Hope Forgotten VII
PILGRIM
By Parda (September 1998)
It is here we must begin
To seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind.
18 June 1996
The Isle of Lesbos
When the plane landed outside the town of Mitilini on the Isle of Lesbos, Cassandra waited until the rest of the passengers had disembarked. She retrieved her carefully wrapped sword at the baggage claim; everything else she needed was in her backpack.
Her seatmate from the airplane came over as Cassandra was heading for the door. "Are you staying here in Mitilini?" the woman asked.
Cassandra stopped politely. "I'm going to Thermi."
"Oh, are you taking the bus?"
"No, I'm going to walk."
"Walk?" Her mouth opened in a soft O. "But, the heat ...!"
"It's all right," said Cassandra. "As I said, I've been here before."
Cassandra left the airport and started walking. The woman had been right; it was hot, and the exhaust from the cars gave her a headache. She was glad when she reached the outskirts of the city. Then there was only dust.
She walked for nearly four hours until she reached Thermi. The small town lay along the sweeping curve of the beach, and Cassandra checked into her room at the Hotel Votsala. She stayed at the hotel until dark, walking slowly in the gardens that surrounded the long low red building, eating a lemon as she rested under the shade of the grape vines. When night fell, she returned to her room and dressed in a simple gown of gray. She left the hotel, carrying her backpack and her sword.
She walked up the hill until she reached the ruins of the temple. The stars had shifted since Cassandra had last stood there; the world had changed. The sisterhood was destroyed, knowledge lost, forgotten, erased. The cave of prophecy was gone, swept away by flood and earthquake. The temple lay before her in deserted silence, its columns broken and burned.
She sat in front of a large broken stone as she watched the moon rise over the ocean. All that night, and through the next day, she waited at the ruins of the temple, silent and alone.
As the sun set behind the hills on the second day, she opened her bag and took out a small round biscuit, a bottle of wine, and a carefully packed box of thirteen exquisitely tiny cups. They were Ch'ai ware, eggshell-thin and with a glaze like the sky after rain. She had helped to make them in China nearly a thousand years before, in the workshop of the great Hui-tsung. The cups were, as Connor had said once about another type of porcelain, very rare and very expensive. She did not think there was any other Ch'ai ware left in the world. After she had left China she had hidden these cups in a cave in Australia. They had stayed there for almost a thousand years; she had retrieved them only last week.
On the ground before the fallen stone she set the cups in a circle, then placed the biscuit in the center. Her sword lay behind her. She knelt and poured out wine for the Mother, the dark liquid soaking into the ground. Then she carefully filled each cup; the deep-red of the wine showed through the translucent porcelain.
She lifted the first cup and held it gently between her hands. "For you, Lady," she whispered. "Please forgive me for betraying you, for disappointing you."
She poured the wine onto the ground, then hurled the cup against the fallen altar. It shattered against the stone. The next cup. "For you, Marit and Kalia, and all our sisters." The wine trickled out slowly. "Forgive me for not protecting you, for leading Roland to you." Again she hurled the cup.
The third cup. "For you, Xanthos-Lucius-Ramirez-Tak-Ne." She poured out the wine. "Forgive me for using you, for bringing you to the place of your death." More shards against the stone.
"For you, Aileen. For deceiving you and bringing sorrow into your life."
And so it went. For Ould Margaret. For Mary MacLeod. For Ian MacLeod. A cup for Connor. A cup for Duncan. A cup for families and friends and the inhabitants of Troy. A cup for Beitris and for all those whose names she did not know.
Only two cups left. She hesitated, then lifted one of the cups. "For you, Roland." The ground was saturated now; the wine dripped into pools and rippled outward. "Forgive me, my son. I tried ... I wanted ..." She bowed her head. "I truly wanted to be a good mother to you," she whispered, "and I did the best I could." She pressed the cup against her heart and held it there a long time before she hurled it against the stone.
The white fragments of the cups lay like shattered bone atop the blood-dark ground. Cassandra knelt silently beside them as the moon set behind the trees, and the stars wheeled above. The sky began to lighten in the east above the sea.
She reached for the soul-cake biscuit, now dark with soaked wine. It crumbled in her hands when she picked it up. She scattered the pieces on the ground, an offering of food to the dead. Though she had not been to a Catholic Mass in centuries, the words of the liturgy came back to her. "Hoc est enim corpus meum." This is my body. She had given her body in her quest, both willingly and unwillingly. She would reclaim her body for herself now.
