Scene 1: The Past (Planet Cerrus)
We see a noble-looking mansion — this is the castle of HOUSE MINDBLADE. Everything is calm and peaceful, until we hear a woman shouting for HELP and a man running after her. This is, respectively, WINDCHIME MINDBLADE and MATHIAS MINDBLADE
MATHIAS: How dare you?? Traitor! Harlot! Whore!
WINDCHIME: Please, no! Someone help, he’s going to kill me!
After a short time, Mathias catches up with Windchime and tackles her to the ground. He grabs her face hard and growls out his final threat
MATHIAS: NO ONE will hear you. And if they do, who cares? I’ll kill them too.
WINDCHIME squirms, struggles, and attempts to speak but her face is held so hard nothing but gurgles come out
MATHIAS: That’s all you’ve got to say? Fine by me — I saw you. And him. He paid. And now…so will YOU
MATHIAS holds WINDCHIMES nose and mouth shut, suffocating her. WINDCHIME attempts to struggle but is quickly losing life. Finally, she manages to slip her leg out from underneath MATHIAS and knee him in the groin. MATHIAS shouts in pain — enraged, he grabs a rock and bludgeons WINDCHIME with it, over and over again. It doesn’t take long for WINDCHIME to stop moving — she is dead. As he looks down at her lifeless body, we hear in the background:
MAN’S VOICE: This is YOUR fault. Not his. They’re dead because of YOU, not him. You were in charge and you failed! Leave here by sundown. Never come back. Or you WILL join them
MATHIAS looks toward HOUSE MINDBLADE, smirking smugly. We pan back to WINDCHIME’S smashed-in head
Scene 2: The Present (Lifeblood Temple, Planet Taeerrannor)
The WIZARD CABAL — SELENE QUICKWIND, JINN-LIR, and WONN-LIR — walk into the LIFEBLOOD TEMPLE of TAEERRANNOR. There they are greeted by a swarm of LIFEBLOOD PRIESTS, few of whom seem all that enthused about these new visitors. After several tense moments, a PRIEST steps forward
PRIEST 1: Welcome to the Temple of Lifeblood. State your reason for visiting
QUICKWIND: How many of you came from the temple at Acadmium?
PRIEST 1: Some of us. But they have educated us on what is going on over there. You wish for our assistance?
QUICKWIND: We…require it. Turok and his army will eradicate us, and all magic users, without additional support.
JINN-LIR: Careful, Quickwind. These Priests are little more than obnoxious children. I know — I’ve dealt with them more times than I care to remember.
Another PRIEST rises
PRIEST 2: By our count, you’ve only interacted with us once or twice.
JINN-LIR: As I said, more than I’d care to remember
PRIEST 1: (smile) I think you’ll find, here at home, we’re more accepting and tolerant of strangers. Working and worshiping with that beast of an emperor breathing down our necks…well, that would make anyone a little…tense.
WONN-LIR: So…you’ll help us then.
PRIEST 2: Perhaps. But perhaps not. Turok is not emperor here. Here, we are at peace. Our emperor understands who we are and allows us to simply…be. We cans study and practice our art without fear of retaliation, war, torture, death…we could just as simply stay here and send you three on your way. Fight Turok yourself…if you can. Or perhaps stay here as well. Find work here as apprentices to one craft or another. Start anew, breathe easy for once, and let Drift set itself ablaze.
The WIZARD CABAL looks at each other, contemplating what they just heard
JINN-LIR: We…cannot do that.
QUICKWIND: We can’t?
JINN-LIR: No! Drift is our home.We have to reclaim it. Besides, my master is still there, and we still don’t know what has happened to him.
WONN-LIR: YOUR master. Not ours.
JINN-LIR: And if Turok gets to him, then what? He’ll come after us next. As long as he reigns, we’re not safe. Stay here? He’ll find us, broker a deal with Mindblade, and before you know it Drift soldiers are here, ready to kill us or worse (turns to PRIESTS). Then you’re next. Think you’re safe? I’ve been around long enough to know a few things, one of which being: if someone’s job title is Emperor, they are not your friend.
The PRIESTS mull this over, as do SELENE and WONN-LIR. Finally, a PRIEST speaks up
PRIEST 3: You speak well, wizard. Perhaps you tell the truth. Perhaps you don’t. There’s only one person who can decide for sure…and he’s not here.
Suddenly, a swarm of PRIESTS gang up on the CABAL and hold them down. Three PRIESTS cast a holding spell, bounding the CABAL in tight, magical ropes
PRIEST 3: Consider yourself under arrest for trespassing and making demands. We will take you now, to face the only judge around here that matters. But one piece of advice. Unless you want this to be a fast trial, DON’T call him “Mindblade.” He’s Emperor to you.
The PRIESTS grab the struggling CABAL and escort them out of the TEMPLE and toward CASTLE MINDBLADE
Scene 3: The Past (Planet Sabbeaeo)
As we pan around PLANET SABBEAEO, we see a young MATHIAS MINDBLADE, looking quite lost. Suddenly, the TIME SHIP appears near him — the door opens and out steps COIN and TYPHUS. MATHIAS looks at them in confusion
MATHIAS: What is this, and who are you?
COIN: Before that: are you Mathias Mindblade?
MATHIAS: Perhaps…and you?
COIN: I am the Time Goddess Coin. I’m here to assist you on your journey.
MATHIAS: And what journey would that be? Time Goddess, indeed.
COIN: You’re on a search for the Greenstone, correct?
MATHIAS is slightly taken aback
MATHIAS: You know of the Stone?
COIN: Yes. And I know you are meant to claim it. But not without my guidance.
TYPHUS wanders ahead of COIN, in full view of MATHIAS. MATHIAS recognizes him
MATHIAS: You…the boy servant…you’ve grown
COIN: Servant
TYPHUS: SERVANT??
MATHIAS: Do…you…remember me?
TYPHUS: NO
Mathias is contemplating reminding TYPHUS of his past and perhaps getting him aggressive, then thinks better of it
MATHIAS: Fine…let’s keep it that way. I need to concentrate on finding this Stone. You (turns to COIN) know where it is?
