crucifer
Magistrate
The story you have all been waiting for.
The first episode of St Sapphia.
Following release of the final chapter, this book will be released as a pdf file, complete with all illustrations.
Chapter One
According to the information which Fay found on the internet, the Sapphesian Order of nuns was formed in the middle of the 14th century when St Sapphia established an Abbey in the South West of England.
The Abbey of Mount St Sapphia was located on an island off the coast of Cornwall; part of the Eastern Isles of the Isles of Scilly. Due to the very rugged foreshore, the island was only approachable by boat. Basalt cliffs ensured that there was only one place to make landfall; to reach the plateau above the cliffs, a single staircase had been carved out of the solid rock.
With the Sapphesians being a closed order, the Abbey was not generally open to the public. Those wishing to visit needed to make enquiries on-line and submit an application form. There was no guarantee that permission to visit would be granted; but if it was, the Abbey would arrange to collect the visitor from the 'mainland' which would be Hugh Town on St Mary's Isle.
Fay was particularly keen to visit. She had an interest in some of the more obscure religious orders and it was only by chance that she had uncovered the Sapphesians. There was very little detail on their website and indeed, there was very little information elsewhere.
She opened the application on her laptop and proceeded to fill it in. The questions basically enquired about the purpose of the proposed visit and where the applicant had heard about the Abbey. It required her to make a very strong case before they would grant her permission; she was happy with this as they would be going to the trouble of providing transport.
The second part of the form went into great detail about her personal life; age, marital status, employment, religion, dependents and other background information. They were obviously keen to ensure 'that only persons with a genuine interest in the Abbey need apply'. It was made abundantly clear that Mount St Sapphia's was not a tourist location; in order to protect the privacy of the Order, photographic opportunities would be limited.
Fay completed the form; uploaded the three recent pictures which were required for identification purposes. The form specified three different poses in order that her identity could be represented in different facets. Finally, she checked over her work and pressed the submit button.
A return e-mail assured her that the application had been received and that she should get a reply within the next twenty four hours. She made some enquiries about hotels in the vicinity and found two suitable ones in Hugh Town itself.
The following day a message pinged into her inbox; she had been accepted. A boat would pick her up from Hugh Town harbour at 10-00am in seven days time. She quickly confirmed that she would be accepting their kind offer; she arranged a ferry from Penzance and booked a couple of nights in one of the hotels.
Her instructions were to bring an overnight bag 'just in case the weather prevented her returning the same day'.
The following week she drove down to Penzance; parked at the ferry port and left her keys at the ferry office. She grabbed her overnight bag and set sail for Hugh Town. After an uneventful crossing she checked in to her hotel; had some supper and turned in for the night.
The following morning she explained that she might not return that night but paid for the room anyway. She discarded a few dirty clothes; leaving them in the room and now all she had was a change of clothes and what she stood up in.
After a good breakfast she strolled down to the harbour to await her transport; she felt quite excited at the prospect of visiting this strange Abbey.
The sun was warm on her back as she stood looking out to sea for an approaching boat. There was a young man on the quay who introduced himself as Tom. He too was visiting the Abbey. He was a student of theology and very keen to learn more about the Sapphesian Order. While they waited, they talked about their own personal reasons for wanting to visit the Abbey; they speculated about what they might discover, given that they each knew very little in the way of details.
She explained that she was just starting her gap year; having completed her exams and turned eighteen only a few weeks before. She told him that both her parents had been killed and that she had been brought up by an aunt and uncle in Nottingham. On her eighteenth birthday she had gained control of her small trust fund and was planning to go to 'uni' the following summer.
Eventually a small motor boat entered the harbour and chugged towards them. It was piloted by a man dressed in a brown monk's habit; he skilfully brought the boat alongside and secured it with a rope looped around an iron bollard.
With a boat hook in one hand he pulled the vessel tight to the quayside; he helped them board, stowed their bags on the deck and directed them to be seated; wooden seats ran down each side of the boat.
The monk pulled the rope from the bollard and engaged the clutch. The boat eased itself out of the harbour and headed for the open sea. Their guide introduced himself as Brother Robert and he told them that the journey would take about one hour with the present state of the wind.
Fay and Tom tried to quiz him about the Abbey; he explained that it was his job to drive the boat and not his place to discuss the Sapphesian Order or the Abbey. He was very pleasant about it and he assured them that all their questions would be answered once they arrived. So the pair of them decided to sit back and enjoy the ride. The sea was mercifully smooth; but occasionally the odd burst of spray would break over the bow and shower them in cool salty water.
Soon they began to get a clear view of the island, looming out of the ocean ahead of them. It looked quite formidable with its sheer cliffs and plateau top. They could just make out the outline of some buildings standing on top of the cliff. As they approached, it was impossible to see where they could possibly make land fall.
A feature which initially appeared to be part of the steep cliffs, suddenly turned out to be a wall of rock, separated from the main cliffs. The boat passed behind the wall and approached a small quayside which had been hewn from the rock. They scrambled up an iron ladder and waited while their bags were passed up to them.
As he waited Tom took a good look around and above him. Part of the structure above seemed to cantilever out from the cliffs. What looked like a hoist ran down from the Abbey to the quayside; he assumed this was the 'goods entrance'.
Two chains hung down from davits on the quay and Brother Robert attached one to either end of the motor launch. When he was finally on the quayside himself, he used an electric winch to haul the boat out of the water, beyond the reach of the tide.
He directed them towards the steep stone steps which had been hewn out of the cliff. A rope threaded through rusting iron posts acted as a handrail on the inside; there was a fence of sorts on the outside. Brother Robert took their hand luggage and led the way up the cliff face.
