Chapter One Preview

As I mentioned on my primary blog, I'm in the process of writing a book. It will take me quite some time, especially considering that I don't write on a daily basis, but I hope that it will be completed by the close of 2007. Here is a preview of a section of Chapter 1, which will almost be a biography-esque chapter --

...But what else has happened in the life of Matthew Newman? I was a dork my entire life. While some children yearn to be astronauts, superheroes, or firefighters; I was playing with my “Too Gross” mad scientist set saying that I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up. In elementary and middle school we learned about the sciences in lumps, with little to no rhyme or reason behind anything. We'd talk about dinosaurs and fossils one week, followed by a simple chemical experiment. Throughout that time I learned all about mathematics, I absorbed it and when I began to learn algebra in seventh grade, I was enthralled. To me, math had always been like a puzzle – one which I actually had enjoyed doing, unlike those ridiculous piece puzzles that showed pictures of puppies or famous works of art. With the realization that I loved math combined with the fact that I was really good at it, I decided that I wanted to find a way to merge my love of math into my love of science that I carried on from childhood.

In high school we began to delve more deeply into the specific sciences and continue my diving into mathematics. The first of my high school scientific explorations was earth science, or as I liked to call it “Rocks 101.” We learned about rocks of all shapes and sized, we learned about how the rocks were formed, and so on. It was the most boring class I believe I've ever taken and I've taken years of math courses during my undergraduate career. My sophomore year we learned about biology. I thought this would be interesting, but the memorization was all manner of irritating. It did not feel like a science class as nothing appeared to be quantified; everything was observational with little to no structure. I hated it, despite doing well in the course. Following that came the science I had always dreamed of, chemistry. I became enthralled by chemistry; it was a science that I could understand, that was straightforward and easily accessible to one who could figure out patterns, and it was incredibly quantitative. I loved it, so much so that I took physics the following year merely to build a better foundation for my chemistry knowledge. I knew that this was the type of scientist I wanted to be when I grew up – I wanted to be a chemist.

At seventeen, I began looking into colleges. Being the valedictorian of my class, I knew I could get into most universities, but first I needed to know how I would use my love of chemistry to get a job in the real world beyond my schooling. I looked into the chemistry related fields and found chemical engineering – the application of chemistry, commonly in industrial settings. It sounded magical, perfect even. I said to myself, “I'll take it.” I applied all across New York being accepted into all five of the schools I applied. In the end, my school decision came down to money and name recognition, which led me back to the city I was born, Troy, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

What If -- No Kennedy Assassination

This idea had originally been posited on a game I used to play entitled US Government Simulator, or USG for short. I developed, in short, what I thought would happen and initially posted it on my primary blog. Here's a repost of that same thought -- a bit tweaked --

1964 - In a wave of popularity surging from his near death experience, Kennedy wins in a strong mandate for President against Barry Goldwater (similar to LBJ's victory). Kennedy dumped Johnson for Governor Pat Brown of California, who recently defeated Nixon for Governor. Kennedy continues to stand by the Vietnam war, but in contrast to Goldwater sounds much less militant.

1965 - Vietnam continues to escalate, Kennedy's popularity starts to drop. Vice President Brown meets with South Vietnamese leaders in Hawaii promising full support for their independence.

1966 - Vietnam war continues to be mismanaged as it was in real life.

1967 - Nixon begins speaking tour of America and talking about Civil Rights. MLK speaks out against Vietnam war. Secretary of Defense admits that Vietnam strategy has been ineffective before Senate.

1968 - Vietcong sweep in surprising American and allied South Vietnamese forces. Support for the war reaches all time low. Nixon meets with MLK. MLK assassinated (no correlation to Nixon meeting). Nixon v. Brown v. Wallace -- Nixon wins by larger margin than in reality -- Wallace gained support in unexpected regions.

