“The Templars’ Secret Crusade: When Magic Crossed into Europe”
Second chapter from:
THE MANUAL OF MAGIC
The fathers of magic’s original opera
Many winters and many springs passed, and for Malzbat the time came to cease to exist. In Europe, the Popes urged the population to wage war against those arid lands, in the so-called “Holy Wars”: the Crusades.
Terrible armies of infantry and knights stormed into Malzbat, reducing the empire to ruins. The last king, Istrugald the Younger, was overthrown by the new technologies of the European soldiers, with the phrase spoken by Brimeo, the greatest of the knights: “With this sword I free this Holy Land from the stinking filth that has gathered here.” Fate had chosen that day as Aktai’s revenge, destroying the enemy cities. There were tears and gnashing of teeth, and the survivors managed to hide the gift of magic from the crusader knights.
On the gates of Malzbat, enormous emblems depicting crosses were lowered.
Behold, the sufferings of Malzbat had not yet come to an end. The year 1191 ran ominously, like a demon unleashed.
One day, after roughly a lunar cycle had passed, the sentinels raised the alarm, announcing the arrival of more knights. Their crosses were clearly visible—red as blood—and they rode mighty white steeds. The villagers scattered in every direction, but it was too late. The soldiers were too many, and in a flash they reached the gates of Malzbat’s capital: Jerusalem.
The attack was too swift and unforeseen, and the Custodians of Malzbatian Magic (those who kept the art secret) were caught off guard. They tried to flee through underground tunnels, dug with the toil and sweat of many men, hoping to reach Petra for refuge. Many managed to escape, but one of them fell into Templar hands.
The noble knights of the cross took hostage this man whose escape had failed and interrogated him relentlessly. Yet they did not know the secret he managed to preserve, through immense strength of will, for a time. Unable to wrest a single word from his lips, the knights resorted to terrible tortures. After enduring much of it, the exhausted man confessed. He revealed where the fugitives were and showed them the magic he knew how to wield.
The Templars were astonished by such wonders and wished to learn the art, as the disciples of Uhtogard had done. But the man refused, and to punish him, the Templars killed him, casting him down from the upper level of the Temple.
General Arkazam, then the most capable of the Templars, launched a military expedition for magical power in Petra.
Thus, the breathtaking beauty of the epic red city mingled with the red of the blood of wizards and witches.
For the first time in history, magic was no longer the concern of a single people or a single empire—it now belonged to someone who had seized it by force. General Arkazam returned to Jerusalem in triumph, bearing a long golden staff. It was the beginning of what would become a golden age of magic under Templar rule.
Despite having driven peoples to war, the Templars educated the descendants of spellcasters and laid the foundations for the regulations and the book you are about to read. They were the first to record their knowledge, and magic grew immensely. Arkazam presented these practices to King Richard the Lionheart, who decided to bring this discipline to Europe once he had returned from his sacred mission.
And it was a time of great jubilation, as contemporary chronicles recount: anyone, from the young to the old, could use magic for whatever purpose they desired. Schools were founded, places dedicated to training, and magical institutions were born.
Fate, pleased, decided to reveal itself to Arkazam in order to present its plan. It wished to establish a pyramidal system, with itself at the top (see chapter “The MG: Magical Gerarchy”). Arkazam agreed, and then Fate disappeared, never to show itself to anyone again. Arkazam carried out what had been commanded of him, and to provide a home for the future rulers of the Underworld, he had castles, towers, and walls erected: he had become a legend, a true living god. After that, as the legends tell, he was absorbed into the very body of Fate itself, so that it could govern the Hincipit without having to die. In life, Arkazam had become one of the most powerful wizards ever known.
In its system, however, Fate had not yet decided to alter the course of the future, and therefore administrations overseen by the Bathuman, such as the Rādcniht and the Magister, did not yet exist.
At the time, Dark Magic (see article “Magic & Magical Tools”) of course existed, and the ancient Keepers had warned, before the massacre, never to reveal its capabilities to the world. The Templar knights, however, had not heeded their pleas. Thus, Black Magic circulated freely just like Good Magic. It was at this moment that Fate decided to rebel against the dull routine, now bored by that apparent peace.
Following the death of Arkazam and of his descendants through many generations, the Templars grew rich thanks to a disastrous invention of theirs: the Magic Tax. All citizens who practiced magic were forced to pay a substantial sum into their coffers in order to continue practicing. Those who refused were destined for public humiliation, and many public executions took place. The Templars thus became blinded by coins, and their role of dominion poisoned their hearts, which until then had been enlightened. Among them arose a legend that turned into certainty: they had to seize the Philosopher’s Stone, a miraculous stone capable of turning crude iron into gold. The Templars invented Alchemy to begin their search, and for many centuries they sought it in vain.
Among them, a cult also took root: the mythical Baphomet, a terrible demon they worshipped as the supposed creator and guardian of the Philosopher’s Stone.
The crusader knights had thus lost all reason, and this affair drew the attention of the reigning Pope: Clement V, in the distant year 1306. He incited the masses against the Templars, accusing them of infamy, of enriching themselves through the Holy Wars, and above all, of the gravest charge: heresy. With these serious crimes, the knights were sought throughout the Empire for high treason. Moreover, the people were weary of the Magic Taxes, and their hearts had become filled with dark hatred.
And so it was that, once admired and respected, the Templars were seized like filthy sewer rats and condemned to the stake.
The bells of the churches rang in the distance, and the flames of the pyres rose with the final thoughts and breaths of the corrupted Templars. Baphomet was burned along with his admirers, and every trace of the noble knights vanished.
A dark era had suddenly arrived, one that would mark the entire world—a time in which Dark Magic ran free and unstoppable, and dark wizards unleashed it upon the innocent. It was an age dominated by terror and chaos, and Fate was greatly pleased by it.
The Plague had come, ready to claim its victims.
