DeanCycon

The Inquisitor's Apprentice (Upmarket Historical Fiction WIP) CHAPTER ONE - Introduces antagonist, setting, tone and foreshadows the primary conflict The rider pulled back on the reins and brought the donkey to a halt. He straightened his back and moaned softly, releasing the pain and tension of two days and nights without cease on the back of the plodding beast. Although his stomach growled in protest, the priest would allow neither soft bed nor hard bread to tempt him into delaying his voyage here. His two retainers rode silently behind him, their black robes absorbing the brutal heat of the Cordovan summer. In the distance he saw the long, heavily fortified stone bridge the pagan Romans had built over the Guayaquil River to control traffic in and out of the walled city of Cordova. Beyond the bridge, he could see the giant mosque that had become the Grand Cathedral when King Alfonso ended seven hundred years of darkness under the Moors here. The largest Roman outpost in Iberia, the seat of the Moorish caliphate, now to become the purest Christian city in the realm. He cast his gaze towards the Alcazar palace, the temporary home of the Sovereigns as they oversaw the conquest of Moorish Grenada less than a decade ago. The Sovereigns gave the palace, its magnificent Moorish gardens and strong fortifications to the Inquisition after the Reconquista. The Alcazar was now fortalitium fidei, a fortress of faith, and as the new Inquisitor of Cordova and Grenada he would be its humble guardian. Diego Rodrigo Lucero dismounted and fell to his knees in the dusty road. He beat his chest and thanked God for guiding him from lowly schoolteacher and canon of a small church near Seville to this magnificent place of greater service. He knew that God, through the church and the Sovereigns, were entrusting him with the most sacred mission of all – to bring the flock back to the path through love and faith, to purify the souls of this region of Most Catholic Spain. Cordova had been a peaceful place since the Jews were expelled in 1492. Those that remained, the conversos or New Christians, must have been good Catholics because there were but few prosecutions for Judaizing since the burnings immediately preceding the Expulsion. Or was it because the previous Inquisitor had not allowed the flames to grow hot enough, apparently satisfied to takes bribes from the conversos to leave them to practice their forbidden Jewish rituals in private? The bribery didn’t bother Lucero. Many clergy, even Inquisitors, accepted benefices from the people they served to facilitate, delay or modify judgments. Rather, he feared that any remaining allegiance to the discredited Law of Moses or disparagement of the True Faith, even in secret, could lead to a resurgence in backsliding into the error of Judaism. Maybe not today or tomorrow, perhaps in a generation. Cordova seemed tranquil and obedient, but Lucero knew that demons often lay hidden beneath a placid surface. The new Inquisitor got up slowly, stretched and mounted his donkey. He crossed himself. His coal black eyes stared hard at the city. “Let my holy work here begin.” As he kicked the donkey forward, he heard the sloppy singing of a drunken man at the foot of the bridge. The Inquisitor urged the donkey towards the sound. At the bridge, he dismounted and found the man splayed out on the embankment. He pinched his nose against the sour smell of vomit and old piss that emanated from the drunkard. The man looked up the priest and cried out. “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned! Look how far I have fallen.” He pointed to the bridge shakily. “I mean I have really fallen. Haha. Get it, Father?” The Inquisitor sighed, then spoke to the man gently. “What is your name?” “Mendoza,” came the reply through a sizable belch. “Mendoza,” repeated Lucero. “An honorable Old Christian family name. Are you from Cordova?” “No, Father. I am from Jaen. I don’t know how I got here. Last night I was with an angel. I supposed she flew me here, haha!” The Inquisitor winced at the man’s foolishness and motioned to his retainers. “Come with us, my son. We will give you a safe place to rest, be fed and to restore your body and soul.” As the retainers helped him to his feet and dragged him towards the donkeys, Lucero whispered to the nearest one. “When we get to the fortress, lock him in a cell away from any other prisoners. God has sent him to be an instrument of our good work.” *** Father Pedro turned the key in the ornate lock and opened the door to the large house on Calle Encarnacion. He bowed and swept his hand towards the interior of the house. “Please, Doctor Lucero, your new home.” Lucero entered the house followed by the priest, the scrape of their sandaled feet on the marble floor magnified by the vastness of the empty space. “And do not be concerned by the lack of furnishings,” Father Pedro hastened to add. “They have been sequestered by the Holy Office pending the resolution of charges against your predecessor, Dr. Guimal. We will provide new furniture shortly.” The Inquisitor grunted. “I have no need of fancy furniture nor