The final cup was waiting, filled with dark red wine. She picked up the cup and held the delicate porcelain in her hands. It felt cool and smooth under her fingertips. "His est enim calix sanguinis mei." This is the chalice of my blood. She had given her blood, too.
"Non sum digna." I am not worthy. "Sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea." But only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.
The word had been said. She was worthy; her soul had been healed. She had been healed by Connor's acceptance and Duncan's caring, and by her own forgiveness of Roland. She had helped to heal herself. She could forgive herself.
Cassandra lifted the cup to her lips and drank, and the taste of the wine was good. She shattered the cup against the stone. The stillness of the night air gave way to the first faint breezes of dawn, and she lifted her head and stared out to the sea.
In the whispers of the wind she heard the voices of forgiveness. The prophecy had been fulfilled, and now she was free. She could now start living, without the need for lying, without the need for hate that had haunted her so long. She could live the life she wanted, she could laugh, and she could love, if she could just remember how.
Cassandra stood and stretched, then breathed deeply of the cool morning air. She put the empty wine bottle and her wrapped sword into her backpack, then walked down the hill, away from the ruins. Lifting above the horizon, the sun disappeared into the waiting blood-red clouds.
Though the cities start to crumble,
and the towers fall around us,
The sun is slowly fading,
and it's colder than the sea.
It is written from the desert
to the mountains they shall lead us,
By the hand and by the heart,
they will comfort you and me,
In their innocence and trusting,
they will teach us to be free.
John Denver - "Rhymes and Reasons"
Thus ends
HOPE FORGOTTEN
Cassandra and the Prophecy
Cassandra's story is continued in
HOPE REMEMBERED
Cassandra and the Horsemen
and
HOPE TRIUMPHANT
Cassandra and the Sisterhood
Author's Notes
ABOUT THE STORY: Cassandra has been the topic of many a post on the list. So many posts, in fact, that I started wondering why she did what she did. And so I wrote this story. Feedback is very much appreciated! I've had a good time writing it. I've learned a lot, met some very nice helpful people, and made some really good friends. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Parda
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
- to Frank Herbert and his book "Dune."
- to John Denver for his song "Rhymes and Reasons."
- to Diefenbaker on the TV series "Due South."
- to my daughter's kitten Sassy Catkin.
- to my sister's huskies Oban and Tulach. (Yes, she named her dog after the whisky.)
- to the re-enactors at "St. Marie's Citty," Maryland, who gave me a great deal of information about daily life in the 1600's.
- to Sandra McDonald and Debi Moseley, whose writing gave me some ideas for this story. I would like to thank them for giving me permission to borrow from their stories.
- to Nightsky, who has really neat ideas about Methos.
- to Kate, who educated me about Scotch, whiskey, whisky, and bourbon, and helped me find an ancient Greek play.
- to Dan and Arch, who introduced me to the fine art of appreciating good whisky one warm summer night.
- to Cathy Butterfield, who mentioned Noah and reminded me of Sean Connery's voice: "deep and salty and warm as the wine-dark depths of the Mediterranean sea."
- to Kyra Zandberg, who gave me a lot of information about herbs, both for cooking and healing.
- to Susan A. Coveney, who shared with me some of her extensive knowledge about 17th century clothing.
- to Jeannine, who listened patiently while I burbled on and on about this story.
TO BETA READERS: Julia Walter, Verite, Terry Odell, Alice Hill, Sara Sarasohn, Susan A. Coveney, Nightsky, Cathy Butterfield, Kyra Zandberg Thanks for finding all those typos and missing/wrong/repeated/inappropriate words, and for the good suggestions to make the story work better.
TO ALPHA READERS:
* Janine Shahinian, who explained to me what a theme is, made me figure out where in the world I was going with this, got me started, and helped me with those writing techniques.
* Annie, who taught me about ellipses, punctuation, point of view, and adjunct adverbs.
* Keith R. A. DeCandido, who told me to cut scenes which shouldn't be there and served as unknowing inspiration for some of the dialog.
TO *THE* ALPHA READERS
* Vi Moreau, who noticed discrepancies and logistical problems, remembered details, offered encouragement and ideas, and kept me from putting too many words into Connor's mouth.
