Woven throughout the intricate and vast soundscapes of Xanthochroid's music are tales of another world, strange names and foreign lands are characters and places in the world of Etymos. Since their 2011 release of Incultus, Xanthochroid have been revealing the story of two brothers; Thanos and Sindr (better known as Ereptor) as they struggle to find their place in a world overshadowed by its past, forging an uncertain future.
In the beginning there were the Relics,
immortal men favored of the gods.
Blessed with the gift of eternal life,
the Relics built a world of near perfection.
Having mastered the arts and sciences, the
ancient race was able to achieve marvels of
engineering and architecture, as well as
harness the mysterious magical energies
of the world.
For many thousands of years, the Relics
thrived in the world of Etymos, but when
the greatest among them was deceived by
the Winged Watcher, the Relics fell one
by one, into darkness and despair. Fallen
out of favour with the gods, the Relics
succumbed to the will of Death, and
brought about the age of Erthwile man.
The ways of the immortals were soon lost
as man became obsessed with the immediate.
The pursuit of wisdom became the pursuit of pleasure,
and a thirst for knowledge became a thirst for war.
The world the Relics built crumbled,
and only their harrowing monuments remained...
immortal men favored of the gods.
Blessed with the gift of eternal life,
the Relics built a world of near perfection.
Having mastered the arts and sciences, the
ancient race was able to achieve marvels of
engineering and architecture, as well as
harness the mysterious magical energies
of the world.
For many thousands of years, the Relics
thrived in the world of Etymos, but when
the greatest among them was deceived by
the Winged Watcher, the Relics fell one
by one, into darkness and despair. Fallen
out of favour with the gods, the Relics
succumbed to the will of Death, and
brought about the age of Erthwile man.
The ways of the immortals were soon lost
as man became obsessed with the immediate.
The pursuit of wisdom became the pursuit of pleasure,
and a thirst for knowledge became a thirst for war.
The world the Relics built crumbled,
and only their harrowing monuments remained...
From the ashes of that old world rose a new one.
A world of fire and ash, tempered to a blackened, rocky crust by the rough seas of the Axon Ocean. Sailors traversing the waters say this island appeared suddenly in an explosion of molten earth. Spires of rock ripped through the seas, bubbling and steaming as the land willed itself into being. The sailors named this new world Axen, which in their tongue simply means "Ashes". |
As the waters calmed, and cooled the restless land,
trees took root, and birds found their way to this place. Hearing tales of this newly birthed paradise, men from all corners of Etymos made their way to the silted shores of Axen. Drawn by the promise of freedom, and the hope for a better future. The settlers of Axen shunned the ways of Erthwile man. They left behind the kings and lords of Ealdormere, the princes and priests of Septentria, the warlike generals of Erthe. They forged a new life on the rocky cliffs and fledgling forests of their new nation. Protected by the Krikos Kranion, a ring of vicious rock encircled the coastline, any invader who would dare to approach the Axon coast was sure to meet his end at the ring of skulls. |
act i listening guide
*Open the Gates, O Forest Keeper* --
A reddish glow illuminates the glassy waters of the Axon ocean as a ship approaches the treacherous labyrinth of obstacles known as the Krikos Kranion. A man in a coal-dusted uniform stands at the bow of the vessel as it slowly emerges from the dense fog.
He is slender and stands tall amid his crewmen, his black hair is kept tidy and slick in a tail that reaches halfway down his back. His eyes shine the same crimson glow as his ship’s gaping jaw, and he gazes unwavering towards the approaching shore. -- the Captain steering the ship calls out to him:
Captain (looking both fearful of his surroundings, and his commander): “Admiral, we cannot maintain this speed while traversing the Krikos Kranion, no ship like this has ever made it to the shore.”
Admiral (approaching the crewmen): “Captain, there has never been a ship like this… now move aside!”
