The Beginning
The Beginning
Discovered: October 22, 2021
Tags: Script
Note for my writing buddy: This has gone a bit towards traditional fantasy, if not superpower fantasy, so bear that in mind as it breaks some of the pillars and also only barely resembles the other pillars. I imagined this is kinda in the future where the Ember is now just colloquially known as magic and they’ve discovered ways to better control it and thus be less deadly. People who went spelunking in ancient ruins were known as adventurers and often people who wielded these controlled powers to fight off the monsters within.
A distant walk away from their humble home back in the village, two boys are dancing by the flickering campfire under the white glow of the full moon and the star-speckled night. They were doing their usual ventures away from home.
DRAGON (ROBART): You will never see the light of dawn, Corellius the Almighty Wizard. You will rue the day you decided to take up arms against me.
ROBART has donned a wooden dragon mask and retracted his arms to mimic the sharp claws of a DRAGON.
CORELLIUS (FARLAN): Evil Baalgus, Eater of Worlds. You will never succeed!
FARLAN swings his wooden sword and chases after Robart. They pretend to fight, mostly running around the small, lit campfire the pair have ritually set up at the edge of town.
DRAGON (ROBART): Oh no! You got me cornered!
Robart turns around from the chase and throws a handful of dust, before dashing off to hide. Farlan shields his eyes and coughs. The action caught Farlan off-guard and he retracts out of the shared fantasy, feeling betrayed.
FARLAN: Hey! That’s not fair.
DRAGON (ROBART): Mwahaha! Dragons do not play fair. We play to win!
Robart, having successfully escaped his pursuant, crouches by one of the logs they have hauled in just earlier from the forest. He turns around, ready for retaliation, but notices that Farlan is genuinely upset. A beat. He decides to act:
DRAGON (ROBART): Oh! But what’s this? In my desperation to gain validation from my enemies, I’ve begun to monologue. And as any good dragon-slayer knows, I’ve just exposed my greatest weakness.
Robart, embodying the dragon, puffs out his chest and reveals the dragon’s flank, exposed and unprotected. Farlan re-engages with a smile (with most of the dirt wiped off his face and eyes).
FARLAN: Folly of the dragons to covet gold and glory!
And with a swift charge, Farlan stabs with his wooden sword and the dragon is slain. Robart takes the sword with him wedged between his armpit as he dramatically plummets to the ground.
DRAGON (ROBART): Noooo! You cannot defeat me?! Impossible!
And with that, Robart lays down on the ground, with the wooden sword kept erect under his arm as if stabbed and dead. Farlan yells out to the sleepy village with his arms out-stretched.
FARLAN: Heed that evil! Corellius won’t stand for you anywhere and you will be slain!
Silence sets in as Robart continues to play dead.
CUT TO:
Robart is on the ground, eyes closed. Suddenly, Farlan plops down beside him, also playing dead. Robart peeks an eye.
ROBART: What happened?
FARLAN: Corellius got dysentery (or some sickness) from his wild celebrations and died.
ROBART: Oh really? That’s a terrible turn of events.
FARLAN: Yep. Though he left his family the bounty he got from killing Baalgus the Dragon, so they are okay.
ROBART: Hm. Good on him.
Silence as they watch the night sky above. A shooting star passes by.
FARLAN: Woah! Did you see that?
ROBART: Yeah. That’s probably Elder Nero trying to find his walking stick again.
Farlan chuckles. A beat.
FARLAN: Did your wish come true yet?
Robart looks puzzled.
ROBART: What wish?
FARLAN: Your wish to Elder Nero.
ROBART: Oh. No… I don’t think I’m going.
FARLAN: What!? What about our promise?
Farlan sits up.
FARLAN: (quoting Robart) To right the wrongs of the world and show them the truth of good— what about magic, Robart? You said you were gonna learn magic!
ROBART: I can’t. I’m just not born with it.
FARLAN: Fiddlesticks (or some other tame explicative), Robart. You said we’d go out there to avenge them.
Silence.
FARLAN: And the adventure, Robart (laying back down). Out there. Beyond the woods. Up in mountains where the dwarves mine their gold and the elves drink their nectar. Not just past Miraz’s farm, but like, past Gillyweed and beyond the Barrens. Don’t you want to see what’s out there?
ROBART: Of course I do, but —
FARLAN: But what? We said it together, remember? We swore to Ranalla herself (pointing up in the sky). You can’t break your word to a Goddess—
ROBART: I mean, no one really heard us—
FARLAN: I heard it.
A beat.
ROBART: But who’s gonna teach us, Farlan? Who’s gonna help Maman with the herd coming tomorrow? Or the chickens we were supposed to feed this morning?
FARLAN: Ali or Colban will do it– don’t you worry about that; I got it covered— Robart. You have to try harder. We’ll get out there one day and we’ll find for ourselves what we really want. To finally learn some magic. Slay some cool beasts. Meet some crazy people. And— and avenge your parents’ wrongful death! We’ll bring them honor as we’ll be the best adventurers the world has ever seen, just like them Robart! We’re gonna kill all the bad guys. Just you and me, Robart. On an adventure… like you promised…
Another pause.
FARLAN: You can’t give up now.
Farlan turns to Robart.
FARLAN: Swear to me, Robart. We’re going out there. Together. Just like we’ve always said.
Robart does not meet his brother’s gaze but instead just nods. From the corner of his eye, tears roll back towards the grassfield they shared. And, escaping from within, in a breath:
ROBART: I promise.