Chapter 10 chapter Ten

How did Torresmondo get there?It turned out that during the period when Agilulfo traveled from France to England, from England to Africa, and from Africa back to Brittany, the presumed legitimate descendant of the Ducal House of Cornovalia traveled from the south to the Crossing from north to east to west, he traveled through the forests of all Christian countries, looking for the secret camp of the Holy Grail Knights.Since the Holy Order is used to changing places every year and never showing up in front of lay people, Torismundo found no signs to follow for a long time during his journey.He wandered freely to get rid of the sense of loss in his heart.In his opinion, the feeling of loneliness is related to not finding the Knights of the Holy Grail.Is he looking for the Order of the Pious, or is he more reminiscing about his childhood in the Scottish moors?Sometimes a pale valley of larches suddenly appeared, or a crag of gray rock rose through the sky, and from below rose a stream foaming white, they gave him an indescribable thrill, and he thought This is a foreshadowing. "Yes, they might be here, close by." If the muffled horn sounded far in that area, Torismundo was sure of it.He searched every ravine step by step, looking for the footsteps of the knights.But only now and then you come across a stunned hunter or a herder with his sheep.

He came to the remote place of Kuvaldia and stopped in a village to ask the villagers for some fresh cheese and black bread. "Here you are, sir, with great pleasure," said one of the shepherds, "but look at me, my wife, and children, we are as thin as skeletons! We have to pay too much to the knights." Yes! This wood is full of your comrades, they only dress differently from you. They are a whole army, and do you know that all supplies fall to us!" "Knights who live in the forest? What do they wear?" "The cloak is white, and the helm is gold, with two white swan feathers in it."

"Are they religious?" "Well, they pretend to be pious. Of course money doesn't get their hands dirty because they have no money. But they have desires, let us satisfy their demands! Now there is a famine and we are all starved to sticks .Next time they come again, what shall we give them?" The young man has run away to the forest. A brook flows quietly through the meadow, and a flock of swans swims slowly along the water.Torrismondo followed the swans along the water's edge.From the branches and leaves of the trees came the sound of a harp: "Ding Dong, Ding Dong, Ding Dong!" A figure of a person appeared where the branches and leaves were sparse.He was a warrior in a helmet with white feathers, and he had a spear in his hand, and a little harp, and he was trying to strike the chord: "Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong Boom" He didn't speak, his eyes didn't avoid Torrismondo, but only passed over his head.He seemed to ignore him, but also seemed to be with him.When tree trunks and bushes separated them, the samurai called to him with his "Ding Dong" sound, guiding him to go on.Torrismondo wanted to talk to him, ask him questions, but he just kept silent.Follow this warrior carefully.

They got into a clearing in the woods.All around were warriors holding spears, wearing golden armor, and wearing white cloaks. They stood upright, motionless, and stared into the sky.A warrior feeds a swan with corn kernels, but looks away.The warrior playing the lyre played a new tune, and a warrior on horseback blew a horn to answer, sending out a long call.When the sound of the trumpets died down, all the warriors moved about, each taking a few steps in his own direction, and then stood still again. "Knights..." Torismondo summoned up his courage and said, "Please forgive me, maybe I made a mistake, are you the Holy Grail Knights..."

"Never say that name!" a voice cut in from behind him.A knight with silver hair stood not far from him. "Isn't it enough that you disturb our silence?" "Oh, please forgive me!" the young man turned to him. "I am so happy to be with you! Do you know how long I have been looking for you!" "why?" "Because..." The urge to tell the secret in my heart outweighed the concerns about sacrilege, "...because I am your son!" The old knight remained expressionless after hearing this. "Father and son are not recognized here," he said after a moment of silence. "Those who join the Holy Order renounce all relatives in the world."

Feeling abandoned and disappointed, Torismondo had even considered the possibility of getting an exasperated denial from his sanctimonious fathers, against which he could present evidence and sympathize.But the reply was so calm, that it did not deny the possibility of fact, but left no room for discussion of the question, and he was discouraged. "I want nothing more than to be recognized as a son by this Holy Order." He tried to insist on his opinion. "I have infinite reverence for it!" "Since you respect our team very much," said the old man, "you must have the desire to be absorbed by it as a member."

"You mean, that's also possible?" exclaimed Torismondo, who was immediately seduced by the new prospect. "If you are qualified." "What shall be done?" "Gradually cleanse yourself of all passions, and let the love of the Holy Grail rule you." "Oh, did you not mention it, its name?" "We knights can do it. You mortals can't." "Tell me, why are you the only ones who don't speak here?" "It is my business to deal with worldly people. Since speech is always unclean, if the Holy Grail does not pass through them There is something to say, the knights would rather quit."

