EXT. MASS GRAVE - DAY
Umfrey's body rested among the corpses in the mass grave,
the coveted dusty sandals around his neck. Beside him, the
plague-ravaged cadavers of Bishop Jean, and sadly little
Leo, showing the pestilence spared no one in terms of rank
or privilege.
RACHEL
Goodbye, Poppa. Where is he now?
ELOUAN
As long as we live here on earth, we
will never know the true makings of
Heaven.
ARCHER #1 (O.S.)
That's the devil!
Elouan and Rachel spun around to see the gatekeeper from the
previous night's raid, hefting a large broadsword. Alongside
him were his comrades--Broken Nose brandishing a pitchfork
(his face cloth still stained with dry blood) and Broken Jaw
(his head wrapped to keep the jaw in place) wielding a spear.
This time they brought back-up in the form of six men. Three
wielded primitive farming tools, while the remaining trio
counted on their own brute size.
BROKEN NOSE
He's not normal.
RACHEL
He has done nothing but help others.
ARCHER #1
The devil deceives.
Elouan leaned into Rachel.
ELOUAN
Whatever you do, stay away from the
burial. Forgive me.
He gently pushed her aside then stepped toward the mob. Rachel
didn't understand the apology but knew whatever was going to
happen next would reveal the need.
Elouan closed his eyes for a brief second to focus,
consolidate his energy, and heighten his senses. When
everything coalesced, time itself crawled, which gave him
greater speed and sensitivity in the perception of his
opponent's Now moments. Intuition could be relied upon for
guidance, and he could let go of his sense of individualized
self and follow simply what must be done to disable the
attackers.
Physical combat was never something he enjoyed because most
people approached it as separate entities--us versus them--
thus losing sight of all Life's interconnectedness, as he
had been taught. Combat, like everything else, had to be
considered within a greater context. And to realize the usual
opponent in the world will not come with that awareness. In
other words, combat must only be used as a last resort, and
with a sense of compassion for the combatant and the scenario
that led him to pick a fight or lash out. In some cases, the
fight may be considered a tool for an opponent's greater
learning, which may require significant pain to spur the
adversary in considering more deeply the nature of his inner
self in relation to his outer experience. The fighting itself
was never something to be emotionally tied to. Instead, it
was a means to expanded education and personal awareness.
Naturally, such framework surrounding combat involved many
possible techniques, which is why the courses in physical
combat at Elouan's mystery school were much longer and more
in-depth than many other lessons. Several levels of combat
training combined with skills in mental and inner awareness
created a ladder of progressive knowledge, understanding,
and prowess. The average person fought with the objective of
defeating their opponent, striking out with emotion and drive,
with occasional training. But the mystery school taught to
fight with strategy to disarm and inspire inner transformation
in the adversary, because on a certain level, they were
connected to you and a part of you.
But sometimes, transformation required extreme measures,
lest the lesson be overlooked. It was this thought foremost
in Elouan's mind as he strategized his process of adversarial
disarmament, and to which he felt obligated to apologize to
Rachel in advance. With his inner self detached emotionally
from the combat, his awareness could move freely within the
fullness of the experience to anticipate, predict accurately,
and gain foreknowledge of what certain actions would produce,
thus direct the sequences to the conclusion.
Broken Nose advanced first, hoping to skewer Elouan with his
pitchfork. Elouan faced him head-on, knowing the temptation
to thrust the spikes in a blunt forward maneuver would be
too overwhelming to avoid. What Broken Nose didn't know was
that energy always preceded physical movement, and such energy
carried with it details understood by the subconscious. With
this information, Elouan could predict the opponent's actions--
whether hitting, kicking, or thrusting--and react
appropriately. In this case, Elouan twisted his body seconds
before the physical push of the pitchfork came his direction.
The tines slid past his chest, missing his flesh, and
altogether surprising Broken Nose. In that split second of
amazement, Elouan nabbed the pitchfork at its handle and
returned the thrust, throwing Broken Nose on his rear. The
corpse carrier kept a firm grip on the pole, which Elouan
anticipated, as he dragged the thief in a semi-circle around
to the pit, then thumped the weapon with such force that
Broken Nose let go and toppled into the mass grave. (He
screamed in frenzied terror), He slipped on the decaying
bodies and fell backward onto the heap.
