The Chateau

The Chateau has life, it is filled with vibrancy and like fine wine over many years it continues to age and mature, what deep knowledge awaits us, well, concluded the female guide to the coach load of tourists in the French region of Marseilles outside the ancient looking building “We are about to discover”

Two people however had not been enticed by the eager enthusiasm of the young woman in the blue company uniform and the megaphone allowing her to address her flock so to speak, Instead they had come not independently but as connoisseurs of a wine company situated in England, their names were Cedric Ennis and Susan Renton they were in mutual competition, both equally ambitious having met each other on the orders of their superiors they had wined and dined at one of France’s top Restaurants and even slept together at a Hotel, now he noticed she was becoming distant as if he was merely part of some social ladder for her to climb and so whilst she admired the splendor of the old monastery that people were entering he decided to join them to prove his determination.

Realiising what was happening she too made her way in with the tourists mingling deliberately as if to prove her independence from her competitor as she now referred to him in thought, her mind however became occupied by the historic lesson now being given by the female guide who stated:

The Monastery or Chateau as some refer to it dates back to the early days of Christianity the monks inside have not taken a vow of silence and so they are prepared to answer your questions and even allow us to sample their wine, however this is a sacred place and so we hope you will appreciate that some places are off limits to the public!

Are these Christian monks? Inquired a man standing with his wife who wore a large straw hat to match her yellow summer dress, he himself wore black trousers and a half open white shirt drenched with sweat, he had a camera around his neck in typical tourist fashion as he began taking pictures.

Well we aren’t certain of the exact origin according to our notes the monks originated from Corinth in Greece during the time of the Apostle Paul they lived in small villages and were said to be rather introvert, however they have been classed as unorthodox and have not been identified as part of any known religious order, “Now if you will follow me down this path you will see a table where we can all sample some wine!

Cedric knew it was probably shop brought, the monks probably relied on tourism to support the upkeep of their decaying ancient Monastery, the tour was £26’s for adults and £12’s for children, special rates for the elderly and the disabled, There was a elderly looking monk in a green robe with a lined almost mosaic face, he sat at a stone table there were already poured out glasses of wine small aperitifs the glasses from some shop:

“Probably the same place they got the wine” muttered Cedric who was standing well back in observation”

“What?

He turned to see Susan smiling as if she had caught him in some company fraud..

Are you going to have a glass? She inquired; we are here to discover and bring back new wines or is this off the beaten track in your expert opinion?

He ignored the deliberate sarcasm and for a few seconds watched the amateurs being conned as he put it before replying that this was no doubt cheap wine and definitely not suitable for such a renowned Company as Juniper Lees, None the less he continued I will sample it so you cannot say in your report I was being uncooperative!

She watched him wait his turn until he was allowed to take a small glass; the monk repetitiously told whoever did so to “Please accept this as part of our ancient tradition”

Cedric drank the wine smiled politely and muttered thank you then went to rejoin his business competitor.

Well? She inquired.

Cheap Cabinet Sauvignon mass produced perhaps added with a touch of Merlot to give a contrasting flavour either some shop mass produced hybrid or they did it their selves, “It’s nothing special, merely for tourists, “Would you like to try some?

No thanks, “She glanced at a large rope attached to two poles the kind you saw in Museums announcing a place was off limits to the public there was a sign on the wall in some ancient language she did not recognise” I came to get an order for wine, We know according to our sources the monks produce some of the greatest vintages known to connoisseurs-“

Well we apparently know! He concluded, I mean it’s a good marketing ploy everyone associates monks with wine same way as they associate farmers with eggs and milk or Bakers with bread if you ask me this stuff is all mass produced”

For the tourists! She stated, although I bet if we look for it we can find what we want;

She indicated to the rope and he glanced at her as if needing encouraging, “We’ll just wander around pretend we’re looking at the walls some of them have ancient writing and the structure of the architecture is very interesting sort of Pre-Christian I would say!

Susan had studied a course in theology so he knew she was correct and if they did get caught she could explain that she was educating him about the origins and that may work in their favour when it came to negotiating a sale, “Of course she’d want to take all the credit” he told himself, “None the less he stated:

Alright, we’ll do it your way and when it comes to explaining ourselves-“

Leave it to me! She reassured him watching the tourists and their guide make their way down a long catacomb type archway, their voices echoing simultaneously with a dripping sound coming it seemed from somewhere yet to be discovered, in a few seconds the monk will leave for prayers I read it in the guide book, “She smiled at the monk who smiled back and then as predicted went to join his colleagues!

They’re a small order! She confirmed, I don’t know much about them except what I read in the guide book, I tried to find out what I could but there isn’t much information!

He followed her over to the rope, she stepped over it and seemed to disappear down a dark unlighted tunnel, all other areas had artificial light from some source for the tourists benefit, and this however deliberately did not!

We can’t see much, we’ll have to turn back! He stated.

I thought of that; she said, taking a small torch out of her blue trouser pocket she wore a yellow blouse as well, he himself wore an expensive dark blue suit. Now at least they had some light though it was limited.

We’ll go this way! She insisted holding the torch as if taking on the unofficial role of guide!

She tapped with her foot, then continued all the time looking down at the grey stoned floor that despite it’s ancient surroundings seemed newer than everything else as if it was for some reason cleaned on a regular basis, “She began to feel curious yet now mingled with apprehension something was telling her to turn back, however she put it down to uncertainty and pointing the torch directly ahead confirmed that if there was good wine as he had suggested, it would be kept in one of the rooms!

It’s possible they have private buyers, You know wholesale trade and all that, there are lots of people into wine the same way people are into paintings, some of these people have been known to pay a fortune!

