The Unnamed Saga: The Four Thrones Script, Chapter Six: "Ghosts of a Nation"

Chapter Six: Ghosts of a Nation

Glenn, narration: "When I was born I was never given a name.  No one was there to give me one.  I never felt it was necessary.  Names just made it easier to point you out, to blame you.  I lived well without a name.  It gave me freedom; it made me a shadow."

 

Open to crowded streets lined with stalls.  Buildings are built up tall and everything feels claustrophobic.  Merchants shout in the background, plying their wares, and amidst the chaos is Child Glenn.

He slips around people like water and watches the way the adults move.

He watches one stall in particular.  It is piled high with fruit.

 

Glenn, narration: "When I was a kid I thought it was better to not have a name.  I used to tell myself that names weigh you down.  Where I came from you couldn't afford the extra weight."

 

Child Glenn steps out from the crowd.  He hides out of view of the merchant and grabs a handful of fruit.  The fruit pile tumbles out and the merchant catches Child Glenn red-handed.

Child Glenn runs away.  The merchant shouts for the guards.

Guards in the crowd come to life and push their way through.  Lifting their pikes, they clank after him.

Child Glenn moves quickly, darting through allies and squeezing through tight spaces.

The guard follow close behind, never losing sight of him entirely.

Child Glenn hops things and climbs through secret areas, and with each new feat another fruit spills from his grasp.

He finds a hole to hide in and climbs in.

The guards clank by.

Child Glenn peeks out of a broken doorway and then settles.

He smiles until he looks down at the lone fruit that survived the chase.

 

Zelos: "Glenn!"

 

Show Glenn standing on a hill top and looking down at the shattered remains of Emeraldine.  There is nothing but fractured buildings and an eerie red glow.  Zelos is beside him, looking expectant.  Zara and Elsea are standing a few feet away.  Mary seems distracted by her nails.  Red light washes over the entire party and their surroundings.  It is brighter the further into the city they go.

 

Zelos: "Glenn, hello?  Are you even listening?"

 

Glenn: "I—Sorry, what?”

 

Zelos: "I asked what we're doing next."

 

Glenn: "What do you mean?"

 

Zelos: "I mean, we've reached the border of the city.  Now what?"

 

Glenn: "We cut through."

 

Zara: "Are you sure that is such a good idea.  Look at this place."

 

Glenn: "It's the quickest way to the mountains."

 

Zara: “Maybe but I am more concerned as to whether it's the safest or not."

 

Glenn: "The city is abandoned."

 

Zara: "Yes, I believe that, but it is thick with magic.  Thick enough that even I can feel it.  Places like that are dangerous on their own."

 

Glenn: "There's nothing here."

 

Zara: "Not yet, but magic has a way of making things, stirring up nothing and then setting it on you."

 

Glenn: "We'll be fine."

 

Zara: "But..."

 

Glenn walks off.

Zelos shrugs and follows.

Zara pouts.

 

Elsea: "Don't worry, m'lady.  You have Zelos, Glenn, Mary, and myself to protect you, should the need arise."

 

Mary touches Zara's shoulder.

Zara jumps.

 

Mary: "The good lady speaks the truth, princess.  I dare to say that should there be a magical malignancy dwelling within the city it shall be the one afraid, for it has nary a hope of survival against the likes of us.  Why, in my prime, I could destroy an entire city and everyone in it with little more than a flick of my dainty wrist.  That was many years back, mind you, but I am not so aged as to be rendered harmless."

 

Mary strolls away, whistling jovially.

Zara watches her go.

 

Zara: "Truth be told, Elsea, that did almost nothing to ease my fears."

 

Elsea: "I'm sorry, m'lady."

 

Zara sighs.

 

Zara: "Come, we should hurry.  Those three are hardly the types to wait on a lady."

 

-The Four Thrones-

 

Cut to Zelos and Glenn leading the party deeper into the city.  Crumbling buildings flank them on both sides.  They grow thinner the deeper in they go.  The red light is thickest deeper in.

Zara stays close to Elsea as they move.

Zelos walks slowly and looks around, taking it all in.

