The Story of the Brooches

THE STORY OF THE BROOCHES  

(1) Family legend has it as one of three brooches, the other two being an emerald and sapphire. They were given to the MacKlenna brothers for rescuing a laird’s kidnapped wife.  

(3) “According to the story, over four hundred years ago, a laird’s wife was kidnapped. Three brothers went to rescue her. When they returned her to her husband, the brothers were each rewarded with a brooch. One was a ruby, the other a sapphire, and the third brother received an emerald…The stones bring true lovers together.”  

(3)  Sean tells Braham: “Once the stone’s power touches ye, fighting the magic is useless. My great-great-grandmother shared the mystery with my father. Auld granny said, ‘The stone will take ye to a world unknown, through amber light to a time not yer own, to the one of yer heart, and the truth ye’ll be shown.’”  

(3) Sean tells Braham:  “Being born in a time doesn’t mean ye belong there. Remember, when the stone weaves its magic, it reveals the truth.” 

(4) According to Sean MacKlenna I, when the three stones come together some sort of event might occur.  

(4) The brooches work to bring two souls together and won’t take to interference.  

(4) Grandda Fraser tells David of there being possibly a dozen or more brooches. For sure a diamond and several semiprecious stones. And a black pearl.  

(4) Old Fraser tells David that he’s now part of the brotherhood, because he has a brooch. 

(5) Kevin believes the brooches challenge people to rise above themselves.   

(5) Kevin tells JL about Digby: “He’s a solicitor in Edinburgh. He mailed Kenzie the emerald brooch and Charlotte the sapphire brooch. He has refused multiple requests for meetings with Elliott and David. We don’t know where he got the brooches.”. 

(7) Elliott wonders if the amethyst brooch has even more power than the others; they all saw the display when it healed itself. 

(7) Kevin tells Jack that JL thinks the amethyst brooch is as strong as, if not stronger, than the other brooches.  

(8) David thinks what they already know about the stones is dangerous enough. Once they recover the amber brooch, they’ll have six stones. If twelve are needed to open the mysterious door in the cave beneath the castle, they’ll be halfway there. But the brooches are all finding their way to them, and if they need help, Mr. Digby lends a hand. They were dispersed throughout the MacKlenna Clan because every brooch has a direct connection to the family. 

(8) The remaining brooches could link to unknown illegitimate children. 

(8) The brooches have a reputation for abandoning women in strange places. 

(8) They keep a log of all the brooches for future generations to learn from  

(8) “The stones didn’t come with a list of rules, we’re figuring this out as we go along.”  

(8) The amber brooch could be more powerful than the amethyst. 

(8) “From what we’ve learned, the brooches are ancient. At one time, the Keeper had control over all of them. We don’t know how many, a dozen or more. Hundreds of years ago, they were scattered among the clan for safekeeping. Now, they’re finding their way back to the Keeper.” 

(8) Connor believes the stones were created for the benefit of mankind, to force the owners to exhibit selflessness. But it also forces people to go against the grain of their core value—honesty.  

(9) James MacKlenna tells Sophia:  “The legend goes that an ancient tribe once lived in Caledonia. They made the brooches from rock that fell from the sky. The gemstones came from trading with Vikings. After many centuries a small group of survivors traveled south to the Highlands and intermarried with Clan MacKlenna. When the leader of the clan discovered the brooches possessed unusual powers, he took precautions to protect the brooches from the outside world. He became known as the Keeper. When the Keeper uncovered a threat to the brooches’ security, he appointed twelve guards to protect them. No one, except the Keeper, knew how many brooches there were or the identities of those chosen to guard them. That knowledge has been passed down through generations of MacKlennas.”  

(9) “Since the first Caledonian married a Highlander, a marriage of soul mates has taken place, joining knowledge of the past with knowledge of the future.”  

(9) JL says to Jack: “since Amber and Olivia came along, a steel-strong camaraderie has formed in the family. I feel like together we could fight evil all around the world.” […]  Now we’re more than a family. […] “Back to the family and fighting evil… I call it soul mate power.” 

(9) Pete to Amber, Kenzie, Charlotte, and Amy: “The brooches force you to turn challenges into opportunities. They teach you to move from self-pity to a place of compassion for others.” 

KEEPER OF THE STONES  

(4) “For centuries, or so my grandda said, there was a Keeper who held all the stones. Both the position of Keeper and the stones were passed down from one generation to the next until the mid-1600s when Cromwell defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar. The stones were dispersed among Highlanders for safekeeping soon afterward, and the four precious stones were given to a laird.”  

