The Gardner's War | Scott Davis
The Gardner's War
Six years after the Vatican’s collapse, the Testament faith has grown into a global movement with Reza ibn Mahmud as its “Witness” and intellectual leader. He is protected by the “Gardener,” an aged but formidable Maryam Amiri, who operates a sophisticated new Web of Faith from the shadows. But their explosive growth has been monitored with cold dread by Levi Bar-Nathan, a brilliant Israeli intelligence director who views their message of grace as a “spiritual virus” that will annihilate his people’s identity. He initiates a ruthless covert war, framing the movement for a high-profile assassination and forcing them deep underground.
As Levi dismantles their network, Maryam makes the ultimate sacrifice to save her successor, Sofia Russo, leaving Reza exposed and hunted. Now caught in a vise between two zealots—Levi, who wants to eradicate faith, and a militant pilgrim commander named Kael, who wants to impose it by force—Reza and Sofia must fight a new kind of war. The battleground is global, from the debate halls of Cairo to the tunnels beneath Jerusalem, where Levi sets in motion a horrific false-flag attack. In a stunning climax, the trilogy’s central question is answered: what does it truly mean to build a kingdom, and what is the final, terrible price of its foundation?
Main Characters
Supporting Cast
Lore in The Gardner's War
The Forged Gospels
The Forged Gospels were a set of sophisticated, counterfeit scriptures created by Levi Bar-Nathan as the centerpiece of his “Project Shepherd’s Crook.” Designed to discredit and dismantle the Testament Faith, these documents were not crude forgeries but masterpieces of deception, crafted with period-correct inks and artificially aged papyrus.
The texts themselves were a form of “theological poison,” twisting the core message of the Web from one of inclusive, sovereign grace into a hard, exclusive doctrine of purity and judgment. Key passages, like the “Book of the Spider,” were designed to frame Maryam Amiri as a manipulative cult leader.
Levi’s strategy was to “leak” these gospels to the world, creating chaos and fracturing the Web’s authority by introducing a competing, more violent narrative. The plot culminated in a high-stakes authentication tribunal in Cairo, where Sofia Russo was tasked with proving they were fakes. The existence of these gospels is a testament to Levi’s belief that a story can kill a nation more thoroughly than any bomb.
The Gardener's Gift
The Gardener’s Gift is the name given by Dr. Tamar Evron to the groundbreaking scientific discovery derived from the final moments of the Pilgrim elder, Zephyr. For months, Zephyr’s body remained in a state of “perfect stasis” in the Negev desert, held by a residual quantum field from the departed Pilgrim vessel.
When Abel’s sacrifice at the Western Wall triggered a network-wide cascade, the stasis field collapsed. In the final picoseconds of his existence, the digital, silicon-based virus in Zephyr’s DNA and his organic host annihilated each other. Before vanishing, the virus executed a final, perfect act: it rewrote Zephyr’s corrupted DNA back to its original, healthy state.
Dr. Evron’s team captured the complete data stream of this event. This provided the world with a perfect blueprint of how a targeted digital agent could identify, isolate, and rewrite corrupted organic code without destroying the host system. The Gardener’s Gift represents a potential cure for cancer, genetic disorders, and aging itself—a miracle delivered not by an angel, but by a line of code from a self-sacrificing alien.
The Seder of Light
The Seder of Light is a syncretic religious ritual that emerged organically within the Testament Faith’s Israeli cells. It represents the “infection” of Jewish tradition with the Web’s “New Covenant” theology, a phenomenon Levi Bar-Nathan viewed as a profound spiritual threat.
Practitioners of the Seder of Light adapt the traditional Jewish Passover Seder, incorporating elements of the Christian Eucharist. During the ceremony, a menorah and matzah are present, but the central act involves sharing a cup of wine and reciting the words of institution: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”
Led by high-profile converts like Professor Arnon Ben-David, this ritual was seen by Levi as an act of “spiritual assimilation” and erasure, as it taught Jewish children to participate in Christian sacraments. The existence of the Seder of Light was one of the primary catalysts for Levi’s decision to launch a covert war against the Web.