Nixon's Term - Nixon pushes for the Civil Rights movement and deescalates Vietnam as he pledged on the campaign trail. Civil Rights movement moves forward later than normal due to Kennedy's initial opposition to the affair, despite popular belief. The Watergate scandal happens as expected only swifter then in reality. Carl Albert becomes President until 1976. Albert finishes the push for Civil Rights reform

1976 election - GOP primary between Ronald Reagan and Nelson Rockefeller. Reagan barely wins in a hotly contested primary, setting the tone for the Republican party for the next 20 years. President Albert is primaried by George Wallace for the nomination. After losing a few early primaries, Albert comes out victorious and eventually takes on Southern Governor Jimmy Carter as a running mate. Reagan barely wins in 1976 with Robert Dole as his running mate. Iran hostage crisis shortens with the hardliner Reagan handling the situation. The OPEC scenario leads to drilling in Alaska and other parts of the US and a renewed effort into alternative fuel sources. The oil found domestically lets the OPEC boycot having a lesser effect on domestic affairs.

1980 election - Ted Kennedy runs against Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primary, as it does in reality Kennedy's skelleton's surface leading to Carter winning the primary. Reagan uses sound bytes from Kennedy in campaign ads against Carter. Reagan defeats Jimmy Carter in 1980 in a campaign similar to the RL 1980 election. Soviet talks were huge in the early 1980s.

Dole wins on the wave of Reagan popularity in 1984 and continues the policies of Reagan. He pickes Howard Baker as a running mate. By 1988 talks with the Soviet Union had been going so well that Dole swept into reelection by a smaller, albeit still large margin. The Soviet Union began to slowly fall apart and taxes were forced to be raised and, without the charisma of Reagan, Dole was unable to sell it to the American people leading to the same problems Bush had in the late 1980s. Dole gets us into the Gulf War and it ends as quickly as it begins. He handles it about as well as Bush does.

In 1992 VP Baker runs into a problem as eccentric millionaire H. Ross Perot decides to run for President. Popular Southern Governor William J. Clinton sweeps through the DNC primary leading to an interesting Presidential race in 1992. Clinton still wins.

1996 leads to a fragmented Republican primary torn between Pat Buchanan and Senator Phil Gramm. Buchanan barely squeaks by with a primary victory. Clinton wins in 1996 as he did in reality with a slightly larger margin.

In 2000, Popular Maverick Senator John McCain faces off against popular Southern Governor George W. Bush in a GOP primary. The Democrats rally behind VP Al Gore. McCain sweeps in the primaries and picks up Alan Keyes as a running mate. Despite questions about the selection of Keyes, McCain sweeps into office in 2000 with his plain talk defeating Al Gore. September 11, 2001 happens as it does in real life. US sweeps into Afghanistan handling it a bit more manageably than in reality. Intelligence is brought to President McCain that Iraq may have weapons of mass destruction - he waits it out while finishing up efforts on Afghanistan.

By 2003, Iraq becomes a threat and invasion becomes eminent. End of 2003 we invade Iraq. McCain as a wartime President defeats peace-hawk Howard Dean in 2004 in a larger margin of victory than George W. Bush did in reality. McCain is currently our President.

American Gods - A Review

I read American Gods a while ago, but haven't gotten a chance to review the book. Since I have a literary blog now -- I figured this was the place to do it.

American Gods is the fourth prose novel written by Neil Gaiman -- the fact that it's his fourth has nothing to do with its content as the book has nothing to do with his previous works. American Gods chronicles the story of a man named Shadow after he leaves jail, discovers his wife's infidelity, and gets picked up for seemingly mob related work by a man who calls himself Wednesday. This leads to all manner of strange adventures involving gods worshiped from all over the world -- and the modern gods we have created through the worship of such things as money, the internet, and television.

The book gives an interesting idea on religion, whereby gods exist merely because we believe they do. It's a concept which is delved deeply in most Dungeons and Dragons campaign worlds, and other fictional, polytheistic worlds, yet not one we discuss in reality.

