes him as 'Egbert.' This puts some much needed reassurance that Suri is learning, and thus that she may very well have potential to become a proper French speaker, and then perhaps more.

## Author Notes

#### Male-Only Club

One of the matters that was surprisingly not touched on in Tale of Two Godcrafts was how Suri was a member of the Knights Templar, when the holy order was, by code, male-oriented. With Order of Yaktosh, I decided this would be a natural and interesting matter of conflict for Suri and her early supporters to work through, made even more interesting by her inability to speak their language. I believe that given Suri's supernatural abilities, the Knights Templar would be conflicted on what to do with her. Although taking some liberties, I wanted there to be a three-way debate on getting rid of her, handing her to the Vatican, or allowing her to stay with them. This drama also has interesting potential as it allows me to throw a woman around an order of men who would surely be uncomfortable in the presence of a woman. These are all matters I would really touch on in the chapters to follow, albeit with a diminishing effect due to the ensuing time skips and by extension a rising ease in Suri's presence.

#### Sir Egbert

One of the most unexpected twists in this story's early development was the quick and sudden rise of Sir Egbert as a character of prominence. As he is the character with the most knowledge of Suri's Gothic culture, it was only fitting that he would become her mentor, but I did not expect this to lead to him becoming such a substantial part of Suri's life. Because of this sudden development, the story would hit an early roadblock as I suddenly found myself back to the drawing board for new ideas to accommodate Egbert's position in the story. At this point in the story, I had a humble expectation of Egbert to start off generally disapproving of Suri's stay in Acre, but to come around to the idea by its conclusion. Going forward, he would play a leading role in Suri's acclimation in the order, as he becomes generally more fond of her and really pushes to educate her.

## Chapter Illustration

Like with Chapter 2, this illustration was made with a sense of urgency due to the chapter itself having been completed first; nevertheless, this work saw some experimentation done, primarily through the crowd of knights. Each individual knight is given a minimalist touch, clothed in white, and then put through an oil effect, a strategy that would be employed frequently starting in late 2022. The castle interior features a meeting room that would be frequently shown in the chapters to come and was designed with minimal detail, but thought put toward how much space would be needed to fit an order of knights. A last minute decision made was to overlay the illustration with a rough translation of a Templar law that put sanctions on Templar interaction with women—a matter that would be addressed constantly in this chapter and beyond.

The image was prepared fully through Adobe Photoshop.