Samuel's War.
There’s still no word from Samuel. Arthur Enright has also disappeared from the known world. He’s probably in hiding from the wrath of Alex Reeves. I’ve been trying to take my mind off the disappointments of last week by getting back in touch with the lads. I say the disappointments, because once the actual threats were removed I stopped feeling scared by the whole situation. Norman’s more freaked out with the discovery he can speak French than any trauma from being held down and then unleashing nutso-Rambo moves. Angela, I suspect, wishes she stayed in Devon. We all are trying to get our lives back into some regular routines, but when I eventually got to meet up with Cobber, Top and Pele, I found my thoughts drifting back to magic, and the stories Norman has been telling me about Samuel.
When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Samuel was affiliated to a group of demonologists in Scotland. For over a year he had been courting a young woman who found his fraudulent innocence about the world of demons to be charming. He hasn’t said what he thought of the girl – Norman didn’t want to ask – so I’m wondering if he’s the sort of man who can feign love to get what he wants. He went as far as proposing to her, and then she introduced him to the rest of her friends. No one doubted his honesty, but they did question his commitment. In fact some of the group were openly hostile to this Englishman among their secrets, not to mention their women.
The group he had infiltrated were all Oxford graduates, who bonded and recruited on the notion of a Celtic heritage. Their academic achievements aren’t part of the story, but I wonder if their zeal related at all to their shortcomings. The woman that Samuel seduced was one of them, one of their few women. She would talk to him about the rediscovery of a true Celtic identity, to rewrite the scraps and reinventions that they were forced to cling to. The knowledge of demons – intelligences that dated back centuries, or even thousands of years – was superior to any archaeologist’s detective work.
It took another year for Samuel to be allowed to attend a meeting of these fanatics. He invented a career in Edinburgh that called him away often, so that his engagement was constantly being prolonged. He protested on his fiancé’s behalf, that she could not possibly marry a man she had known for a year but only been with for one week. And by this it seemed obvious that as the marriage drew closer, Samuel should be inducted into her true religion. He outwardly embraced paganism, offering his body to ancient goddesses. The church wedding, when it came, was as much a sham for her as it was for him – a pretence for the benefit of her parents and neighbours. The next night they held a second ceremony, when she spoke her vows with true conviction. Samuel, of course, was still lying. I’ve been trying to imagine him – in his best suit in the church, and in whatever they wear at pagan ceremonies, if anything – I’ve been trying to imagine what colour his eyes were then.
It was only at this second ceremony that Samuel met their leader. The leader officiated over their union himself, and afterwards spoke of the coming day when the darkness over Europe would be lifted, a darkness their own government was tempted by. He spoke of history dissolving, as centuries of Christian oppression were cast off. As the groom it was easy for Samuel to ask for a private audience, murmuring doubts about his duties. I don’t know what got him more mad – the reference to Christian oppression or the naïve use of demons as moral guides – but he beat the leader of the cult until he was tempted to worship Samuel as a god. No crime had been committed that he wanted to be discussed in open court, so Samuel’s tactic was to kill any demons that had been summoned, thus scaring off any other potentials, and depriving the group of their power. After investing two years uncovering the group, he was dismayed by the leader’s confession that a lot of what he’d heard was boastful overselling by his wife. They had consorted with demons, seeking out the eldest and trading with them for information, but they had no demons under their control. In fear for his life, the leader told Samuel about another group of magicians he knew of, in Brittany. They had invited him to join them, as they called forth a demon to drive back the Nazis, and carve a nation for celtic Bretons out of France.
Norman doesn’t ask the right questions when he hears a story. He never asked what happened to Samuel’s wife, is it possible she’s even still alive? He never asked what troubled Samuel most – leaving his marriage or entering occupied France.
When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Samuel was affiliated to a group of demonologists in Scotland. For over a year he had been courting a young woman who found his fraudulent innocence about the world of demons to be charming. He hasn’t said what he thought of the girl – Norman didn’t want to ask – so I’m wondering if he’s the sort of man who can feign love to get what he wants. He went as far as proposing to her, and then she introduced him to the rest of her friends. No one doubted his honesty, but they did question his commitment. In fact some of the group were openly hostile to this Englishman among their secrets, not to mention their women.
The group he had infiltrated were all Oxford graduates, who bonded and recruited on the notion of a Celtic heritage. Their academic achievements aren’t part of the story, but I wonder if their zeal related at all to their shortcomings. The woman that Samuel seduced was one of them, one of their few women. She would talk to him about the rediscovery of a true Celtic identity, to rewrite the scraps and reinventions that they were forced to cling to. The knowledge of demons – intelligences that dated back centuries, or even thousands of years – was superior to any archaeologist’s detective work.
It took another year for Samuel to be allowed to attend a meeting of these fanatics. He invented a career in Edinburgh that called him away often, so that his engagement was constantly being prolonged. He protested on his fiancé’s behalf, that she could not possibly marry a man she had known for a year but only been with for one week. And by this it seemed obvious that as the marriage drew closer, Samuel should be inducted into her true religion. He outwardly embraced paganism, offering his body to ancient goddesses. The church wedding, when it came, was as much a sham for her as it was for him – a pretence for the benefit of her parents and neighbours. The next night they held a second ceremony, when she spoke her vows with true conviction. Samuel, of course, was still lying. I’ve been trying to imagine him – in his best suit in the church, and in whatever they wear at pagan ceremonies, if anything – I’ve been trying to imagine what colour his eyes were then.
It was only at this second ceremony that Samuel met their leader. The leader officiated over their union himself, and afterwards spoke of the coming day when the darkness over Europe would be lifted, a darkness their own government was tempted by. He spoke of history dissolving, as centuries of Christian oppression were cast off. As the groom it was easy for Samuel to ask for a private audience, murmuring doubts about his duties. I don’t know what got him more mad – the reference to Christian oppression or the naïve use of demons as moral guides – but he beat the leader of the cult until he was tempted to worship Samuel as a god. No crime had been committed that he wanted to be discussed in open court, so Samuel’s tactic was to kill any demons that had been summoned, thus scaring off any other potentials, and depriving the group of their power. After investing two years uncovering the group, he was dismayed by the leader’s confession that a lot of what he’d heard was boastful overselling by his wife. They had consorted with demons, seeking out the eldest and trading with them for information, but they had no demons under their control. In fear for his life, the leader told Samuel about another group of magicians he knew of, in Brittany. They had invited him to join them, as they called forth a demon to drive back the Nazis, and carve a nation for celtic Bretons out of France.
Norman doesn’t ask the right questions when he hears a story. He never asked what happened to Samuel’s wife, is it possible she’s even still alive? He never asked what troubled Samuel most – leaving his marriage or entering occupied France.
posted by The son of Edward Fold at 2:33 am
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