The Seed
The Seed is a small, iridescent, handheld device that serves as the primary interface and command key for the pilgrim vessel, utilizing advanced quantum entanglement to communicate with and summon the ship across vast distances. Initially presented as a tool of control and travel, its function is tragically and heroically transformed in the trilogy’s final act. Reprogrammed by Kael’s repentant engineers, the Seed is converted from a communication tool into a localized, suicidal implosion weapon. In a definitive act of selfless sacrifice, Abel activates the device while embracing Levi Bar-Nathan, vaporizing them both and neutralizing the bomb threat at the Western Wall, thus evolving the Seed from a simple key into the ultimate instrument of spiritual victory.
The The Gardner's War Timeline
The Gardner's War Events
The Shepherd's Resolve
Five Years After 'Unveiled'Levi Bar-Nathan, consumed by grief and disillusioned with the state's indifference, meets with Rabbi Eliad. Convinced the Testament Faith is a threat designed to erase Israel, he resolves to destroy it.
The Apostolic Gambit
Shortly AfterReza ibn Mahmud, now the global 'Witness' for the Web, engages in a high-profile debate with an Oxford philosopher. The debate goes viral, significantly boosting the faith's reach and visibility.
The Gardener's Web
ConcurrentSister Mariam (Maryam Amiri), now in her 80s, runs the global operations of the Web from a remote safehouse, directing couriers and managing network security.
Levi's 'Shepherd's Crook' Mandate
Following the DebateUsing forged intelligence linking the Web to Iran, Levi secures a black budget and immunity from oversight from the Knesset to launch 'Project Shepherd's Crook'—a covert operation to dismantle the Testament Faith.
The First Strike
Days LaterLevi's first act is to order the assassination of Professor Arnon Ben-David, a high-profile Jewish convert to the Web, and to frame the murder on radical elements within the Testament movement.
The War of Whispers
Weeks FollowingLevi's global campaign begins. The Concord freezes the Web's financial assets, the Saudis launch a propaganda war, and a Vatican splinter group declares the faith a heresy. The Web's network begins to collapse.
The Cairo Trap
OngoingLevi plants perfectly forged 'lost gospels' to lure Sofia Russo, the Web's 'Relic Hunter,' to an authentication tribunal in Cairo, intending to capture or kill her.
The Martyrdom of the Gardener
The Cairo IncursionTo save Sofia, Maryam Amiri sacrifices herself. She activates a beacon that leaks all of Levi's forged files to the world, then allows herself to be killed in a raid on her Cairo safehouse.
The Pilgrim's Return
Shortly After CairoAbel, the last surviving Pilgrim, returns to Earth in a self-repairing vessel, landing in the Danakil Depression. He brings news that the Pilgrim civilization is collapsing into civil war.
The Summit in the Desert
Following Abel's ReturnKael confronts Reza and Abel at a refugee camp, demanding they join his military crusade to 'purify' Earth. They refuse, creating a schism and making them enemies.
The Unholy Alliance
ConcurrentLevi Bar-Nathan forms alliances with a Saudi Prince and the globalist Concord council, pooling resources to systematically de-platform and starve out the Testament Faith.
The Wall Event
The ClimaxLevi plans to detonate a bomb at a Jerusalem peace vigil led by Reza, framing the Web for the attack. The plan is thwarted when Reza arrives on stage.
The Turning of the Tide
Immediate AftermathSofia's data dump exposes Levi's entire conspiracy. The Israeli government collapses, the CEP is disgraced by a whistleblower (Caleb), and the other allied factions retreat. The Testament Faith, now seen as victims of a conspiracy, gains global sympathy.
The Gardener's Harvest
Years Later (Epilogue)The world has entered a new era of fragile peace. The Testament Faith has become a major global movement. Reza and Sofia, now married, oversee the foundation from Jerusalem, sending out new missionaries to the stars.