COIN: I do. I wrote a whole book about it (shows MATHIAS her book). According to this there is an Ancient Tree nearby and inside lies the Stone
MATHIAS: There’s only one tree in Sabbeaeo ancient enough for that title (looks behind him and points to a large TREE in the distance),and I’ve looked around there and even in it. No Stone.
COIN: Walk with us. You haven’t had the proper help yet.
The trio make their way to the TREE. COIN walks ahead of TYPHUS and whispers in MATHIAS’S ear
COIN: You recognized my partner earlier. Why?
MATHIAS: What’s it matter to you?
COIN: I promised I would help him find his past. We’ve already had one person in the past recognize him and start a fight. You looked like you were about to do the same. What did he DO?
MATHIAS: Who was this…other person?
COIN: Razus Razorblade. Does it matter?
MATHIAS starts breathing heavily and staring into space. He remembers what happened on Cerrus and what he did to WINDCHIME
COIN: Mathias?
MATHIAS snaps back to attention and looks at COIN
MATHIAS: That’s…not my tale to tell. I’m here for the Stone and the Stone only. Do…whatever it is you Time Goddesses do and find Razus again. HE should explain. It’s HIS fault.
COIN, knowing better than to press the issue further, silently walks toward the TREE. Soon, they arrive.
COIN: Have you looked in the hollow of the Tree?
MATHIAS: Of course! Nothing there but…tree stuff
COIN: Let’s look again. Deeper this time.
COIN and MATHIAS peer into the HOLLOW and fish around as deeply as they can go. COIN uses an illuminating spell as a flashlight. Nothing there…until we finally see a glow at the bottom. It is the GREENSTONE. COIN points to it
COIN: There.
MATHIAS reaches down toward the glow and touches the GREENSTONE. Almost instantly the glow becomes blinding. The GREENSTONE makes its way toward MATHIAS’S body and EMBLEM begins. The GREENSTONE enters MATHIAS’S solar plexus and knocks him over. The glow fades, and MATHIAS rises, feeling more powerful than ever.
MATHIAS: Incredible…I’m a new man!
COIN: You are to be emperor soon. Of the Karetoretos Empire. The Greenstone will make it happen.
MATHIAS; And why did you help me?
COIN: (sadly) I’m supposed to.
MATHIAS: Well…go do whatever else it is you’re supposed to do. Go talk to Razus, if you want to know more about your friend.
COIN looks at him suspiciously, then resigns herself to getting no more information out of him. She returns to her ship, and TYPHUS follows, eyeing MATHIAS the whole time
Scene 4: The Present (Castle Turok bedchambers)
We pan around the Drift Capital. The wedding of EMPEROR TUROK and XOR is still the talk of the town. Citizens are still dressed in their best and the news reports all fawn over the newlywed couple. We then enter the CHAMBERS of TUROK and XOR. The couple are lounging in bed after clearly consummating the marriage.
XOR: I don’t know which name I like better: Mrs. Rhygear or Empress XOR
Turok: They both suit you perfectly, my dear
They kiss
XOR: Well, MR. Rhygear, EMPEROR Turok…what’s next? Our magical war is not yet over.
Turok: No, but that can wait. So few wizards left, what can they do? Let them run, let them scamper for one night more. Or two. Or three. Depends on how much…energy you’ve got
XOR attempts to laugh seductively, but quickly becomes distracted. She senses something — staring into the distance, away from TUROK, she smirks. To herself:
XOR: It’s done…and now…to reign in a goddess
TUROK hears her and turns to her
TUROK: Reign in a what now? You’re the only goddess I know. Well, except for that Coi—
XOR (quickly): Darling, I have an idea. Go check on your prisoner. That orbious, he’s so old. We don’t want him to die while he’s still useful, no?
TUROK: Oh, worry not my dear. Scum that he is, Orbius is stronger than he looks. He’ll be fine if I leave him alone just a little bit long—
XOR stops him in his tracks with an EYE GLIMMER, which quickly renders TUROK helpless
TUROK: You…make a good point…I’ll see that he’s alive and awake. We do still need him
TUROK wanders off toward the DUNGEON. Once he’s out of sight, XOR stands up, walks to the center of the room, closes her eyes, holds out her arms, and begins to glow. Massive amounts of magic begin to permeate from her body, overtaking every inch of her. The room itself begins to flash and short circuit. Finally, the spell over, XOR’S magic vanishes. Without even opening her eyes, she collapses on the ground. Shortly after, TUROK’S AIDES enter the room
AIDE 1: Emperor, Empress! What was that, are you both okay?
They find XOR unconscious and TUROK nowhere to be seen. They rush over to her, attempting to shout her awake but to no avail
AIDE 2: Get her to the bed, now! I’ll find the doctor!
AIDE 1 scoops up XOR and carries her to bed. We pan close to her. She is breathing heavily, and sweating profusely. It appears even XOR’S magic tolerance has its limits
Scene 5: The Present (Coin’s Timeship)
We see COIN and TYPHUS on their ship, departing PLANET SABBEAEO
COIN: That’s all four.
TYPHUS: FOUR?
COIN: All four Noblestones. I’ve helped every Emperor attain what will win them the throne. Lucky me.
TYPHUS: NOW?
COIN: Now? Well, you. You’re now. I said I would help you learn your past and now is when I do so. Mathias suggested we find Razus — hopefully he’ll explain.
TYPHUS makes a fist and pounds it into his palm
TYPHUS: MAKE HIM
COIN: Let’s…hope it doesn’t come to that
Suddenly, COIN starts to feel light-headed. She nearly loses control of the ship as she partially collapses. Before TYPHUS can react, he too begins to convulse and collapse. Close-ups of various body parts on both COIN and TYPHUS see them begin to age and wrinkle. TYPHUS, on all fours, raises his head to yell and we can see him age before our eyes. COIN looks at him and her face also begins to weather. Finally, the chaos stops and COIN and TYPHUS look at each other, breathing hard. COIN is shocked by what she sees, TYPHUS more confused and angry.
