between the Isen and the Ikta. Passing Ivern and Insels, south of the Kathebelon, and then past Dinsolin to take water at the town where ships traded, standing at the foot of the red cliff between the two white ones around
the extreme of the world to the northern Ikta in Siluria. Here, they were unwelcome, but were permitted to take water and wood and to trade for meat and grain. Sailing thence towards the rising sun, they came to the place beyond Sabrin called Summerland.
BRT: 1:8 They were coldly welcomed by Homodren of the Chariots, but in the Kingdom of Arviragus they came under the mantle of the High Druid of the south, whose ear was inclined towards them, for he understood full
well the nature of the three-faced god. The king heard their words but did not take them to heart, saying they differed little from what was there. BRT: 1:9 Then were the shipborne wanderers given land over from the Isle of Departure, saying that, could they live where no one else could because of the spirits, then their holiness would be established before all the people. The strangers were sorely tried by the Druids, but the spirits troubled them not. Nor did the sickness of the place come upon them, and the people wondered. They were troubled because of where the strangers were and were stirred up by the Druthin, but the shield of Arviragus protected them. BRT: 1:10 Now, eastward and to the north there was a lake, and between this and the Isle of Departure, there was a swampland and there was a village
of houses that stood out above the water, and the moonmaidens and moonmatrons who served the dead dwelt there. Among these was Islass the Dreamer, who was sacred to the guardian of this place. BRT: 1:11 Islass was the daughter of the queen's youngest sister and a holder of the king's favour, and when she attended him, she divulged her dreams. It happened that she dreamed the same dream thrice, and this was its manner as she told it to the king: "Behold, I saw a moon which had three changing faces, and, as I watched, the changes the moon itself changed and became a sun, and within this sun was a face of a god. As I looked long on this sun, another sun appeared, and such was its brilliance that the first sun appeared inferior in brightness. Then, the two became one and its brilliance filled the sky. In the midst of this, I saw the king and many Druthin and priests of the strangers. Then I saw a great battlesword, and the brilliance faded, as did the figures, and only the sword remained, from which blood dripped drop by drop. Then, too, it faded.' BRT: 1:12 The king took heed of the dream and gave the strangers land beside the Summerhouse of the King, which could be reached by ships. Inland from here, the gifted land extended to the tree now called the Great Oak, which still stands, and thence to the hill south of the residence where Ilyid, being wearied, rested against a great stone. Beyond this was an avenue of standing trees and oak trees placed one and one, and the gifted land came
up against this.
BRT: 1:13 It extended southward to the holy vineyard, which was fenced about. The fruit of these vines was small and bitter in the mouth. The strangers built huts for shelter on the hillside, high enough to be free of the tides. They settled down and learned the language, though Ilyid and two of
the women spoke it strangely.
BRT: 1:14 The words of the strangers fell on deaf ears, for the people were content with the gods they knew and did not wish to weary their minds with the words of the new ones. When the strangers gathered in praise of The
One True God, the tribesmen stoned them and shouted abuses, but Ilyid persevered, and while later the people still would not believe that The God of whom he spoke was more powerful than their gods, they would sit around
and listen to his stories.
BRT:1:15 Now, when the strangers were granted the land, the Druthin disputed this with the king and said that they wanted a divine sign that their gods approved. Ilyid said, "Give me but half a year." At the witnessing of this, the Druthin set up a holistone, and Ilyid struck his staff into the soil to
mark the covenant. BRT: 1:16 The following Eve of Summer there was a gathering and it was found that a small green shoot was coming up from the ground beside the staff, which was an offshoot of the staff. The king decreed that this was a sign that the land accepted the strangers, but these took it as a sign that what they taught fell on fertile ground and would take root. BRT:1:17 Here, the strangers, now called the Wise Ones, were free from the yoke of Rome and from the intolerance of the Jews. They were not subject to immoral customs and were among the right-living people, simple but pure in mind and body. Close by was a place for trading in metals, slaves, dogs and grain. Here, Ilyid built himself a house unlike any others, for it was square and in two parts, more stone than timber. This place was called
Kwinad.
BRT:1: 18 Here, on twelve portions of land, the wise strangers dwelt in peace and they built a church which was a full sixty feet long by a full twenty-six feet wide. At one end was a statue four feet high, carved from a
beech trunk. The roof was thatched with reeds, after the manner of the Britons. The walls were of wicker overlaid with plaster of chalk and mud.
BRT: 1:19 Ilyid is buried outside the forked path before the church, and on his tomb was written, "I brought Christ to the Britons and taught them. I buried Christ, and now, here my body is at rest."
BRT: 1:20 Islass was the first convert, and it is said that she alone knew the secret of the Holy Hawthorn. What this may be, none can know now. It is said that, when the Druthin murmured against the staff of Ilyid, she placed a
twig in water and it flowered.
BRT: 1:21 Here, in this holy place, under the direct guidance of God, our father founded the first church in Britain. It is said it was not built by human
hands, which is true, and from here shall come that, which will be the salvation of mankind in the years to come. Here was the resting place for the
souls of the dead, where they received their last sustenance before passing through the glass wall. From here ran the old road to the place of light where the bright-winged spirits flew freely in the place called Dainsart in the old
tongue.
Chapter Two - Jesus - 1
BRT:2:1 This is the true record of events concerning Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary, which we have received by the hands of several who have lived
within the circle of His Light, and more especially from one who is our earthly father in the faith. He being not the least among the articulate ones who knew Jesus, and a person of no mean estate, both in the distant land from whence he came and in this more virile land.
BRT:2:2 For Jesus came to fulfil the desires and longings of men expressed in certain Holy Books, but more so in many unlettered hearts. For it is written that such is the nature of things; the tree springing from the yearning of men shall not fail to bear fruit. For the Holy Books can be likened to an egg containing the embryonic hopes and desires of men. BRT:2:3 In the Sacred Books of the Idewin it is written: 'The Son of Man is the shepherd of men and we know how diligently a shepherd tends his flocks.' Jesus came not as a shepherd to drive, but as one bearing a guiding lantern to show the way. It is also written: 'The Son of Man is the deliverer of men,' and while we know from what we have to be delivered, those who lived
in His land misunderstood the meaning. BRT:2:4 From the Book of the Holy Mark (whose wife was one of our own fair race, her father being a Roman waykeeper whose wife was barren, and having this homeborn lady, her mother, as a slave, had by her a child whom he later adopted and raised as a lady of estate), we learn much. But clearer to our understanding is that knowledge concerning Ilyid imparted to
us by our earthly father. BRT:2:5 Aristolas taught that Ilyid had been one who commanded with the ships of Rome, but was not without ships himself. So it was that, when Jesus went down to the Western Sea of the Jews, which is not the Sea of the Setting Sun, He being one skilled with His hands, worked on them. Jesus was brawnily built and not one to take money without labour.