grand accommodations. I am here to do holy work, not relax in comfort.” Of course, of course,” the priest replied apologetically. “But you will need a bed to sleep in and a desk to write upon. Surely our Good Lord would not deny you those basic comforts.” Lucero smiled. “Of course. Thank you. But nothing more than that.” He glanced back out the door at the sound of girls’ voices singing in Latin. “I am, however, gladdened to hear those angelic voices from the convent across the street. That sound will daily be my comfort.” Afterwards, as they walked down the street towards the fortress, Lucero eyed every person who passed them or sat in a doorway telling tales to their neighbor. “I smell the corruption of the Faith here.” Father Pedro furrowed his brow. “We haven’t had any problems since the expulsion. The New Christians in Cordova are sincere believers. The only public auto de fe, acts of faith, have been for blasphemy and the odd sodomy. I believe there have only been two purifications by fire in nearly a decade. One was the burning of the bones of some long dead Jews, and the other the burning of wax effigies of two heretics who escaped to Portugal.” “According to my sources, that was because Doctor Guimal was more interested in filthy lucre than the purity of the Faith. The reason there were no prosecutions is that he forced the converso community to put up a bond of two million maravedis, and pay him ten percent of that annually to be left alone.” “I cannot comment on the inner working of the Inquisition, of course. Dr. Guimal did seem to have a good eye for business, even if it did come at the expense of the Royal Treasury,” Father Pedro offered hopefully. Lucero balled his fists and replied in a low growl. “There will be no more thievery while I am the Inquisitor here. And no one will be allowed to petition the Lord with silver and gold.” CHAPTER TWO - Introduces protagonists and secondary characters, inciting incident Blanca’s father had never allowed her to go with the crowds to watch the burnings in the Plaza de Corredera and hear the screams of the dying. It didn’t matter. She could still smell the rancid smoke and see the ashes wafting through the air and dusting everything in Cordoba. The last burning was only three days earlier. Even the beautiful orange grove that filled the courtyard of the cathedral was grey and dulled by the pain of the city. Her nightmares would continue long after the incessant summer wind and the infrequent rains spirited the ashes into memory. The thirteen year-old found solace from her fear and loneliness at the cathedral, planted like a horizontal cross in the middle of the vast forest of marble pillars of the Mezquita, the old Moorish mosque of Cordoba. She missed her mother and older brother terribly, but shook away the sadness that clung to her heart every day since they had left Spain for Rome over a year ago. Today was a special day, the baptism of General Gonzalo Fernandez’ new daughter, Elvira. Blanca’s father Alonso was to be given the honor of being godfather to the child, just as the General had been godfather to Blanca in this same place thirteen years earlier. She strolled into the cathedral holding her father’s hand lightly, wearing her beautiful new white dress, and the necklace her Jewish uncle had sent her from the Kingdom of Naples. The soft leather shoes her father had made for her were covered in the ashen remains of the latest victims of the Inquisition. Each step Blanca took on the path that led from the grove into the sanctuary raised a small cloud of souls yearning for liberation. Alonso kissed his daughter gently on her forehead and turned to walk to the baptismal font set below the new altarpiece he had commissioned for the occasion. Blanca took her seat among the dark wooden pews, and let herself be swept away from the horror outside by the sonorous Latin chants of the choir. She stared at the altarpiece, a brooding painting of Saint George slaying the dragon. The saint’s face looked like the General’s. Blanca’s father had taught her that religious paintings usually had many layers of meaning, depending on the artist and the patron’s wishes. Beneath the parable of the saint destroying the pagan world, Blanca guessed this painting commemorated the General’s famous victory over the Moors of Grenada. She would ask her father later. A low, troubled murmur rolled through the parishioners. Blanca saw many of her neighbors looking upwards and followed their gaze. She put her hand to her throat and gasped. All around the cathedral, dirty cotton specters with strange, painted designs of fire, demons and bizarrely torqued bodies loomed menacingly above her. The priests had hung sanbenitos around the giant dome. Every day, she saw citizens convicted of minor crimes wandering the streets of Cordoba in these sacks and the conical pointed hats they were forced to wear as penance for their misdeeds. But none of those had frightening paintings as the ghostly shapes hovering over her head. The shafts of light that flooded the cathedral through windows all around the dome were meant to illustrate God bringing