Arn fell to his knees before the archbishop and kissed his hand again. He thanked him for showing such forgiving kindness, no matter how undeserved, since ignorance was not a sufficient defense. In a brief moment of happiness Arn imagined that everything was now over, that his sin was not having lain with Cecilia in love but rather that he had sinned by helping Knut Eriksson, who for dishonest purposes had made a fool of the archbishop himself.
But it was not over. When Arn stood up at the archbishop's kind exhortation and sat down in his place facing the two old friends, he received his judgment.
"Listen to me carefully," said the archbishop. "Your sins are forgiven with regard to the trick you played on your own archbishop. But you have broken God's law by having lain with two women who are sisters, and for such a sin, which is abomination, there is no easy grace. It would be normal for us to sentence you to penance for the rest of your life. But we shall show you mercy because we believe that it is the intention of the Lord. Your penance you shall serve for half a lifetime, twenty years, and the same applies to your mistress. You shall serve your penance as a Knight Templar of the Lord, and your name henceforth shall be Arn de Gothia and nothing else. Go now to your penance, and may the Lord guide your steps and your sword, and may His Grace shine upon you. Brother Guilbert will explain everything to you in more detail. I will be leaving now, but we will see each other on the road to Rome, which is where you must go first."
Arn's head was spinning. He realized that he had been shown mercy, and yet not. For half a lifetime was longer than he had been alive, and he could not even imagine himself as an old man, at the age of thirty-seven, when his sins would be absolved. He gave Father Henri a look of entreaty though without saying a word, and it seemed as though he could not bring himself to leave before Father Henri had said something to him.
"The road to Jerusalem took many turns in the beginning, my dear, dear Arn," Father Henri said quietly. "But this was God's will, of that we are both convinced. Go now in peace!"
When Arn with head bowed and almost staggering had left them, the two men sat there for a long time, becoming entangled in an ever deeper conversation about God's will. Because it was clear to them both that God's intention was to send yet another great warrior to His Holy Army.
But what if Knut Eriksson had become king somewhat earlier, and Arn and Cecilia had already been blessed as man and wife? What if Cecilia, who seemed to be as equally good-hearted and childish as Arn, had not visited her sister Katarina? What if Prioress Rikissa had not been of the Sverker clan and had not used her power and great determination to instigate this whole disturbance?
If all this and much else had not happened, God's Holy Army would have been missing one warrior. On the other hand, the philosopher had already shown that this type of reasoning was never tenable. If this were not so, the archbishop would have been a horse. But God had clearly shown His will, and before His will they must bow.
Brother Guilbert proceeded cautiously with Arn over the next few days as he set about the task of making him understand what now and for a long time to come would be his fate. He did not allow Arn to start talking about his punishment or all that he would have to leave behind; he kept to the practical matters.
Arn would ride with Archbishop Stéphan to Rome, but there their ways would part, since the archbishop had things to work out with Pope Alexander III, while Arn would report to the castle of the Knights Templar in Rome, which was the largest such castle in the world. That was because it was in Rome that all who sought admittance to the order would be either approved or rejected. Naturally there were many who felt themselves called to fight in God's Holy Army, not least since they would thereby do penance for all their sins and gain entry to Heaven if they died with sword in hand. Consequently it was only one out of ten aspirants who were accepted after testing.
But this testing would hardly present difficulties for Arn. Acceptance into the order required that one came from a clan with a coat of arms, a rule that Brother Guilbert did not favor because he had seen many warriors in battle who would have been good brothers of the order if not for that very rule. But it was no problem for Arn, who bore the lion of the Folkung clan on his coat of arms. Nor would the other two requirements present any difficulties. Brother Guilbert smiled when he dryly explained that those requirements involved knowing about one-fourth as much as Arn already knew about the Holy Scriptures, logic, and philosophy. And even a fourth of Arn's skill with weapons should be enough. In addition, of course, he needed letters from the Nordic archbishop and Father Henri. But that was not the important thing; such letters of recommendation were something that many hopeful Frankish sons of counts brought with them. They did not arrive with Arn's skills. And no one could dispute the clearly expressed will of God.
Arn complained a bit about God's will, which seemed to have been meted out rather harshly. Why did he first have to be plunged into misfortune and then leave his beloved Cecilia behind in order to fulfill God's will on the battlefield in Outremer?
Brother Guilbert admitted that he had no answer to that question, but suggested that the answers might reveal themselves with time. However, he said that he had known for many years that this was how things would turn out. Brother Guilbert believed that he had met few if any men with Arn's abilities, and since God had given him these rare gifts, then there must be a definite reason behind it. And it was probably for the same reason that God had sent Arn to Varnhem at the age of five to be educated in all that would now make him an acceptable Templar knight.
Arn could easily see the logic in this reasoning, but it didn't assuage his sorrow or his longing.
Brother Guilbert showed Arn some new equipment on which he had worked a long time, using Arn's measurements. Most important was the chain mail with more than forty thousand rings in two layers and with homespun felt in between and a soft fabric lining on the inside. The chain mail went up over the head, down along the arms to the wrists and far below the knees, yet it was lighter to wear than Nordic chain mail. He had also made pantaloons, which protected the legs and went down around the feet. Anyone dressed in this mail would be protected from top to toe, and this was what the new type of warfare demanded. Finally, Brother Guilbert took out a black mantle with a white cross that covered the entire chest. These were the church colors that Arn had to wear when he accompanied the archbishop, riding as part of his escort to Rome. But it was also the squire's attire in the order of the Knights Templar, so this meant that Arn would arrive prepared at their castle in Rome. He had the archbishop's permission to wear the raiment during the entire journey.
Arn felt respect and pride when he tried on these things, but there was no joy in his eyes. Nor had Brother Guilbert reckoned that there would be. But for Arn's departure two days later he had saved a special surprise which he believed might have the intended effect on the mind of his young apprentice.