 

Zelos: "Zara was right.  This place is thick with magic. Something terrible must have happened here."

 

Glenn: "Something terrible did happen here."

 

Zelos: "What?"

 

Glenn: "Hmm?"

 

Zelos: "What happened here?"

 

Mary: "The destruction of an entire city."

 

Zelos looks back at Mary.

 

Zelos: "That much I can tell.  I mean, how did it happen?  Why did it happen?  What could prompt destruction on this scale?"

 

Glenn and Mary trade glances.

Mary shrugs.

 

Mary: "There's no sense in hiding it from the boy.  Considering current events, I should like to tell him every dark truth his nation hides."

 

Glenn: "All of them?"

 

Mary smiles.

Mary: "The one that are relevant, at least."

 

Glenn: "Of course."

 

Zelos looks between them.

Zelos: "What are you two going on about?"

 

Glenn: "History."

 

Glenn walks away from the group.

Zelos and Mary rush to keep pace with him.

 

Zelos: "Fiona's history?"

 

Mary: "That very thing, in fact, and I'd be more than happy to share with you."

 

Zara: "Not another one of your stories."

 

Elsea: "Princess, don't be rude."

 

Mary: "If you don't wish to hear then plug your ears."

 

Zara plugs her ears with a resolute look.

Mary blows her a raspberry.

 

Zelos: "Mary, what exactly did happen here?"

 

Mary: "It is a long, terrible story, but I do feel it is important for you to hear.  You see, this city was once the throne of Emeraldine.  At its height, it was a center of commerce.  These narrow streets were home to more families than can be found in Silvara and Fiona combined.  It was truly a remarkable sight."

 

Zelos looks around in awe.

Zara quietly removes her fingers from her ears.

 

Mary: "The nation thrived on trade between its neighbors, and on the fishing the channel allowed."

 

Zelos: "If it was so grand then how did it become...this?"

 

Mary: "I'm getting to that.  You see, it was a time of conflict, and to end the war swiftly it was decided the city should fall.  And so it was the city was destroyed in the space of a single hour."

 

Zelos scoffs.

Zelos: "An hour? You expect me to believe that?"

 

Mary: "You don't believe me?  Then ask the noble knight.  You know him unable to tell a lie."

 

Zelos rolls his eyes.

Zelos: "Glenn, is she telling the truth?"

 

Glenn: "No, not in an hour.  An instant. All of it.”

 

Zelos: "That's...unbelievable."

 

Glenn: "We're wasting daylight.”

Fade to black.

 

-The Four Thrones-

 

Glenn, narration: "It was unbelievable.  Sometimes, it still is.  Sometimes when we travel I wake up and feel the cold snapping at my limbs, and I think I am that starving child at home in my shack."

 

Show Adolescent Glenn.  Starvation has him looking gaunt.  His cheeks are shallow.  His eyes are sunken.  He is standing with his back to a wall and two guards are lecturing him.  One shoves him.

 

Guard1: "I asked your name!"

 

Adolescent Glenn remains silent.

 

Guard1: "Damned mute!"

 

Guard1 strikes Adolescent Glenn across the face with his gauntlet.

Adolescent Glenn collapses to the ground with a bloody nose.

 

Guard2: "The boy's name's not important.  Even without one we know what he is: a street rat, hiding in the shadows, stealing from those who would make an honest living.

 

Adolescent Glenn remains on the ground holding his mouth.

Guard1 jerks him up.

 

Guard1: "You look at us when we talk to you, rat!"

 

Glenn, narration: "I will forever remember this day, this moment, every detail of it.  I will remember how my nose throbbed, all of the blood oozing from my lips, and I'll remember being afraid.  Afraid of the guard, of starvation, of the cold and the death it brought.  Afraid that they would look behind the crates and find the gold I had stolen."

 

Guard2: "He said look at us!"

 

Adolescent Glenn looks up at them.  There is a red gleam in his eyes.

He is frightened.

 

Glenn, narration: "And I will also remember that I never knew what real fear was, not until I saw the sky rip open and the flames pour out of the bloody, red wound."

 

Show the Emeraldine skyline.  It is black with a growing splash of red, like the sky has been set aflame.

