Brother Guilbert put his arm around Arn to console him and walked with him down to the farthest horse enclosure as if only for a moment's conversation. When they reached the stable he didn't say a word, but only pointed. There stood Arn's beloved stallion Khamsiin.
Arn was silent at first. Then he called and Khamsiin instantly pricked up his ears and turned his head toward him. The next moment the huge stallion thundered toward him at his fastest gallop and reared before the gate where Arn and Brother Guilbert stood. The horse whirled about a few times, reared again, and whinnied as if shrieking either a complaint or a welcome to a dear friend.
Arn jumped over the gate, threw his arms around Khamsiin's neck, and showered him with kisses.
"He's yours now," said Brother Guilbert. "He is our parting gift to you, Arn de Gothia. For I have learned as a Templar knight that in the Holy War, trust in God is certainly most important. Next comes practice and humility. But after that come good weapons and a horse like Khamsiin."
When Arn, wearing his black mantle with the white cross, mounted Khamsiin to begin his long journey, his expression was determined but still clearly sorrowful, as it had been since he received his judgment.
All masses had been sung. All words of farewell had been said. But still Father Henri and Brother Guilbert stood there alone with Arn as if to say something more. They had a hard time behaving with Christian dignity, for Arn's sorrow no doubt pained them even though their conviction was strong that the will of God was to be carried out at last.
"For God and death to all Saracens!" said Father Henri with forced bravado.
"For God and death to all Saracens!" replied Arn, drawing his blessed sword which he held pointed straight to Heaven as he swore this new oath. Then he nudged Khamsiin in the flanks and set off at a leisurely pace.
Father Henri wanted to go back inside the cloister at once, but Brother Guilbert held up a finger as a sign that they should wait a bit, and then he pointed toward Arn.
They remained standing like this, although Father Henri did not understand the purpose of it, but Brother Guilbert was still holding up his index finger as if waiting for something.
Suddenly they saw Arn take a few galloping steps to the right, then to the left, and then he urged his powerful stallion to switch galloping steps to the right and left with each leap, a difficult art as far as Father Henri understood. But Arn's joy at being able to perform such tricks was unmistakable.
"You see what I see, dear Father Henri," whispered Brother Guilbert almost reverently. "God preserve Arn, but may God also preserve the Saracens who will encounter him."
This last seemed incomprehensible to Father Henri, and bordering on blasphemy. But now was not the time to voice reproach, not as they stood and watched Varnhem's most beloved son ride away forever.
Besides, Father Henri knew full well that Brother Guilbert in certain respects had a peculiar view of Saracens. But he assumed that Arn, who once had been as pure in spirit as Percival, would never be struck by any such scruples. God would surely hold His sheltering hand over a warrior like Arn.
About the Author
Swedish-born journalist JAN GUILLOU is the creator of the two most successful Swedish works of fiction of all time—the Hamilton series and the Crusades Trilogy. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages.
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Credits
Jacket photographs by © 2007 AB Svensk Filmindustri
Arn–The Knight Templar
Still photographer: Erik Aavatsmark
Jacket design by Jarrod Taylor
Copyright
THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM. Copyright © 1998 by Jan Guillou. English translation © 2009 by Steven T. Murray. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
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