"Please tell me, what should I do from the beginning?" "Did you see that maple leaf? A drop of dew fell on it. Stand still and keep your eyes fixed on the drop of dew on the leaf. Forget everything in the world and merge yourself with the dew." One, until you feel that you have lost your ego and become filled with the infinite power of the Holy Grail." So he stood there like a tree.Torismondo stared blankly at Luzhu, looked at it, and couldn't help thinking of his own thoughts.He saw a spider land on a maple leaf. He looked at the spider, then at the dew, and moved a numb foot.Alas! He is bored.Beside him, the knights came in and out of the woods, their steps were slow, their mouths were wide open, they walked with the swans, stroking the soft feathers of the swans from time to time.One of them suddenly opened his arms, ran forward a few steps, and let out a longing cry.

"Those people over there," Torrismondo couldn't help asking the old man who appeared next to him again, "what are they doing?" "Mind wandering." The old man said, "If you are so distracted and curious, you will never be able to enter this state. Those brothers have finally achieved the power of connecting with all things.,, "And what about the others?" asked the young man.Some knights twisted their waists as they walked, as if their whole bodies were shaking slightly, and they laughed continuously. "They are still in the middle stage. Beginners only feel something nearby entering into their body before feeling themselves one with the sun and stars, but this feeling is very strong. This has a certain special effect on young people. .You see us brothers, the flow of the stream, the shaking of the branches, the mushrooms growing in the ground, all give them a pleasant and slight tickle."

"It's been a long time, aren't they tired?" "They slowly enter the advanced stage, when they not only feel the vibrations around them, but the great breath of the celestial body is also infused into them, and over time they lose their sense of self." "Can everyone do this?" "There are only a few people. Only one of us can achieve perfection, and he is the chosen one, the Holy Grail King." They came to a clearing.A large number of knights are there practicing weapons, and a chair with a canopy is placed in front of them.Under the canopy someone seemed to be sitting, or rather crouching.He was motionless, less human and more like a mummy in the uniform of a Grail Knight, but more luxurious.On his wrinkled face like a chestnut, a pair of eyes were opened, even round and staring.