There is a deep rumble that shakes the street.

The guards furrow their brows and turn.

 

Guard1: "What in the world..."

 

There are screams and explosions in the distance.

Guard1 looks down the narrow streets.  Red flames roll through the streets, stripping the ground of its rocky flesh.  People erupt into pyres.

Guard1 is eaten alive.

The entire screen turns red.

 

Glenn, narration: "True fear is when you can smell your own burning flesh before you can even feel it."

 

-The Four Thrones-

 

Cut to Glenn standing beside a fractured fountain.  Zara and Elsea are sitting nearby with an unrolled blanket.  They are eating rations.

Zelos is off exploring a fractured building but still within sight.

Mary is sitting on the fountain and tracing her fingers along the cracks.

 

Glenn: "Five minutes!"

 

Zelos: "Yeah, yeah!"

 

Zara: "But we've only just sat!"

 

Glenn: "We’re only a fourth of the way through the city and it’s almost noon.”

 

Zara looks around the ruins.

She shivers.

Zara: "Point well made.  Sir Glenn, I have a question for you."

 

Glenn: "Yes?"

 

Zara: "How come you know so much about Emeraldine?"

 

Glenn: "Why do you ask?"

 

Zara: "Curiosity."

 

Glenn: "Mary knows more. Ask her.”

 

Zara: "Mary knows a good deal more than anyone has the right to.  Besides, even if I did ask, she would never give an honest answer."

 

Mary: "Why, princess, I am offended!  Never would I have the temerity to tell a lie to one so prestigious as yourself!"

 

Zara: "Be that as it may.  Glenn?"

 

Glenn: "...I study history in my free time."

 

Zara: "I see."

 

Elsea: "Both soldier and scholar, that is most impressive."

 

Glenn rubs the back of his neck.

Glenn: "...Thanks."

 

Elsea, realizing everyone is staring at her, blushes.

 

Glenn: "We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s go.”

 

Settle on the fountain as they pack.

Show the fountain regress.  Fires swirl around it.

Show where the crack Mary was tracing formed under the exposure to the heat.

Pull back and show the devastation of Emeraldine.

Cut to the smoking bodies of the guards.  The streets are blackened with flame.  There is a grunt.

Slowly, one guard moves and then rolls off of a surviving person.

Adolescent Glenn sits up.  His left arm is badly burnt.  Red cinders gleam in his blackened flesh.

He looks at the devastation around him.  The sky continues to ooze red and a streak of red lightning strikes another part of the city.

Adolescent Glenn looks at the body of Guard2.

Guard2 wheezes.

 

Adolescent Glenn: "Why did you..."

 

Guard2: "Survive..."

 

There is stomping through the street, the clanking of steel.  Fionan soldiers run through with swords drawn, killing anyone who is still alive.

Adolescent Glenn looks at them.  Tears roll down his blackened face.

He tries to help the guard up.

 

Guard2: "No...Go!"

 

Adolescent Glenn: "But..."

 

Guard2: "Survive!"

 

Adolescent Glenn hesitates.  The Fionan soldiers are moving in.

They see him and shout.

Adolescent Glenn looks back up at them.

He stands and runs away.

 

Glenn, narration:  "I ran as hard as I could and choked on the smell of death in the air.  No one knew those streets like I did, but they were unrecognizable to me.  They were littered with the bodies of guards who harassed me, children I envied, merchants who unknowingly fed me for years.  They all died and I, the boy without a name, survived.  It didn't seem right.  Sometimes it still doesn't."

 

Focus on Glenn's face as he runs and cries.

Zoom out, showing the burning city behind him.

Zoom out further to the island map with a glowing red spot on it.

Adjust to the modern map.

Zoom back in to show the party moving through a dusty field.  Even the rubble here has been smoothed to sand.  The light is brightest here.

 

Zara: "Oh my..."

 

Mary: "This would be the center of the attack.  Where the capitol stood, most like."

 

Zara: "How can you tell?"

 

Elsea: "The magic is thickest here.  While the spell certainly would not have started here, this is where the mages focused their last strike.  This is what finally destroyed Emeraldine."

