Angus shook his head. "A genius when it comes tae sea creatures, but ye're lost when it comes tae yer ain folk, are ye no'?" He moved away from the bars, sitting on the edge of his mattress. "Pay attention, Gracie, an' jist maybe yer auld man'll teach ye somethin'. The Order o' the Knights wis officially founded in Jerusalem back in the early 1100s, roond the end o' the First Crusade. I say officially, 'cause they'd been roond long afore that, goin' back tae the days o' Saint Columba hi'sel'. They were part-warrior, part-monk, an' a' chivalrous, dedicated tae protecting Christians makin' the pilgrimage tae the Temple o' Solomon. King Baldwin II o' Jerusalem offered them a hame in the temple, an' livin' on alms, they became kent as the Poor Knights o' the Temple."

"What does any of this have to do with—"

"Patience, Sally, patience. Now some ten years after he formed the Knights, Hughes de Paynes traveled tae Europe, seekin' new recruits. In France, he joined forces wi' another monk, Bernard de Clairvaux, an' his Cistercian brotherhood. Vowin' tae fight in Christ's name against evil, the Knights successfully recruited thoosands intae the Order, a' donnin' the white vestments, now adorned wi' the Knighthood's red cross. Now in 1139, the Pope, Innocent II, he decides it's best if he took control o' the Templars. First thing he does is exclude them frae taxation, which allowed them tae accumulate great wealth. Bein' clever sorts, the Knights adopted the practice o' lendin' money usin' interest terms, practically inventin' modern-day bankin' in the process. The order became rich an' quite powerful, an' their numbers swelled, neither o' which wis appreciated by France's King Phillip the Fair, an ambitious bastard if ever there wis one. Phillip coveted the Knights' accumulated wealth, an' it wis he who gave Friday the thirteenth its true infamy, for on that day in October o' 1307, he ordered a' Knights residin' in France tae be arrested for heresy. Three thoosand innocent Templars were imprisoned an' tortured, their property seized by the king. Under Phillip's pressure, the Pope then ordered the arrest o' a' Templar Knights. Fifteen thoosand mair monks were jailed an' brutally beaten, effectively dissolvin' the Order. The Knights' Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, wis coerced intae a false confession, then burned at the stake. Legend says that Molay recanted his confession as he burned, an' placed a curse on the king an' the Pope, baith o' whom died within seven months."

And what does all this have to do with True's father?"