(4) Meredith thinks Elliott is the Keeper since the brooches are finding their way to him.  

(5) Meredith thinks JL O’Grady will be the Keeper of the stones after Elliott.  

(8) Elliott is the keeper of the stones/brooches. 

(9) Gaelic letter from James MacKlenna in 1625 says that MacKlenna gave a box of brooches to Seamus Digby to keep safe from the evil force. 

LEGEND OF THE THREE BROOCHES  

(6) The legend has it that when the ruby, sapphire and emerald stones are reunited something big will happen.   

(6) Kit thinks that a permanent portal will be in a place to the past.   

(6) Meredith thinks that the legend could have started out with a dozen brooches and has changed over the years. The assumption is of a dozen brooches because of the number of slots in the doorframe in the cave and when filled, a permanent door to the past may open.  David believes three will open a temporary portal.  

(6) When the three brooches are opened together they become hotter than normal. They crackle and pop and an eruption of fiery golden rain sprays out in all directions but no one is wet or burned. The rain turns to red, blue and green stars and dazzling light that swirls into a spiral high overhead, spattering, and spinning to an ear-splitting whistle.  Announce where you wish to go and when and a roar like a dozen oncoming high-speed trains sounds and then the roller coaster begins.  

DOOR IN THE CAVE

(8) David/Connor: “I was looking at pictures of the door in the cave beneath the castle. There is an A at the top and a faint turned A at the bottom of the door. I don’t know the purpose, or even if there is one. But we now have two brooches with stones that start with the letter A. It looks like an upside-down A, but what’s the significance?”  

“It’s a universal qualifier. To quote Wikipedia, ‘It’s a logical constant interpreted as—for all.’ And don’t ask me what that has to do with the stones, because I don’t know. It’s possible the amber brooch won’t fully function until all the stones have been recovered, and until then it can act as an interceptor.” 

“You’re saying it’ll override the powers of other brooches. That’s bullshit. You wouldn’t have been able to use the diamond brooch to come home if that was the case.” 

“What shape do ye have if ye put one turned A end-to-end with another A?” 

Connor thought for a moment, trying to figure out where David was going with the idea of two As, one inverted. No bulb went off immediately. “A diamond, but I don’t see—” The light bulb flashed like a photographer’s flash powder as understanding burst from the darkness. “You suspect the diamond brooch is the super nova of brooches.“ 

EVIL FORCE 

(9) Elliott believes he can sometimes feel the evil force. 

(9) “If the holder ever feels the force, he’s instructed to give away a brooch to a trusted clan member to disperse the power.” 

(9) James MacKlenna tells Sophia in 1789: “When the stones combine their energy, there’s a mighty force that seeks out good and destroys all that isn’t. In the hands of evil, the power of the stones could destroy the world.” […] “The soul is where love resides. Soul mates increase the love and make it indestructible. It’s the only way to defeat the evil force.” 

Ruby Brooch engraving: 

Chan ann le tìm no àite a bhios sinn a’ tomhais a’ gaol ach ’s ann le neart anama  

meaning “Love is not measured by time or space. Love is measured by the power of the soul.”  

Sapphire Brooch engraving: 

Chan ann le tim no àite a bhios sinn a’ tomhais an gaol ach ‘s ann le neart anama 

Emerald Brooch engraving: 

Chan ann le tìm no àite a bhios sinn a’ tomhais a’ gaol ach ’s ann le neart anama.  

Amethyst Brooch engraving*: 

Words say “soul’s love for humanity” instead of “capacity of the soul”.   

Diamond Brooch engraving*:  

Chan ann le tìm no àite a bhios sinn a’ tomhais a’ gaol ach ’s ann le neart anama  

Amber Brooch engraving:  

Chan ann le tìm no àite a bhios sinn a’ tomhais a’ gaol ach ’s ann le neart anama  

Pearl Brooch engraving: 

Chan ann le tìm no àite a bhios sinn a’ tomhais an’ gaol ach ’s ann le neart anama. 

Love is not limited by time or space, but the capacity of the soul. 

Topaz Brooch engraving: 

“Chan ann le tìm no àite a bhios sinn a’ tomhais an’ gaol ach ’s ann le neart anama.” 

* Diamond and Amethyst brooch inscriptions both are slightly different from other brooches. 

 Instead of capacity of the soul, the diamond and the amethyst say the “soul’s love for humanity.”