Several onlookers gazed in horror of a living person squirming
on the corpses of their loved ones.
ONLOOKER 1
Sacrilege!
ONLOOKER 2
Holy --
Meanwhile, Elouan remained focused in the flow of his plan,
pitchfork still firmly in his grasp, as one of the unarmed
combatants rushed to meet him. Elouan dropped to his knees
and swiped the pitchfork, catching the hunter's legs and
plunging the goon onto his backside. Then he raised his left
arm above his head just as a second attacker came barreling
down from behind. He fell into Elouan's hand, to which the
Alpine guardian clutched the assailant's shirt tightly and
launched him over his head, landing him into the first hunter
still lying on the ground.
Then Elouan bounded for both collapsed men, going for the
third unarmed vigilante, who was teeing himself up for an
assault near the edge of the trench. Elouan bounced off his
feet, landed on the backs of the two downed men in a
handstand, twirled, and met the next offender's face with
his feet. The kick pitched the assailant into the trench.
ONLOOKER 1
Oh - dear heavens!
ONLOOKER 2
You're desecrating --!
The offender (shrieked) clawed to climb out of the pit, but
Broken Nose--reaching for his own safety--latched on and
accidentally pulled him back in, forcing both of them deeper
into the well of putrid bodies.
Elouan pushed himself off the two hunters and came back on
his feet. The second downed man climbed off his comrade,
then launched himself at Elouan again. Instead of being a
wall to block, Elouan fell onto his back and used the enemy's
momentum. He caught the hunter with his feet and gave
additional thrust to propel him into the crater.
ATTACKER
OH GOD! OH GOD!
No sooner had the first fallen assailant stood up did he
buckle again (with a grim moan), as Rachel planted her foot
furiously into his groin. As he instinctively doubled over,
she grabbed him by the cloth mask and toppled him onto his
side, where she proceeded to kick him repeatedly where his
gonads met his ass. (Rachel thought she heard his screams
crescendo into a higher tonal pitch as her toes struck deeper
and deeper into his backside). Satisfied he no longer had
strength to move, she raced toward the cathedral.
The gatekeeper could no longer bare how the fight was faring.
His face boiled with rage as he brought the broadsword
flailing toward Elouan's skull. But Elouan managed to block
with the pitchfork. Hoping to settle the score from the
previous evening, the enraged officer hurled a series of
fast, well-trained maneuvers. Elouan moved his feet in an
almost dance-like manner to position himself for a perfect
block every time, frustrating him even more. The guardsman
sped up the attack, coming at Elouan with a volley of
different angles.
It was the emotion Elouan had counted on. Though the
gatekeeper came from multiple positions, the thrusts became
sloppy. Elouan turned the assailant's back toward the pit
then caught the broadsword within the spines of the pitchfork.
With a twist, he flung the weapon out of the fiend's hand,
then planted the butt-end of the fork into the thug's gut,
toppling him into the trench.
ARCHER #1
Satan! You're Satan!
While Elouan still faced the pit, Broken Jaw pounced. He
thrust the spear at Elouan's back, but the guardian's
intuition moved him quickly to the left, allowing the spear
to pass harmlessly through the space between his upper body
and right arm. Elouan closed his tricep tightly to his rib
cage, pinning the spear against him. With a tug, he released
it from Broken Jaw's grip, then faced the enemy, twirling
the spear like a fan.
Broken-Jaw gazed in awe as the weapon whirled, knowing at
some point it was going to come to a stop--most likely in
his body. He could not think of how to defend himself; he
just stood paralyzed, believing his next injury may be worse
than his last (which still ached like hell).
Elouan knew what he was thinking and decided to startle him
in an act of mercy. In a sudden flash, he stapled the lance
into the ground and used it to boost his legs into the air.
He caught Broken-Jaw's throat between his knees, then forced
him into the mud by the gravitational pull of body weight.
