EXCERPT FROM A LARGER SCRIPT
SCROLLING TEXT WITH V.O.
After
madness consumed the aspect of earth he scorched the planet in what is known as
the Cataclysm. Unfortunately, no brave heroes were able to defeat the corrupted
guardian and save the lands from his fury. Entire areas were sundered and
scorched leaving them barren and inhabitable. Many died before the aspect
succumbed to the insanity that plagued him which drove him to his grave. In the
wake of the devastation several dark necromancers came out of hiding to reclaim
the world for the undead. In the confusion of the Cataclysm none of the
survivors realized what darkness was about to befall them. Those that remained
shed old allegiances and hatreds to fight the newly risen undead, however, they
were vastly outnumbered. They were forced back until the only safe haven they
had left was the lands in the east. Brave heroes fought against the undead as
they crossed the Great Sea in an attempt to overtake the remaining continent.
Heroes rose who had unparalleled strength and skills and carried an ancient
relic back to the land in the north, the home of the undead. They took the
relic deep into the frozen continent where it and all recorded history was
lost. All that is known is that those brave heroes stopped the merciless
onslaught from the undead and that the relic they used to save the planet was
lost in the ice of the north.
ACT I: THE ROAD NOT TRAVELED
EXT. ANCIENT DEAD FOREST – DUSK
The camera tracks slowly
through the forest gliding around trees. The forest appears ominous in the dark
shadows of the dusk.
After a short track through
the forest we find our two main characters LEAF and APP, short for Apollo,
trekking through the growing mists. The blue-purple sky above them casts shadows
through the trees.
LEAF
(sighing)
Why are
we out here? I mean I know why you are out here, but WHY are WE out HERE?
APP
(annoyed)
You know
damn well why we are out here. We’re exploring, we’re excavating. No one has
been here since the great Cataclysm.
LEAF
So you
dragged me out here for a treasure hunt? Seriously? Why couldn’t you go by
yourself?
APP
Well I
don’t know what the hell is lurking out here. No one has been here for hundreds
of years what did you want me to do?
LEAF
Oh I
don’t know maybe come out here by yourself? After all, you’re the one who likes
to say he’s such a badass.
APP
Well I wanted the company.
LEAF
(angrily)
WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME!
APP
(mockingly)
Uhhh,
isn’t that obvious? You’re like my bro and stuff who else would I bring?
Besides you’re good with a bow, I’m good with a sword; together we’re like
good.
LEAF
I hate you.
APP
I’m sure you do
LEAF
No… I really do
Leaf and App continue to
trudge through the forest. They see the edge of the tree line causing their
pace to quicken. They rush to the edge to find that the ground slopes down and
beneath them lays a field strewn with skeletons. They both stand shocked at what
they found.
INT. VILLAGE HOUSE – NIGHT
Here we find a quaint table
in a quaint house. Seated at the table are LEAF’S aged parents, his DAD and his
MOM. They have just finished their dinner.
DAD
Where
the hell is our son? He’s been gone all day.
MOM
I don’t
know. He left with Apollo early this morning, but he never said where he was
going or when he would be coming back.
DAD
Well
isn’t that just fantastic. He leaves and doesn’t tell us when he’s coming back.
MOM
I’m not sure he knew.
DAD
It’s
that damn Apollo. The son of that damned elf. It’s in his family’s bloodline
you know, to just run off on an adventure. He’s a bad influence and he’s going
to get our son into trouble or killed.
MOM
You’re overreacting. I’m sure he will be fine.
DAD
I am
going to see that elf’s parents and then I will decide if he is fine or not.
Lousy elves, if only the Cataclysm never brought us together.
LEAF’S dad mounts his trusty
ram and rides off to go find APP’S father, an elf named ILLID. We follow as he
passes through the snowy mountains on his way to the Loch where ILLID lives.
INT. FANCY HOUSE BY THE LOCH – NIGHT
LEAF’S dad walks into to find
ILLID arguing with the parents of an elf girl named CELIANE. ILLID and the girl’s mother, CRYSTALE, are
going back and forth whether or not he took CELIANE with him on his adventure.
He interjects himself into the conversation.
DAD
So Illid
I see your boy has kidnapped two people today. Wonderful son you have there.
ILLID
(snidely)
My “boy”
is plenty old enough to be venturing off on his own, as is your son, and your
daughter Crystale. And no he did not kidnap anyone. He told me he was leaving
and he said he was asking Leaf to go with him. He said nothing about Celiane,
but knowing you Crystale and how your daughter is attached to my son, she
probably followed him.
CRYSTALE
How dare you imply that I…
DAD
(Speaking over Crystale as though she wasn’t
there)
Now,
now, calm down. I didn’t mean to imply anything about your boy. It just seemed
like the thing to say under the circumstances. I know my son is old enough to
go wandering. I just don’t want him coming home hurt and I’d at least like to
know when he plans on coming home.