The first episode of St Sapphia.
Following release of the final chapter, this book will be released as a pdf file, complete with all illustrations.
Chapter One
According to the information which Fay found on the internet, the Sapphesian Order of nuns was formed in the middle of the 14th century when St Sapphia established an Abbey in the South West of England.
The Abbey of Mount St Sapphia was located on an island off the coast of Cornwall; part of the Eastern Isles of the Isles of Scilly. Due to the very rugged foreshore, the island was only approachable by boat. Basalt cliffs ensured that there was only one place to make landfall; to reach the plateau above the cliffs, a single staircase had been carved out of the solid rock.
With the Sapphesians being a closed order, the Abbey was not generally open to the public. Those wishing to visit needed to make enquiries on-line and submit an application form. There was no guarantee that permission to visit would be granted; but if it was, the Abbey would arrange to collect the visitor from the 'mainland' which would be Hugh Town on St Mary's Isle.
Fay was particularly keen to visit. She had an interest in some of the more obscure religious orders and it was only by chance that she had uncovered the Sapphesians. There was very little detail on their website and indeed, there was very little information elsewhere.
She opened the application on her laptop and proceeded to fill it in. The questions basically enquired about the purpose of the proposed visit and where the applicant had heard about the Abbey. It required her to make a very strong case before they would grant her permission; she was happy with this as they would be going to the trouble of providing transport.
The second part of the form went into great detail about her personal life; age, marital status, employment, religion, dependents and other background information. They were obviously keen to ensure 'that only persons with a genuine interest in the Abbey need apply'. It was made abundantly clear that Mount St Sapphia's was not a tourist location; in order to protect the privacy of the Order, photographic opportunities would be limited.
Fay completed the form; uploaded the three recent pictures which were required for identification purposes. The form specified three different poses in order that her identity could be represented in different facets. Finally, she checked over her work and pressed the submit button.
A return e-mail assured her that the application had been received and that she should get a reply within the next twenty four hours. She made some enquiries about hotels in the vicinity and found two suitable ones in Hugh Town itself.
The following day a message pinged into her inbox; she had been accepted. A boat would pick her up from Hugh Town harbour at 10-00am in seven days time. She quickly confirmed that she would be accepting their kind offer; she arranged a ferry from Penzance and booked a couple of nights in one of the hotels.
Her instructions were to bring an overnight bag 'just in case the weather prevented her returning the same day'.
The following week she drove down to Penzance; parked at the ferry port and left her keys at the ferry office. She grabbed her overnight bag and set sail for Hugh Town. After an uneventful crossing she checked in to her hotel; had some supper and turned in for the night.
The following morning she explained that she might not return that night but paid for the room anyway. She discarded a few dirty clothes; leaving them in the room and now all she had was a change of clothes and what she stood up in.
After a good breakfast she strolled down to the harbour to await her transport; she felt quite excited at the prospect of visiting this strange Abbey.
The sun was warm on her back as she stood looking out to sea for an approaching boat. There was a young man on the quay who introduced himself as Tom. He too was visiting the Abbey. He was a student of theology and very keen to learn more about the Sapphesian Order. While they waited, they talked about their own personal reasons for wanting to visit the Abbey; they speculated about what they might discover, given that they each knew very little in the way of details.
She explained that she was just starting her gap year; having completed her exams and turned eighteen only a few weeks before. She told him that both her parents had been killed and that she had been brought up by an aunt and uncle in Nottingham. On her eighteenth birthday she had gained control of her small trust fund and was planning to go to 'uni' the following summer.
Eventually a small motor boat entered the harbour and chugged towards them. It was piloted by a man dressed in a brown monk's habit; he skilfully brought the boat alongside and secured it with a rope looped around an iron bollard.
With a boat hook in one hand he pulled the vessel tight to the quayside; he helped them board, stowed their bags on the deck and directed them to be seated; wooden seats ran down each side of the boat.
The monk pulled the rope from the bollard and engaged the clutch. The boat eased itself out of the harbour and headed for the open sea. Their guide introduced himself as Brother Robert and he told them that the journey would take about one hour with the present state of the wind.
Fay and Tom tried to quiz him about the Abbey; he explained that it was his job to drive the boat and not his place to discuss the Sapphesian Order or the Abbey. He was very pleasant about it and he assured them that all their questions would be answered once they arrived. So the pair of them decided to sit back and enjoy the ride. The sea was mercifully smooth; but occasionally the odd burst of spray would break over the bow and shower them in cool salty water.
Soon they began to get a clear view of the island, looming out of the ocean ahead of them. It looked quite formidable with its sheer cliffs and plateau top. They could just make out the outline of some buildings standing on top of the cliff. As they approached, it was impossible to see where they could possibly make land fall.
A feature which initially appeared to be part of the steep cliffs, suddenly turned out to be a wall of rock, separated from the main cliffs. The boat passed behind the wall and approached a small quayside which had been hewn from the rock. They scrambled up an iron ladder and waited while their bags were passed up to them.
As he waited Tom took a good look around and above him. Part of the structure above seemed to cantilever out from the cliffs. What looked like a hoist ran down from the Abbey to the quayside; he assumed this was the 'goods entrance'.
Two chains hung down from davits on the quay and Brother Robert attached one to either end of the motor launch. When he was finally on the quayside himself, he used an electric winch to haul the boat out of the water, beyond the reach of the tide.
He directed them towards the steep stone steps which had been hewn out of the cliff. A rope threaded through rusting iron posts acted as a handrail on the inside; there was a fence of sorts on the outside. Brother Robert took their hand luggage and led the way up the cliff face.
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