The book is written beautifully providing wonderful imagery, incredibly interesting characters, and an engrossing plot which makes you want to read more. Anyone looking into a darker book with an engrossing story involving classical myths and religions, look no further; it will not disappoint.

Realization

I have just realized that nearly every single post I've made thus far has somehow pertained to religion.

Church of Lucifer

In 2002, I took a class entitled "Introduction to Monotheistic Religions." In said class, I learned from a purely historical perspective the histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and how the three were spread. I have always been fascinated with alternate history, including the works of Harry Turtledove -- as such, I decided to combine my newfound knowledge into an alternate history timeline. The product? A chronicling of the foundation of a church devoted to Lucifer beginning in the Beth El around 200 CE. Here is a small biography of the founder of this fictional church --

Beelzebub Timothy – 158 – 215 CE – At age 40, Timothy had a torrid love affair with an Arab woman, cheating on his current wife. She was appalled and left him after discovering this. He could not understand why she was upset; he was only showing his true joy and love of mankind. He decided that something wasn’t right in the way people thought. So, after this experience, Timothy went into the desert alone. While out meditating, Timothy of Bethel met with Satan - Lucifer told Timothy to follow his ways and he promised to teach Timothy the ways of the world – Timothy listened and assumed the mantle of Beelzebub Timothy – He constructed a temple in the town of Beth El to Lucifer in 200 CE – he began preaching his word and gained a small following. By 210, most of Beth El attended the Lucifer cathedral – Beelzebub Timothy trained 3 successors, one to take over in Beth El and 2 to spread the faith. In 215 CE he died of internal parasites, but his faith lived on.

Next comes a few passages I created from the "Luciferite" holy text --

“…(12) And Cain took his brother Abel (13) saying, ‘Look Lucifer what I give unto you. (14) I would sacrifice my only brother, (15) the only sacrifice I could find befitting your glory. (16) You who was denied by Yahweh, (17) the Immortal Dark One, my divine inspiration. (18) I choose you as my Elohim, Lucifer (19) For ever and always’…”
Book of Cain 2:12-19

“…(4) [A]nd Lucifer spoke unto Timothy saying, (5) 'One day, my chosen people shall rule this Earth entirely. (6) This world will be ours. (7) Follow me and I will give you more than life eternal, (8) but eternal power, a true kingdom in this world.’
(9) Timothy smiled at this and bowed before his rightful master…”
Book of Timothy 3:4-9

To follow will be the entire timeline as I had developed it about the history of the church and how it impacted the other major monotheistic religions in the area --

~200 CE – Temple to Lucifer was founded by Beelzebub Timothy in Bethel – his new religion was founded. New beliefs – Lucifer is the one true god and all should bow before him. Yahweh of the Jews and Christians had exiled Lucifer because he did not understand Lucifer’s ways. Major ideals – 3 Laws of Lucifer

1. Obey Human Laws
2. Worship Lucifer and Lucifer alone
3. Disobedience of these first two is punishable by death or torture