ILLID
All
Apollo told me was that he was coming home when the adventure was over.
Wherever it takes him and however long it takes him is how long he’ll be gone
for.
DAD
So you don’t even know then?
ILLID
No I
don’t. But I trust my son and you should trust yours. They’re both two great
men, very skilled at what they do. Mine is a born warrior and yours is an
expert hunter and at their young ages that is saying something.
DAD
Aye,
you’re right, I may have overreacted a tad bit.
CRYSTALE
But what
about my baby girl? What about her safety?
ILLID
If she
is with Apollo and Leaf then there is nothing to worry about. If she isn’t then
you still have nothing to fear. The light walks with her in ways that have not
been seen since the years after the Cataclysm.
CRYSTALE
I swear if anything happens to my daughter
I’ll…
ILLID
She’ll be fine.
DAD
Do you at least know where they’re going?
ILLID
I did
not ask, but I did overhear Apollo planning. He wants to uncover the history of
the war that followed the Cataclysm. He is obsessed with that war and I assume
he just wants to see the battlefield and acquire some kind of artifact.
DAD
(shocked and angered)
The
ancient battlefield? There’s no telling what danger lurks there.
ILLID
There is
no danger. No one has set foot there for ages. Trust me; they’ll be fine.
EXT. BATTLEFIELD RIDGE – NIGHT
LEAF and APP have set up a
camp for the night at the top of the ridge. They made a campfire, which is
burning warm and bright. They hear a noise behind them in the woods. APP grabs
his sword and whirls around to see what emerges from the trees. What emerges
from the darkness is CELIANE. APP lowers his sword and rubs his head
APP
What the hell are you doing here Cell?
CELIANE
I
followed you; I wanted to be with yo… I mean go with you on your adventure.
APP
Yeah I
know that, but it’s dangerous and I don’t want you getting hurt. How old are
you now Cell? 12?
CELIANE
(indignant)
Same as you and Leaf you dyslexic jerk.
LEAF
Leave
the girl be App. She’ll be fine with us right?
APP
Yeah she
will. Fine I won’t send you home yet, but you stay close with me and you don’t
wander off. Got it?
CELIANE
(excited)
Got it!
LEAF, APP, and CELIANE go to
sleep for the night. They lie down on the blankets they each brought with them.
It is cold on the ridge and for safety they extinguished their campfire.
Throughout the night CELIANE inches he way closer to APP until she is right up
against him. His warmth makes her smile as she dreams in the cold dark.
EXT. BATTLEFIELD RIDGE – DAY
APP wakes up and goes to
stretch when he notices that CELIANE has wrapped herself around him. He gently
pushes her off so he can move. He stands and looks out over the field. CELIANE
wakes soon after and comes up behind him.
CELIANE
What are you thinking about App?
APP
What I
might find when we go down there. You know my great
great-great-great-great-great, kinda awesome, grandfather Apollonious fought
and died in this battle?
CELIANE
No, I didn’t know that.
APP
He
fought right alongside the legends of his day. Supposedly he was one of the
best, but not many of the records from that battle survived, only stories that
were passed down.
CELIANE
That’s so cool!
APP
That’s
really the reason I came here, I was hoping that I could find something of his,
something that I could hold on to. I’m named after him and supposedly I’m a
warrior just like he was. I just wanted some memento.
CELIANE
Well I
hope you find it! In fact, I’m sure you will. You’re the best after all!
LEAF wakes up after hearing
the two elves talk
LEAF
Laying it on a little thick aren’t you Cell?
CELIANE
Huh?
APP
Don’t
pay attention to him; you can keep laying it on.
CELIANE
I’m confused.
LEAF
No surprise there.
APP
Be nice.
LEAF
Yeah,
yeah. So let’s get moving so we can get going home.
APP
All right, let’s pack up and move out then.
LEAF, APP, and CELIANE pack
up the camp and head down the ridge. They carefully step through the field of
bones and discarded weapons. Tattered flags of the old world flap in the gentle
morning breeze.
APP
Now if
the old stories are correct, Apollonious fought on the front line with Tirion,
Thrall, and Varian.
LEAF
(annoyed)
Really?
Now we have to find the front lines? Wasn’t enough that we came out here to see
this waste.
CELIANE
Be nice
Leaf, who knows maybe something of your ancestor is out here.
LEAF
It
probably is. He was a legend just like App’s. Leafy-Erick. The greatest hunter
to ever live. He was way more famous than…
APP
(interjecting, anxious)
Shhh. Do you hear that?
LEAF
Hear what?
