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The Setting
Rennes-le-Chateau is a mysterious place, indeed.

In the late 19th century, while conducting renovations, a local parish priest discovered some parchments buried beneath his small church. The parchments reportedly contained Latin transcriptions of the Gospels, with hidden messages in French interspersed among the Latin. These enigmatic messages (including "This treasure belongs to Dagobert II and to Sion and here he is dead" and "I complete this daemon guardian at midday blue apples") reportedly led the priest, Berenger Sauniere, to make a startling discovery.

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From there, the mystery grows deeper. Sauniere disappeared for a few years and upon his return seemed to have a limitless supply of money. This money was used to renovate the church and build some other structures in the town, including a tower dedicated to Mary Magdalen that hangs dangerously off a steep cliff.

The redesign of the church, which was dedicated to Mary Magdalen in the 11th century, was highly unusual. The new pieces included: slightly distorted versions of the stations of the cross (children in kilts, Pontius Pilate wearing a veil), a frightening statue of the demon Asmodeus near the door, strange statues of the saints, and many more enigmatic images. Many thought the church of Rennes-le-Chateau to be a treasure map to Sauniere's secret.

click to enlarge.

The church, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. Many historians believe that Sauniere's secret is tied into the mystery of King Dagobert of the Mergovian sect, which some evidence links to Rennes-le-Chateau. Though the Mergovians had been deposed, the bloodline continued. A secret organization, the Priore du Sion (Priory of Zion), was founded (and still exists to this day, according to French records), ostensibly to restore the Mergovian dynasty to the throne.

It gets stranger. The Priory was linked to the Knights Templar, a group founded to protect travelers on the road but whose true motives were mysterious. Many think the Templars and the Priory were aligned for a short period because of a common goal - to protect Dagobert's bloodline. Just why the two sects wanted to protect the bloodline is perhaps the strangest enigma, tied to an allegorical interpretation of the Holy Grail and the story of Mary Magdalen.

It is at this point, however, that the theories of Sauniere's discovery become important to the story of Gabriel Knight III. Revealing too much more would be crossing the line into spoiler territory, as the investigation will not only require you to rescue Prince James' child, but unravel Sauniere's secret discovery in the process.

This is just one interpretation of the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau. Sauniere never disclosed his secret, and he died mysteriously in 1917 (he is rumored to have been denied last rites after his last confession). His housekeeper had promised to reveal his discovery on her deathbed, but a paralyzing stroke left her unable to speak.

Next: The Characters