To the engineer: Engines at full capacity! … (to himslef) “I’ll show you what my ship is capable of…”
--With it’s master at its helm, the ship is undaunted by its menacing surroundings; it glides swiftly and uncaring through the tempestuous waters as if it were born of this place. Its mouth glows a crimson red that calms the seas in front of it, tempering the water to a polished glass over which it slides. And from its stern rises a haze which dwarfs the ship itself; a black and whirling plume of smoke that propels the vessel forward.--
--Meanwhile, miles away in Axen, townspeople have gathered at a rocky shoreline to hold a memorial for someone:--
Elder: “Renatus came to this village in its greatest time of need… when Axen was young and hope was frail, he brought strength and wisdom that was nearly lost from the world. In time, he became our most respected chieftan, as well as a beloved husband… (The Elder pauses and looks at a young man among the mourners) … and a father” (the young man and the elder lock eyes) “Thanos, it is time…”
Thanos reluctantly steps forward, leaving the embrace of the woman who stood beside him. He unsheathes a ceremonial sword and steps onto a platform atop a cliff overlooking the ocean.
-- This is an Axon funeral. The casket is a woven basket shaped like a teardrop and filled with flowers, plants, and possessions along with the deceased. The basket is raised like a pinata overhanging the rocky shores below. It is lit on fire, and then released to the sea by cutting the rope. --
The Elder begins a recitation:
“Through oak and ash, and fiery hail
Through blood and sweat, and mountains of shale
At last, to the sea, where giants sleeping lie
We join them in slumber, and gently dreaming, die
(another Elder approaches the platform with torch in hand)
Axonborne, axonbled,
Unto the sea, your graven bed.
Ours is ashes, ours is fire
Go now, upon your peaceful pyre”
The second Elder lights the basket aflame, and Thanos heaves the massive sword over his head. The weight of the sword alone cleaves it through the thick rope, and releases the flaming pyre to the rock-strewn sea below. It seems to float through the air as it falls, and hits the water with an unheard splash. Its flames still flickering as it is consumed by the sea.
Thanos rejoins his wife Vera, and returns home in grief and mourning.
--Back upon the ocean, the Admiral and his crew exit the gauntlet of the Krikos Kranion unscathed--
Admiral (clearly pleased with himself and his ship): “What was that you were saying, Captain? No ship has ever… what was it?”
Captain (embarrassed): “Indeed sir, there is no other ship like yours, and none equal to your skill… forgive my lack of faith.”
Admiral: “No harm done, good Captain, (he looks at the approaching shore as he abandons the helm, and we see a twinge of memory in his eye) can you take it from here?”
Captain: “Aye, sir”
--The Admiral reassumes his position at the bow of the ship and watches the glorious scene unfold in front of him. The sun sets behind the quaint port town that seems to be lost in time. Much of the world had changed in the time of his travels, but not this place; it is just as he remembered it…
The sight of the vessel nearing the docks of the town was a mysterious and intriguing scene for all the locals, and onlookers stared curiously as the sea-weary travelers shuffled off their ship. The banner men marched down the steps that were lowered from the ship, behind them the dark-haired officer stepped casually down the staircase, the villagers’ eyes fixed on him. He stopped half way down and addressed his audience boldly:
“We have come to pay our respects to the great chieftan Renatus; can someone tell us, where is the funeral?”
Townsman (suspicious): “I regret to inform you, you just missed it, sir…”
Admiral: “I’m sorry to hear that… (the admiral walks toward the townsman, staring him straight in the eye as the man peddles backward) might you be able to tell me, then, where I can find his son, Thanos?”
-- The townsman and the admiral lock eyes, fearfully, the townsman points toward a road reaching beyond the horizon --
*To Lost And Ancient Gardens* --
Years earlier: A much younger Thanos tends a neglected garden which borders a forested swamp. Having just lost his mother to illness, the young man is distraught and is trying to keep her memory alive through her beloved garden; Thanos has always had a supernatural ability to heal and grow plants and connect with living things.