They hear the faint rustle of
bones off to their right. They turn to look and find a skeletal warrior
climbing from under a pile. APP draws his sword and readies himself. He
prepares to charge, but a bright light whizzes past him. The light strikes the
bones and makes them collapse back into the pile. LEAF and APP turn to look at
CELIANE.
CELIANE
What? My
ancestor fought here too. He wasn’t a legend but he was strong with the light
and so am I. STOP LOOKING SO SHOCKED!
The group continues on to
find the front line of the battlefield. They hear another noise, but this time
it is just the wind. They are on edge, but confidant. They come to the
beachhead where they find icy waters lapping at the ground. They spread out and
begin searching for some clue as to who is who.
LEAF
I found
something over here! Wait… never mind, it’s just a battered hilt.
LEAF tosses the hilt aside. CELIANE
senses something at her feet. She bends down to examine what it is. It is a
quiver with the word “LEAFY” branded into the leather.
CELIANE
Uh, guys? I really did find something.
APP and LEAF rush over to
examine her find
LEAF
I don’t
believe it. My ancestor, his quiver… I must take this back.
LEAF takes the quiver and a
silver scroll cases falls out of a leather satchel attached to LEAFY’S belt. APP
picks it up, unfurls the scroll and begins reading.
APP
(shocked)
Holy crap!
CELIANE
What?
APP
It’s a
letter written by Leafy. He knew Apollonious! But that’s not all. Apparently
they were enemies but became close friends when the war started. Something
about shadows of anger bringing them together after the Cataclysm. It says that
they were overwhelmed by the undead.
FLASHBACK – EXT. BATTLEFIELD – NIGHT
APOLLONIOUS and LEAFY are
fighting side by side along with TIRION, THRALL, and VARIAN. Waves of undead
pour in from their forsaken vessels along the coast. Some undead are skeletal,
others still have rotting flesh hanging from their yellow bones. Cannons are
not fast enough to sink the undead ships. Slowly the army around them falls.
One friendly airship remains. LEAFY is struck by an undead blade and mortally
wounded. APOLLONIOUS tries to help him but he resists.
LEAFY
Take my bow lad. Take it and get out over here.
APOLLONIOUS
I will not leave you my friend.
LEAFY
(struggling)
You
must. I’m done’fir. Take it and get out of here, get them to safety!
Begrudgingly APOLLONIOUS
takes the bow from LEAFY and rushes to the three, still fighting.
APOLLONIOUS
(somber)
Leafy
has fallen. We must go, we cannot win. We must get you and the sword to safety
Tirion.
VARIAN
Agreed.
That is of the utmost importance. Not this battle, but the war itself
THRALL
Lok’tar, we must flee to the north.
APOLLONIOUS
To the
north are you sure? That is where they come from.
TIRION
Thrall
is right. The west has already fallen, the south is consumed in shadow and we
are not welcome in the underground, the north is the only place left to go.
APOLLONIOUS
Yes you
are right. I only wish Leafy was with us, he knew the north, not I.
TIRION
We will
find hiding. We must have faith in the light. Now quickly let us depart.
APOLLONIOUS, TIRION, THRALL,
VARIAN, and a few other survivors all board a boat and set sail for the frozen
wastes in the north. With the undead hot on their trail they disappear into the
mists covering the great sea.
EXT. BATTLEFIELD – DAY
APP
That’s
where the letter stops. I can’t believe it. My ancestor accompanied Tirion to
the lands in the north to escape the grip of the scourge.
LEAF
Yeah I
can’t believe our ancestors were friends and that yours left mine to die.
APP
(angrily)
Oh holy shit he did not leave him to die!
LEAF
I know I’m just messing with you.
APP
Whatever.
CELIANE
So what now App?
APP
Now? Now
you two go back home. Me? I’m going to the north.
LEAF
And how
exactly do you plan on doing that? I don’t see a boat.
CELIANE
(indignant)
Uhm EXCUSE me, you are not going without me!
LEAF
Or me
for that matter. It’s been said my ancestor had a bow that made its own arrows
with arcane energy and if I can find that, I’m bringing it back.
APP
Fine then
you can both come, but this will be dangerous. The undead may have been pushed
back and we may have secured the east, but who knows how many of them are
lurking there.
LEAF
We’ll
deal with it. With my bow, Cell’s light, and your sword, we’ll defeat anything
that comes our way.
APP
Then it’s settled, we head for the north.
CELIANE
Uh, hey,
yeah, how are we getting there? We don’t have a boat do we?
APP
Nope, we
have something better! I have a pet turtle.
CELIANE
A what?
APP
A turtle and he’s going to carry us to the
north.
LEAF
Seriously?
The turtle? Damn it dude we can’t all fit on that.
APP
I was
joking anyway. There are plenty of boats here. Let’s find one that’s seaworthy
and set sail.
CELIANE
Let’s do it!
LEAF
We’re all gonna die.