the light of Truth and Redemption to the parishioners below. But now it pierced and illuminated the horrible sanbenitos and made them appear alive. Her neighbor whispered that these sanbenitos were from the twenty-seven poor souls condemned as heretics by the Inquisition, turned over to the city council and so recently burned at the stake. Blanca numbly counted the sanbenitos. Twenty-seven. She shuddered and looked away. *** The General and Alonso stood on one side of the font, across from the General’s second wife Maria Manrique, who held baby Elvira. The General leaned towards Alonso and spoke quietly. “Look at those damned sanbenitos. It seems the Sovereigns have given our new Inquisitor permission to prosecute the entire New Christian population of Cordoba. The arrests grow daily. You must be comforted your wife and son left for Rome before the Inquisitor arrived. I never understood why you stayed, and why you kept our dear little Blanca here.” Alonso sighed. “You know I have my work here. My translations and book bindings are no threat to the Sovereigns, and Blanca is too young to be bothered by the Inquisition. I don’t think we are in any danger.” General Fernandez grunted. “You underestimate your importance to the New Christian community here. Your esteem in the eyes of the nobles and the church gives the New Christians hope that this storm will pass.” He clapped his firm hand on Alonso’s shoulder and shook his head. “You have many friends, Alonso, especially among your customers. But the clergy and the nobles can be quite fickle. They may adore your beautiful leather bindings and precious manuscripts, and appreciate your moral philosophy, but when they see advantage elsewhere, well, you know they will take it. I will always defend you and my goddaughter. I am El Gran Capitan of our armies, but alas, even I can’t stay the hand of the Sovereigns if they are turned against you by the Dark One. It was easier for me to defeat the Moors in Granada and the French in Naples than to overcome the Inquisition.” He looked towards Blanca. “I only hope that my Elvira grows to be as beautiful and intelligent as Blanca. It is a pity she spends so much time alone. The child needs her mother.” The cathedral choir launched a soaring aria as Father Pedro began the ritual. He read the scriptural passages, the intersessions of the saints and the prayers of exorcism. After blessing the baptismal waters, Father Pedro addressed the new parents and godfather. “Do you reject Satan, all his works and empty promises?” They responded in unison, “I do.” Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?” “I do.” “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?” “I do.” “Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?” “I do.” Father Pedro raised the baptismal waters. “Is it your will that Elvira should be baptized in the faith of the Church, which we have all professed to you?” “It is.” “What name have you given your child in baptism?” “Aurea,” the parents replied. Father Pedro gazed softly at Alonso. “As godfather, are you prepared to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christians?” Alonso smiled softly at the baby. “I am.” “Elvira, I baptize you Aurea in the name of the Father…” The priest poured the holy water onto the forehead of the baby, eliciting a small squeak. He poured again, “and of the Son…” and a third time, “and of the Holy Spirit.” The ritual was over. The child belonged to the church. *** As the parishioners left the cathedral, Blanca joined her father, the General, Father Pedro and Gomez Solano, the choirmaster. The men complimented the choirmaster and chatted amiably as they walked through the stunning Moorish architecture and out into the sunny orange grove. General Fernandez asked Alonso about his progress on the General’s military manual describing the use of arquebus and new troop formations that the General had pioneered so successfully against the Moors in Grenada. The bookbinder smiled. “I will go to Sevilla tomorrow to pick up the manuscripts from the Cromberger printers. In another week I will have two copies bound in the best Cordovan leather and embellished with rubies to represent the blood of the vanquished.” The General beamed. “Wonderful. One copy for me and one for the King. I will deliver it myself. He will want every one of our officers to study the new methods. We have a world to conquer.” In the middle of the grove, four black-robed, hooded Dominican priests lurked like bad omens, accompanied by several heavily-armed catchpoles and Martin de Leon, the alguacil of Cordoba. The Dominicans faded back as the alguacil shouted, “Arrest him in the name of the Holy Office on the charge of Judaizing!” Alonso gripped Blanca’s hand tightly. The catchpoles rushed towards Blanca’s group and grabbed the choirmaster. They quickly wrestled him towards the arched exit of the compound, followed by the silent Dominicans. Gomez Solano shouted in bewilderment. “I am innocent! I believe in the True Faith! Please, someone help me! Father, give me sanctuary!” “I am sorry, my son, there is no sanctuary for heretics.” The priest looked