Before the corpse carrier could get up, Elouan whipped the
pole in two swipes, one-by-one knocking down a pair of
assailants closing in, then returned the spear tip between
Broken Jaw's eyes, stopping short of impaling him. Terrified,
the corpse carrier crab-walked to get clear, then joined the
remaining assailant who had yet to make his assault. They
fled hastily to escape the Alpine guardian's wrath.
The onlookers gawked, horrified at the fight and desecration
of the bodies. Elouan knew they were wondering if he was
some unearthly demon. He also knew no verbal exchange would
ease their fears.
Rachel bounded in on a horse. Elouan leapt on, taking his
place behind her.
ELOUAN
I'm sorry.
RACHEL
Their souls are with God. Those are
only shells.
(With a heavy tug, the stallion charged them away from the
pit).
EXT. GIOVANNI'S WHEAT FIELD - DAY
Giovanni pounded dirt on a third grave, his face swollen
from crying. His father's prediction of the plague not making
it to the family's cottage was grossly mistaken. Within a
week Heraut had contracted it, followed swiftly by Giovanni's
youngest brother, Sanson, and then his mother, Amiria. How
they caught the pestilence and how much longer the rest of
Giovanni's family had left, he didn't know; but he was sure
he wouldn't have to play parent for his remaining siblings
too long. At present, he and Fina were still symptom-free,
but Guillaume and Leticia were already sick--Guillaume with
the rash and spitting up blood; Leticia with a bubo under
the arm.
Moreoever, the pestilence had decimated the sheep. Only a
quarter of the herd remained. The neighbors hadn't faired
any better. Two out of the six cottages were now devoid of
living occupants, leaving the fields untended and a host of
livestock uncared for. Many fields would soon be drowned
beneath weeds, while cattle, horses, pigs, and fowl already
roamed wild. The beasts that succumbed to the illness remained
rotting where they fell, either on the open road, edge of
the field, or in the case of a cow who belonged to an entire
family that had perished within days, inside the house.
Neighbors dared not interact with each other or tend to the
others' animals, lest they risked catching the deadly disease.
Each tract of land where someone had died was considered
poisoned and off-limits. The construction of the new parish
church had long ceased, only the frame remained amidst the
blades of overgrown grass. Considering the blight, it would
most likely disappear into the neglect of history.
GIOVANNI
Well, messieurs poacher, you can
have any pick of the field you'd
like these days.
RACHEL (O.S.)
Giovanni!
GIOVANNI
Rachel. Elouan.
The pair slid off the horse and raced his direction. A look
of despair washed over them as they saw the graves. Giovanni
fell into Elouan's arms, (howling in misery).
INT. GIOVANNI'S HAMLET - DAY
Leticia and Guillaume shivered together under the blankets
on the thatched pallet bed. Their faces were sunken, dark,
and their bodies too racked with the disease to move beyond
the soiled covers. Rachel stared with sad empathy, but having
been witness to Sarah's family and her own father's death,
what she saw produced nothing more than a menacing reality
of d j vu. Giovanni stood nearby, watching helplessly, while
Fina cried in Elouan's arms.
Giovanni led Elouan, Rachel, and Fina to sit in a circle
around the hearth. Outside, the darkness of night dropped
its cloak, the only light coming by the glow of the fire.
Elouan noted Giovanni and Fina wiping their foreheads but
wasn't sure if it was due to the heat of the flames or a
fever.
GIOVANNI
In one day, I saw it wipe out Ernald's
whole family. Wife and eight kids.
FINA
I heard some people go to bed at
night totally well, then not wake up
again in the morning. We sleep here
by the fire, hoping the smoke will
purify the air to keep it away from
us.
She rolled the beads of a worn rosary in her fingers, her
knuckles white from the grip.
GIOVANNI
Farmers first started taking on the
lands left behind by the neighbors --
FINA
We did.
GIOVANNI
-- but as death claimed more and
more, no one wanted anything to do
with each other. Land or animals.
The nobles, they took first right to
a farmer's stock when he died, but
now even they refuse. And if they
could, they can't keep up with so
many beasts.
RACHEL
But the animals are dying, too.
GIOVANNI
There are still too many, with fewer
and fewer people to look after them.
FINA
Driving the prices for selling and
purchasing way down. There's no way
to make money anymore.
(Fina shuffled and tried to hamper a few coughs).