"Is he still alive?" asked the young man. "He is alive but possessed by the love of the Holy Grail. He no longer needs to eat, drink, exercise, have any needs, and hardly breathes. He cannot see or hear. No one understands his thoughts. Those thoughts must reflect The motions of distant planets." "Since he can't see, why let him parade?" "This is the etiquette stipulated by the Knights of the Holy Grail." Knights practicing fencing.Their eyes were turned to the sky, and they swung their long swords step by step. Their steps were heavy and sudden, as if they didn't know what to do next.However, their moves did not go wrong. "How can they fight with such a half-awake air?" "The Holy Grail is upon us to wield our swords, and the love of the universe can turn into a fierce rage that drives us to gladly stab our enemies to death. We are invincible in team fights, and we are invincible precisely because we fight with neither strength nor effort." Look at the opponent, but let the holy wrath break out on us." "Does it always work?" "Yes, for a man who has lost all personal will and only allows the power of the Holy Grail to control his every minute movement." "Every little movement? Is it the way you walk now?" The old man walked forward like a sleepwalker: 'Of course.I am not moving my feet, I let them be pushed.You try it.Everyone starts with the legs. " Torrismondo began to try, but, first of all, he couldn't move his legs, and secondly, he didn't experience any sensation.Here is a luxuriant forest, where there are birds coughing and wings beating everywhere, he likes to run easily here, hunt for wild game happily, and resist with himself, his strength, his labor, and his courage. The darkness, against the mystery, against the outer nature.He had the opposite effect and had to stand there, trembling all over, like a paralytic. "You have to relax," the old man warned him, "let everything around you occupy you." "But I, to tell the truth," Torrismondo couldn't help saying, "what I like is to possess, not to be possessed." The old man raised his arms and crossed his face to block his eyes and ears: "Young man, you still have a long way to go. " Torrismondo remained in the camp of the Knights of the Holy Grail.He tried to learn and imitate his fathers or brothers (he didn't know what to call them), trying to restrain the psychological impulse that he thought was very personal, trying to melt himself into the infinite Grail love.He was attentive to experience in himself every slight sign that sent the knights into a fugue state, but the days passed without any progress in his purification.Everything that pleased them disgusted him with the shouts, the music.Those tremors ready to strike at any moment.Especially after the fellow members kept approaching, he saw that they were half-naked and wearing breastplates, their skin was pale, some of them were slightly old, while the young were delicate; Seeing stingers; finding them increasingly repulsive to him.They pretend that the Holy Grail makes them act, they are self-indulgent and unruly, but they always pride themselves on their purity. He stared at the sky, did not pay attention to what other people were doing, and soon forgot himself, and the emergence of such a mental state made him feel unbearable. The day to collect contributions has arrived.All the villages around the forest must regularly deliver a certain amount of items to the Holy Grail Knights: a block of cheese, a basket of carrots, a bag of barley, a lamb. A village representative stepped forward: "We would like to say that in the entire Kuvaldia area, the harvest is not good. We don't know how to feed our children. The famine hits the rich as much as the poor. Pious knights , we implore you to exempt this donation.” The King of Cups sat under the canopy, silent and motionless as always.At some point, he slowly let go of his hands that had been crossed on his stomach, raised them upwards (his fingernails were exceptionally long), and hissed, "Ooooooooo..." Hearing this sound, the knights aimed their spears at the poor Kuvaldians and approached them. "Help! We will defend ourselves!" shouted the people. "Let us arm ourselves with axes and sickles!" They fled in all directions. That night, with horns and shouts, the knights rushed towards the villages of Cuvaldia with their eyes turned to the sky.From the rows of hop fields and hedgerows sprang villagers with pitchforks and pruning shears, and they fought to stop the advance of the knights.But only a few were able to withstand the relentless spears of the knights.Several defensive lines of the defenders were destroyed, and the knights rode heavy horses to the huts made of stones, straw and mud, and trampled them down with iron hooves, turning a deaf ear to the weeping of women, children and the moaning of calves. .Other knights raised flaming torches and set fire to roofs, haylofts, stables, and empty granaries, turning the village into a sea of ​​flames, and there were constant screams that pierced people's hearts. Torrismondo was pushed and shoved in the cavaliers, he was very frightened, "Tell me, why?" who followed him all the way, "So it's not true that you love everything! Hey, watch out, you knocked that old lady down! How can you torture these homeless people? Hurry up, the fire is going to reach the cradle! What are you doing?" "Don't ask about the Holy Grail's intentions, trainee!" the old man warned him. "It's not us who are doing this. It's the Holy Grail. It's attached to us to manipulate our actions! Find joy in its crazy love!" But Torismondo leaped from the saddle and ran like an arrow to help a mother, returning the fallen child to her arms. "No, you can't take all my food! How much blood and sweat have I spent!" an old man roared. Torrismondo was standing beside the old man. "Drop your pockets! Bandit!" He threw himself at the rider, taking his ill-gotten gains. "God bless you! You are on our side!" some poor people said to him.They took a wall as cover and still persisted in self-defense with scissors, knives and axes. "You form a semicircle and we all rush towards them," shouted Torismundo, who led the Kuvaldia militia. He quickly drove the knights from the house.Meet the old knight and two other knights with torches head on. "He is a traitor, you catch him!" A large-scale fierce battle began.The Kuvaldians met with spits, and women and children hurled stones.Suddenly a horn sounded. "Retreat!" Facing the rebellion of the Kuvaldians, the knights retreated from everywhere, all the way out of the village. The group that was pressing on Torismundo also retreated. "Come on, brothers!" cried the old knight, "let us go where the Grail leads us!" "The Holy Grail triumphs!" cried the rest in unison, turning the reins. "Long live! You saved us!" The villagers gathered around Torrismondo. "You are a knight, but you act bravely! Finally, there is such a knight! You stay with us! Whatever you want, we will give it to you!" "Now... what I want... I don't know what it is..." Torrismondo stammered. "Before this battle we knew nothing, we didn't know we were human... Now we think we can... we need... we should do everything... no matter how hard it is..." They turned to mourning for the dead . "I can't stay with you... I don't know who I am... goodbye..." He got on his horse and galloped away. "Come back!" the local residents shouted to him, but Torrismondo had left the village, the forest of the Grail Knight, and Cuvaldia. He resumed his wanderings among the countries.Since he remembered the Knights of the Holy Grail as his only ideal, he had dismissed all honors and all pleasures.Now that his ideal is shattered, what object of pursuit will he seek for his restless soul? He picked wild fruits in the forest to satisfy his hunger, and caught sea urchins on the rocks by the sea to satisfy his hunger. Sometimes he met a monastery and could drink a bowl of bean porridge.On the beach in Brittany, when he entered a cave to catch sea urchins, he found a woman who was sleeping soundly. Her long black eyelashes hang down on her pale and plump cheeks, her soft body is stretched out, her hands are placed on her protruding breasts, her hair is soft, her lips are full, her buttocks, toes, and she breathes evenly.Suddenly, he felt that the desire that drove him to travel all over the world, everywhere covered with a layer of soft vegetation, where the wind blows low against the ground, to spend sunny days without the sun coming true satisfied. He leaned over her, and when Sophronia opened her eyes, he was gazing at her. "Please don't hurt me," she said softly, "what are you looking for on this barren rock?" "I've been looking for what I've been missing, and it's only when I see you that I know what it is. How did you come to this shore?" "I am a nun who was forced to marry a follower of Muhammad, but the wedding was not completed because I was his 365th bride. I was lucky to meet a Christian who drew his sword and helped me. Later, when we returned On the way, the ship hit a rock and sank, and I was placed in this cave, as if captured by vicious pirates." "I see. Are you alone?" "As far as I understand, the savior has gone to the emperor to do business." "I am willing to defend you with my sword, but I am afraid that the affection you kindle in me may be so strong that you may think my motives are not pure." 'Regret, you don't have to worry, you know, I have encountered danger several times.However, every time, at a critical moment, the savior jumped out, always him. " "Will he come this time too?" "Then, I can't tell." "What is your name?" "Azila, or Sister Palmyra. It depends if it's in the Sultan's harem or in a convent." "Azila, I seem to have been in love with you for a long time... I seem to be fascinated by you..."