 

Zara: "This sort of carnage must have taken an army of mages."

 

Mary: "It took only one."

 

Elsea: "With all due respect, that is impossible.  No mage could control such power magic alone."

 

Mary: "None alive, mayhap, but surely one of your skill has heard the stories."

 

Zara: "Stories?  What stories?"

 

Elsea: "Myths, m'lady, stories of an ageless wizard who could bend the very fabrics of the world to his will."

 

Zara: "Does anyone with such skill truly exist?"

 

Elsea: "No, m'lady."

 

Mary: "Yes, not but a myth to push mages, to make certain mages fall not prey to the demons of contentment."

 

Glenn looks away from the girls to Zelos.

Zelos is standing, staring up at the sky as if transfixed.

Glenn walks over to Zelos.

Glenn: "You okay?"

 

Zelos is pale and sweating.

 

Zelos: "I...I can't..."

 

Zelos winces and screams.

Golden flames erupt from his eye and shoot up into the sky, illuminating it.  This is accompanied by the deafening squeal of a bird.

Zoom out to show the golden torrent of flame and, in silhouette, Burgess and Crane watching from the distance.

Zelos collapses into the sand.

 

Glenn: "Mary, Elsea!"

 

Everyone rushes to Zelos.

Elsea and Mary kneel at his side.

 

Zara: "What's happening to him?"

 

Mary: "Glenn, that was magic. Very, very old magic!

 

Elsea: "He's running a fever."

 

Mary stands and looks at Glenn.

 

Mary: "What happened to him?  Leave nothing out."

 

Glenn: "He was staring up at the sky.”

 

Zara: "This isn't the first time.  It happened in the castle, too."

 

Mary looks up.

Show the red sky with hints of yellow in it.

She looks at their surroundings.

Show the fountain.

Show some crumbling buildings in the distance.

 

Mary: "The magic is thickest here..."

 

Mary kneels down and opens Zelos' eye.  She peers into it even as the golden light is shining from it.

 

Zelos: "No, stop...I'll..."

 

Mary: "Oh, hush..."

Mary looks at Glenn.

Mary: "Something is inside of him, and whatever it is, it's strongest here.  We need to move.  Quickly."

 

Elsea: "I must respectfully disagree.  Zelos is clearly very sick.  He needs to rest."

 

Zara: "But dusk is nearing..."

Zara looks warily at their surroundings.

 

Elsea: "Princess, the prince isn't well.  He needs time to recover."

 

Mary: "Lady Elsea, while I do ever so respect your opinion, I fear that we must disregard it in this instance.  Zelos needs to be moved and quickly, or else the magic will destroy him, burning him up from the inside."

Mary looks to Glenn.

Mary: "Glenn?"

 

Glenn looks between Mary and Elsea.

Elsea nods.

Glenn lifts Zelos.

He waits for a moment, still looking between them.

 

Mary: "Hurry!"

 

Glenn sets off with Elsea and Mary trailing.

Zara is left behind.

She sighs.

 

Zara: "I am beginning to fear that we may never leave this damned place."

 

Cut to black.

 

-The Four Thrones-

 

Glenn, narration: "There is one detail about this day that I could never recall clearly.  As important as it was, I just couldn't make sense of it, I couldn't register it, not until I was there again."

 

Show the remains of Emeraldine burning.  The sky above is red.  Different parts of the city continue to explode.

Adolescent Glenn is running through a nearby forest.  His arm is now burned out and completely black.

He ducks behind a bush and hides as Fionan soldiers stomp by.

 

Glenn, narration: "I had run all night, and I was tired and aimless, an arrow in the dark.  The soldiers couldn't find me, they didn't know the city like I did.  They didn't know how I hid.  I ran until I was behind enemy lines.  The soldiers weren't the hammer.  They were the clean-up, there to find any survivors.  I watched them from the safety of the forest."

 

After the soldier run by Adolescent Glenn peeks out from the bushes.

He leaves the bush and moves through the forest.

 

Glenn, narration: "I watched them retreat, followed them to their camp.  I didn't know what I was going to do, but I felt like I had to move, to do something, to stop them.  What I didn't know was that they were running just before landing the killing blow."