* Bridget Mintz Testa, who introduced me to the joys of Connor watching, read the story over and over, helped patch and fill in plot holes, understood the characters better than I did, and helped me see it through to the end. Happy Birthday, B! I couldn't have done this without you. Many, many exuberant thanks!
(Official disclaimer stuff.)
SYNOPSIS: Cassandra's story of the Prophecy.
RATING: Adult (violence, rape, sex (F/M), language)
MAIN CHARACTERS: Cassandra, Roland Kantos, Connor MacLeod, Duncan MacLeod
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS: Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, Mary MacLeod, Ian MacLeod, Robert MacLeod, Debra Campbell, Aileen MacLeod, Ould Margaret
OTHER CHARACTERS: (mentioned but not appearing in the story) Methos, Kronos, Silas, Caspian, Heather MacLeod, Malcolm MacLeod, the Kurgan, Alexandra Johnson MacLeod, John MacLeod, Kane, Nakano, Sean Burns, Richie Ryan.
LENGTH: 130,000 words
DISCLAIMERS: The Highlander universe and all the characters you recognize are not mine. They are the property of Rysher, Gaumont, and Davis/Panzer. Some of the dialog is directly from the first Highlander movie, and from the fifth season episodes "Prophecy," "Comes a Horseman," and "Revelations 6:8." The Highlander Universe, the characters, and the dialog are used without permission, but no copyright infringement is intended. This story was not written for profit. The characters of Aileen MacLeod and Ould Margaret are mine. Cassandra's story is continued in "Hope Remembered" and "Hope Triumphant".
~~~~~
TIMELINES and CANON I have tried to follow canon in writing this story, with the following exceptions: The episodes stated that Cassandra lived in the Bronze Age, which lasted from about 3500-1100 BCE. Accordingly, I picked a birth date of 1440 BCE for Cassandra, and the Horsemen are together from about 1500-300 BCE. The Watcher CD (which came out when I was almost finished writing the story) states that Cassandra is born in c. 1000 BCE, and the Horsemen are together from somewhere between 1500-1000 BCE until the end of the Common Era, in the year 1. In the CD, Roland was born in Hispania in 346. (I think Methos (or maybe Roland) was altering a few dates here and there.)
Some other minor changes in canon are the family relations of the Highland clans. According to canon, Robert was born in April of 1593, and his father's name was Alastair MacLeod. Robert was fostered with Duncan after his father was killed in 1603. Debra Campbell was born around 1600, and her father's name was Angus Campbell. (This date for Debra does not make sense to me. I have a hard time seeing 13-year old Duncan "wetting his kilt" over a six-year old girl. A twelve-year old girl, yes.) Duncan was killed fighting the clan Campbell during a skirmish over twenty head of cattle.
In my stories, Robert's parents are Malcolm and Aileen MacLeod, and he was born in July of 1592. His father did not die in 1603, but in 1622. Debra Campbell was born in 1593; her father's name was Brian Campbell, and she was fostered with Robert's family from the time she was ten. Duncan was killed fighting the clan MacDonald during a skirmish over twenty head of cattle and the black bull, the pride of the village. (I guessed almost right.) Also, in the book "Element of Fire" Connor meets Duncan on the beach in the fall of 1625. The episode "Archangel" says that Connor meets him on March 24, 1625. I followed the TV show.
This story was written two years before the fourth HL movie was released.
~~~~~
OPENING QUOTES The words at the beginning of the different parts of the story are all from John Denver's song "Rhymes and Reasons." The title of the story "Hope Forgotten" is also from the song. This paragraph at the end of the story:
In the whispers of the wind she heard the voices of forgiveness.
The prophecy had been fulfilled, and now she was free.
She could now start living, without the need for lying,
without the need for hate that had haunted her so long.
She could laugh, and she could love, if she could just remember how.
may be sung to the tune of "Rhymes and Reasons."
~~~~~
THE SISTERHOOD Those who have read the Dune series by Frank Herbert will probably remember the secret sisterhood known as Bene Gesserit witches. The women are trained in many areas, including the use of the Voice, and they implement a secret multi-generational breeding program to produce a male with enhanced psychic powers. Their motto is "We exist only to serve," an interesting counter to Methos's line to Cassandra: "You live to serve me."