COIN: What’s…this…?
TYPHUS: OLD???
COIN: Is this…part of the process? Child, adult, now elder? And…you too…well…as long as I don’t FEEL old…
COIN jumps to her feet, then her knees buckle and she collapses in a heap, moaning softly. TYPHUS laughs at her
TYPHUS: FEEL OLD
COIN slowly rises, breathing hard
COIN: Ugh…let’s just…go to Sabbeaeo. Meet Razus. Learn the truth. But one thing…Typhus?
TYPHUS: HMM?
COIN: Don’t laugh EVER again. It’s freaky.
TYPHUS: HA
The TIME SHIP rights its course and flies off toward PLANET SABBEAEO. Behind it, we see an identical SHIP trailing them. It does not appear to have a pilot.
Scene 6: The Present (Castle Turok bedchambers)
XOR is in bed, shaking and thrashing with fever. She attempts to wake, but her eyes roll to the back of her head and she falls back asleep. Still shaking, she begins to dream and sleep talk
XOR: You say…the Stone…chooses…the ruler…
Scene 7: The Past (Planet Shock)
We see a young XOR who is now on the PLANET SHOCK. She and an OLD DRIFT CITIZEN are conversing in an open, war-torn field
XOR: You say the Stone chooses the ruler?
CITIZEN: So the legends go. It is not enough to simply find the four artifacts required to forge the CircuitStone — the Stone must then decide who it wants to bind with. If it’s not the forger, they’ve forged a mere rock. But if it is, that person shall gain the power to rule the entire Drift System.
XOR: How so? How can a mere Stone decide such a thing?
CITIZEN: Nobody knows for sure. Some believe the Stone embeds its owner with unspeakable power, so nobody could overthrow them, not even with the power of a dozen armies. Still others…believe the Stone does the bidding of its true master…up above
XOR looks up, sees nothing
XOR: Who? Am I supposed to see someone?
CITIZEN: No. It is no human. It is the keeper of light and eternal peace. Or…as close to peace as anyone will ever get around here.
XOR: …a god
CITIZEN: A god…a goddess…who knows. We’ve not met them. For all we know they’re mere fairytales people tell each other to distract from the pain of (gestures everywhere) well, all this.
XOR thinks hard, intrigued by the idea of supernatural beings deciding who reigns and who doesn’t.
XOR: Does the legend say…WHERE this CircuitStone might be?
The CITIZEN looks at XOR suspiciously.
CITIZEN: Why? You’re…interested?
XOR: In what?
CITIZEN: I don’t know…you think you could bond with the Stone, perhaps? Rule this star system? That’s the ONLY reason anyone wants the Stone.
XOR looks at her, suddenly quite cold.
XOR: And what if I was?
CITIZEN: That would be a problem…if somebody WANTS the Stone, if somebody is dying to find it, they are no ruler. They simply want power. For what, I don’t even want to know. All I know is you won’t get that power thanks to me!
XOR: Oh?
CITIZEN: I didn’t plan to kill anyone today, but it seems I must. Goodbye, new friend!
The OLD DRIFT CITIZEN summons a powerful wave of BRUTAL MAGIC and blasts it right into XOR’S chest…and XOR feels almost nothing. She staggers back a step or two at best, then walks right back to where she was. The CITIZEN is shocked.
CITIZEN: No…
XOR: Yes
CITIZEN: HOW??
XOR: You thought me a mere tourist, perhaps? I’ve been in Drift long enough to learn your ways. I already know more about magic than you, and most others, will ever know
CITIZEN: That’s…not true!
XOR: It’s not. I knew your magic wouldn’t hurt me, You didn’t. I know how to become one with magic, bending it so it affects me little more than a light breeze. You didn’t. And I’ll bet you also don’t know—
XOR’s hands begin to glow white-hot. The CITIZEN goes wide-eyed and gape-jawed.
XOR: Well, look at that. You DO know.
XOR blasts the CITIZEN with super-powerful BRUTAL MAGIC, obliterating her instantly. Once it’s over, XOR looks down at the charred, dead CITIZEN. XOR is barely even breathing hard. She cracks her knuckles, smirks at the CITIZEN’s CORPSE, and walks off.
Scene 8: The Present (Castle Razorblade)
COIN and TYPHUS are led by guards to the throne of EMPEROR RAZUS RAZORBLADE. He looks at them and laughs
RAZUS: Well! Time has certainly been kinder to me than to you two
TYPHUS growls
RAZUS: Easy, friend. I remember. Last time we met things were a little…heated. I was angry at you for things you had no control over. I’m better now.
COIN: And what were those things? Emperor, part of my journey involves finding this man his past. He doesn’t remember it, he doesn’t know why he’s aged so fast, and all signs point to you.
RAZUS: Me? I don’t know any aging magic, and even if I did I wouldn’t use it on you. Or you? Is that what happened to you too?
COIN: Mine was likely due to…other reasons. But even I don’t know for sure. With him though? We have not a clue
RAZUS: Well…it wasn’t me. But I can at least tell you about your friend’s past. Consider it…payment for helping me find the Redstone and gain the throne.
TYPHUS simmers. COIN simply nods
RAZUS: Your friend here — Typhoon, I believe?
TYPHUS: TYPHUS
RAZUS: Yes, of course. I was close. Well, Typhus… years ago, you were part of a clan back on Planet Cerrus. Simple creatures, all of you. No offense, of course
TYPHUS glares menacingly
RAZUS: And so, you simple critters became servants of House Mindblade. My Noble House. The arrangement made sense: you were hard workers, you didn’t complain — well, you barely spoke — and you age so much slower than we do. More time to work, really.
COIN: I suppose that explains Typhus still being a child when I met him
RAZUS: Indeed. Perhaps Orbspace makes his kind age faster after a while? Anyway, I have…HAD…a sister. Windchime Mindblade. She and your father, Typhus, they…took a liking to one another. A STRONG liking. Eventually, my brother — now the emperor Mathias Mindblade — found out. By…catching them in the act. Mathias, ever the hothead, took a knife to your father and stabbed him. Over and over. Harder than I’d ever seen anyone stab anyone else.