 

Adolescent Glenn leans against a tree and holds his burnt arm.  Crusted blood is splashed across his face.

He runs from the tree and makes it to the base of the very same hill he would look over the city from years later.

 

Glenn, narration: "That's when I saw her.  The woman I swore I would never forget.  In my struggle to survive, to become someone real and alive, I suppose I had put it behind me, but seeing the scar she left in the sky once more brought it all back.  How could it not?  She destroyed my entire world...And all this time, she's been travelling right beside me."

 

Adolescent Glenn stands at the base of the hill, looking.

Show Mary, her staff in hand, as she writes enormous runes into the sky.

Show the two of them, him at the bottom of the hill looking up, her at the top.  Red light dances around them.

Then the city erupts behind him.  A rush of wind blows smoke and debris past Adolescent Glenn, who stares impotently.

He turns to face the shattered husk of his city.  A red blow is coming from where the blast was centered.

He falls to his knees.

Finally, he begins to cry.

Cut to Mary handing off her staff.

She looks back at the city for a moment.

 

Mary: "We're done here."

 

She turns and leaves.

 

-The Four Thrones-

 

Cut back to the party at night.  They are still in the city, though they are around buildings again.  The sky is still faintly red.  There is a small fire.  Mary and Elsea are sitting around Zelos.  There is a faint outline of gold beneath his eyelid.  He is sleeping fitfully.

Zara is standing by the fire, shivering and staring fearfully into the dark.

 

Zara: "No matter what runes Elsea placed, I don't feel safe here."

 

Glenn: "Nothing will happen."

 

Zara: "That's not what you said before."

 

Glenn stares at Mary.

Glenn: "There’s nothing here that’s more dangerous than what we’ve already faced.”

 

Zara glances at him.

Zara: "...Are you kidding me right now?"

 

Glenn walks over to Zelos.

He kneels down.

Glenn: "How is he?"

 

Elsea looks up. She is clearly tired.  Faint traces of sky-blue magic linger on her hands.

She smiles weakly.

Elsea: "His fever is breaking.  Hopefully, he can travel by morning."

 

Glenn: "Good."

Glenn stands and looks at Mary.

Glenn: "We need to talk."

 

Mary: "Yes, sir knight?"

 

Glenn: "In private."

Glenn walks off without waiting for a response.

Mary looks at Elsea, who shrugs.

Mary shrugs in turn and follows Glenn.

 

Mary: "I'll be right back, pumpkin. The Good Lady Elsea will take care of you while I am away."

 

Glenn leads Mary away into the darkness.

They stop outside of the camp.  The red glow of the sky gives them enough light to see by.  Glenn stands with his arms crossed and his back to her.

Mary puts a hand on her hip.

 

Mary: "You requested an audience, sir knight?"

 

Glenn: "It was Fiona that destroyed Emeraldine."

 

Mary: "Sir knight, you needn't play dumb.  An ardent historian such of yourself should well know that simple fact."

 

Glenn grabs his sheathed sword.

Glenn: "And they used magic to do it."

 

Mary: "So it would seem."

 

Glenn: "And you said that it was done by a single magician."

 

Mary: "The good lady Elsea was quick to correct my wild assertion, was she not?"

 

Glenn: "You were the court magician when I joined the military."

 

Mary stretches languidly.

Mary: "Yes, is there a point lost somewhere in these obvious statements?"

 

Glenn: "And you haven’t aged a day.”

 

Mary: "Why is that a concern of yours, sir knight?  Do you wish to proposition me?  Fearful my age will render me unable to carry a child?  If you would be so kind, stop me once I've hit the mark."

 

Glenn: "It was you.  It's always been you."

 

Mary: "My word, what are you carrying on about?"

 

Glenn turns.

Glenn: "I know what you did!"

 

Mary stops, her face losing its playfulness.  Her eyes are dark, serious, and her bearing showing more sobriety than before.

Mary: "And what, may I ask, do you intend to do about it?"

 

Glenn: "The people here.  They'll never rest with you standing on their graves!”

