"I have lived through many ages... through the eyes of salmon, deer, and wolf." "I have seen the North Men invading Ireland destroying homes, in search of gold." "I have seen suffering in the darkness," "yet..." "I have seen beauty thrive in the most fragile of places." "I have seen the book... the book that turned darkness... into light." "Brendan?" "Don't let her get away!" "Come on!" "Nice goosy, goosy, goosy..." "Stand back, I will get her!" " Which way?" " Baah..." "Brendan!" "That scaffolding is not steady!" "Don't worry, brother Assoua, I'll be careful." "Sorry." "Brendan!" "Coming!" " Brendan." " Brendan!" "Are you hurt?" "Keep it quiet, Brendan!" "Or the Abbot will hear." "I'm sorry, but we have to do this." "It will all be over in a minute." "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" "Lucky bird." "Your feathers will become the tools... from which we create immortal pages of sacred text." "Abbot!" "I explain for you..." "We tried to catch goose..." "and she run very fast." "And I fall in the mud..." "Forgive us, Abbot." "Brendan!" "Where are those plans I asked for?" "The plans..." "I left them in the scriptorium." " Bring them to the tower." " Yes uncle." "Tomorrow, you will go back to work on the wall, dawn till evening bell... and brother Leonardo... clean yourself up for pity's sake." "I do not know why there are at it this intense... when all that man wants us to do is to build his crazy wall." "Yes, that's all the man cares about, nothing else, and you continue to defend him, Brendan!" "Uncle just wants to protect us from outside." "When the North Men come to Kells, they'll make no distinction between young and old." "So..." ""Prepare or meet your doom!"" "You just don't understand..." "But Brendan, you've never been outside these walls." "I don't have to go outside to know how dangerous it is." " Where have you all been?" " We went to get these, for you." "You should have seen brother Sergey, he took a flying dive, like a beautiful swan." "It is not funny." "The Abbot has seen us, he is not happy because we are not working on the wall." "Now enough of that!" "What about the books?" "Does he not find them?" "If there were no books, all knowledge would be lost... for ethernity." "We cannot only build walls." "The people must have books, so that they may have hope." "If we had a true master illuminator would would do so much splendid work!" "Let us pray that one will be delivered to us one day." " Let us Pray!" " Let us Pray!" "Surely you don't need a master, your work is the finest I've seen..." "Thanks Brendan, but we are mere scriblers..." " next to true masters." " True masters?" "Such as...?" "Such as..." "Brother Aidan of Iona." "He is indeed the great one." "Who is the brother Aidan?" "A sage." "The wisest one of them all." "The perfect Illuminator." "Well where is he then?" "He lives on a tiny island called lona." "There is an abbey on the island, where he works on a magnificent book:" "The Book of Iona." "The book was begun 200 years ago, under the orders of none other than Saint Columb Kil himself." "The Book of Iona outshines all others... because of the miracle of Columb Kil's third eye..." "No, not because of his third eye, because of his 3 hands with 12 fingers on each." "That's not true!" "He had a third eye, not a third hand!" "Have you not heard of the eye of Columb Kil?" "Of course!" "But that was for making the prophecies..." "His third hand was for beginning the book." "Enough!" "Just tell us about Brother Aidan." "His writings are said to glow from the pages, as though they are light." "Sinners have been blinded while glansing upon the pages." "For to gaze upon the book, is to gaze upon the heavons itself!" "The Book of Iona." "But where is Iona?" "It is far far away in the sea." "Like all islands should be." "A beautiful place... where the illuminators do not have to build walls." "But the Abbot sais that islands are too easy to attack." "Brendan!" "Are you still here?" "You'd better bring the Abbot those plans, or you'll be in big trouble!" "Uncle!" "Hurry boy!" "Here they are, uncle." "Brendan!" "How am I to trust you with responsablity... when you continue to disappoint me?" "One day you will take control of this Abbey." "Yet, it takes you several hours to fulfill a simple task." "I'm sorry." "The monks were talking about Iona." "I dreamt it was destroyed." "It was so real uncle!" "It is real Brendan." "One day that horror will come to us." "That is exactly why we must prepare ourselves." "This section of the wall is supported by 3 pillars: here, here and here." "Uncle, someone has