The Cathedral: A Journey of Faith and Courage

Posted on Sep 24, 2024 in English

Catalog Record

Book Title:

The Cathedral

Author:

Cesar Mallorquí

Editorial:

SM

Collection:

Wide Angle

No of Pages:

203

Index

Plot:

3

Main Characters:

5

Ideas or Topics:

6

Reasoned Criticism:

7

Argument

Telmo and his father worked as day laborers. Telmo’s father rarely rested, even for lunch, because he was very focused on his work.

On the morning of Telmo’s birthday, he woke up later than usual. While his father was already working at the site, his mother killed a chicken and prepared a good breakfast. Telmo had started working on a statue of the Virgin Mary in his spare time. By the afternoon, Telmo’s father approached him and told him that he was going to bring some of his friends from the lodge to see Telmo’s work, despite Telmo’s insistent denials because the figure was not yet finished.

When they reached the lodge, Telmo was very nervous. He placed the Madonna on the workbench, and as the six friends looked at it, his father watched with great tranquility. After calmly examining it, they proceeded to vote. The votes were cast with stones: a white stone meant “yes,” and a black one meant “no.” Telmo was very nervous, but in the end, when they took the bag and the stones, Telmo saw that all six were white. He felt calmed and happy. Telmo took the oath and became a Freemason. The degree of Freemason was very special because, in this way, he became free.

Later, Telmo’s father received news. A cathedral was to be built in Kerloc’h, and they were looking for a good sculptor to create the statue that would be placed on the altar of that cathedral. He would go to Kerloc’h in the company of strangers: Gunnar, Loki, and Eric. Telmo did not think for a moment that these three individuals were Freemasons. They looked mostly like warriors.

When they arrived, they stopped at a bar. Right next to the table where they were, a few people were playing dice and gambling money. It had been a long time when Loki decided to join the game. Loki was winning almost every game until the leader of the group that was playing accused him of cheating and demanded the money he had won. Telmo was afraid for Loki, but Gunnar reassured him that they were in no danger. When they left the bar and were halfway down the road, they ran into the same guy who insisted on reclaiming his money and everything they had on them. They refused, and suddenly archers appeared from everywhere. The three of them dealt with the attackers, leaving no one standing.

They journeyed for a long time until they reached Kerloc’h. There they were received by Hugo, his wife, and their daughter, Valentina. In January, Telmo learned of a contest to choose the sculptor who would create the statue for the high altar of the cathedral. Telmo won this contest and worked on the statue for a long time.

One day they went to the cathedral and found a hideout where they discovered the mark of Thibaud of Orly, a sculptor who had disappeared. A few days later, a Korrigan spoke of a hidden chamber, calling it hell. He said that Thibaud of Orly had died there, that he had been there, and that he would go again. The next morning, they found the Korrigan dead.

Days later, on a night when Telmo could not sleep well, the Korrigan appeared to him. He had the same wounds as when he was found dead and was very angry. He was accusing Telmo of doing nothing to save him.

Telmo jumped up and ran to the cathedral. Scaffolding had been erected along the walls to allow access. When he entered, he saw a door just above the organ. He went there, not knowing what he would face. When he could see a little, he saw many bodies, including those of Thibaud of Orly. Suddenly the light went out, and everything was dark. Telmo ran as fast as he could. When he reached the village, he told Eric everything. As he spoke, he saw a dark shadow in the distance; it was Simon of Wallachia. Simon kidnapped them both and took them to a cell.

Eric and Simon faced off in a life-or-death struggle. Eric finally defeated Simon and escaped from his cell. He went to look for the rest of the townspeople. They found Gunnar and Loki halfway down the road, and they all set out.

Meanwhile, inside the cathedral, a spell was being cast to summon Lucifer and provoke Armageddon. To perform this spell, they needed to sacrifice a virgin soul, which in this case would be Valentina.

Telmo was about to intervene as Valentina was about to be killed, but he was able to rescue her and escape with her. As they escaped, Telmo could see his enemies watching the sea toward a point they could not see because the cathedral blocked their view. Telmo went over to see what was happening. There, Telmo saw the Beast, Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness. Telmo was witnessing what could be Armageddon. But the spell had been broken, and he suddenly realized that Lucifer had been about to come to his glory, but the forces of good had won. Kerloc’h Cathedral had been destroyed, and the mercenaries of the Order of the Eagle would fight no more.

Telmo stopped to rest for a bit, but Ben Mosse woke him and told him to go into town. All the people wanted to see him because they said he was the hero of everything that had happened.

He knew he should go to Kerloc’h, but although many offered to go with him to Paris, he did not go with any of them and followed his own path.

Main Characters

• Telmo: The protagonist and narrator of the story. He is fourteen years old. His story begins on his fourteenth birthday, the day he becomes a Freemason.
• Gunnar: One of Telmo’s fellow travelers. He is a very tall man with broad shoulders and muscular build. He has very blond hair, so blond it looks white, and he wears it tied back in a long braid. He has an iron ring beard.
• Loki: One of Telmo’s fellow travelers. He is the opposite of Gunnar: short, thin, and dark. He has short hair and wears a sharp goatee. He appears wiry and tense, like a trap ready to spring, and he is also very clever.
• Eric: One of Telmo’s fellow travelers. He is tall and strong, but not as gigantic as Gunnar. He has brown hair, a shaved head, and a bushy beard cut into a rectangle. He has a scar that crosses his face diagonally from his forehead to his cheekbone.

Ideas or Topics

1. Overcoming Self: When Telmo wants to become a great sculptor and when he enters the contest to design the cathedral’s imagery.
2. Fellowship: When Telmo participates in all the plans that he and his colleagues make.
3. Hope: When Kerloc’h falls and Telmo doesn’t know what will become of his future, he goes in search of a new life.
4. Love: When Valentina falls in love with Telmo when they meet and steadily makes advances throughout the story.
5. Cooperation: When they devise the plan to destroy the cathedral with gunpowder.
6. Confidence Among Comrades: When Loki has a problem at the inn, Gunnar reassures Telmo that he will take care of Loki.
7. Tranquility: When Telmo participates in the competition for the cathedral sculptor, he doesn’t get nervous, follows his instincts, and goes to the beach to rest from his long work.
8. Self-Confidence: When Telmo is in the competition for the cathedral sculptor, he trusts his instincts to create the figure he wants to build.
9. Courage: When Telmo saves Valentina from death during her sacrifice to summon Lucifer.

Reasoned Criticism

I liked this book very much because it has a lot of intrigue from start to finish. One thing I really liked was the detailed descriptions of the places where the events of the book take place.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that there was a part at the beginning, until they go to Kerloc’h, that was very boring. The rest was very good.