FINA
Soot.
GIOVANNI
The longer we stay, the more I think
we are doomed.
FINA
But this is our house now. Our land.
RACHEL
Yours?
GIOVANNI
Yes. Your fiance, I guess? He gave
it to us.
FINA
For a price.
Fina's dejected face revealed she reluctantly made the payment --
and learned a valuable lesson in the process. Rachel checked
her anger of Jehan taking repulsive advantage of the scourge
to satisfy his wanton lust.
RACHEL
I never accepted him as my fiance.
Elouan leaned forward and cupped a hand on Fina's wrist.
When she looked into his eyes, he bathed her in a well of
compassion, love, and forgiveness. Fina slipped her hand
away to wipe a burgeoning tear.
GIOVANNI
Too bad, I'd say. He sits up there
in his manor surrounded by friends,
sipping wine and nibbling treats all
these days. I'm sure they talk
nothing of this death, living life
as if it isn't happening.
Elouan joined his despondent friend. He took Giovanni by the
shoulders.
ELOUAN
Let's consult the stars.
(WALKING OUT. CLOSING DOOR).
EXT. GIOVANNI'S HAMLET - NIGHT
GIOVANNI
Please tell me ... are we at the
whim of death's whipping scythe?
What do they say at your mystery
school - about things such as this?
ELOUAN
Love knows not death. True
unconditional love is freedom. It
promotes life, and it does not die
when the ocean turns into mist, that
turns into rain, and goes down the
rivers back into the oceans again.
GIOVANNI
But ... are we worthy of love, being
such sinners?
Elouan took his friend's face into his hands.
ELOUAN
Listen to me, a seed contains the
wholeness of the tree within it,
just as you contain the wholeness of
this universe's creator inside you.
We came from this source, as an acorn
comes from the tree that birthed it.
What you call 'sin' is simply
ignorance -- a lack of knowledge,
which can be learned. We are all
unfolding, like a flower blooming.
You do not judge the flower before
it has even a chance to stretch its
petals and evoke its sweet aroma.
Giovanni gazed deeply into Elouan's eyes, taking in every
word. Without thinking, he leaned in and kissed Elouan warmly
on the lips. Perhaps because of the unmanageable stress,
the possibility of being dead tomorrow, he wasn't sure, but
he had grown tired of having to hide his feelings for other
men, especially someone so unique as Elouan. He had admitted
to himself long ago he could never feel such longing toward
a girl, and now being told he had within him the unfolding
of the force of creation, was a seed of that power being
carried forward, and that the disposition of the source was
founded on love, he couldn't hold back any longer.
Yet loving the same gender was cast as disgusting and heinous
to everyone else in the world. The stigma came flooding back
when he realized what he had done. Giovanni jumped, pulling
himself from Elouan, looking startled and apologetic, even
humiliated.
GIOVANNI
I - I ...
ELOUAN
I know. You have nothing to apologize
for. You are honoring me from a
place in your soul, and that is the
best any of us can ask, whether man
or woman.
(COUGHING) Elouan gave Giovanni an inquisitive look, wondering
if the coughing might be the poacher. Giovanni's face
tightened, ready to take on whoever it may be. (They stepped
into the field, heading for the trees).
GIOVANNI
Who's there?
POACHER
Sinners. Both of you, sinners.
Giovanni tightened his palms into fists. No doubt, whoever
it was had seen him kiss Elouan.
GIOVANNI
Show yourself! Are you the one who
had been stealing our livestock?
(The ground crunched in hurried steps as) The thief fled
into the thickness of the wood. Giovanni rushed into the
grove after him. Elouan joined the pursuit.
The density of the trees plummeted the grove into pitch
blackness. Only by the sound of footfalls could any sense of
direction and location of the intruder be intuited. The
opponent realized this, so stopped cold, leaving his pursuers
lost in silence.
GIOVANNI
Where did he go?
ELOUAN
Chances are high, he is hiding against
a tree.