My love is petals and dew
The Erthe, the wilderness too
For a fonder man, there is none
Who admires her like the Sun
Shining down so she may glow…
Amidst his ode to the rose, a girl appears at the edge of the forest; a sight he is actively trying to ignore, despite her obvious interest in him. In fact, Thanos knows this girl well. She is Vera, a daughter of the swamp-dwelling tribe known as the Fendwellers. Vera has long been the object of Thanos’ older brother Sindr’s desire, and although she has never given in, Sindr is very much infatuated with her. Thanos is reluctant to interact with the girl he knows his brother loves.
But a maid stood alone
In the trees, overgrown
And she pondered the plight
Of the rose
She drank the dew from the rose
I drank the dew from the rose
I envy the one that she chose
His stare and longing did grow
Then she offered me a sip,
But I dare not touch my lip
Where the serpent’s tongue hath coiled
For a man she desires,
And indeed one she would have
If I should but meet
Her gaze
A man like you I’ve never known
Her words a womanly moan
So lonely he must remain alone
Her dress so perfectly sewn
If you’d come away with me,
We shall never lonely be
What a travesty it would be,
Have you never felt the touch
If our eyes should fondly meet
Of a maid politely struck
By a man so handsome as you?
Come away, silly man
No, no
‘Tis a green and pleasant land
This cannot be
That awaits us through the trees
She has led me through the trees
The Erthe, she whimpers neath my feet
Her tears, they beg me not to leave
Although sadder tales have been told,
None so truthful
Or so old
As the man
And his maid
Gladly joined
In the wake of their mother’s death, Sindr announced to Renatus and Thanos that he would be leaving Axen to join the military forces of Ealdormere in Erthe. Sindr believed his talents as a warrior, tactician, and engineer went largely unappreciated by the Axons, and especially by his father; who always seemed to favor his younger brother. Sindr blamed his mother’s death on the primitive means of the Axons, proclaiming that there are medicines and technologies in Erthe that could have saved her life. He sets out on his journey much to the dismay of his younger brother, who has always looked up to his big brother.
Thanos ultimately gives in to Vera’s allure and follows her into the woods. Sindr is none the wiser, and sets off to Erthe in hopes of one day returning as an accomplished soldier. He hopes he will finally prove himself as a son to Renatus, and as a man to Vera.
Back to present: The Admiral and his men marched swiftly through the twilight; the banner men carrying peculiar lanterns which shone an unearthly green light upon their path. To travel by night was an unfamiliar practice to the local Axons, and rumor quickly spread that a sorcerer had come with an army to find the son of Renatus. The unit of men marched on through the night without stopping.
*To Higher Climes Where Few Might Stand* --
Thanos sits alone in a sort of greenhouse surrounded by plants, the pale morning light barely illuminates the room. Vera enters...
Vera: Thanos! You never came to bed… have you slept at all?
Thanos: I think I’ve finally done it! Look, Vera! (holding up a plant) It was dead last night and I revived it!
Vera: Thanos… I…
Thanos: Dear, it’s just a plant, don’t be frightened!
Vera: Thanos, LOOK! (points behind him)
Thanos turns around to see figures emerging through the fog, they look threatening, carrying weapons and supplies walking toward Thanos’ house. “Wait here…” he says to Vera as he steps outside the greenhouse and stands helplessly as the horde approaches… Thanos thinks:
Beyond the feeble reaches
Of conscious memory
A voice long forgotten
Echoes through the chamber of my thoughts
I cannot recall
The speaker or what was spoken
Just a whisper now
Still, it’s crying, screaming, wanting to be known
The leader of the horde comes to a halt and stares face to face at Thanos.
“… hello brother…”
Thanos: … Sindr? How could it be??
Sindr: It’s been many years, Thanos. Surely the seasons have changed me, but indeed it is I.