TYPHUS is shaking, breathing harder and heavier.
RAZUS: But your father wasn’t the only victim. He ran after Windchime too. She screamed for her life, but he didn’t care. He accused her of betraying House Mindblade — how mere sex can be considered betrayal, you’d have to ask him…but he beat her to death with a rock.
COIN is attempting to soothe the seething TYPHUS, and is only somewhat succeeding
RAZUS: But they weren’t the only victims. I was brought before my father, Earthstone Mindblade. Somehow, the blame for another man’s double-murder spree fell on my head. Why? Because I was the oldest, father said, and thus should’ve had a better grip on things. I should’ve…controlled my sister and the help better. And so he hollered, “This is YOUR fault. Not his. They’re dead because of YOU, not him. You were in charge and you failed! Leave here by sundown. Never come back. Or you WILL join them.” And so, I left. I departed for Orbspace and founded my own House, with my own name. I became a Razorblade and eventually, as luck would have it, you found me and the RedStone chose me. As luck wouldn’t have it, the GreenStone chose Mathias. (to COIN) I don’t suppose you had anything to do with that, did you?
COIN: Not…exactly by choice.
RAZUS: By duty, then? I suppose I can’t fault you for that. But now you know the tale of Typhus. And for what it’s worth…I’m sorry. Your father should not have died the way he did. I might not have been able to stop it, but I’m sorry all the same. I do hope you find peace, as well as what’s caused this…rapid aging.
COIN: Thank you. And as do I. Let’s go, Typhus
TYPHUS stands still and seethes. COIN whispers in his ear
COIN: The sooner we go, the sooner you don’t have to see him anymore.
A beat
TYPHUS: FINE
COIN: (to RAZUS) He…means, “thank you.”
TYPHUS angrily grunts
Scene 9: The Past (MONTAGE)
We see XOR, very violently, gather and even steal the four artifacts needed to forge the CircuitStone. She takes one from an antique shop and burns the shop down when they try to stop her. She bludgeons a CITIZEN and removes the artifact from her necklace. She removes another artifact from a machine that was keeping a ship afloat — the ship immediately sinks, killing everyone aboard. Finally, she kills a BRUTAL WIZARD in a duel and claims the last artifact from his bag of goodies
She then takes the four artifacts to ACADMIUM and uses magic to fuse them together…but nothing happens. She tries again. Still nothing.
XOR: Come on. Emblem. EMBLEM!!
The artifacts do nothing. XOR, frustrated, thinks hard. Then she sees an old building in the distance and gets an idea.
XOR: The Stone chooses the ruler…and I’ll be there when it happens
Scene 10: The Present (Coin’s Time Ship)
COIN and TYPHUS are back on the TIME SHIP, heading back toward DRIFT
COIN: Well…it’s almost over…home, then?
TYPHUS: …
COIN: Right…we still don’t know who aged you. Or aged us. Or why you grew when the coins first changed me. It doesn’t sound like it was Razus.
TYPHUS: …
COIN: You…you remember Windwalker? The Empress we helped in the Castle in the Sky?
TYPHUS: SO?
COIIN thinks long and hard about whether to tell TYPHUS this. Finally chooses to do so.
COIN: She said something about you. While we were searching the castle. She said that she thinks your growth is the result of somebody else. Somebody manipulating you, likely from afar. She didn’t say who she thought it might be, only that…well, the way you are probably made it simple to change you…somehow.
TYPHUS: HOW I AM??
COIN: It’s vague but…it might offer us some hints as to who to look for. Who has the ability to so dramatically change a person’s body like that AND time it to the coins doing the same to me? That’s some powerful magic indeed.
TYPHUS thinks it over. Then he angrily comes to a conclusion.
TYPHUS: MINDBLADE…
COIN: What’s that?
TYPHUS: FATHER
COIN: You…think…Earthstone did this?
TYPHUS: CURSED ME
COIN: It’s…I suppose it’s possible. I don’t know how much magic the Mindblades had on Cerrus though. But Typhus, let’s hope not. I would rather find the person and deal with the issue, than write them off to history
TYPHUS: TIME MACHINE
COIN: What…(she then realizes what TYPHUS wants to do)…oh, no. Typhus, we can’t do that.
TYPHUS: BACK. KILL
COIN: That’s not how time travel works. Or at least, that’s not how it SHOULD work. Everything I’ve done with the Stones, whether I liked it or not, I did because that’s the path that’s meant to happen! I still don’t know why for certain, but my inner self…who I am…tells me what must happen for the good of all.
TYPHUS: ALL?
COIN: Oh…that was…insensitive, I apologize. But the Mindblades did what they did and it happened for a reason. If Earthstone cursed you that’s unfortunate, but it’s part of intended history. If we change the path of time, who knows what would come of it?
TYPHUS: DON’T CARE
COIN: Who knows what would become of YOU?
TYPHUS: GO BACK
COIN takes a deep breath, then gains steely resolve
COIN: No. As the Time Goddess…I forbid it.
TYPHUS and COIN have a glare-off. Finally, TYPHUS breaks the stalemate in his own unique way.
TYPHUS: NOT. MY. GOD!!!!!
TYPHUS lunges toward COIN and attacks her. Caught off guard, and still unwilling to use her magic onboard, COIN is unable to fight him off, TYPHUS beats her down and knocks her out. TYPHUS then assumes the ship’s controls, turning them around. As they fly away, the IDENTICAL SHIP from earlier trails them, closer this time
Scene 11: The Present: (Castle Mindblade, Planet Taeerrannor)
The LIFEBLOOD PRIESTS bring the WIZARD CABAL to EMPEROR MATHIAS MINDBLADE.
PRIEST 1: Emperor Mindblade, these are the trespassers. Do with them what you will.
MATHIAS: Thank you, priest. I’ll take it from here…wizards, huh? My favorite people. And Jinn-Lir…my favorite person. Do you recall the last time we met?
JINN-LIR: I do.
PRIEST 1: You do, Emperor Mindblade??