The followers of Lucifer are awaiting the Apocalypse when their Dark Prince will reign on Earth as the King of Kings
215 CE – Beelzebub Timothy dies – Beelzebub Arafat takes over
250 CE – Luciferism has spread across the Middle East – 4 major temples – Beth El, Damascus, Sidon, and Antioch. Christian church in an outrage – calls Luciferites “…foul demons”
260 CE – Riots by Luciferites in Sidon call for freedom of religion and speech
Riots crushed by Roman guards
261 CE – Paul Il Diablerie – 1st High Priest of Lucifer – “Descendent of Cain” – name changed to Beelzebub Paul I – helps to collect “holy” scriptures in Damascus – story of the creation, similar to Genesis – includes Lucifer’s descent from Yahweh’s paradise and the creation of his own
Story of Cain’s sacrifice of his brother to Lucifer and includes lineage of Cain down to Timothy– Collection known as “Book of Books”
Many Jewish clergy and people flee to Egypt – are not initially accepted
262 – Jewish temple in Jerusalem destroyed by Romans
Diaspora – Jews spread throughout Europe, Russia, and Asia
280 – Jewish communities begin to form in Egypt – some locals begin to convert to Judaism
303 – Beelzebub Timothy and Beelzebub Paul I made saints by official Lucifer church – Saint Timothy and Saint Paul
304 – Beelzebub Anachus as High Priest – calls for Luciferite army to develop in order to protect the faith from others – official Holy center for Luciferites become Beth El
310 – Lucifer High Temple built in Beth El atop the original temple – a new temple is built in Jerusalem, some say over top the old Jewish temple.
Jewish High Priests from old temple hide in Ethiopia and Egypt – Official sources unsure which group took the Ark.
311 – Lucifer church’s religious army takes over Beth El and overthrows Roman rule – Rome fights back with outside troops, but the Lucifer troops, fighting a defensive war win the conflict and by the end of the year, Rome grants the city self-governance – does force them to give a tithe to Rome, for fear of more casualties the Lucifer church accepts this
313 – Edict of Milan – Christians are given toleration in Rome
315 – Lucifer church in Beth El begins to expand the army – all males in the city are forced to join the army – Holy duty – other followers of the Lucifer faith are asked to go to Beth El and join the army – by 318 the army measures in the thousands.
323 – Christianity becomes official Roman religion – Rome decides to purge Beth El of its “Heathens” – plans an attack for the following year.
324 – Roman troops attack Beth El – heavy casualties on both sides – Lucifer army comes out the victor – begins to expand Beth El
325 – Rome fights back against Beth El – pushes them back into the city – In May a small guerrilla unit, calling themselves the Fist of Saint Timothy, catches the Roman troops in their sleep – burning the encampment killing many – The conflict continues on that year – eventually, the Romans pull from the area when Germanic nomads began to invade parts of the Northern Roman Empire.
350 – Beth El expanded massively – large amounts of land in Middle East are taken – as far north as Damascus and as far south as Beer-sheba – Jerusalem has been taken in this processes
400 – Europe was Christian – few sects of Luciferites in modern Italy, France, and Belarus – Middle East split in thirds, between Christian, Jews, and Luciferites
Rome falls from power, Eastern Rome/Byzantine Empire established
410 – Lucifer Army invades Constantinople - Byzantines fall in a lengthy battle to Lucifer Army, known as the “Flaming Truth”
Byzantine Empire ruled by Orthodox Lucifer faith – theocracy for next 10 years
420 – Byzantine/Lucifer Empire becomes “Dominion of the Dark Prince” – Elhard Judas becomes first Emperor of the Dominion – taking over above the Church, says that he rules because Lucifer willed him to rule.
Lucifer cleansing – begin to seek out and destroy all non-Lucifer churches in the Dominion.
422 – Europe – Holy Roman Empire – former Roman armies rise again – Based in Rome
- Recreate Roman Empire – take Italy, and begin to purge the land of Lucifer churches
430 – Holy Roman Empire completed – from Portugal to the Ukraine under the Christian
Roman Banner – Begin the move southward towards Constantinople
Major Jewish settlements exist in modern Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other parts of Northern Africa
431 – New Jewish temple built in Cairo – Jewish faith is massive in Egypt and the Jewish population is just growing – Lucifer followers in hiding in Europe – All European Lucifer temples destroyed
432 – Beelzebub Ali – High priest in Beth El – visits Jerusalem – attacked by Jewish mobs – mob put down – Priest Ali barely escapes
440 – Egyptian/Jewish settlements all along Nile attempt to unite – New Israel – loosely bound together, basically by faith and trade Beth Shalom (Western Yemen) founded – Hebrew nation
442 – Holy Roman Empire takes England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland
Dominion invades Beth Shalom – Hebrews use guerrilla tactics – Luciferites make headway, take heavy casualties
443 – Dominion gives up their invasion after massive loss
Beth Shalom begins establishing laws of conscription
445 – “Beelzebub” Sergey Trotsky founds Lucifer church in Moscow – new Russian sect arises
470 – Russian Czar’s rise to power – Czar Nicholas I – Christian
Dominion attacks Holy Roman Empire
Egyptian Israel founded as nation from Mediterranean to the southern border of modern Egypt – very organized – builds army to protect its western border and trade
480 - Romans pushed into Turkey, but are pushed back – all battles take place here during the next 10 years, very little headway is made on either side – Constantinople/Lucifre is destroyed – Christians Bishops from area fled to Moscow
490 – Romans push down through Constantinople/Lucifre down into the south of Turkey and deeper into the Middle East
501 – Nomadic invaders from modern Pakistan/India area invade Dominion – Germanic Nomads attack Holy Roman Empire – ravages through the countryside raping and pillaging. Order is destroyed – 2 empires fall – feudal, local rule begins to develop out of fear of the outside world – Indian Nomads eventually settle in modern Turkey, Germanic Nomads settle into modern France – bring new customs to old traditions – variations of Christianity and Luciferism arise