~~~~~
SYMBOLISM In the ceremony of forgiveness on the Isle of Lesbos at the end of the story, Cassandra arranges the thirteen cups (o ) and the round soul-cake biscuit (O) in a circle with a biscuit in the center. The circle with the center dot is the astrological symbol of the sun (son). Roland dies at sunset. Cassandra systematically destroys the circle on the summer solstice, the day when the sun starts to die. Duncan is born on the Winter Solstice, the day of the re-birth of the sun.
~~~~~
NUMBERS Roland kills thirteen of the priestesses in the initial attack on the Temple in 1195 BCE. Cassandra uses thirteen cups in her ceremony of forgiveness. Thirteen was a sacred number to many cultures because there are (approximately) thirteen lunar cycles within a solar year. Thirteen is the traditional number of many groups with one leader and twelve followers. Covens are often organized this way, and Jesus had twelve disciples.
~~~~~
TREES Various trees are featured in the story. The seven trees sacred to Celtic mythology are oak, apple, holly, willow, birch, rowan (also called mountain ash), and hazel. In some traditions, alder replaces rowan.
- Silver fir (evergreen, tree of eternal life) Silver fir trees are sacred to the Goddess Artemis on the Isle of Lesbos.
- Oak (tree of strength) Two oak trees guard the gateway to the sacred spring.
- Holly (tree of life) A holly grove is near the stone pillar carved the triple crescents.
- Rowan (tree of protection) Rowan and pine trees grow around the sacred spring in the Donan Woods. - Birch (tree of renewal, rebirth) Connor and Cassandra say good-bye in the grove of birch trees in 1599.
- Apple (tree of sustenance) Connor and Cassandra sit under the shade of the apple tree in 1996
at Connor's house.
- Hazel (tree of wisdom) A hazel tree stands in the center of the village of Glenfinnan.
- Willow (tree of enchantment) Cassandra sits under a willow tree in the cemetery in Seacouver in 1996
~~~~~
CASSANDRA'S ALIASES Cassandra uses several different names in the story. Cassia come from the Watcher CD; Bess Lochley comes from her role in Babylon 5. The others I made up.
~~~~~
Books used as resources include:
"The Book of Porcelain" by Gustav Weiss
"Daily Life in Elizabethan England" by Jeffrey L. Singman
"The Story of Scotland" by Janet R. Glover
"The Pagan Book of Days" by Nigel Pennick
"Wondrous Realms of the Aegean" by Time-Life Books
"The Scottish Highlands" by John A. Lister
"The World Almanac"
"Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon
The Universal History of the World Series
"Scottish Lore and Folklore" compiled by Ronald MacDonald Douglas, 1982
"The White Goddess" by Robert Graves
"Home Life in History" by John Gloag and C. Thompson Walker
~~~~~
WEB SITES USED AS RESOURCES INCLUDE:
All you want to know about Scottish whisky
On-line Dictionaries (from Klingon to !Kung)
Travel guides to the Greek Islands
Information about Scotland
The complete Roman Catholic Mass in Latin
NOTES ON Part 1 "Priestess"
_
The Temple of Artemis on the Isle of Lesbos really exists, and the ruins are still there. It was destroyed by fire about 1200 BCE. The goddess Artemis presides over childbirth (the herb artemisia is named after her), and fir trees are sacred to her.
The dates are from ancient Greek festivals.
- June 13: Day of Athena
- December 15-29: Alcyone Days: The seven days before and the seven days after the winter solstice, named after the goddess Alcyone. In Greece, this was a time of few storms. Now called Halcyon Days.
"And the child will be born when the stars have completed one-ninth of their circle." Due to the precession of the equinoxes (caused by a small movement of the Earth's pole), the stars shift their apparent position by about 30 degrees every two thousand years. The stars will "complete their circle" in about 27,500 years. The prophecy says: "And the child will be born when the stars have completed one-ninth of their circle." One-ninth of a 360 degree circle is 40 degrees. Since the stars take about 2000 years to move 30 degrees, they take about 2700 years to move 40 degrees. The Greek Zodiac signs (Aries, Taurus, etc.) were formalized by the astronomer Hipparchus about 2000 years ago. At that time, the spring equinox coincided with the sun being in the constellation Aries. The fall equinox coincided with the sun being in the constellation Libra. The summer solstice coincided with the sun being in Cancer, and the winter solstice coincided with the sun being in Capricorn. Today, due to the precession of the equinoxes the spring equinox occurs when the sun is in Pisces. The fall equinox occurs when the sun is in Virgo. Winter solstice occurs when the sun is in Sagittarius. Summer solstice occurs when the sun is in Gemini. Therefore, the old astrological charts are now one sign off. So, if your "birthsign" is Virgo, in fact, the sun was not in Virgo when you was born. It was actually in the constellation Leo. Most astrology charts do not take this into consideration.