MATHIAS: Let him speak. He’s an…old friend.
JINN-LIR: If my memory serves well, we had…differences about my plans to use the Coins of Accadia. Major differences.
MATHIAS: We did. And from what I’ve heard, you did not take my advice. You created life from those coins, attempted to lord over that life. And now that life is who-knows-where causing who-knows-what trouble. Rumor is she is, or thinks she is, the Goddess of Time. To what end, I have no idea. We can only pray it’s a good end
JINN-LIR: I don’t believe we should worry. She’s a good person.
WONN-LIR: No thanks to her “father.”
JINN-LIR: What did you say??
QUICKWIND: Only the truth. She would’ve been far better off with us. She would’ve learned the ways of Dark Wizardry and not even bothered with this time-travel nonsense
JINN-LIR: Oh, yes. An angry little girl with untapped magic powers AND a time-travel destiny, educated in the Dark Arts. Sounds like a picnic for everybody!
WONN-LIR: And what did YOU do? You made that angry little girl even angrier! We would’ve taught her how to harness her anger, use it effectively, not fly off in a rage like she did under YOU
JINN-LIR: You mean like Typhus? Little ball of hate that he is, Great job with him — perhaps you should’ve used your dark magic to conjure up a grammar teacher, teach him to speak more than a grunt at a time!
QUICKWIND: I KNEW teaming with this failure of a wizard was abad idea. We should’ve let Turok flay you alive and dealt with Matias ourselves
MATHIAS, who has been watching this argument through gritted teeth this entire time, finally speaks up.
MATHIAS: ENOUGH! Are you wizards, or children?? Gods, I haven’t seen this much dysfunction since Cerrus…one out-of-line failure like Razus was bad enough, now I see three of them. (to the PRIESTS) And THIS is why wizards are my “favorite people.”
The PRIESTS laugh
MATHIAS: But we’re not here to discuss my feelings on wizard cabals. You’re here to discuss Turok, I’ve been told. So state your case, ONE AT A TIME.
JINN-LIR: You have to know how dangerous Turok is, Emperor. He hates all things magic and wishes to eradicate it all. Wizards, priests, and everyone else with even a spark of magic. And would he stop with the Drift system? I doubt it — all of orbspace is driven by magic. The old brutal magic is still here. What happens if turok takes his goal to the extreme and finds a way to wipe out the very essence of orb life? Then what? Dead planets, dead stars? Where does it end? We need your help. We need your Priests. We need all the magical firepower we can muster. Turok has to be stopped.
MATHIAS mulls this over
MATHIAS: You…do realize Turok has the CircuitStone, right? It’s why he became Emperor in the first place! With that Stone he has…powers…possibly divine ones…that make overthrowing him nearly impossible. I’m the same way…at the same time, you’re right about him being dangerous. Perhaps a show of might could…convince him to step back on this goal of his. Especially if a fellow emperor is behind that show…very well. Priests! You are hereby ordered back to Drift. Aid the Wizard Cabal and ensure, however way you deem fit, that Emperor Turok Rhygear reins in whatever anti-magic goals he had in mind
QUICKWIND: (moderately impressed that JINN-LIR’s speech worked) Thank you
MATHIAS: Thank your friend here. It’s about time he did something right.
Scene 12: The Present (Coin’s — or perhaps Typhus’s — Timeship)
TYPHUS, who has clearly been watching and studying how COIN pilots her ship, is now doing so himself. He’s not half-bad at it either, expertly guiding the ship through the cosmos toward Planet Cerrus. Finally, we see the deserted planet, close-up
TYPHUS: HERE?
COIN is still hurt from the beating TYPHUS gave her, and is unable to muster up a defense.
COIN: It…is. Right around that landmass down there (points)
TYPHUS: NO LIE?
COIN: I promise you, no lie
TYPHUS: WE LAND
TYPHUS lands the ship on the abandoned land where the MINDBLADE NOBLE HOUSE once stood. The building is now in tatters, fallen into disrepair after decades of literally nobody being around. TYPHUS stares at it, angrily
TYPHUS: PAST
COIN: I…cannot
TYPHUS: YOU CAN
COIN: It’s not…right…what happened, happened. I’m sorry…for your father…but we can’t change that without risking…everything! And besides…we don’t know if Earthstone cursed you! You assumed that without any evidence.
TYPHUS: I KNOW
TYPHUS punches COIN
TYPHUS: PAST!!
COIN, unable to fathom what would happen if the Time Goddess were beaten to death, agrees at last. She sets the time coordinates — with Typhus watching like an eager student — and suddenly the SHIP begins whirling and lighting up. After the light show, we see the MINDBLADE NOBLE HOUSE as it once was — large, pristine, and regal. TYPHUS opens the door. In the distance, we hear screaming voices:
MATHIAS: How dare you?? Traitor! Harlot! Whore!
WINDCHIME: Please, no! Someone help, he’s going to kill me!
TYPHUS listens intently, then realizes who is yelling for help.
TYPHUS: WIND…CHIME?
TYPHUS then realizes who is chasing after her
TYPHUS: MATHIAS!!
We then see WINDCHIME running for her life. She loses Mathias. But rather than run straight ahead like before, she sees the TIMESHIP to her left and rushes toward it. She doesn’t know what it is — she simply knows getting on it might save her life. Behind her, we see MATHIAS turn a corner and not see her. Confused, he shouts her name and runs ahead, not seeing the ship at all due to his rage
TYPHUS: WINDCHIME
COIN: Don’t let her on!
It’s too late: WINDCHIME runs into the TIME SHIP
WINDCHIME: Close the door, close it! NOW, close it!
TYPHUS does as requested — he shuts the door.
TYPHUS: EARTHSTONE?
WINDCHIME: What? No, who cares about him?? DO NOT open this door, please!
TYPHUS, who always liked WINDCHIME, does as she asks.
Scene 13: The Past (Typhus’s Time Ship)
Now safely inside the closed and locked TIME SHIP, WINDCHIME finally takes time to breathe
WINDCHIME: Thank you…both of you. My brother was going to kill me.
