In the 1100s, thousands of pilgrims walked from Europe to Jerusalem. Every one of them needed money for food, ships and lodging along the way.

But a purse of silver was an open invitation. Bandits, pirates and corrupt lords waited on every mountain pass. Many pilgrims never arrived.

The world needed a way to move wealth without carrying it.

The Templars built what was, in effect, a private international bank. Each deposit was recorded in the Order's ledgers and matched by a sealed letter of credit.

Letters were written in cipher, so only Templar treasurers could read the amount. Theft became pointless — a stolen letter was just parchment.

Commanderies settled balances among themselves. Gold stayed in the vaults. Only the information moved.

The Templars grew so rich that kings owed them fortunes. King Philip IV of France, deep in their debt, ordered every Templar in France arrested at dawn on a single day.

Many say this is where the "unlucky Friday the 13th" superstition comes from. By 1312 the Order was dissolved, and in 1314 Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burned in Paris.

But the fleet vanished. The treasure was never found. And the legend says the knowledge went underground.

Over the centuries, Templar lore was tied to the Freemasons, to secret voyages to the New World, and to strange markings — above all the Hooked X found on the Kensington Runestone.

To believers, the Hooked X is a signature: the mark of those who kept the Templar secrets alive.