around at the rough-looking men lounging by the well in the grove. “Alas, it appears only murderers, thieves and rapists have a chance at redemption, not heretics.” The choirmaster’s pleas faded as he was engulfed in a cocoon of black robes and spirited out of the grove. Martin de Leon walked heavily towards the General, his two broad swords clanking against each other under his cloak. The General’s eyes blazed. “What is the meaning of this, Martin? How dare you disturb my daughter’s baptismal day!” The alguacil quaked but quickly regained his composure. “I am sorry, Gran Capitan, but the choirmaster stands accused and must submit to the Inquisition. Inquisitor Lucero himself ordered me to arrest him here today. I must follow his orders as I did yours before the walls of Granada.” He bowed and hurried away. General Fernandez spit and cursed at the fleeing alguacil. “Coward!” He turned red-faced with anger towards the priest. “This is outrageous! Father, were you aware of this?” The priest grimaced and wrung his hands, looking from the General to Alonso and back. “Inquisitor Lucero is rooting the Judaizers out of the Church. I have told him there are no Judaizers here but he will not be stopped. He made an example of the choirmaster to force everyone in the cathedral staff to fall in line. Especially me, because I objected to hanging the sanbenitos in the cathedral. I had no idea he would do this today of all days. I don’t know who he will go after next.” “I must write the sovereigns immediately and bring this before the Cortes,” the General growled. “This man’s excesses and venality must be stopped now!” He turned and stormed out of the grove, hurling blasphemies at anyone in his path. Father Pedro put his hands to his head and sighed deeply. “Poor Gomez. You remember he was the cantor at the old synagogue. His name was Abram Levi then. Jews, even former ones, are especially mystically inclined. As choirmaster, Gomez could continue his spiritual search in safety, or so I thought.” Alonso thought back before the Expulsions, when a younger Abraham Levi would chant on the holy days and manifest the light of the shechina into the synagogue. “He could reach those heights in his music because he had found something. I don’t think we will ever know what it was.” “Nor should we ever speak of it again.” Father Pedro made the sign of the Cross and retreated towards the cathedral. Alonso called after the priest. “Would you have told me if I was the subject of the Inquisitor?” Father Pedro stopped and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I would tell you out of love and respect for you and your family.” He exhaled sharply and shrugged. “But I might not tell you out of fear.” As Blanca and her father hurried away from the cathedral, she looked back, fearing the sanbenitos would follow her, but knowing they would surely appear in her dreams.

The Inquisitor’s Apprentice (Upmarket Historical Fiction – WIP) by Dean Cycon Story Statement A decade after all Jews were expelled or converted to Catholicism in 16th century Spain, 13 year-old Blanca, too young to be tortured and imprisoned, is forced to work for the Spanish Inquisition after the arrest of her father, a prominent Converso and former professor of moral philosophy. She must use her wit and intelligence to save her parents and other Conversos languishing in prison in Cordoba from the vengeance of "the Dark One”, Inquisitor Rodrigo Lucero, who is determined to wipe out any remaining trace of Jewish community and culture from Cordoba. Based on a true story. Antagonistic Forces The main antagonist is the Inquisitor for Cordoba, Rodrigo Lucero, known as “the Dark One” for his greed and evil deeds. Lucero has come to Cordoba to root out Conversos (converted Jews) who are actually secret Jews who keep the Law of Moses. In his zeal and bigotry he arrests many prominent and ordinary Conversos, and uses their forced “confessions” to grab others into his net. Ultimately, Lucero performs a series of Auto de Fe’s, which lead to the burning at the stake of hundreds of Conversos and the confiscation of their property to pay the expenses of the Inquisitor, reward his friends and add a percentage to the Royal Treasury of Ferdinand and Isabel. Other antagonistic forces are the Sovereigns, informers and false witnesses and some of the nobles and clergy. Breakout Title The Inquisitor’s Apprentice (Alternative titles) The Burning Times Act of Faith (Auto de Fe) Genre and Comparables Upmarket Historical Fiction 1. By Fire, By Water, by Mitchell James Kaplan. In 1500's Spain, a Converso who held high office under Queen Isabel loses favor and is hounded by the Inquisition. 2. The Matrix by Lauren Groff. Young woman in medieval England is forced to enter a monastery and use her wit and intelligence to survive in a corrupt world. 3. The Mapmaker's Daughter by Laurel Corona. A Jewish woman from a famous family has to grow up and adapt in a Spain where tolerance is disappearing and she faces difficult decisions about her identity. 