The Essene: Gabriel's Journey - Book 4(4 The Essene: Gabriel's Journey)

More than two thousand years ago, a tribal sect of the Jewish population in and around Jerusalem, segregated themselves to live in the caves of Qumran below the cliffs of the Judean desert along the western shore of the Dead Sea. They were known as healers, metalworkers, artisans and historians. Roughly one hundred years BC (BCE) they were writing the history of the Jewish people as passed down over Millenia by mouth, myth and song. Their work was discovered by Bedouin teenagers playing in those caves against the wishes of their parents. in the mid-1950's. These parchments, many hidden in pottery shards, were written in ancient Hebrew and became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The find was of enormous religious and academic importance and was immediately spirited away to a hidden room in Jerusalem where they could be examined and studied by Rabbis, scholars and academicians.....eventually being displayed in a beautiful, secure museum which protected their integrity for all times. The museum is called The Shrine of the Book. Eventually, as their work was finishing, this sect of Jews followed their fellow Jews into the Diaspora and spread throughout the world, leaving the Dead Sea Scrolls behind. They did maintain their closely held principles. They would not make war, nor settle disputes by killing or maiming another. They tended to seek medical knowledge and many became physicians. Music was of prime importance as a source of joy, relaxation, entertainment....and for many, meditation. And they continued to carry on the craft of metallurgy, sculpting beautiful images of animals and plants, angels and cherubs out of gold and silver. These people were called the Essene and it was said that many had the capacity to influence, heal, and calm others by the power of their minds alone. This novel continues the journey of one such Essene, Gabriel Mendelsohn as he matures and discovers his genetic heritage, for the abilities of the Essene, if in fact they were different from any normal human being, were carried in the mutated genetic code of their cells. Gabriel and his younger brother Spencer will have to face the implications of carrying the Essene heritage strongly in their blood, face evil forces continuing to plot chaos and death throughout the world and also discover and ultimately face the differences between them. Ten years have passed since Gabriel stood alone on the Plains of Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley of northern Israel facing an army of militant, fanatic Islamists beholden to no nation other than a narcissistic power hungry cleric and led by a supernatural creature conjured up from the depths of the Jewish mystical tracts by a hateful Hasidic Jew. Gabe's only weapon was a dueling foil spirited to him without his knowledge by the woman who loved him. He tossed it away, for an Essene had only his wits and his intellect to confront the evil he faced. And a pretty nice horse, but that's another story.