arrived!" "He has a white cat!" "Another victim of the North Men no doubt." "Now, let's see." "[crowd talking]" "Oh, no, no... not that far." "But we've legs walked ourselves all the way." "But please, from where?" "A very long way?" "Oh yes, it was long enough alright." "but when you just want to keep up with, the road just takes half the time." "Isn't that right Pangur Ban?" " We really can't stay very long." " Welcome to Kells, brother." " Abbot Cellach" " Peace be with you!" "Brothers, welcome to Kells one of the great illuminators of our times." "Must be a mistake." "Brother Aidan of Iona." "One question at a time." "As Columb Kil used to say:" ""Questions do not burn your tongue if you wait to ask them"." "Welcome to Kells, brother Aidan!" "Just this way, brother." "Hello!" "Welcome to Kells!" "Hey, wait!" "just talking of you and of the book." "Fine size of a place, isn't it?" "Good clean air, bright light coming from those windows..." "Brother!" "Is that where you keep the book?" "Is... that where..." "you keep... the.." "And who might you be?" "A very short brother I see." "Although short of stature is never as short of questions." "And of what interest is the book to you?" "Well..." "the brothers where talking, and they said that Saint Columb Kil himself began s..." "Brothers, the brother of Aidan must come with me..." "I must take him to see the important work we are doing... to fortify Kells." "You all have work to do." "The plans are in my work room." "Ah see, I was thinking, I could stay here..." " and..." " Right this way, brother." " Lad!" " Hmm...?" "Find some food for a..." "You see, I am determined to complete the fortifications within two years." "So, you're Pangur Ban." "Well I'm Bre..." "Hey!" "Wait!" "I'm supposed to feed you..." "Wait!" "Pangur Ban!" "Pangur Ban!" "You shouldn't have come here." "The North Men will have followed..." ""Did I have to stay, to be killed?" "I escaped the Vikings and left them far behind, Brother Cellach..." "Sorry, I mean..." "Abbot Cellach." "The book is saved, and I need to completed." "Yes, well... we have more pressing things to complete here." " You mean your wall?" " Not my wall, Aidan!" "A wall to save civilization." "A wall to save your book!" "Pagens..." "Crom worshipers..." "It is with the strenght of our walls, that they will come to trust the strenght of our faith." "You were always good at the old drawing, Cellach." "Yes, well if you'd excuse me..." "I have a lot to attend to." "No wall can stop the North Men, Abbot." "When they come, all we can do is run... and hope that we are fast enough." "Come on Pangur." "Pangur!" "I don't mean the book any harm." "All I've ever seen is inside the walls of Kells." "If I could just see one page" "Please." "Well!" "If it isn't the little brother with the big questions?" " I didn't mean to..." " I understand." "You got bored eavesdropping on the Abbot's private conversation... and decided to rummed through my things." "Oh, no, that's not it!" "Calm down lad, calm down, I won't tell on ya." "Maybe I..." "The brothers say that sinners are blinded if they glanced at the book." "So, maybe I shouldn't..." "Is that what you really believe what happened?" "There's nothing in this life but mist, is there lad?" "It's your decision, no one else's." "The cover, is not the real treasure." "Open it!" "The work of angels." ""The work of the angels" Did you hear that, Pangur?" "I didn't know that angels would be as funny looking as me." "Maybe it's the boy has gone blind." "I thought the very same, when I first saw it." "But it is only the work of mere mortals, I'm afraid, like me or you." "The book is a beacon in these dark days of the North Men." "Do you want to see the most beautiful page?" "The one that will turn darnkess into light?" "It is to be, the "Chi Ro" page." "But it hasn't been made yet." "No, but it will become the most glorious page of the entire book." "Tell me Brendan, would you like to help?" "Oh yes, please!" "I help the brothers find quills all the time." "Calm down, calm down, little brother." "Now to start with, you can help me gather some of these, from an old oak tree." "What is this?" "It's a humble little berry, but it makes the deepest emerald green ink you'll ever see." "If you help me get a dozen or so from the forest..." "I'll show you how to make it, so, come on!" "What's keeping you?" "I can't go." "I'm not allowed to go outside the wall." "It's too dangerous." "It is, dangerous." "Iona" "I lost my brothers to attackers from the outside." "Now I have only the book to remember them by." "But... if my brothers where here