TYPHUS: WINDCHIME
WINDCHIME: How do you know…me…(finally she recognizes him, but is inordinately confused)…Typhus? Little Typhus? But you were just…there, and…actually LITTLE. What is this ship? What’s going on?
COIN: It’s an…incredibly long story.
WINDCHIME: I have time. I presume this thing flies, right? So take me wherever, I’ll listen to the whole tale.
COIN clearly does not want any of this
TYPHUS: TIME TRAVEL
WINDCHIME: That’s…not possible…is it?
TYPHUS: YES
WINDCHIME: Your kind can’t lie…so it must be true…but how?
COIN: It’s an…incredibly unbelievable story
WINDCHIME: After seeing (gestures at TYPHUS) him, I’ll believe anything. Are we ready to fly yet?
TYPHUS: YES
COIN: NO. Typhus, do you know what’s going on here?
TYPHUS: SAVE…FRIEND!
COIN: Yes, that’s very nice of you. But I keep telling you, we can’t DO THAT. We —
WINDCHIME: What do you mean, “we can’t do that?” THAT is saving my life. You’re saying we can’t do THAT?
COIN: It sounds cold. It sounds cruel. But yes. You said you’d believe anything, well believe this. I am Coin, the Goddess of Time. I’ve just been on a mission to bestow Noble Stones on four people who are destined to become emperors in a far-away galaxy called Orbspace. Two of them are your brothers.
WINDCHIME can hardly fathom this factoid
COIN (cont): The other two are an anti-magic genocidal maniac and…a fairly pleasant lady. Three out of four I would not put on the throne if I had any choice in the matter, but I don’t. I still don’t understand it completely, but my job as the Time goddess involves ensuring we stay on a certain time path. The BEST time path. And that’s not best for everyone — you die, his father dies (points to TYPHUS), the brother who murdered you rules his own star system, and every planet wages more wars than I can count. So it’s not best for everyone, but it’s best for most. Every other option is far, far worse. And that includes the one where you live.
WINDCHIME is struggling to take this in. TYPHUS, less so
TYPHUS: CHANGE TIME
COIN: That’s…not what we should do. It’s the literal opposite of what we should do.
WINDCHIME: No
COIN: No?
WINDCHIME: You want me to go back out there. To die. To preserve what? A good world? One where he gets everything he wants? How’s that good? What happens if I live? Huh?? Tell me exactly what happens if we change time and I live??!!
COIN: I…don’t know. I simply know that it would be worse.
WINDCHIME: How?
COIN: …Premonition
WINDCHIME: You know where you can stick your premonition. We’re flying out of here. I’m LIVING.
COIN: You are not. As the Time Goddess, I forbid it!
WINDCHIME: And as someone who wants to stay alive…I forbid YOU. Typhus?
TYPHUS: WHAT
WINDCHIME: Your friend here is taking up space. I don’t like her. Make her go.
TYPHUS: GLAD TO
TYPHUS and WINDCHIME gang up on COIN before she can react or resist. As she struggles and yells, the duo open the door and throw COIN out of her own TIME SHIP. The door then closes and they fly away without her. Shortly after they depart, we pan over to the other side of the NOBLE HOUSE, where the IDENTICAL SHIP lands.
Scene 14: The Past (Typhus’s Time Ship)
TYPHUS and WINDCHIME are flying in the TIME SHIP and zip their way towards the Drift System
WINDCHIME: Thank you, Typhus. Your friend, if she IS a friend, wouldn’t see reason. She would leave me to die.
TYPHUS: MEAN
WINDCHIME: Indeed she is. As is my brother. I’m…so sorry for what he did. To your father. Were you coming here to stop that?
TYPHUS: …YES
WINDCHIME: And I threw a wrench into that plan. I’m sorry for that too. If it makes you feel better…he would be proud of you.
TYPHUS: PROUD
WINDCHIME smiles at him. TYPHUS, for the first time ever, genuinely smiles back. WINDCHIME asks another question before things gets TOO tense
WINDCHIME: We’re in your past. Eventually we need to…go to your present, right?
TYPHUS: RIGHT
WINDCHIME: How, though? Coin might’ve been a vile woman, but she WAS the Time Goddess. Not you.
TYPHUS: WATCHED. LEARNED.
WINDCHIME: Learned…what? How to be a Time God?
TYPHUS laughs, again genuinely
TYPHUS: USE SHIP
WINDCHIME smiles back
WINDCHIME: Then go for it. I can’t wait to see our future
TYPHUS: OUR…
TYPHUS pilots the ship toward Acadmium. Once close enough to the planet, he sets coordinates for the present just as he saw COIN do it. He is successful! The TIME SHIP whirls and lights up, and when it stops TYPHUS is in the present. He turns to WINDCHIME.
TYPHUS: NOW WE —
But WINDCHIME isn’t there. He frantically looks all around the ship
TYPHUS: WINDCHIME? WINDCHIME! WINDCHIME!!!
Scene 15: The Present (The Dungeons of Castle Turok)
We see TUROK walk toward ORBIUS’S dungeon, though he now appears confused as to why he’s going there. He stares at the door, trying to remember who’s in there. Finally, he shrugs his shoulders and walks in. He sees ORBIUS there, now conscious but still badly hurt. TUROK is horrified by what he sees, and rushes over to ORBIUS
TUROK: Master Orbius? Master Orbius! Are you…alright? What happened, who did this to you??
ORBIUS looks at him with confusion and contempt
ORBIUS: What…it wasn’t enough to beat me, teeter me towards death, now you mock me?
TUROK doesn’t know what’s going on. This is a new TUROK, though he doesn’t know that. All he knows is that a powerful wizard he admires and respects is chained up and beaten in HIS dungeon.
TUROK: Master, I…don’t mock anybody. Why are you here? I was walking here to visit…somebody, but couldn’t think of who or why. Nobody stays in these dungeons unless I have absolutely no choice but to put them there. I certainly wouldn’t put you here! Who did??
