The Year of Our Lord 1099 - the road (Devil's Way) to Armand

The fortress of Armand stood before Father Bernard as he paused for a short breath. The rain beat down upon him, staining his robes with small patches of darkness. It made him grimace, clenching his cross and saying a prayer to the Lord Almighty as he picked up the pace once again.

He'd been traveling on foot for what had seemed like several months, and he wasn't even close to his destination. Not yet, anyway. He'd have to go several hundred more miles before he found what he was looking for. But at least he'd be able to find rest and shelter in the Order's facilities, take a break from the test God was putting him under. The Knights Templar were more militaristic than he and his Dominican brethren were, but they were men of God all the same.

He nodded to the guards, who immediately recognized him as a friar, and allowed him to pass with a simple "Bonjour, mon père". Within the fortress, most of the ground was barren. Several training dummies were out, as were archery targets. A stable with one or two horses stood humbly against the dirt of the fortress. Whatever grass had naturally been there no longer existed, and not many men could be seen. Most of the young men training here must be at rest, the elderly monk thought.

He pulled his hood over his head and took a number of steps until he was under the stable's roof, where he laid down to rest for the night.

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~ "Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree."

~ "The best way to fight the devil, if not with holy scripture, is to jeer at him - for he can not stand to be scorned."

~ "An atheist is just a person God hasn't met yet."