Chapter Three: God Did What?
"Oh My God!" whispered Carl.
"God has nothing to do with this," prompted Brother Thomas behind him.
Lain inside the sarcophagus was not a corpse at all. It was too...fresh. It was the body of young women, gorgeous to the point of ethereal. And that word ethereal is what frightened him. He pulled out a small silver cross necklace from underneath his robes and threw it upon the body. Nothing happened. Carl peered closer. In fact, the flesh looked alive, for it had the pink undertones of flowing blood, live blood. The more he stared at her, the more entranced he became. The clothes that she had once worn had long since rotted away. Pale white hair cascaded over her lithe form and blanketed all around her, for it was longer than she. Her skin was very pale from lack of sunlight. The most curious of her features though, were her ears. They were pointed. She wasn't even human! Well, at least he didn't think so.
Brother Thomas whispered behind him. "Carl, I do hope you remember your Latin lessons. The words we have translated as 'heavenly' or 'diving being,' the way it was used could have also meant 'otherworldly.'"
Carl swallowed hard. "That, I am well aware of." He quickly jabbed a finger into her flesh and pulled back. "She's warm, Brother."
Brother Thomas backed farther away. "And she's breathing."
Carl let out a startled cry. "And what are we to do?"
"Run. What else?" Brother Thomas hurried from the room, leaving a much panicked Carl. He himself was about to turn tail when the woman jolt straight up, a sharp intake of breath could be heard as she did so. A look of unspeakable pain had formed on her lovely face. Carl froze in place as her eyes settled on him.
"Sancturaium." One word rolled beautifully out of her mouth as she observed the cross that dangled from the belt of his robe.
"Wh...wh..what?" It was all he could manage to squeak out in response.
Her face calmed, and she smiled. "Sanctuarium."
And with that smile, Carl did the one thing that Helsing would have killed him for. He feinted.
It was perhaps an hour later that he came around to his senses. The woman had long since vacated her sarcophagus to help him. He found his head laying in the lap of....a naked woman! He bolted upright and murmured, "Good Father in Heaven, keep this mind from wicked thoughts."
The woman merely gave him a puzzled look, for she did not understand his tongue, apparently. She took note of the slight flush to his face and realized his situation. She quickly draped her luxurious hair about her body as if it were a Roman robe.
He diverted his thoughts back to the intensive Latin courses that had ravaged his childhood. It was quite a dead language, and well, he had never heard it spoken natively before. She had a pronunciation of the words that was quite different from his tutors.' He tried his best to communicate with her.
"I am pleased to make you acquaintance. I am called Carl, Brother Carl."
Her warm smile melted all his initial fear of her away. "I am named Praepondero by your people."
His people? "Uh...pardon me, my lady," adding more honorific terms to his language use, "Are you inquiring that you have a people of your own."
She fidgeted under his curious stare. "I most certainly am."
"Can I ask you who or what your people are?"
She tilted her head in deep thought at this. She was trying to find the proper way to explain all of this. "The One Creator has created more than just man and his world full of life. He has created other races of other worlds. Worlds not in the same...time reference as yours. My people are best called Fey."
Carl's head began to swim at the thought of what scandal her words...her mere existence would bring to the Church! No where in the Good Book did it mention other creations. "The Word of God does not speak of this."
Puzzlement creased her brows. "Word of God?" Then realization dawned on her. "Oh! You mean written texts from God? The Torah, perhaps? Or the letters and epistles of Good Brother Paul?"
Carl just about jumped up and did a dance at the joy of new knowledge that she could bestow upon them. "You speak as if you knew him, my lady."
She cocked her head. "I was very lucky to have resided a sort while in Corinth when he was telling of the Christ. He was a very blessed man."
"Aye, that he was." He was elated. Someone in flesh and blood who could recall the very men of the New Testament! "My lady, why would not the Lord let us know of his other creations? Why are they not in the Word?"
She grinned. "Why does man need to know of everything God has done? Does man need the name of every star in the sky that He has made in order to live? No. If Man knew of my people, of my home, Man would come to conquer and destroy it. This you know."
Carl let all of what she had said soak in slowly. "Then...why are you here in this world, my lady?"
Her fingers began to fiddle with the ends of her hair. "I was not the only one, at one time. A messenger of God had come to us, telling us that a number of us were to come to your world to witness the change of all things." She sighed. "What we witnessed was not all pleasant. Some my elders had been able to witness Christ give his very doctrine. And some, such as me, witnessed His death." She shuddered, and then the most alive expression of peace seemed to glow from her. "I also know that He had ascended, for I had seen that too." A look of sorrow swept over her features. "The time for us to return home came, but I could not leave. In prayer, I had been told that I was to remain, my purpose in this place unmet."
Carl didn't know what else to say. He managed to choke out, "Purpose?"
A quick anger passed through her being. "I cannot answer that, even for myself. I was named Praepondero. That means that I am to do something, that which I do not know." He looked down at the cross hanging from his belt and whispered, "Merely your existence is doing something to this world, my lady."
She smiled at this comment. "Come, Brother Carl. I slept long. You must tell me of your present world."
Saints in Heaven! When the Pope gets word of this...