He placed his hand on the nearest trunk. Instead of listening
for footfalls or breath in the air, he instead moved his
awareness to blend with the consciousness of the living tree
beside him. From there, he could travel along its roots to
all the other trees in the orchard, tapping them underground,
until one also registered the life force of a person standing
beside it. Elouan tested his theory by first sensing the
roots of the tree near Giovanni. The response was evident:
the tree "knew" Giovanni was standing there, and Elouan
discerned such awareness. So, he turned his focus to the
whole of the orchard, moving from tree-to-tree through the
roots, looking for the poacher. The answer came almost
instantaneously: four rows away, off to the right, near the
edge of a small clearing hidden within the grove.
Elouan bolted for the thief. Knowing he had been discovered,
the goon rushed away. Whether it was Elouan's speed or his
ability to remain focused on the person's energy, he swiftly
closed the gap in reaching the fiend.
The offender faltered. (He erupted into more coughs).
Elouan nabbed him by the collar and tossed him into the
moonlight.
GIOVANNI
Tivold! What in Christ's name are
you doing?
Yes, it was Tivold ... Giovanni's friend. His eyes burned
with rage, face ruddy with the advancing pestilence.
TIVOLD
You are both sinners! Both of you!
Perversions! I saw what you were
doing back there. You're the devil!
You brought this sickness upon us.
GIOVANNI
He did not, you fool.
TIVOLD
We were all fine until he showed up!
(COUGH... SPIT)
GIOVANNI
(RETREATING)
You were the one stealing our sheep?
Why?
TIVOLD
You had more than enough --
(HEAVY COUGHING). Elouan dropped to Tivold's side and placed
a hand an inch from his quaking body.
GIOVANNI
What are you doing?
ELOUAN
Hopefully inspiring.
Tivold suddenly grabbed Elouan and spewed a glob of blood
over his nose and cheeks.
TIVOLD
See you in Hell.
(DROPPING TIVOLD'S BODY INTO THE GRASS)
GIOVANNI
Dear Heavenly Father --
ELOUAN
I know ... Now I am most likely
infected.
Hurried, Giovanni removed his shirt, ripped it into pieces,
then started to wipe Elouan's face clean.
GIOVANNI
Not if I have anything to say about
it. Not you. Not you!
The reaction from Rachel and Fina was what they expected:
terror. Giovanni had done a good job removing most of the
spittle and burning the rags afterward, while Fina assisted
Elouan to find a fermenting jug of ale Heraut kept in a
cupboard, which he used to wash himself clean. He did his
utmost to downplay the possibility of contracting the illness.
At first the declaration didn't go over so well. However,
after the wash of ale, downing a tea of his special herbs
and hanging his shirt near the hearth to disinfect it in the
heat and smoke, everyone felt more at ease that perhaps he
might survive the assault. When the adrenaline wore off,
everyone grew heavy with exhaustion. Giovanni and Fina fell
asleep near the fire, while Elouan pulled Rachel outside and
commandeered the empty wagon from the livery. He insisted
they stay off the ground and rest without hay or cloth to
keep warm; they relied solely on the closeness of their
bodies, falling asleep in no time.
INT. GIOVANNI'S HAMLET - DAY
The beams of morning light cascaded into the tiny hovel to
spotlight Leticia and Guillaume dead in the bed, their skin
already turned blue. Giovanni stood over them, tormented,
but unable to weep. Fina fell on her knees, buried her face
in her hands, and bawled in agony.
EXT. GIOVANNI'S HAMLET - DAY
Elouan and Rachel helped to quickly bury the bodies. Giovanni
and Fina retreated inside to mourn while Elouan kept his
gaze to the sky, face wet with tears. Rachel planted her
forehead to his, joining in the grief.
ELOUAN
I knew this would happen. I knew
it. I do not see how this gets me
any closer to my father.
RACHEL
What did he do?
ELOUAN
He abandoned my mother ... when she
was pregnant with me.
Rachel sat in shock from the scandalous disclosure. Such
pregnancy would have resulted in public shaming, ruining not
only Elouan's mother, but her entire family, perhaps even
excommunication by the church parish. It was the height of
sin, leaving him a bastard for eternity.
ELOUAN
After I was born, my mother left me
at a monastery high in the mountains.
She found it ... was guided there
... purely by her own senses. She
should have stayed. Instead, she
froze to death making her way down
... leaving me behind. The monks
found her.