 

Mary: "You mean to give them respite, then?  Were I you, I would stop to reconsider my actions.  I destroyed this entire city with my magic, and no matter how long I've lived, I will never be so old as to be slain by a mere man."

 

Glenn draws his sword.

He charges Mary.

There is a bright flesh of red, and Glenn flies through the air.

Glenn slams into an aged wall which crumbles beneath him.

When the dust settles Mary is holding his sword in one hand.  Her other hand is extended.  The runes on arm shine bright red in the dark night.  Magical, red blades hover in the air above Glenn, poised to strike.

 

Mary: "You made a grave mistake in pursuing this.  That I promise you, sir knight."

 

Glenn: "Do it!  Finish what you've started!  Kill the only survivor of Emeraldine!"

 

Mary holds the blades suspended in the air.

She sighs.

The magic fades into the night.

She tosses Glenn his blade.

 

Glenn: "What..."

 

Mary turns her back to Glenn.

She sits on the ground, curling up and hugging her knees.

Mary: "This much death...It leaves one so tired."

 

Glenn stands.

He grabs his blade.

Glenn: "And yet even an entire city wasn't enough for you.”

 

Mary: "I feel my constant reminders are becoming redundant, but I must again insist that the fiasco at the castle is infinitely more complex than you care to admit."

 

Glenn: "Even if that’s true, you have more blood on your hands than can ever be washed off.”

 

Mary: "You're exactly right, which is why I am giving you this one chance. I have no interest in completing my genocide, Glenn, so here is your opportunity.  Finish me.  Killed the woman who killed your people.  Take your revenge and put these ghosts to rest."

 

Glenn steps forward.

Glenn: "I should.”

He poises the blade for her throat.

Glenn: "Death follows you everywhere you go!”

 

Cut to baby Zelos in his crib sleeping quietly.

Pull back to reveal Younger Glenn and Mary standing beside the crib.

Mary reaches down and pulls the blanket up around baby Zelos.

 

Mary: "Glenn, a tragedy occurred in the night, one which will forever change the history of this very nation in ways previously unexpected.”

 

Younger Glenn remains quiet but looks at Mary.

 

Mary: "I have task for you."

 

Younger Glenn: "Ma'am?"

 

Mary: "Promise me, whatever happens tonight, whatever screams you hear, whatever pleas, you will not leave this room."

 

Younger Glenn: "What?"

 

Mary: "Promise me that no matter what happens you will forever protect this child."

 

Mary caressed baby Zelos' head.  Tears are in her eyes.

 

Younger Glenn: "Miss Mary, I'm afraid I don't..."

 

Mary: "Please, Glenn, promise me this."

 

Younger Glenn looks into the crib.

Younger Glenn: "I promise, I'll never let anything happen to him."

 

Mary smiles sadly.

Mary: "I know you won't."

 

Cut to a black screen and screams.

Show Younger Glenn by the crib, his hand on his sword.  He is staring at the door across the room.

Show the door.

Show blood pooling beneath the door.

 

Cut back to Glenn and Mary in the ruins of Emeraldine at night.  Glenn has his sword ready to pierce her but is standing still, staring at her.  Mary has her back to him, her head resting on her arms, her neck exposed.  Her eyes are closed and tears are rolling down her cheeks.

Glenn sheaths his sword.

Mary sniffs and wipes at her eyes.

 

Mary: "Am I to assume that you had a change of heart?"

 

Glenn looks away from her.

Glenn: "No.  I took the time to look at the whole picture.  I’m not who I was, the nameless boy fighting and stealing to survive.  I’m not the last survivor of Emeraldine.  That boy died with everyone else.  There’s no vengeance here.  Only tragedy.”

Glenn walks around.

He kneels in front of her.

They look each other in the eye.

Glenn: "The ghosts of this city aren’t my burden.  They’re yours, and that is more punishment than my blade can bring you.”

Glenn stands and walks away.

Glenn: "It's like I said: your hands will never be clean."

Glenn leaves.

Mary is left behind, crying in the shadows, with the red light of the lingering magic surrounding her on all sides.

Chapter End.