Of all the challenges of beginning a series, getting to know the cast of characters can be the most daunting. The Häling and the Scottish Templars story is complicated by the diversity of new characters and their unfamiliar historical occupations.
Add to the mix, visionary elements and a menagerie of creatures, a glossary such as the one below can come in handy. Use this list of Häling characters as a guide through the crucial period of gathering the treasures!
You can but The Häling and the Scottish Templars here: Amazon
Häling Characters Book 1
Lord Lair Eagan of Scythia, Lord of the North – Noble of Scythian ancestry, linked to the spiritual lineage of adepts known as the Kalein from the far northwestern reaches of Asia and Northern Seas. As lord of Kelon Castle (near Balantrodoch, south of Edinburgh, Scotland) he was well respected in circles throughout Europe. His land holdings include arctic wilderness of Scotland’s northern shores, Kelon Castle and various suzerains across northern Europe and northwestern Asia. Lord Lair Eagan existed inside time, but was not subject to it.
Adam de Dalrymple – Thirteen year old son of minor nobility, David de Dalrymple and Judith de Kerrera of Dalrymple Wood, in the western reaches of Scotland along the Ayr coast. Adam was a Templar Squire, in service to the Scottish Temple’s second highest officer Seneschal, Sir Iain de Douglas, at Scotland’s Templar headquarters of Balantrodoch (seven miles south of Edinburgh). Adam’s innate talents for languages and the written word was cultivated from a very young age. His exceptional education in classics, linguistics, as well as the arts and sciences brought him into many interesting circumstances.
Hannah de Dalrymple – Fifteen year old sister to Adam de Dalrymple, daughter of David de Dalrymple and Judith de Kerrera of Dalrymple Wood, in the western reaches of Scotland along the Ayr coast. Her talents for illumination and script design set her on a path few women of the Middle Ages could realize. Her intelligence and high spirit propelled her into a perennial struggle to free herself from medieval norms. However rare, women scribes were put to work, contributing to the production of illuminations.
Sir Iain de Douglas – The fictional uncle to James de Douglas and mentor to Adam de Dalrymple. As a Templar, he fought in the Crusades in Jerusalem. Upon returning home he served as Royal Archer body guard to King Alexander III until the King’s death in 1286. He was then assigned to the Templar headquarters in Scotland, the preceptory of Balantrodoch, where he served as seneschal (second in command) to Scotland’s Templar Master, and implemented innovations in the training of younger knights. He appeared throughout The Haling and the Scottish Templars, as a powerful influence upon Adam, although he remained behind in Scotland after Adam left Scottish shores.
Friar Mungo – A Canon of the Soutra Aisle, the medieval Augustinian Hospital
Friar Eli – Prior of Soutra Aisle, the medieval Augustinian Hospital in Edinburghshire
Prince Djeru of Alexandria – Egyptian Bedouin bodyguard to Lair Eagan, descendant of ancient priest caste, master in the art of war, scholar, statesman,
Prince Melke of Persia – Warrior and Scribe to Lair Eagan, born in Babylonia, educated in Constantinople in the Byzantium’s royal courts.
Sir Richard de Roxburgh – Templar Marshal of Balantrodoch Temple
Sir Moray – Templar Knight at Balantrodoch
Sir Robert de Sutherland – Templar knight at Balantrodoch, the Templar headquarters of Scotland.
Brother Walter of Melrose Abbey – Cistercian Monk scholar of Melrose Abbey assigned to Balantrodoch’s library
Sir Theobaud de Cherney – Marshall of Balantrodoch (Templar officer) – Fictional cousin to Geoffroi de Cherney, who was burned at the stake with Jaques the Molay in 1314.
Sir John de Lamont – Commander of Oban Templar Preceptory
Sir Archibald de Buchan – Commander of the Order of St. John at Torphichen preceptory
Sir Raymond de Bamburgh – Bailiff of Torphichen Knights of St. John of Scotland
Hugh de Douglas – Fictional personage as uncle to James de Douglas, brother to William de Douglas, cousin to Sir Ian de Douglas
William de Douglas – Referenced only for historical context; Historical Governor of the port of Berwick, Father to James de Douglas. Captured by English at the fall of Berwick, but managed to escape by 1297 and join William Wallace at the raid of Scone.
James de Douglas – (H) Young Douglas lost his mother at an early age. His father, William de Douglas, was captured at Berwick and perished in the Tower of London As an indirect heir to the Scottish thrown, James de Douglas was rumored to have escaped and spent in Paris. He then reappeared on the stage of Scottish history, fully trained as a formidable young warrior in early 1300’s. At the time of this book, nine year old James de Douglas is by all accounts, an orphan, escaping from the King of England’s henchmen.
David de Dalrymple – Father of Adam and Hannah de Dalrymple, the son of Guy de Dalrymple (b. 1217) and Lillian de Oban (daughter in the royal bloodline of the Kingdoms of the Western Isles). King Alexander II of Scotland granted lands to Guy de Dalrymple in honor of his service to the Scottish crown, as goldsmith and craftsman of finest swords in the realm. David’s father (Adam’s grandfather) Guy arrived in Scotland from Troyes as noble scribe of the Count of Champagne. He brought with him the secrets of craftsmanship, gold-smithing and certain manuscripts of great mystic antiquity, which would eventually be included in the Häling treasures.
Judith de Dalrymple – Mother to Adam and Hannah de Dalrymple, Judith’s family was born on Kerrera of the Western Isles, of the ancient kingdom of Dàl Riata. She was daughter of Grier de Kerrera and Tea de Kilmore. Grier de Kilmory was granted the Isle of Kerrera in return for his service as adviser to King Alexander II. When King Alexander II died of a fever while fighting the Norse in Argyll, her father Grier arranged transport of the king’s body to Melrose Abbey, to be laid to rest. As a scholar of Kabbalah, Judith devoted herself to the instruction of Adam and Hannah in the ways of the Hebrew mysticism.
Niall Svyn– Laird of fictional Castle Svyn on the west coast of Erra-Gyhll.
Enoch the Hermit – A mysterious yet cheerful wanderer who facilitated the mission of saving the Häling. He was one of the Kalein elders, who lived independent of time and place. It was speculated that he was a distant relative of Lord Eagan. Turan the panther was sometimes sighted in Enoch’s company.
Creature Characters
Angus – Adam’s old palfrey, who knew the lowlands of Scotland from his many years of service to the Templars.
Isis – Djeru’s Horse derives her name from Djeru’s love of Hermetic sciences.
Temul – Eagan’s horse takes her name from nomadic Mongolian term which means ‘to race like the wind’ or ‘to be inspired through creative thought.’
Jedt – Melke’s horse, term which means the ‘black stone that burns.’
Heremon– Sir Iain’s war horse, who saved Sir Iain’s life in the battle at Dunbar.
Merlin, the kestrel – flew far and wide, but called Douglas Castle his primary hunting ground.
Aiki, the Wyvern – Lord Eagan’s companion is a celestial creature from the star Vega in the constellation Lyra. Her earthly abode is Lord Eagan’s gold jeweled signet ring, where she rests until called into action. See Chapter 20 for further elucidation of her qualities.
Turan, the Panther – Mysterious giant black mountain lion, companion to Enoch the Hermit. Medieval Scotland was hunting grounds for panthers, but sightings of these majestic creatures are now very rare.
Enoch’s Reindeer – In times gone by, reindeer herds roamed as far south as Scotland.
L.S. Berthelsen 