now... they would tell you you'll learn more in the woods... from trees and rocks than from any other place." "You'll see miracles." "And that is something the Abbot knew... a long time ago." "I've never seen anything like it, Pangur." "I really want to help brother Aidan." "I think I could get those ink berries all by my self." "I could go into the forest... wouldn't brother Aidan be surprised." "Ahh... but the Abbot..." "I'll be back before he'd even missed me." "But..." "What if I get lost... in the dark?" "No!" "I should never go out there!" "if I keep thinking of the book" "I won't be afraid of the dark." "And I'm sure I won't have to go that far." "Alright so, Pangur Ban." "Tomorrow I'll go into the forest!" "Pangur!" "Ofcourse, it might help if I knew what an oak tree looked like." "Maybe we'd better go home..." "Was it this way?" "Do you remember?" "Don't panic, Pangur." "We just have to find the way back before dark." "Ow no, it's hard enough..." "Is this your cat?" "Well?" "I've heard about creatures like you" "You're a fairy!" "What are you doing in my forest?" "You've come to spoil it, haven't you?" "You were probably sent here by your family, to get food, weren't you?" "Well, you can go right back where you came from." "If you don't, I'll make the wolves get you!" "No!" "I didn't mean to..." "Look, I'm sorry alright?" "I'm not here to get food for my family." "I'm here to get things to make ink." "I don't have a family, and we have food in Kells." "So I wouldn't come here for it anyway." "I was just a bit lost." "You have no family?" "No." "No mother?" "I'm alone too." "If this is your forest, you must know everything about it." "Well, of course." "No Wait!" "Hello?" "Shhh... not so loud!" "Go away!" "No wait Please!" "Do you know where you can find these?" "Yes" "But you can't eat those." "I don't want to eat them, they're for ink." "What is ink?" "It's for the book..." "For make pictures." "Liquid colour, you put it on pages... like leaves... it's hard to explain, I suppose you'd have to see it." "I do not know what you're talking about, and I don't want to know..." "But.. brother Aidan..." "I will help you find the things you want, on one condition..." "You and your pet must promise to never come into my forest again." "Alright then." "We promise." "Come on then, I'll ask the forest where they are." "Ask the... what...?" "Hey, wait!" "My name is Brendan." "What's yours?" "It's a miracle, just like Aidan said." "Aidan is my friend." "I'm helping him make the most incredible book in the whole world." "He sais it'll turn darkness into light." "Wait until you see it!" "Wait until you see the rest of my forest!" "You're fast." "Yes, I'm the fastest." "So..." "Where are the berries then?" "You have climbed a tree before, haven't you?" "Yes, of course." "It's easy." "Come on so!" "Saved your life, second time today." "I thought you knew how to climb trees." "I do." "Smaller ones." "Yeah..." "like bushes." "Don't look down." "Come on!" "Look!" "One beatle recognizes another." "Come on!" "Open your eyes and I'll tell you my name." "Aisling." "and this, is my forest." "I asked them not to sting you." "Here's what you're looking for... but they're not really berries." "They look like boar droppings." "They're kind of stinky too." "If you're finished, It's time to go back down." "back down..." "A bit left." "No wait!" "Don't lean on that... branch." "I'm sorry it took so long to come down." "Except for the last part..." "We'd better go now." "I know a secret way to get you home" "Come on!" "Look!" "Brendan?" "What are you doing?" "Come away!" "This is a place of suffering." "Suffering?" "What do you mean?" "Just come away!" "It's too dangerous." "Surely it can't be more dangerous than climbing an oak tree." "It is the cave of the Dark One." "Crom Cruach?" "But Crom Cruach's only a story for children." "The Abbot of Kells, says you shouldn't be afraid of imaginary things." "It's not imagined." "It's waiting in the darkness." "Waiting for someone to awaken it." "Aisling, you're only scaring yourself." "The abbot sais that that's all pagan nonesense." "There's no such thing as Crom Cruach..." "Don't... speak it's name!" "You're really frightened?" "Aisling!" "Are you hurt?" "What was that?" "I told you..." "Crom!" " Brendan?" " Huh?" "You can visit the forest again, if you like." "And Pangur can come too." " But sir, on Iona we always arange them~" " This is not lona." "The scriptorium will be arranged according to my instructions." "But this is not good..." "It will be as I say." "Brother Aidan!" "I found them!" "I..." "Well, Brendan." "It's