• Aryan Sadism – from the Indian Nomads mixed with the Luciferist faith – adds the ideas of reincarnation to the table – the only way to end the horrible cycle of reincarnation is through faith in Lucifer – there are other gods out there including Vishnu and Yahweh, but Lucifer is the only one with power over reincarnation
• Germanic Christianity – Added a few pagan holidays into the mix of the usual customs of Christianity at the time, did not last too long, in some parts of France these holidays are still celebrated to this day

502 – Europe falls into feudalist state – as does most of the Middle East/Turkey
Beth Shalom begins a Golden Age – develops new technology
Czar begins to expand Russian territory
504 – Beth Shalom/Egyptian Israel trade creates strong ties – Sinai Peninsula – many small, feudal, Jewish communities arise
520 – Feudal lords in modern Iraq and Iran attempt to form a unified state – form Persia for a time – very loosely bound federation
550 – Beth Shalom builds massive sailing vessels – sends one into the Ocean, first voyage
552 – Vessel returns from India – some new spices and items – a new language is brought as well - Urdu – new trade routes beginning between India and Beth Shalom
560 – King of Scotland, Wilem, converts to Christianity after meeting with missionary – spreads it through his lands
580 – Loosely bound Persia falls
600 – Beth Shalom – spreads to all of modern day Yemen and Oman
611 – Mohammed begins to receive his visions which would later become the Koran
630 – Mohammed’s followers enter Mecca – Islam officially begins to spread as religious movement
630-661 – Islamic religion spreads as Islamic Empire spreads, based in Mecca – takes most of middle east by force – does not spread into Africa due to blockage by Egyptian Israel – in this time period, Egyptian Israel flourishes
632 – Mohammed dies
641 – Islamic Empire invades Egyptian Israel – gets pushed out easily by organized armed forces in Egypt – Egypt remains a free Jewish state
645 - Beth Shalom attacked by Islamic Empire – slowly crushes the small state – war of attrition ends by the end of the year – Beth Shalom falls and religious toleration for these Jews is granted
651 – Koran published officially
Koran’s take on Lucifer and the Luciferite community --

• “… [T]he Dark One is not to be followed. His evil is equaled by none and his lust for souls is great. Those who praise this false lord are damned, both in this life and the next…”