ORBIUS’s instincts tell him TUROK is, bafflingly, telling the truth. He actually doesn’t know. ORBIUS senses something is wrong, but can’t quite finger it yet. So he tries a different approach.
ORBIUS: Someone else did, it would seem. Someone who looked a lot like you. This…doppelganger…was vicious. Mean. Brutal. Genocidal. Hunted down myself and all other magic-users and put down as many as he could. Me, he tortured but kept alive for information, or perhaps simply for fun. Do you know anybody who looks like you…and would do something like that?
TUROK thinks hard, and then comes to the only conclusion he can think of.
TUROK: …Skyblade
A beat
ORBIUS: Skyblade?
TUROK: Yes. It has to be her, has to be! Only she would be so clever. She must’ve constructed another me — a computerized me — to invade MY castle when I was away. And this imposter captured you and stuck you among this…FILTH and expected everyone to blame ME.
ORBIUS looks at him with confusion, then revelation — COIN must still be alive, and she must have done something to affect the path of time. He hadn’t heard of Skyblade until now because THERE WASN’T A SKYBLADE UNTIL NOW
ORBIUS: …that…sounds like the case, yes. Now that we know that, can you release me, Emperor?
TUROK: Of course, of course. Take all the time you need to heal yourself too. I will order my staff to give you full reign of the castle while you recover. On one condition though.
ORBIUS: (now suspicious again) …yes?
TUROK: Don’t call me Emperor. I know the CircuitStone makes me just that, but I don’t like it. I made changes, big ones. You must’ve been down here awhile if you didn’t hear. Drift is changing, for the better…call me President.
TUROK smiles, unchains ORBIUS, and leaves, keeping the door open for ORBIUS. The wizard looks at the door with utter amazement, and nervousness about what has been unleashed with this “Skyblade.” But first order of business: ORBIUS uses a healing spell to start the long, slow process of bringing himself back to health
Scene 16: The New Present (House Skyblade)
We enter a new House we haven’t seen before: HOUSE SKYBLADE, on PLANET NERVE in the Drift System. It is large, black, and ominous-looking. We pan around the HOUSE until we enter the MAIN CHAMBERS. Inside we see a figure with their back turned to us. A SERVANT enters the room.
SERVANT: Mistress Skyblade? Permission to enter
SKYBLADE: Permission granted…IF you have something to say
SERVANT: I believe I do, Mistress. Field report. Planet Shock has fallen. They are all under your command. All mindless toys to play with as you like.
SKYBLADE: All?
SERVANT: Some resisted. They…won’t resist anymore. About anything. Ever again. Not a single—
SKYBLADE: I get it. So that’s three. Nerve and Shift are already mine. Now Shock. All that remains is Acadmium. The biggest challenge.
SERVANT: President Turok is not pleased, to say the least. He will escalate the war against you ten-fold!
SKYBLADE: Let him. It won’t be easy, but it’s simply a matter of time before he too falls. And so what if the Stone doesn’t recognize me? It’s a new era, a new Orbspace, one where mere rocks don’t choose their rulers…the ruler chooses themself. And everyone else simply…agrees.
SERVANT: And of the other star systems?
SKYBLADE: Even bigger challenges, to be sure. But they too have their weaknesses. Wind Walker is a wild card and quite dangerous, but if we strike at the right time, she will be defenseless. As for the other two, well…do you have any little sisters?
SERVANT: One, Mistress. Four years younger.
SKYBLADE: Then you know as well as anyone…
SKYBLADE turns to face the SERVANT, and us. And now we see — SKYBLADE is WINDCHIME MINDBLADE: alive, all grown up, and now quite vicious
SKYBLADE (cont): …little sisters always get what they want.
WINDCHIME SKYBLADE smiles conspiratorially and gives the SERVANT — and us — a wink.
Scene 17: The Past (The Endless Library)
We return to XOR’s fever dreams. She is in the Main Lobby of the ENDLESS LIBRARY, about to conduct an interview with the WOMAN FROM CHANNEL NINE.
WFC9: This is West DeLainey, coming to you live from Drift’s newest and greatest educational system — the Endless Library School! I’m here with the Library’s director, XOR…
XOR: Just XOR, please
WFC9: Just XOR! Now XOR, what makes the Endless Library System different from other schools in Drift?
XOR: We here at the Endless Library believe true education goes beyond mere letters, numbers, and history. No, true education is about learning who YOU are. What YOU can contribute to the world. That’s different for everyone of course, and so the Endless Library is designed to cater to everybody’s individual needs and individual story. What will YOU create that will change the world? What is YOUR role to play in the future of Drift? Come to the Endless Library and we’ll all find out…together
WFC9: Well, you heard the lady. Want to know more about yourself and your future? The Endless Library just might be the school for you.
XOR: Oh, and for those more…advanced students who not only wish to learn about themselves but help others do so, speak to me personally about our…Doctorate program
As the WFC9 speaks her next line to her camera. XOR magically (and stealthily) creates a new room in the back of the Library
WFC9: For Acadmium News at 8, I’m West DeLainey
Scene 18: The New Present (President Turok’s council room)
We see various AIDES of TUROK, only now they’re wearing suits and are his ADVISORY COUNCIL. TUROK himself is wearing a suit and addressing the COUNCIL. He is notably different:
TUROK: Council, thank you for joining me today. We have received word that Mistress Skyblade is stepping up her aggressions. Three out of four planets in the Drift System now pledge loyalty to her and it’s clear she is setting her sights on Acadmium next.
COUNCILMAN 1: It will make winning the next election very difficult indeed.
TUROK: Very true, but I’m not even concerned about that. I’m concerned about them (gestures to the outside). We all know Skyblade’s goal. She doesn’t want to lead a star system of people — she wants toys. Robots. Mindless slaves. Entire planets of them! I didn’t become President and master of nanotech to lord over soulless meat blobs who only exist to do my bidding, and I don’t intend for her to win the platform to do just that!