Rachel broke the remembrance with a warm kiss.
RACHEL
(sigh)
If we survive this --
ELOUAN
I will always be with you.
(SCREAM). (RUSHING IN).
INT. GIOVANNI'S HAMLET - CONTINUOUS
Elouan and Rachel rushed in to find Fina with her right arm
in the air, gawking in horror toward her armpit.
FINA
I have the lump! It's on me! I'm
next!
GIOVANNI
Let me see!
(TEARING OF CLOTH). He exposed the small egg-shape bursting
from Fina's side. He swiftly fell back while Fina shuddered.
Elouan kept Fina's arm raised while he inspected the bubo.
His mind raced to find a way to save her.
FINA
(bawling)
I'm going to die.
ELOUAN
No. I saw people in the town survive.
He lowered Fina's arm and went about unpacking his herbal
pouches. Then he slipped out his shaving knife. He returned
to Fina carrying the pouches and blade, uplifted her arm,
then re-examined the welt.
ELOUAN
You will endure, as we -- as all
life -- endures.
GIOVANNI
What are you going to do?
ELOUAN
Give her something to bite down on.
Rachel, can you tear me the bottom
of your dress, to wrap her?
(TEARING OF CLOTH).
Giovanni placed a wooden spoon between Fina's teeth. She
clenched hard as more tears streamed her cheeks. She knew
what Elouan was preparing to do.
ELOUAN
This will sting a little.
(SLIT! GURGLED SCREAM). Elouan tossed the dagger into the
smoldering fire, then quickly applied herbs into the oozing
wound. Rachel handed him her torn cloth, and with Giovanni's
assistance, they wrapped it tightly around Fina's torso,
keeping the bubo covered. When finished, Fina fell against
the wall, (sobbing bitterly), then collapsed to her rear.
Elouan hesitated along with the others, praying for Fina's
recovery. He didn't know if the combination of his special
herbs placed in Marie's exploded bubo were the reason she
survived, but if so, he had to do the same here. Only time
would tell if his concoction was the saving grace or simply
a misguided ruse.
The time dragged. Fina remained near the fire, and at Elouan's
suggestion, Giovanni enlarged it to where one might think
the entire hovel would burn down. Elouan reapplied the herbs
on Fina's bubo and kept it dressed, then rotated the torn
cloth so as not to apply the stained blood back on the wound.
Fina rested as best she could but found herself languishing
into uncontrollable tears. Everyone took turns watching over
her.
At first, Fina improved, but by the third day, a debilitating
fever kept her to the floor. Giovanni refused to leave her
side as he poured cool water over her head.
EXT. GIOVANNI'S HAMLET - NIGHT
As nighttime loomed, filled with anxiety and confusion, Elouan
tried meditating under the light of the rising full moon. It
was impossible. He couldn't bring himself to focus.
(Then he coughed). The cough caught him by surprise. He
siphoned his awareness through his whole body but found
nothing out of sorts. He checked his armpits, felt his thighs
at his groin. Still nothing. Nonetheless, it left him uneasy.
Rachel emerged from the hovel, looking concerned.
RACHEL
I heard you cough.
ELOUAN
It may have been nothing.
RACHEL
It is so hard. You know I cannot
bear to lose you.
ELOUAN
You won't.
RACHEL
Why this is happening ... You
understand, don't you?
ELOUAN
When people believe they are
sufficiently divided ... from each
other ... in class structures ...
from the environment ... isolated
and polarized from all other things
... Life will always find a way to
teach the truth of Oneness ... and
force us to learn the lessons of
that connectedness ... To let go of
the illusion of individual pride ...
to finally learn and feel the
sacredness of our relation ... to
All That Is. To evoke love -- of an
ETERNAL nature.
INT. GIOVANNI'S HAMLET - DAY
By morning, Fina deteriorated into a deep delirium. Rachel
and Giovanni prayed and watched over her while Elouan worked
to gather his thoughts. Instead of traditional seated
meditation, he dug a burial for Tivold in the field where
the rogue had perished, using each push of the shovel as a
means of focusing his mind. As his senses tunneled, a sudden
cough interrupted him again. He buried the shovel and leaned
on it, wiping his forehead from sweat. Or was it fever? He
shook his head in denial, then paused over Tivold's discolored
corpse, wondering if the spirit of the lad had come to unlearn
any of his past prejudices from his after-death life review.