about time we saw you today." "Where have you been?" "I'm listening." "Where were you?" "I..." "I went into the forest." "Just for a little while, not very long." "Just..." "It was for Brother Aidan..." "Brendan." "Have I not warned enough about what lies beyond these walls?" "Yet you disobey me." "I know, but for the book..." "Brendan." "You are never to leave the abbey again without my permission." "Uncle, if you see the book..." "Do you Understand?" "Good." "Now come along, there are matters to attend to in the workroom." " Look!" " What?" " I found them." " You did?" "So you did!" "I did have a little help." "From a friend in the forest." "There's nothing you can't do when you have friends to help you, right?" "Now, let's see." "Yes, yes..." "I believe these will do very nicely..." "From tiny berries do great images come to life..." "Come along!" "Lot of smoke... that's a good sign." " It is?" " Yes." " Ah, beautiful." " From a stinky berry." "Making ink is all very well, but it is useless... without one of these." "I'm not..." "I'm not allowed to..." "There's no one else here now." "Just you and your imagination." "Afraid?" "Me?" "No." "I'm not afraid of imaginary things." "Keep going!" "Finish what you start." "Gold!" "Not bad." "I'd say he could do it right enough." "Do what?" "I must confess my boy." "I haven't been completely honest with you." "I can not do the Chi-ro page." "My eyes have become too old." "And my hands unsteady." "But .. you said..." "You should be the one to do that page!" "Me?" "No!" "I can never... there must be somebody else..." "You have to do it." "I would ruin it." "No, no, no." "Ofcourse you can do it." "You found those berries" "You've certainly developed a steady hand." "Even before I came you'd already learned much from the other brothers's work." "You've only to unleash your imagination!" "I have go." "Where have you been so early?" "Come along, there is much work to be done." "I don't know Pangur..." "Something I cannot see, stops him." "If he is ever to light up the Chi-ro page... he'll have to turn around and stare whatever it is, in the face!" "Brendan!" "We're moving the scaffolding to the west wall." "Hurry along now!" "I think you're ready to learn Columb Kil's secret." "The mesmerizing detail..." "Of course, you need another eye." "Now..." " Once I find the crystal..." " Brother... open up a whole new world..." "a tiny wonder..." "Columb Kil instructed that the crystal should never be used, for less than work that's worthy of it." "It has not been used since lona." "What's... a crystal?" "This's not a crystal, it's The Crystal!" "The eye of Columb Kil." "Columb Kil created over 300 books in his lifetime." "By his own hands!" "On his deathbed, he prayed that his apprentice got a vision as clear and wonderful as his own." "then as he drew his last last breath... it dropped from his hand... the eye of Colomb Kil!" "Colomb Kil would want it to go to you." "Where is it?" "Sorry, Pangur." "Have you seen it?" "It's lost." "It's all lost!" "Where did you last have it?" "I don't understand." "If I could show the crystal to you... all would become clear." " But..." " But I can still continue my training, can't I?" "Have you ever studied the tiny pattern, on a green fly's wing?" "No." "And you'll never will without the crystal." "What if we pray for a miracle?" "Like Colomb Kil did?" "Some say, that before the crystal became known, as the eye of Columb Kil it had an ancient name..." "Named from the creature that Colomb Kil won the crystal from." "Deep... inside one of it's dweling places." "Crom Cruach!" "It was called the eye of "Crom Cruach"" "I can't tell you which parts of this story are true and what parts... are shrouded by the mists." "Ah, there's nothing in this life but mist..." "We're only here for a short while..." "Don't worry, Pangur." "I won't be long." "You've been forbidden to leave the abbey." "Now you are also forbidden to enter the scriptorium." "Please, Uncle, you don't understand." "Oh I understand perfectly well!" "No more escorsions." "No more scriptorium and no more brother Aidan." "No." "What did you say?" "I can't do that." "I can't give up the book uncle" "If you looked at just one page and see why." "You've forgotten how important it is" "All you want from us is this wall." "Brother Aidan said you were an Illuminator once." " He said..." " That's enough!" "If I can't trust you to stay out of harm's way... you'll have to remain here, untill you'll see sense." "Cellach, please, don't blame the boy." "I'll have a talk with to him and..." " You do no such thing." " You can't..." "Brother