680 – Still a large Luciferite population living under Islamic rule, especially in areas such as modern Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria
700 – Luciferites rebel in Jerusalem, Damascus, and Beth El – Lucifer locals overthrow Islamic forces – regain local control – new “Flaming Truth” Army begun in Beth El by Beelzebub Paul II
Islamic Empire moves troops from these areas, build up on borders
710 – Islamic Empire stretches as far east as Pakistan/India area
Islam begins to spread into modern Turkey, Empire does not spread that way
750 – Aryan Sadists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Pagans in modern Turkey begin to look outside their feudal boundaries and trade begins between city-states
Modern Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and certain parts of Saudi Arabia under Lucifer occupation – based in Beth El – law mandated by clergy
750-800 - The Abbasid Dynasty rules the Islamic Empire
752-800 – Abdul Dynasty rules the Lucifer Empire – Rule with an iron fist
754 – Egyptian Israel becomes republic
755 – Reign of Demons in Lucifer – other religions stamped out – churches destroyed
762 – Abbasid’s move their capital to Baghdad
770 – Islam on the rise in area of former Beth Shalom – Judaism still holds its ground and remains the major religion in the area
774 – Egyptian Israel begins trading with China
775 – Jews in “Beth Shalom” granted local rule by the their own clans by the Islamic Empire
780 – Hebrew reformation – synagogues in southern Egypt begin restructuring ideals – some areas sanction modifications to Kosher including the allowing for eating of certain pork products – begin translating Torah into local languages including Arabic, Aramaic
800-900 – Islamic Empire attacks the Abdul Dynasty – battle ensues for the next 100 years between the two of them – during war flourishing of culture and religion like never before in this area – many pieces of literature come out of this time – much is lost in later centuries – “Beth Shalom” area comes to the aid of the Islamic Empire, defending their rulers.
850-855 – Egyptian Israel falls into civil war between northern more orthodox Jews and the southern reform counterparts – war ends with southern portion winning – take over republic’s government and allow freedom of interpretation of Jewish law – Judaism divided between Orthodox and Egyptian Reform (usually just called Egyptian)
860 – Egyptian Israel sends ships across Mediterranean into France/Spain area – found small colonies
870 – French locals living near colonies attack the Egyptian settlements – fighting ensues – Egyptian Jews fended back by locals
880-911 – Viking attacks at their peak in Europe
900 – War ends between the two Middle Eastern empires - both are in ruins – feudalism arises in the Middle East Universities begin to sprout in Egyptian Israel
900-1200 – Agricultural advances – rebirth of towns and trade in Europe
920 – More people from Egypt enter Europe – Judaism begins to spread
950 – Universities begin to sprout in Europe – a few in the Middle East
953 – City States sprout in modern Yemen – primarily run by Jewish tribes, allow minor religious tolerance.
967 – Fatimites invade Egypt, take control of lower region
969 – Fatimites/Egyptian War ends – half the former Egyptian Israel under Fatimite control – Fatimite Judaism begins to form, combination of their local traditions and Judaism.
970 – Second Islamic Empire forms, based in Baghdad moves westward.
980 – New Lucifrite Dynasty forms, keeps to itself around modern day Israel, capital in Beth El
982 - 985 – Second Egyptian Civil War breaks out – Fatimite Egypt and Israeli Egypt war until 985 when both sects are crushed – fall of Egypt into feudalism/tribalism
984-986 – Lucifer/Islamic War, ends with fall of small Lucifer nation, fall of Beth El
1000 – Lief Erikson discovers America
Islamic Empire moves into Indian Subcontinent
1005 – Loosely bound Turkish clans invade Baghdad destroying Islamic Empire capital
1006 – Aryan Sadists and Hindus in India fight back – push back Islamic forces

Modern Templars

In late 2006, I became fascinated with the Knights Templar, as such I began coming up with ideas as to how the Templars would exist in modern times, additional militant religious organizations, supernatural monsters, and about other ideas surrounding the Templars. These historical ideas I built were to be used as the foundation for the story of one specific Templar I was creating. To follow is a minor history of the current organizations --

Templar Knights – The Templar Knights are the remaining body of the former Knights Templar. Founded in the 1100s, the Templars exist to protect Christendom. In 1314, the organization was destroyed by the Pope leading to a separation of the Templar Knights from Rome. Since then, the Templars went underground, protecting Christians across the globe as renegades. The Grand Master sits in charge in Jerusalem and coordinates most efforts from there. They exist to protect Christendom from any of the forces which threaten it – from the mundane to the supernatural.

