All those gathered replied, "Amen! So be it!"

So, it has come at last, I thought, and my heart quickened. The waiting is at an end; this night the decision will be made.

"Brothers, to prayer!" With that Abbot Fraoch sank to the floor, prostrating himself before the little stone altar.

No more was said; no more needed saying. Indeed, we had leeched all meaning from the words long ago through endless discussion and debate. Thus, having watched and fasted and studied through the dark months, we now sought the blessing of the heavenly throne. We lay down upon the bare rock floor of the cave and abandoned ourselves to prayer. The air in the cave was dense with the warmth of so many bodies, and thick with the smoke and scent of the candles. I knelt, doubled over upon myself, arms extended and head touching the stone floor, listening as the whispered invocations filled the cave with a familiar drone.

Gradually, the murmuring abated and after a time a silence deep and calm as the gravemound returned to the cave. But for the soft flaring of the candles as they fluttered, and the slow, regular breathing of the monks, not a sound could be heard. We might have been the last men on earth; we might have been the dead of another age awaiting our return to life.

I prayed as fervently as ever I have in my life. I sought wisdom and guidance, and my seeking was sincere, I swear it! I prayed:

King of the Mysteries, who wast and art,

Before the elements, before the ages,

King eternal, comely in aspect,

who reigns for ever, grant me three things:

Keenness to discern your will,

Wisdom to understand it,

Courage to follow where it leads.

This I prayed, and meant it every word. Then I prayed that the honour I sought would be delivered into my hand. Even so, I was astonished when, after a lengthy span, I heard footsteps pause near me and felt a touch on my shoulder, and heard the abbot call my name, saying, "Rise, Aidan, and stand."