Tang will bring him his meals... and once there is nothing left here to distract him..." "Let me keep the book Cellach." "It was entrusted to me." "Allright then." "But on the condition that you leave Kells with the first thaw of spring." "Brendan..." "Aisling!" "How can I get you out?" "I don't know." "The tower is locked." "And my door is bolted from the outside." "The key is in the abbot's room." "Maybe... you can take a message to brother Aidan." "You must go where I can not..." "Pangur Ban..." "Why did the abbot put you in there?" "Because I disobeyed him ." "Why?" "Look!" " The Eye of Crom!" " No, it's a crystal." "I think there's one in the Dark One's cave." "I have to go there." "No Brendan, it's tricking you." "You should have stayed in your tower." "Crom Cruach took my people, it took my mother." "It takes everything." "You will die!" "Aisling, if I don't try, the book will never be complete." "The book..." "Alright then, I will help you." "Aisling!" "This place is hurting you, you must go back." "I'll find someother way." "I.." "I must help you..." "Please hurry, go now!" "Turn the darkness into light." "Aisling!" "Aisling!" "Old fools!" "Old fools should learn to keep quite... unless young fools want to listen..." "Ha!" "You're here!" "How..." "How did you...?" "How did you get out of the tower?" "You must go back before the abbot finds out." "This is not the place for you lad, there is nothing for you here." "But you're here, the book is here... and the eye is here." "How is this possible?" "!" "It was destroyed!" "There is more than one story about the eye." "There is more than one dwelling place for the Dark One... and he had more than one eye." "You... you entered one of the Dark One's caves?" "You can find out everything from books you know." "I think I read that once..." "Right then... it is time to begin!" "Your breakfast, abbot." "Take it to Brendan." "See if..." "See if he has come to his senses." "It's like heaven, no?" "Heaven on Earth." "Please... please abbot, it's my fault." "Little fool!" "The North Men are upon us and here you are... drawing!" "We have one day before the Vikings attack Kells!" " The gate won't hold." " We must run from here!" "The gate will hold!" "You will lead the refugees into the chapel." "They will seek comfort there untill the attackers move on." "Tang!" "Tell villagers to stay in their house." "Cellach!" "You'll be safe in here with your precious book." "No, not yet!" "Stay inside!" "Tang!" "Open the door!" "Into the tower!" "One at a time!" "The steps aren't strong enough!" "Tang, there are too many!" "It's too late." "Close the door!" "Brendan!" "Ink!" "We have to make ink!" " Brendan!" "Wait... we can't..." " Hurry!" "Uncle!" "No!" "No!" "We must save him!" "Quickly Brendan, where is the secret passage to the forest?" "We have to save him!" "We can't help him now." "Brendan!" "We..." "We cannot stop." "I have to go back." "The North Men left no one on Iona, they will leave no one on Kells" " My uncle..." " He lived to protect you." "The only way he knew how..." "Now I must protect you for Cellach and for the book." "Gold!" "Brendan!" "Aisling!" "We have to keep running, Brendan, and hope that we're fast enough." "He's alive!" "I'm so tired." "Tang, leave me be." "Please..." "Leave me be..." "You are the abbot of Kells!" "You must get up!" "The book was never meant to be hidden away behind walls... locked away from the world which inspired its creation." "Brendan," "You must take the book to the people" "So that they may have hope... let it light the way in these dark days of the North Men." "Aisling?" "I'm so tired." "Please, abbot, you must take your rest." "Rest?" "With our most important treasure destroyed?" "!" "But how was I to know?" "How could I know he would perish?" "Please, abbot." "He was only a boy..." "Angel of Darkness!" "Not yet!" "I need time!" "Uncle!" "Brendan?" "It is a dream..." "This is no dream." "I'm so happy to find you here." "I thought I'd lost you a long ago." "Brendan!" "You were only a boy..." "All those innocents..." "lost." " All my fault..." " Please, uncle..." "Do not distress yourself." "You don't understand." "I have no time, Brendan." "You were right..." "About Kells..." "About Aidan..." "About the book..." "I shouldn't have..." "This is all I have left." "It is the only comfort I have in this world." "Brother Aidan was right..." "And I tried to stop him." "Aidan never paid you much heed, uncle." "I suppose not..." "Brother Aidan lived to see his work passed on... and completed." "The Book of Iona!" "The Book of Kells...?" "The Book of Kells."