He hoped so.
(ANOTHER COUGH)
Another night came and went. When morning blossomed, Rachel
took over watching Fina for Giovanni to get some rest. Fina
seemed more relaxed, or at least less agitated in her delirium
than the day before. Rachel wondered if she were finally on
the mend. That is, until Fina shifted her head and revealed
a new protrusion on her neck. Startled, Rachel gently pulled
down the collar and confirmed the bubo, then something more
She gingerly lifted Fina's dress to reveal the dark colored
speckles of the plague rash painted all over her flesh. She
waked Giovanni.
GIOVANNI
What?
She hurried outside to fetch Elouan.
Giovanni hovered over Fina, fearing the worst.
She died by midday.
EXT. GIOVANNI'S FIELD - DAY
Giovanni wept over his lost sister lying in the freshly dug
earth. Rachel took hold of him while Elouan shouldered the
burden of tossing the dirt onto Fina's ruined corpse.
EXT. GIOVANNI'S FIELD - LATER
Elouan's leather patch swooped down, like a leaf falling in
autumn. It passed the edges of more dug earth, falling deeper,
until it landed on Giovanni's chest. It had only been two
days after Fina's passing that he began to show symptoms,
and within another two days, he had succumbed--or perhaps
just given up--in the face of the pestilence. Elouan stood
cold over the open grave, too worn to weep The entire
family, gone.
ELOUAN
He took it from my pack when we first
met... The one thing I had from my
father. May it bring you more than
it has for me.
(COUGH. HARD.) Elouan brought a hand under his armpit and
squinted from the explosion of searing pain.
RACHEL
Let me see.
Elouan lifted his arm and pulled away his shirt. A single
bubo burst from his armpit. The sight of it was like a kick
in Rachel's stomach. She swooned, then fell to her knees.
ELOUAN
Seems I couldn't hold it off forever.
Rachel slumped, waiting for the nausea to dissipate. Her
greatest fear was coming to pass. Everyone she knew and loved
abandoning her in death. Elouan would be the last.
ELOUAN
Breathe deep. My time is not yet
through.
(CLOMPING OF HORSE'S HOOVES).
A band of papal soldiers marched alongside a string of war
horses, bringing the prison carriage behind them. They were
led by Father Gilbert riding atop one of the steeds, his
face even more gaunt and pasty than before. It was unclear
whether he had contracted the pestilence and survived, or if
he was just haggard from having to deal with it all.
RACHEL
What are they doing here?
A cool breeze whipped at Elouan, hitting him with a subtle
spark inside his consciousness.
ELOUAN
They have come to take me to my
father.
(MOVING THROUGH FIELD). Almost immediately, his senses went
into high alert and his vision tunneled, all without initial
intention: certain confirmation of the papacy's company
arriving specifically for him.
ELOUAN
There aren't coincidences Past meets
present. All wrapped up.
RACHEL
Wait!
The retinue of twenty armored soldiers halted, (their feet
all stamping at once, creating an ominous finale to their
symphonic march).
FATHER GILBERT
That's him.
(PULLING SWORDS).
Behind the entourage, Jehan appeared atop his stallion. Though
clothed in fine noble fashion, his face contrasted with the
veneer, as he looked thinner and flesh pallid around the
ridges of his cheeks, jaw, and temple. It was clear his plan
to out-maneuver the plague failed miserably, but even so, he
survived the illness.
JEHAN
He's one of Lucifer's demons, I swear
it.
FATHER GILBERT
We are here by order of the Grand
Inquisitor, not you. But we thank
you for your service.
RACHEL
What have you come for? What charges --
FATHER GILBERT
Timothy 2:12, my dear. But if you
must know ...
(JUMPING OFF HORSE;
FOOTSTEPS)
-- when he touched my brother, he
gave him such lethal poison, it
twisted his mind. It wasn't long
before all those around us were dead
from whatever poison he passed on.