MENSTRUATION It is not known if female Immortals have menstrual cycles. The topic has been debated thoroughly on the HL-discussion list, and I found the detailed information presented by some of the posters very convincing. Immortals heal quickly, but they have sleeping and eating cycles that are identical to mortals. It is logical to assume that they have menstrual cycles as well. Our bodies are sensitive to the amount of sunlight they receive; sunlight stimulates the releases of certain hormones. Many people become depressed in the winter when there is not enough sunshine. Our bodies are also sensitive to the amount of moonlight they receive. Although modern lifestyles (sleeping indoors and using electric lights) interfere with this sensitivity, when women are exposed to moonlight, their menstrual cycles often coincide with the phases of the moon. Many women experience their bleeding time during the dark phase of the moon and are fertile at the full moon. Because of this connection between women's menstrual cycles and the moon, the moon has often been associated with the Goddess. This symbolism started at least five to seven thousand years ago; it is probably much older than that. It is theorized that mathematics and arithmetic began when women started recording their menstrual cycles on sticks or bones.
According to the Iliad, Paris (also called Alexander) and Helen sailed with a fleet of ships from Sparta to Troy. The Trojan War started about 1194 BCE. Troy fell ten years later.
_
NOTES ON Part 2 "Witch" and Part 3 "Guardian"
_
The Triple Goddess has many names; the Greek names are given here.
Persephone (maiden or young woman) - Waxing Crescent
Demeter (mother or mature woman) - Full Moon
Hecate (crone or elder woman) - Waning Crescent
These three phases of the moon represent the three stages of a woman's life. There is sometimes a fourth Goddess, the Goddess of Death and Rebirth, who is associated with the Dark Moon.
The use of bracelets to alleviate morning sickness is recommended by some acupuncturists.
A doit is the smallest unit of old Scottish coinage. It is roughly equivalent to 15 American pennies.
Sheep milk is quite tasty, and can be used to make cheese. Though cow milk and goat milk are most common in modern Western society, humans have used milk from camels, horses, cows, donkeys, goats, yaks, and sheep. Almost every domesticated herbivore has been used as a milk source. The milk of the donkey is the closest in composition to human milk, though human milk is best for human babies.
The "haunting ballad" that Connor remembers is "Two Brothers." It tells the story of twin brothers who love the same woman. She marries the elder, then she and the younger become lovers. The elder brother sees them, kills his twin, then hangs himself. The woman buries them in the same grave, then moves to a new town where she gives birth to twin boys. (Don't look for it in any songbooks; I wrote it while I was writing this story.)
Sela is pronounced Say-la and is derived from Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon.
The chant that Cassandra remembers from her convent days translates: "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" (Latin) "Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault" "Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison" (Greek) "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy"
February: Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or Carnevale is the day before Ash Wednesday. A time of feasting and merriment before the solemnity of Lent.
June 24: St. John's Day (John the Baptist),
Midsummer August 15: Asuncion de la Nuestra Senora- The Ascension of Our Lady commemorates Mary's Ascension into Heaven
December 28: Bairn's Day (Feast of the Holy Innocents-Commemoration of King Herod's slaughter of the children)
December 31: Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year's eve.
ABOUT CONNOR'S BIRTHDAY Prior to 1582, Europe used the Julian Calendar. The date of the year did not change until March 25, so 24 March 1518 was followed by 25 March 1519. (Before Julius Caesar changed the calendar, the Roman new year began at the spring equinox. J. R. R. Tolkein used March 25th as the date of the destruction of the Ring and the start of the Fourth Age. This is also why astrology forecasts often start with the sign of Aries [21 March - 21 April].) Although the calendar year changed in March, December 31st-January 1st was still considered to be the New Year, a special and magical time, and the Scottish holiday of Hogmanay was celebrated on that day. Thus, the day before Connor's birthday (January 1st, 1518) was December 31st, 1518. The Gregorian Calendar was adopted by most Catholic countries in Europe by 1587, and the new year then started at January 1st. England, Ireland, Scotland, and the English colonies in America adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752.