Knights of Peter of Rome – The KPR are a Catholic monastic order which defends the Roman Catholic Church and Roman Catholics internationally. Lacking a militant monastic order, the KPR were founded in 1506 by Pope Julius II. Since then, the KPR have protected Catholics internationally from non-Christian attacks and the supernatural.

The Brotherhood – A coalition of vampires, primarily the spawns of Dracula himself. The following is a list of the High Council of the Brotherhood –

• Alucard (1322) (Transylvania, Romania)
• Carnot (1321) (Johannesburg, South Africa)
• Yoshimi (1521) (Osaka, Japan)
• Jonathan Herring (1492) (New York, USA)
• José Gomes Maciel (1506) (São Paulo, Brazil)

Dracula has been considered dead since 1720 when combined KPR and Templar forces destroyed his fortress in Transylvania. The Brotherhood has a longstanding feud with both organizations for that very reason.

Oracles – The Oracles are an organization of those who watch. They are a secret organization which observes all that occurs on the Earth and keeps an intricate history of every single event which ever occurred in world history.

The Young Brigade – Founded by Brigham Young as a protectorate of the Mormon people in 1850, around the time of the great Exodus of the Mormon people to the Utah territory. The Young Brigade, or the “Youngsters” as they are occasionally referred to by outside groups, continues to defend the Mormon people. The traditional head of the LDS Church is the Supreme Commander of the Young Brigade. Currently, the Young Brigade is composed of 5,000 people primarily located on North America with many bases in Utah and portions of Mexico.

The Hebrews – The Hebrews are a coalition of like-minded Jews from across the world who are prepared to defend Israel to the death. They pushed the Zionist movement from day one, and have currently infiltrated all of the major parties in Israel. Their stance is that Israel is and always has been the Holy Land for the Hebrew people – it should return to such today. The organization was founded in 1900 in Jerusalem and has since spread throughout the world. The most secretive of the organizations, the Hebrews are hard to number as their official numbers are never kept in any centralized location.

The Swords of the Prophet – The Swords of the Prophet were established in 1178 by Saladin, as a secret, but militant arm of the Islamic people. This group sought to take down the Christian Crusaders through guerrilla forces. Their tactics invoked terror into the hearts of the Crusaders and led to many victories on the side of Saladin. In 1190, Saladin claimed to have no connection to the organization and condemned their attacks – a few years later a truce was signed ending one of the many Crusades. The organization continued to this day, secretly controlling most of the Islamic terror organizations in our modern world.

Here is the biography of the new character who would be the main focus of any Templar based stories I would develop, Sir Caleb of Albany --

Born – June 11, 1970; Albany, NY, USA
Parents – Jonathan and Jessica Smythe
Languages – Fluent in English (American), Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Russian, French, Spanish, German, Arabic
Bio – Caleb Smythe was born in Albany, NY in 1970 of Jessica and Matthew Smythe. The Smythe family were Christian fundamentalists who in 1975 traveled to Jerusalem to worship with services of the three major Christian Patriarchs of Jerusalem. Jessica and Matthew left Caleb in the hands of a friend of theirs in Jerusalem named Bethsheba and visited the Church were Catholic Patriarch Beltritti, was supposed to be visiting that day. Beltritti never arrived, but Palestinian terrorists did, bombing the building and instantly killing nearly all people within.

At 5, Caleb was alone in the world. For the next five years, Bethsheba raised him as his own, teaching him Latin, Greek, and Hebrew in addition to keeping him physically fit. In 1980, Bethsheba brought Caleb to a place she referred to as the Temple of Jerusalem and introduced her to her master – Sir Galahad VII of Jerusalem – the current Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Galahad took in Caleb and over the next ten years trained him in combat, world history, Christian theology, and language.

In 1988, Caleb was dubbed Sir Caleb of Albany, becoming the tenth American to be a member of the ranks.