An ARKANE Short Story by J.F. Penn
Soldiers of God
Let them rest until needed.
Martin Klein, ARKANE's Head Librarian, is scanning the Vatican's newly digitized archive when his algorithm surfaces a document that should not exist.
Instructions from 1145 for burying certain Templar knights in reinforced coffins, strapped down, with metal spikes driven through their hearts.
The trail leads beneath the streets of Paris, to a sealed vault under the old Templar fortress, and a door with seven locks that was never meant to be opened.
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The research behind the book
Scanning the Vatican's Secret Archive
The Vatican Apostolic Archive, renamed from the Secret Archive in 2019, really is being digitized and can be searched at digi.vatlib.it.
Learn more →Militia Dei, 1145
Pope Eugene III's papal bull Militia Dei is genuine: it granted the Knights Templar the right to bury their dead in their own cemeteries. The second document scanned alongside it is invention. Probably.
The Templar fortress of the Marais
A vast medieval Templar fortress once stood where the Square du Temple now sits. In 2007, renovations at the Carreau du Temple uncovered a real Templar cemetery.
Jacques de Molay's fire
The last Grand Master of the Templars was burned alive near Notre-Dame in 1314 by the crown and church he served.
AI in the archives
Martin's dance between human and machine mirrors real tools now used to tag and connect archival documents across languages and centuries.
Audiobook available direct from the author and on Audible, Apple, Kobo, Spotify and more.
Stone of Fire
Book 1
Crypt of Bone
Book 2
Ark of Blood
Book 3
One Day in Budapest
Book 4
Day of the Vikings
Book 5
Gates of Hell
Book 6
One Day in New York
Book 7
Destroyer of Worlds
Book 8
End of Days
Book 9
Valley of Dry Bones
Book 10
Tree of Life
Book 11
Tomb of Relics
Book 12
Soldiers of God
Short story · this book
Spear of Destiny
Book 13
