It's been awhile since I've posted any new info here, but the update to Sierra's GK3 site has inspired some new speculation on the GK message board.

First up is Phil Colvin with a fresh idea...

We haven't had much speculation for a while, so in light of the recent info posted on the GK3 site (thanks, AdamB!) I'd start some more.

I think we can assume for (almost) definite that initially, Gabe and Grace are going to some sort of resort rather than godforsaken little village (why else would Mosely take a holiday there?) Although Gabriel is obviously going to some sort of nasty place later (why does he always get the nice jobs, eh?) I still like the Greece theorys, but now it would make sence that it takes place in mroe than one country.

That also means it makes it twice as difficult for us to guess where it's going to take place!

And more speculation?....

Phil.

Well an interesting idea, however if I may quote from the Sierra GK3 site:

"Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned is set in a small village and valley in rural Europe. The village, which will remained unnamed for now, is based on a real village...Once at the town, Gabriel discovers that a tour group arrived about the same time he did. He considers all of the members of the tour suspects even, perhaps, his old friend Mosely, who just happens to be 'on vacation' with the tour. Grace soon joins him and while Gabriel investigates the suspects and his leads on the kidnapping, Grace is convinced that the mystery is tied to the town's enigma and she sets out to solve it.

Not exactly the description of your typical resort, but then again this could just be that 'nasty place' where Gabe ends up ;-)

It looks like Carlos has something to add...

Maybe Mosely feels lonely and wants to tag along with Gabe and Grace? The REAL question is what's been happening between GK2 and GK3 that made Grace and Gabriel cozy enough to vacation together! I mean, they went through a lot, but vacationing together? Smells like honeymoon to me... heheh. All the more awkward for Mosely to be tagging along, eh?

That little dump of a village didn't look like a resort. I mean, they live in a castle with millions of dollars, and they need to go to resorts? :)

Carlos

Hmm... vacation? honeymoon? For some reason I didn't get any of these impressions. They can't even admit they love each other. It would be an interesting plot twist however... *sly grin* Good point about the appearance of the village in the screenshots we have so far. Not too resort-like.

Christy has another idea...

I think for a treasure hunt the vacations at: www.nccn.net/~wwithin/france2.htm might be more their style!!

Ahh, the Cathars, France, Knights Templar - I like it! :-)

Carl is sticking by his Nostrodamus theory

Well, if you've been to Ray's site, then you won't need to read this. I KNOW GK3 will be set in France and will have something to do with Nostrodamus. Me and a friend were reading this site that had the writings of him at it, from his book Centuries. It said that John Paul II (reffered to in the writings as the labor of the SUN) was going to die in a war between France and Spain. The war is started when Spain partakes in "sensual recreation" (my guess is Vampirism or Witchcraftry) and France fights for them to stop. Does anyone know where the Rhine and Rhone rivers meet, or if they even do? That's where Nostradamus said that John Paul II would die, and I hope they meet at a little village in France called Saignes. If that were true, then the sunrise (Labor of the sun), the line (the two rivers meeting), and the Saignes from the picture would all be explained!!

Well, this looks promising. Carl has been avidly pursuing this idea for awhile. You'll find some of his research at the Domain of Schattenjägers.

More Isis connections from Christy.

I can't even begin to explain everything at this web site. It has to be checked out:

http://www.estrie.com/macphi/portal.disk/index.html

The idea being that the Phaistos Disk is believed to be the Portal Disk, because it opens a portal to the constellation "Argo". The one on the disk where the boat of Isis is!!

It was apparently not only a huge archeological find, but also huge math, physics, and the occult!!! The geometry of the disk is believed to be sacred and the key to the universe. It demonstrates Euclidean goemetry 1300 years prior to Euclid!! It is described as the "sacred" science used by Isis-Osiris initiates. They believe it can be used for implosion.

Many attempts over time have been made to create "the star fractal or intergalactic portals". Some by utillizing the landscape.

One in particular is pointed out. It is in the pattern of Gothic Cathedrals around Chartres and Rennes-les Chateaux.

I also found the goddess Isis conected with witchcraft, and alchemy. Her name appears in many poems (spells). Circles and patterns of circles are also big in witchcraft!

Some very thorough research from Christy Lein based on the new info at Sierra's GK3 site.

A few days ago Sierra added a new character to the web site. The woman says something about "Womb of Isis" and "Arc of Nut". I just had to try, and I hit the jack-pot!!

Here is my continuation of the previous speculation by Lynne Vettel:

Isis is of course an Egyptian god. It is believed that from her womb came creation. The article the Serpent in Mythology goes on to talk about abduction, drinking of blood, blood reeking rites of Dionyses, snakes, secret worship temples, and the dragon seeking to devour Isis's child.

Nut is also an Egyptian god, something to do with the god of the morning so maybe the arc is either the horizon, or the path of the sun. I didn't find much on Nut..but Isis led me to the Phaistos Disk and Decipherment:Spiritual Beliefs in Bronze Age Crete and Egypt .

The Phaistos Disk is quite an archeological find. Important to the occult too!! It is supposed to be from about 1500 BCE! It is still undeciphered. There is a picture of the disk at the above web site.

What I found very interesting is that it was discovered in 1908!!!

Although it has not been deciphered, this article talks about "the curios hair style of the man [in one of the pictographs] plays a particular role" hmmm.......Gabe in ancient Egypt???

Also the disk's origin is Crete during the Minoan civilization whose religion has been a mystery.

The disk has stars marked out on it. The Argo constellation, and in the Argo is the boat of Isis. Check out the picture -it reminds me of the background to the first shot we got of GK3!!

