Gene of Isis

men, sinners and killers all, were not yet ready to meet their maker, and I did not wish to feel responsible if they were slain before they could choose redemption through the rite of consolamentum.

Warriors almost always choose to take this sacred rite on their deathbed, because being infused with a spark of the divine and carrying that sacred gift within one’s physical body for the remainder of one’s life is an impossible burden for a fighting man. A Perfecti dedicates the self to honouring the Holy Spirit within and forsakes the consumption of animal flesh, swearing, sexual intercourse for personal gratification and must never abuse another living soul. We guard with our lives the higher mysteries that are disclosed to us and a Perfecti would never forsake the truth in fear of burning, drowning or any other kind of death. Although staunch believers in our faith, many of our warriors fear falling short of these vows before their warring days are done. And yet, as the rite of consolamentum must be undertaken consciously, it is at great risk to their souls that our fighting men postpone their salvation. So, in the event that these men should, during their defence of the cause, be left conscious but dying and deprived of speech, they have already completed the ceremony of convenenza. Convenenza declares that the aspirant has granted permission for one of the Perfecti to speak on his behalf during the rite of consolamentum and so ensure his soul is saved before death.

If Christ is with us then all twenty of these knights will survive long enough to be rewarded with their salvation. MARCH 14^TH 1244—SPRING EQUINOX

Tomorrow the truce expires.

How can I describe the anguish of witnessing my closest friends and respected colleagues come to terms with their impending death? Not a one of the one hundred and eighty Perfecti surviving at Montsegur is prepared to accept the terms we have been offered. Just as the thousands of believers who have died before us chose martyrdom over a lie, so shall all those here. Except my sister and myself. Sadly, we have been assigned another fate, and although I know our mission is a vital one, it does not ease the guilt and envy that I feel in my soul.

Guilt—that I must lie whilst my brethren die bravely for the cause. Envy—because tomorrow my fellow Perfecti shall finally achieve salvation. Their souls will be freed by the flame from this evil prison of flesh and blood, in which I must remain and continue to suffer.

Tonight will mark the last supper of the true faith at Montsegur, and just as Jesus shared the Bread of Life with his apostles to strengthen their steadfastness during the torments to come, so shall all the faithful among us be rewarded. I have full permission from the Grand Master of Sion to allow our bishop to aid our people in this way. Then, any among us who choose death on the morrow, including the men-at-arms, shall be given the choice to be set apart as one of the Perfecti, by being granted the rite of consolamentum. MARCH 15^TH 1244

The truce has expired.

Early this morning our lord descended to the camp of the enemy to assure Hugues de Archis that the fortress would be handed over as promised. When asked if all the besieged were prepared to accept the terms of surrender, our lord informed him that over half the remaining occupants were not prepared to relinquish their faith.

‘Then, in accordance with the law of the Holy Inquisition, they will burn on the morrow at dawn,’ Pierre Amiel, Archbishop of Narbonne, decreed.

I have never met the church representative who was installed in the town of my birth after my timely exodus. I know this man to be responsible for the deaths of those I grew up with and feel sure that there could not be a more wretched embodiment of Rex Mundi alive in this world.

Since the truce, the archbishop has kept his crusader knights busy building a large wooden holding yard and filling it with firewood—to burn any of the Perfecti that hold firm to their faith.

The Lord of Montsegur could not believe that, following the rite held last night by our bishop which all believers had been invited to attend, over twenty of his men-at-arms had chosen to receive the rite of consolamentum, condemning themselves to death on the morrow.

Pierre-Roger Mirepoix had not attended the rite. He had no intention of dying, and hence had precious need of absolution. In his mind, he had done nothing but try to fulfil his duty to the citizens of Montsegur. He chose instead to keep watch on the fortress wall, along with several other knights.

This morning Lord Mirepoix inquired of his faithful mercenary knights, Guillaume de Lahille and Bernard de Saint-Martin, why they had converted when in two days time they could have left Montsegur free men and pardoned of their crimes against the church? The knights, who had led the massacre of the inquisitors of Avignonet, replied that when they had received the Bread of Life they had glimpsed the true kingdom of god and thus had lost all desire for this world. They now realised the error of their ways and having been absolved of their sins against god, they wished to depart this world as one of the ‘pure ones’ before conflict could again tarnish their souls.

Of course their motives came as no surprise to any of we Perfecti, for such is the effect of manna upon the soul, even in the smallest of quantities.

LESSON 17

SURRENDER MARCH 16^TH 1244

This will be my last account of my time at Montsegur, and it is with a heavy heart and conscience that I put pen to parchment.

This morning over two hundred Perfecti marched down from the fortress and into the large wood-filled stockade at the southern foot of the mountain, where they were burned en masse. Some were cast into the flames by their captors, but most flung themselves into the huge pyre, more than willing to depart this world.

The remainder of the garrison was confined to the fortress and were compelled to look on—my sister, Lilutu, and myself were hidden among them, disguised as warrior knights. We do not fear death, any more than our brethren, but our destiny is to follow a different path of suffering.

The winds carried the horrendous death cries of my brethren to my ears and then swept them away just as efficiently. And although their suffering will haunt my consciousness the rest of my days, I did not feel compelled to weep, for I knew their joy and envied them their spiritual liberation. The sound of restrained weeping then caught my attention and the source was close by.