Nearly the whole of God's kingdom on
earth ... he has slain.
Rachel boiled at the accusation.
FATHER GILBERT
Timothy -- or did they not teach you
that in your parish?
Elouan slipped forward, holding his hands ready to receive
cuffs. Keeping a wary distance, Gilbert tossed holy water in
his face. Elouan froze but gave no indication of surprise or
enmity at the dowsing.
RACHEL
He is no demon. He is infected like
everyone else.
The soldiers stiffened, keeping the tips of their swords at
the ready.
FATHER GILBERT
Satan lies. Take him ... Take him!
To the relief of the battalion, Elouan moved toward the prison
carriage on his own.
RACHEL
No!
Rachel chased, capturing him. The sentries quickly circled,
their sword-tips at Rachel's throat. Elouan warmly took her
hands.
FATHER GILBERT
So, I see you are in league with
him.
JEHAN
No! Just deceived by him.
Rachel's heart sank from the look in Elouan's face.
RACHEL
No...
ELOUAN
Yes, this is my path. I DECEIVED
HER.
A lone tear cascaded down Rachel's cheek. Terror consumed
her as the papal soldiers arrested Elouan and dragged him
into the prison carriage. Abandoning all rapport, they slammed
shackles on his wrists and ankles, then chained him to the
bars.
Holy water blinded Rachel as Father Gilbert drenched her
squarely in the eyes.
FATHER GILBERT
May you rot after your confession.
With that, he mounted his horse and led his squad away, taking
Elouan with them.
Though splayed inside the cage and clamped in heavy shackles,
Elouan managed a relaxed sigh, then closed his eyes to
meditate. At last, he no longer felt he was being tossed
hither and tither by the events surrounding him; rather, he
knew beyond any doubt he was exactly where he needed to be
to meet his father. The fact that he was infected didn't
alarm him so much. He trusted the process. If he died, he
had faith his mission would be accomplished before the release
of his final breath; if he lived, he would move on to whatever
was meant to come next.
Rachel stood helpless as the caravan grew further distant,
her soul scrambling to find a way to stop this madness.
JEHAN
The pestilence has gone from my place.
I had it, but it could not overpower
me. I was much too strong. I can
take you back there.
RACHEL
You wouldn't want me. He had me.
Jehan grimaced with disgust. Whether or not conception had
taken place was at this point irrelevant--they both understood
that. She had debased herself in sin. What's worse, Jehan
truly believed Elouan was the Devil's minion, meaning if
Rachel was pregnant, she was carrying a diabolical, unholy
child. Plus--and this was even more startling--she didn't
appear to care, perhaps she was even proud of it. He
shuddered, then curved around, leaving Rachel with the
intended view of his stallions' hind-end abandoning her to
disgrace.
EXT. FOREST PATH - DAY
The new spring growth made the forest thicker. Perhaps it
was this abundance of new life that made those who fled the
city believe the air was cleaner and they could survive the
devastation, but alas, they were wrong. Father Gilbert could
make out a ramshackle lean-to of snapped branches and greenery
perched inside a grove of trees, two dirty peasants staring
idly alongside, with two hastily dug graves nearby. They
watched the papal army pass without a hint of care in their
downtrodden faces.
Further on the road, vultures plucked at the remains of a
dismembered human arm and leg, with the rest of the body
nowhere to be found. No doubt, pack animals had already made
quick work of the vanished corpse.
Elouan felt a surge tug his inner awareness. He looked skyward
and saw a hawk glide gracefully in a semi-circle, then
hurriedly flap its wings to ascend over the forest, moving
northward. He suppressed a smile, recognizing a message in
the bird's flight.
EXT. GIOVANNI'S WHEAT FIELD - DAY
Rachel secured the provisions on the horse's back, then
attached Heraut's hatchet to her hip. She clenched her teeth
as she mounted into the saddle, strategizing how to rescue
Elouan from the hands of the ecclesiastics. Once settled,
she glanced at Giovanni's exposed grave, knowing the
unprotected body could (and would) fall victim to wild
animals.
RACHEL
It is just a shell. It is not him...
Forgive me, Giovanni, but I think
you would understand. E-yah!
(HORSE TAKES OFF).