COUNCILMAN 2: You could always…suspend the election. You possess the Circuitstone, you have divine ruling rights
TUROK: It won’t happen. The Stone chose me, yes. But absolute power is wrong. You see what’s happened in the other star systems, I no longer want that to happen here. No, if I am to lead Drift it’s due to the will of the people. But the will of the people means little if all the people are mindless zombies under HER command
COUNCILMAN 3: So she has to go
TUROK: If we held the election today, she’d win hands-down. Luckily, we”re not doing that. We have time. And…we might just have a secret weapon. One she has no idea about, one she can’t possibly combat. One immune to her powers and who I believe would love nothing more than to bring her down
The COUNCILMEN look at each other, confused by what TUROK means
TUROK: The Grandmaster of Orb. The head of the Wizard Cabal. Our secret weapon. Orbius.
Scene 19: The Past (The Endless Library)
XOR is leading the WFC9 to the new room she magically created
XOR: Come, come. You’ll like the backroom, I promise you!
WFC9: Well, only a quick look, I do have to get back and prep for the late-night broadcast.
They enter the NEWSROOM, which is shiny and new. It’s the greatest NEWSROOM the WFC9 has ever seen
WFC9: Wow…it’s like something I would dream! It’s incredible! Why do you have it in a Library?
XOR: Oh, I have my reasons…oh! Go touch the monitors, they’re quite something
WFC9 does so, and while she marvels, XOR seals the door. She then walks up to WFC9 and grabs her, using magic to increase her grip strength five-fold. The WFC9 attempts to escape but her screams for help and demands to be let go are muffled by XOR’s now-considerable strength.
XOR: They’re quite something, aren’t they? And they’re about to become our new home!
The WFC9 looks up at her with a mixture of confusion, panic, and rapidly-fading resistance.
XOR: This is…strictly off-the-air…but the Library exists for one reason only: eventually, the CircuitStone will choose its owner, our future ruler. I have the Stone, albeit in parts. I intend to keep out here until we find the Stone’s mate. And yes…I mean WE.
WFC9 is wide-eyed and in tears, still struggling in vain to escape
XOR: But we can’t do that here. I’ve discovered another place, another plane of existence really. A plane beyond reality. There we shall work through our students until we find the one, and there you shall assist me with my…Doctorate program…helping them forge the Stone and become one with it…and with ME
With that, XOR waves her free hand toward the MONITOR, which comes alive with magic. XOR drags the WFC9 towards it and the two soon disappear into the monitor, entering the PLANE BEYOND REALITY. The last thing we see in the MONITOR is the WFC9’s face, flush with pain, agony, and fear, silently screaming for help as the MONITORS — and everything else in the NEWSROOM — goes black.
Scene 20: The Past (Planet Cerrus)
COIN is lost and alone. We see her wandering the area around the MINDBLADE HOUSE, careful to avoid detection by anyone inside or out. She does not want to risk messing up the future any more than she fears it already has. Eventually, she turns a corner and sees her TIMESHIP. Relieved, she runs to it and enters it. Curiously, she sees nobody there.
COIN: Typhus? Windchime?
As she wanders the ship she is suddenly overcome with a strange, unknown feeling. It’s not unpleasant, but she can’t identify it. She leaves her SHIP, but as soon as does she collapses with weakness. Gasping for air, boils on her skin, and she can’t walk. She manages to crawl back to ehr SHIP — almost immediately, the pain subsides and she is back to normal. Confused, COIN leaves the SHIP again and the exact same thing happens again. In a dying panic, COIN crawls back to the SHIP and is again re-energized almost immediately.
COIN: What…is this? What happened?
She recalls her own voice, from the past (or future, as it were):
YOUNG COIN: Come with me?
ELDER COIN: If I could. But the Goddess of Time has a small world, one that she cannot leave….you’ll understand once it’s your turn to move in here.
COIN takes a deep breath, now understanding what she meant. She is unsure why or how, but she knows she can never leave her TIME SHIP again. She is the GODDESS OF TIME, and this is her prison.
Scene 21: The New Present (The Presidential Suite)
XOR finally awakens from her dreams. She wipes the sweat from her brow and sits up. She senses something good
XOR: She’s trapped now. Good. Time is to be mine.
One of her former AIDES, now a COUNCILMAN, enters
COUNCILMAN: First Lady XOR, you’re awake! How is your fever?
XOR is visibly confused.
XOR: First…Lady? What?
COUNCILMAN: Oh, you’re still groggy. But if you can, please get dressed. President Turok is about to make a grand speech. He’s finally, officially, condemning House Skyblade as a terrorist sect and an enemy of the people!
XOR (to herself): President…Skyblade? What is…this isn’t a dream but…
XOR sees a newspaper and grabs it. Reading aloud:
XOR: Today, President Turok Rhygear is expected to officially condemn the House of Windchime Skyblade for acts of terror and mind control. Skyblade, formerly of House Mindblade on Planet Cerrus (XOR’s eyes widen in shock as she reads slower), has vowed revenge for years on both Drift and on the star systems ruled by her brothers…Razus Razorblade and Mathias Mindblade.
XOR looks up from her paper in utter befuddlement.
XOR: Windchime died…how is…Coin…the Time Ship…oh no…
Putting everything together, XOR concludes that WINDCHIME escaped her fate and is now here, in a position that could derail her plans for divine rule. Enraged, XOR throws down the paper and rises from her bed. She storms toward the COUNCILMAN.
XOR: Where is Turok?
COUNCILMAN: In the Press Conference room, prepping his speech
XOR: Pretend I’m still flush with fever and lead me there
COUNCILMAN: Yes, Madame First Lady.
XOR: And don’t call me that!!
XOR strikes the COUNCILMAN down with magic, but it’s weak. It’s still enough to knock the COUNCILMAN down, though he moves.
XOR: (breathing heavily) …too much extreme magic…even for me. Well…the Coin experiment is over, so just…a matter of time
XOR sees the COUNCILMAN getting back up — reacting fast, she grabs a knife from the TABLE and stabs him to death. She then rises, surveying her handiwork.
XOR: Never mind…I’ll find him myself.
XOR walks off to confront TUROK. The last thing we see is the COUNCILMAN’s bloody mutilated body
END