He felt indignant; did she think she was talking to an idiot? He ignored this because right now he needed her and so he followed her till they came after what seemed like many twists and turns to a door, an arch shaped light yellowey brown door with a metal black medieval type pattern the kind found in castles yet it was clear this had been put in recently to keep people out, She turned the handle, to her surprise it began to open, As if to reassure both of them \Cedric glanced round to make certain they were alone, “They were, “This part of The Monastery or Chateau as some referred to it was strictly out of bounds and no one knew they were here!

She opened the door wider slowly at first fearing someone might be inside taking communion, The place was empty, it did however have a stone table and what appeared to be scripture in an ancient language, this one she did recognize on approaching, It was ancient Greek, dating back to the year of Corinth, delicately she leaned over afraid to come in contact with the parchment incase it disintegrated, yet it was clear what it was about it was about wine, not from the Bible or the Muslim or even Jewish tradition, This was of the ancient Greek God of Wine whose name she stated:

“Dionysus” It has come to our knowledge that The Roman Leader Constantine has been appointed as Emperor of all \Rome, his support for the Christians and their beliefs have caused us to fear for our safety and so we must flee to protect the old ways that have been handed down to us, already they seek to drive us from our homes by burning them in the belief that this will bring about the second coming! Susan paused then continued, we are referred to as Pagans and Heathens though our beliefs go deeper, and they claim their beliefs are the only way,

What does that mean? He inquired.

Dionysus was the Greek God of wine he was the son of Zeus who supposedly impregnated a Earth woman called Semele , Dionysus followers believe he was the only way to Heaven, He also performed miracles and had twelve followers!

Sounds a bit familiar,

“Jesus Christ and the Virgin Birth, the Christians were said to have driven out the Pagans after Constantine became Emperor of Rome Three Hundred Years after Christ’s ascension!

And what has this to do with wine since you know more about this than I do?

Well the Christian faith because Christ is a pacifist took wine and used it as a symbol to replace blood “.in what is referred to as the old religions it was the other way round, people drank wine to become intoxicated and to fight sometimes they mixed it with blood and drank it and offered sacrifices to their Gods!

Dionysus!

Yes, the Mycenaean Greeks from 1500 to 1100 BC he started off as a man with a beard a bit like Christ then became more Demonic, his followers included satyrs with erect penises and Maenads female followers who would dress in Fawn Skins and hold a thyrus!

What’s that?

A staff made out of fennel!

He paused, this sounds like Devil worshipping to me, are we supposed to believe these people fled Ancient Greece because of the Christians and their ancestors came to France and these people are keeping up the tradition!

Well wine is associated with the Devil, Pan; Dionysus Azazel the Hebrew God also known as Satan, if you study ancient Mythology you will find many of these connections!

“So, do we sup with the Devil? He inquired, I mean maybe these people are idiots but we do need to get the contract!

What you mean? She inquired,

We came here to get the contract and that is what I intend to do, we’ll say we got lost, you can impress them with your knowledge and we’ll give them the name of some private wine connoisseurs and clinch the deal!

He began to walk away, “Where you going? She inquired,

To speak to them about buying some wine!

These people are Devil Worshippers!! She stated holding his arm; I think we should get out of here!

He looked at her, “I know what you’re trying to do! He said, you’re trying to frighten me off so you can get the deal yourself, Well my dear it’s not going to work!

And briskly he went off, leaving her to continue studying the ancient parchments if she so chose!

Something strange began to occur, first she felt as if to follow him would be to admit somehow he was right, and yet the place now had a evil presence about it, She could hear chanting in some language she did not recognize, she shone her torch ahead and now it seemed somehow the path had changed, had she took a wrong turning, the place now seemed more mazelike and now she felt the ground becoming more hollow and she stopped and knelt down, she shone the torch on one of the stones and saw it was loose, she began to move it, slowly it slid across to reveal a staircase leading downward, To say she was afraid was stating the obvious yet her curiosity got the better of her and slowly she began to descend down the steps the smell of wine now mingled with the smell of what she could only describe as sulphur and goat’s flesh, yet she had to discover the truth.

When she reached the ground she saw that the floor was covered in bones, large ones and small ones as well as skulls, those of adults and children, some having turned to dust because they were from ancient Greek times and yet some seemed new, and on the walls were paintings of Vines filled with grapes and people drinking wine from reddened filled goblets some of them covered in its blood like substance!

She paused feeling a foreboding as the smell of goat’s flesh and sulphur became stronger, then instinctively she shone the torch upward and saw a painting on the ceiling that terrified her, “There was a man with two horns and a glass of wine in his hand, his legs were astride as if he had had an horse pulled from under him and his legs were that of a goat, his feet were cloven hoofs and he had blackened finger nails and a goat’s beard

His top half of his body was that of a man and it was clear whom he was meant to represent, “Ancient traditions sometimes got crossed over, they took from other faiths and it was clear their interpretation of Dionysus was a much more primitive one than that believed by ancient scholars,

“This was why the Christians drove them out” she muttered.

Suddenly she heard a scream and the sound of murmurings not only of men also women as if insane and the bleating of what seemed like a goat! She began climbing back up the steps then when she was once more upon the surface she began to walk towards what she hoped would lead her to the entrance, and yet infront of her stood a small congregation of four monks they turned and she screamed one of them was holding the severed head of her business partner the other three held goblets as blood dripped onto the floor, She turned to run and saw there were more of them coming towards her, the other tourists had gone she was trapped there was no way out, she lashed at some although it was of no use and grabbing her arms they overpowered her and then she felt a sharp knife rip into her back and blood began to pour as the bleating of the unseen goat became louder and then she fell to the floor dead!

The Chateau has life,. Its vineyards feed on blood for that is the life vine and so long as there are sacrifices, it shall continue

Th End