Another web site that popped up when I searched for Isis and Womb was none other than:

http://marlowe.wimsey.com/~rshand/streams.scripts/sion.html

Our old friend the Prieure du Sion!!

What could ancient Egyptian gods have to do with this secret society??

Well back at this site I found some information on the members and positions of special importance. One is the Nautonnier which had 1 member, and "The office of Nautonnier or navigaton, is symbolized by the boat of Isis."

The boat of Isis "was postioned in the constellation of Argo. Specifically, in Egypt this constellation was named Sothis or Soth-Isis, the Star of Isis. Furthermore, in the Egyptian legends this vessel represented the female organ of generation." the womb!!!! -David Wood, Genisis

I am thinking the Prieure du Sion is our secret society, and when our new character is talking about womb of Isis she is refering to the Navigator of the Prieure du Sion!!!!!

The plot of the third Game in the Gabriel Knight series is the object of much speculation. Rumors concerning the enigma refer to everything from vampires and witches to Fatima and Lourdes. The location of the game is a village in Europe. However guesses about the specific country include Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. My favorite theory at the moment (perhaps because I helped uncover it) is the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau and the Prieure du Sion. This intriguing tale involves secret societies, hidden treasure, and even the Holy Grail. Feel free to read this overview of the Mysteries of Rennes-le-Chateau and the Prieure du Sion before you continue.

The Prieure du Sion is a covert organization claiming blood-ties and roots in the Frankish Merovingian monarchs, who were allegedly of Jewish ancestry from the Davidic line of Jesus himself. The Prieure is connected with the Freemasons and the Bilderbergers (other secret groups). Also, in medieval times, they were involved in the founding of the Knights Templar in 1118. Though protected by the pope, the Knights' accumulated knowledge involved heretical matters such as the Black Virgin (Mary Magdalene), Shi'ite mysteries, and the Grail. During the Inquisition, around 1314, the Knights Templar was abolished. With the burning at the stake of the Grand Master, the Templars disappeared as did their treasures, which were borne away in a fleet of ships, never to be known of again.

During the late 19th and early 20th century, Berenger Sauniere, the parish priest of a small village called Rennes-le-Chateau, had been receiving vast sums of money to refurbish the local church and to build many structures in the area. Sauniere died in 1917 (under somewhat mysterious circumstances) and the 'secret' of where he got his wealth was never discovered, though it is speculated that it was the 'lost treasure' of the Templars. Sauniere is supposed to have decorated his church like a giant crossword clue, in such a way as to show where the remaining treasure lies hidden, in caves or underground chambers around the village.

Well, I'm sure you're saying, "This is all quite interesting, but does it really apply to GK3?" I thought the same thing, but the more I discover about this mystery, the more it fits our knowledge of GK3. Here's my evidence:

Starting with the rumors:

Off to France

I think this is obvious...

The Inquisition

Check out the Knights Templar...

Bloodlines

The connection of the Prieure du Sion with the Merovingian bloodline claiming to be descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene

Gargoyles

There is a 'daemon guardian' inside Sauniere's church which is a representation of the Biblical Asmodeus...

Sacrilege!

What the Knights Templar were accused of during the Inquisition...

There is also speculation that the Knights Templar and the Pieure du Sion have connections with space aliens and celtic druids.

What about connections to the facts we already have:

The hilltop village of Rennes-le-Chateau is a few miles south of Carcassonne. Carcassonne is in the Languedoc-Roussilon region of France (the SW near Spain). It appears that there is a railroad passing a few miles south of Carcassonne (through Rennes-le-Chateau?).

The whole area around Rennes-le-Chateau is "humped and ridged with rocky hills". Makes me think of the barren landscape in the avi clip. "The houses are the usual Midi cheek-by-jowl jumble of stone-built, orange tiled village dwellings."  (Hmm, sounds familiar...)

Then there's the lost treasure. Remember Emilio's character profile and the reference to "material treasure"?

There is also evidence that all these secret societies have tremendous political influence not only in France, but in all of Europe.

The hidden messages in gabeshot.jpg:

I haven't found anything concrete about the "sunrise line", however I found two references to the the alignment of Sauniere's church with the Paris Meridian (meridian=line?).

Possibly the SSA refers to CarcASSonne. There have been several grisly murders associated with this mystery including that of the old priest Jean-Antoine-Maurice Gelis, who was parish priest for CoustauSSA. There are also many references to aSSAssinations and coded meSSAges in the story of the Prieure du Sion.

As for the grid and circles in the background, the puzzle of Rennes-le-Chateau lies in the layout of the redesign of Sauniere's church. Possibly the GK background is indicative of blueprints?

That's all I have so far. There's is much more out there, but I haven't had time to search through all of it. If you want to find out more about this mystery, here are the sites where I got my info. NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list. There are many more sites with info, as well as several books!

The Secrets of Sion

Trial by Blood and Fire

Rennes-le-Chateau Revisited Part I

Rennes-le-Chateau Revisited Part II

HHN Footnotes - EUROPEAN HISTORY 2

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More info about this theory:

France's Riviera and Carcassonne - A long-ago strategic chain of surreal, mountain-capping castle ruins lie a couple hours' drive south of Carcassonne, high in the scenic foothills of the Pyrenees, near the boring little country of Andorra. Historians call this the "Maginot Line of the thirteenth century".

Those Christ Kids: Descendants of Jesus? Or Scam Artistes Extraordinaire? Excerpted from 50 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time A Citadel Press Book Copyright 1995 By Jonathan Vankin and John Whalen

Catholics,Heretics, And Heresy - lots of info on the secret societies in Europe