"Oh My God!" whispered Carl.
"God has nothing to do with this," prompted Brother Thomas behind him.
Lain inside the sarcophagus was not a corpse at all. It was too...fresh. It was the body of young women, gorgeous to the point of ethereal. And that word ethereal is what frightened him. He pulled out a small silver cross necklace from underneath his robes and threw it upon the body. Nothing happened. Carl peered closer. In fact, the flesh looked alive, for it had the pink undertones of flowing blood, live blood. The more he stared at her, the more entranced he became. The clothes that she had once worn had long since rotted away. Pale white hair cascaded over her lithe form and blanketed all around her, for it was longer than she. Her skin was very pale from lack of sunlight. The most curious of her features though, were her ears. They were pointed. She wasn't even human! Well, at least he didn't think so.
Brother Thomas whispered behind him. "Carl, I do hope you remember your Latin lessons. The words we have translated as 'heavenly' or 'diving being,' the way it was used could have also meant 'otherworldly.'"
Carl swallowed hard. "That, I am well aware of." He quickly jabbed a finger into her flesh and pulled back. "She's warm, Brother."
Brother Thomas backed farther away. "And she's breathing."
Carl let out a startled cry. "And what are we to do?"
"Run. What else?" Brother Thomas hurried from the room, leaving a much panicked Carl. He himself was about to turn tail when the woman jolt straight up, a sharp intake of breath could be heard as she did so. A look of unspeakable pain had formed on her lovely face. Carl froze in place as her eyes settled on him.
"Sancturaium." One word rolled beautifully out of her mouth as she observed the cross that dangled from the belt of his robe.
"Wh...wh..what?" It was all he could manage to squeak out in response.
Her face calmed, and she smiled. "Sanctuarium."
And with that smile, Carl did the one thing that Helsing would have killed him for. He feinted.
It was perhaps an hour later that he came around to his senses. The woman had long since vacated her sarcophagus to help him. He found his head laying in the lap of....a naked woman! He bolted upright and murmured, "Good Father in Heaven, keep this mind from wicked thoughts."
The woman merely gave him a puzzled look, for she did not understand his tongue, apparently. She took note of the slight flush to his face and realized his situation. She quickly draped her luxurious hair about her body as if it were a Roman robe.
He diverted his thoughts back to the intensive Latin courses that had ravaged his childhood. It was quite a dead language, and well, he had never heard it spoken natively before. She had a pronunciation of the words that was quite different from his tutors.' He tried his best to communicate with her.
"I am pleased to make you acquaintance. I am called Carl, Brother Carl."
Her warm smile melted all his initial fear of her away. "I am named Praepondero by your people."
His people? "Uh...pardon me, my lady," adding more honorific terms to his language use, "Are you inquiring that you have a people of your own."
She fidgeted under his curious stare. "I most certainly am."
"Can I ask you who or what your people are?"
She tilted her head in deep thought at this. She was trying to find the proper way to explain all of this. "The One Creator has created more than just man and his world full of life. He has created other races of other worlds. Worlds not in the same...time reference as yours. My people are best called Fey."
Carl's head began to swim at the thought of what scandal her words...her mere existence would bring to the Church! No where in the Good Book did it mention other creations. "The Word of God does not speak of this."
Puzzlement creased her brows. "Word of God?" Then realization dawned on her. "Oh! You mean written texts from God? The Torah, perhaps? Or the letters and epistles of Good Brother Paul?"
Carl just about jumped up and did a dance at the joy of new knowledge that she could bestow upon them. "You speak as if you knew him, my lady."
She cocked her head. "I was very lucky to have resided a sort while in Corinth when he was telling of the Christ. He was a very blessed man."
"Aye, that he was." He was elated. Someone in flesh and blood who could recall the very men of the New Testament! "My lady, why would not the Lord let us know of his other creations? Why are they not in the Word?"
She grinned. "Why does man need to know of everything God has done? Does man need the name of every star in the sky that He has made in order to live? No. If Man knew of my people, of my home, Man would come to conquer and destroy it. This you know."
Carl let all of what she had said soak in slowly. "Then...why are you here in this world, my lady?"
Her fingers began to fiddle with the ends of her hair. "I was not the only one, at one time. A messenger of God had come to us, telling us that a number of us were to come to your world to witness the change of all things." She sighed. "What we witnessed was not all pleasant. Some my elders had been able to witness Christ give his very doctrine. And some, such as me, witnessed His death." She shuddered, and then the most alive expression of peace seemed to glow from her. "I also know that He had ascended, for I had seen that too." A look of sorrow swept over her features. "The time for us to return home came, but I could not leave. In prayer, I had been told that I was to remain, my purpose in this place unmet."
Carl didn't know what else to say. He managed to choke out, "Purpose?"
A quick anger passed through her being. "I cannot answer that, even for myself. I was named Praepondero. That means that I am to do something, that which I do not know." He looked down at the cross hanging from his belt and whispered, "Merely your existence is doing something to this world, my lady."
She smiled at this comment. "Come, Brother Carl. I slept long. You must tell me of your present world."
Saints in Heaven! When the Pope gets word of this...