4. Incantation by Alice Hoffman. A young girl's world is shattered by the realization that although she is a Catholic, her family are secret Jews living in Inquisition Spain. Hook Line In sixteenth century Spain, 13 year-old Blanca struggles to protect herself and her Converso family from the increasing fanaticism of the new Inquisitor. Conflicts Primary Conflict - The overarching conflict is the assault on Converso society by the Spanish Inquisition, under the conflicting and changing jurisdictions of the Sovereigns and the Pope. More specifically, the persecution of the Conversos of Cordoba as secret Jews and Jewish enablers, allowing their property to be seized and their lives destroyed by cruel torture, imprisonment and potential burning at the stake. Core Wounds and Inner Conflicts - There are two main protagonists, Blanca and Alonso, her father. Even though they are well-respected in the Converso communty and the larger Cordoban population, they are engulfed in an atmosphere of fear. Blanca lives alone with her father, as her mother and brother fled Spain for Rome before the new Inquisitor arrived. She is intelligent and learned, but has to hide those qualities from the Inquisition. She is lonely and sad. Alonso was a noted professor of moral philosophy at the famous University of Salamanca, but was forced to relinquish that position when Conversos were forbidden to be teachers or hold other offices of social importance. Alonso has become a book binder to support his family and stay close to the intellectual life of his books. He believes in reason, and tries to use his knowledge and skill to convince the Inquisitor that the Conversos are no threat to Catholicism. Through penetrating inquiry from the Inquisitor, Alonso begins to question his conversion, but doing so out loud would lead to his execution by burning. Secondary Conflicts and Complications - The Inquisitor tries to use Alonso to discover who are the secret Jews of Cordoba and their allies, but realizes that Alonso's greater use to him is helping the Inquisitor understand why Jews (in his mind) are so resistant to letting go of the old Law of Moses and embracing the True Faith. The Inquisitor also tries to control Blanca to keep her father in his grip and put more pressure on him to betray his friends. In addition, the Inquisitor plots to have Blanca’s mother and brother return from the safety of Rome so that he can arrest and prosecute them as well. It is difficult to tell whether the priest of the Cathedral, Father Pedro, is sincerely on Alonso's side or just plays whatever side will keep him in his post. Can Maria, the maid, be trusted and are there informants in Alonso's bindery? Where do the nobles stand? What do the King and Queen feel about the Conversos, and how does economics, political power and corruption within the Royal Treasury impact the ability of Alonso, Blanca and the Conversos of Cordoba to survive the Dark One? Setting The novel takes place in medieval Cordoba, Spain in the years 1503-1506. The city itself was largely designed by the now vanquished Moors, and the main Cathedral has been built within the walls and exquisite architecture of the Mesquiza, the Moorish mosque. There are no longer any Jews in Cordoba, as they were all expelled or converted in 1492, but most of the Conversos, including Blanca’s family, still live in the old Jewish Quarter, a series of winding, narrow lanes with walls hiding the courtyards and living quarters within. The old synagogue in the Jewish Quarter is now a church, with large tapestries and religious paintings hiding much of the Moorish architecture and the Hebrew inscriptions in the walls. Blanca’s father, Alonso, is a former university professor turned bookbinder of rare and important manuscripts, mostly religious and philosophical tomes sought after by nobles and churchmen alike. There are scenes in his bindery, where leather is dyed, stretched, cut and sewn onto manuscripts, and the covers are set with precious gems and beautiful leather scrolling and tooling. Alonso has a large library in his home, which is coveted by the Inquisitor. Blanca also travels with her father to Seville where the first Spanish novels, philosophical literature and Inquisition documents are printed by the most famous early printing house in Spain, Jacobo Cromberger and Son. Blanca learns how to use an early printing press, which becomes part of her strategy of resistance to the Inquisition later. The Inquisitor’s offices, the prison cells and the torture rooms are located inside the imposing Fortress, located close to the Cathedral, and the burning grounds are a short walk from there, in the same place the Romans used to burn Christians. After Alonso is taken in by the Inquisition, Blanca is forced to live in a convent and assist the Notary of the Holy Office, who writes down everything a prisoner says during questioning and torture. These scenes allow examination of convent life and the process of examination and torture inside the Alcazar fortress. The climax occurs during the largest auto de fe and burning of heretics and Judaizers in Cordoba, which allows for a great exposition (by showing, not telling) of this horrendous process of judicial murder.