"Pax vobiscum" means "Peace be with you" in Latin.
November 11: Martinmas, feast of St. Martin of Tours, patron saint of beggars and drunkards.
March 12: Feast of Marduk, Babylonian Sun God
March 29: Festival of Ishtar, Babylonian Goddess of love and fertility
August 1: Lammas, the first harvest festival. Contraction of the words "Loaf Mass."
September 29: Michaelmas, feast of St. Michael the Archangel, a later harvest festival.
October 25:- St. Crispin's Day, patron saint of shoemakers
Caliph Harun al-Raschid ruled from 786-809 CE in Baghdad. He was an ally and friend of Charlemagne. Scheherezade told him 1001 tales; some of those stories are preserved in "1001 Arabian Nights."
_
NOTES ON Part 4"Exile"
_
May 1: MayDay, a European fertility festival
Beds were often used as furniture in downstairs rooms. It was not until the 1800's that the beds were moved upstairs in wealthy homes.
King James VI of Scotland moved to England after the death of his cousin Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, becoming James I of England. His son Charles I was king of both countries from 1625 until 1649, when he was beheaded by a political group led by Oliver Cromwell. There was political and religious unrest in Scotland all through this time period. (And other time periods, too!)
Oriental porcelain was first imported to Europe on a commercial scale in the early 1600's. European porcelain was made in Florence under the auspices of the Medici family as early as 1581, but it was not as highly prized as the imported kind. Porcelain was considered so valuable that in 1717 King Augustus of Poland traded 782 soldiers to King Frederick William of Prussia for 117 pieces of porcelain. The soldiers were thereafter known as the "Porcelain Regiment." English ships were not allowed in Japan or Canton, but had to buy from the Dutch at the ports of Amoy, Batavia, and Formosa. The Dutch maintained a trading settlement on the Japanese island of Deshima after 1641. The book "Shogun" by James Clavell gives a good description of the trade at those times.
The song Cassandra and Connor sing is "Step We Gaily," a traditional bridal song from the Isle of Lewis off the west coast of Scotland.
The traverse board was used to record speed and compass heading on sailing ships.
Orange juice is good for you. Lying to Connor MacLeod is not.
_
NOTES ON "PENITENT"
_
The town of Glenaladale is near the northern shore of Loch Shiel, about 6 miles southwest of Glenfinnan. It was the seat of one of the MacDonald septs.
March 29: Festival of Ishtar, Babylonian goddess of love and fertility
September 19: Festival of Gula, Babylonian goddess of birth
Some of Cassandra's description of the destruction of Troy and the quote she uses at the end of this part come from the play "The Trojan Women" by Euripides (480-406 BCE). The line "Death and life are not the same; the one is annihilation, the other keeps a place for hope," is spoken by Hecuba, the Queen of Troy to her daughter-in-law Andromache (widow of Hector) as they wait for the Greek soldiers to take them away. Hecuba died at sea on her way to Ithaca as Odysseus's slave. Hecuba's sons Paris and Hector were killed in the fighting. Her daughter Polyxena was sacrificed at Achilles' tomb. Her daughter Cassandra was given to Agamemnon as a war-bride, and both he and Cassandra were killed by Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, when they returned to his home. Andromache's infant son was taken from her arms and hurled over the battlements of Troy, and then she was given as a war-bride to the son of Achilles.
For more information about Scotch, whiskey, and whisky, go to .com
The line "In aqua vitae, veritas" is Latin and translates as "In water of life, truth." It is an adaptation of the more famous line "In vino, veritas" (In wine, truth). Aqua vitae is the Latin translation of the Gaelic "usquebaugh" which is now pronounced "whisky." Get her drunk enough on whisky, and she'll tell the truth.
_
NOTES ON "SENTINEL" AND THE EPILOGUE
THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS still exists today in ruins near the town of Thermi. The Hotel Votsala is also real.
CH'AI WARE PORCELAIN was produced in China c. 1000-1100 CE. None is known to exist today, but it was the most highly-prized at its time, being "thin as paper or bodiless."