Winter Solstice

Preview: “It seems the idea was to strike quickly and leave – reducing or eliminating any casualties to the horsemen, while being content to accept whatever damage they did to the enemy. They didn’t seem interested in fighting a pitched battle to the last man.” Clark smiled as he prepared to read from the last note. “I saved this for last because it is really interesting. Volker and Samuel claim that there is evidence that the Midnight Army actually built a ramp along the interior walls of the cavern that ascended upward until it reached a trap-door of sorts where even the mounted horsemen could ride literally through the roof and out onto the top of the gorge. It sounds preposterous, but Svetlana and I have found some of the drawings they used to build the ramp, as well as an account of how they even brought cannons topside for a quick attack.” “Cannons!” exclaimed Samuel, “We saw no cannons about. And even if they had them, how could they get cannons topside and how could they make a quick attack of it? Clark smiled at Svetlana with that inner sense of satisfaction that comes when one uncovers something unusual and interesting. “Apparently, Samuel, these cannons were fairly small as cannons go; larger than a swivel gun on a ship’s railing but certainly smaller than a long tom. They were mounted on a short four-wheeled carriage similar to a naval cannon carriage. Only these had a handle and reign assembly attached to the front wheels so that they could move in unison and steer the carriage. The purpose of the carriages and the use of the cannons apparently were limited to offering fire from the north edge of the canyon cliff to targets over the gorge, into the gore, or most frequently, lined along the eastern cliff tops at the mouth of the gorge to make a quick attack on passing Turkish ships. Let me read you the account…” As Clark read the recorded event in prose, Svetlana, fascinated by what she had discovered, allowed her imagination to hear it in a more fanciful way: In a hidden fortress dark and obscure, Where the sullen soldiers seek an allure, That gives them in battle a hymn to sing, And fetch for the enemy, death to bring, Is a patriot’s sword drawn swift and sure. As they ran down lantern lit crowded halls, And gathered up cannons and cannonballs, The cavalry mounted each anxious steed, And rode down the tunnel with measured speed, Leaving nothing behind but empty stalls. Like Pegasus flying a wooden stair, The horsemen emerged in the ev’ning air, Hidden by forest, by brush and by trees, Setting their cannons however they please, To the sea were they aimed; a ship unaware. A salvo of fire from muzzles they let, Dare to expose them as darker than jet, Waving their banners of phosphorus green, The sailors who swore a ghost they had seen, Suffered a blow from a black silhouette. Raining down metal which smelters had wrought, Shards of timber – sailor’s bodies had caught, Enraged were the Turks - having been fooled, Panicked on decks where dying blood pooled, Such one-sided battles they never had fought. Before the smoke from the sea cliff did clear, Before the Turks from their vessel drew near, The army withdrew from their firing slopes, Returned to the door that opened by ropes, Leaving a foe that was bloodied with fear. Downward, downward they rode to the stables, Doors held aloft by weights and by cables, For the gunners; were rails spotted by lamps, Mounted their cannons and rode down the ramps, Planting the seeds for legends and fables! Fighting by starlight, attacking with might, Confounding a foe who never could fight, The stories of evil each sailor tells, And poisons the heart where black hatred swells, For the green bannered army of midnight. Jeremy was as fascinated to hear the tale as much as Svetlana was. “That was incredible! But you said that they had banners that glowed green in the dark. Is that possible?” Clark and Svetlana smiled, and Svetlana made hand gestures to Clark encouraging him to educate Jeremy on the subject. “First of all, Jeremy, though it is hard to believe, it seems that the castle’s physicians and alchemists discovered phosphorous years before the history books credit the discovery to a German alchemist name Hennig Brand in 1669. If I recall correctly from my earlier university classes, he attempted to recreate the mythical “philosopher’s stone” in the hope of producing gold. He did this through an unpleasant experiment involving large quantities of urine, the details of which I don’t think we need to go into.” The looks of disgust on the face of the party, especially Elinor, gave agreement to Clark’s assertion that the details are neither necessary nor desired. “What happened, however, was that he produced a white paste form of what is called white phosphorus - as compared to red phosphorus. As you may have seen, this material glows green in the dark after it has been exposed to light. It seems the Midnight Army used this material to embellish their military banners with.”