Thanos: Seven years to be precise… I was still a child. Father and I, we tried to…
Sindr: Ha! Speak not of that old man, you know he has forsaken me. Let us speak instead of well-spent youth and brighter days. Brother, my men are weary… we have not properly rested since we left Erthe, I’ve come here in hopes of setting up camp, with your kind permission of course.
Thanos: Never would I deny such kindness to my own brother! How I have secretly yearned for your return only the gods can tell. Come, brother, come! You shall have the finest Axon breakfast and a proper bed, let us rekindle the flame of our youth!
As dawn greets dew-wet grass
A brother returns at last
Seven years in patience passed
Long since have I laid my dreams to ash
Oh rekindled Flame
Dare not speak His name
Oh unfettered son
What gifts you were given
Why, then, did you run?
As night drapes silted shores
No laughter is heard anymore
Tales of terror and of war
Hang heavy in the dampened midnight air
Oh, recall the dream
Hunger's rising scream
Rays of glinting light
Glancing off dew-wet blades this night
Sindr tells Thanos of his travels and all the strange and dazzling splendors of Erthe; of his accomplishments, and his longing to return home and see his family.
I was there
Where once our fathers rode
Beyond this mortal coil
Toward that precipice of stone
Which stands unchanged, uncaring, and old
Thanos is enchanted by his brother’s tales, and ecstatic to see him after so many years; he welcomes him with open arms, but Vera is not so welcoming. She is suspicious of Sindr’s motives, and when the two lock eyes across the table, she recalls their uneasy past.
Sindr had long been fascinated by the power of the forested swamp that the Fendwellers call home, and would often wander into their territory alone to observe their peculiar and secretive way of life. He saw them do things he thought were impossible; magical energies seemed to emanate from their bodies, water flowed at their command, and they moved through the wood like the wind. Knowing they were not fond of visitors, Sindr hid himself behind shrubs and rocks and watched from afar, studying their strange ways.
Countless wonders I have seen
Endless skies of emerald green
Minds can never idle be
When magic stirs beyond the trees
It was not long before Vera saw Sindr on one of his little missions and followed him home. She watched him mimicking the motions of her people; he was trying to harness the same energy the Fendwellers use in the forest. Sindr’s awkward attempts made Vera laugh suddenly, alerting Sindr to her presence as he searched the treeline for the source of the sound.
Sindr: Who’s there? Who are you!
Vera (still obscured behind the trees): You’ll never be able to do it like that… especially not all the way out here.
Sindr: Do what? Who am I talking to, come out!
Vera (walking slowly toward Sindr): You can’t do what we do
Sindr: Oh? And why not?
Vera: (haha) You’re just an Erthwile farm boy from Axen… only Relics know the old ways
Sindr (taunting): And I suppose you’re a Relic then? And all your people?
Vera (defensive): I’m not a Relic! But my people still practice the old ways, not like you people… you’ve forgotten…
Sindr (playful): Well perhaps you could teach me…
You know things of which I speak
Secrets buried deep beneath
Still eclipsed in jaded truth
By the nameless wonders of my youth
*back to present*
Despite the awkward reunion between Sindr and Vera, the day carries on with bombast and celebration.
Oh, recall the dream
(In dreams we cannot die)
Hunger’s rising scream
(It calls us to its side)
Rays of glinting light
Glancing off dew-wet blades this night
No one has slept, and they start to drift off one by one as night falls. The two brothers stay up into the night and recollect their past, and Sindr convinces Thanos to come with him to an old familiar place in the forest.
Come with me to better days
To higher climes where few might stand
And never shall we tread again
On silted shores, on blackened sand
*To Souls Distant and Dreaming* --
Through the pantheon of oak and pine, a wide and misty clearing appears, and the brothers stand in awe of this unchanged place.
Sindr: Do you come here still, brother?
Thanos (ashamed): Never since that day, Sindr, I can't bear it.
Sindr: Haha! Thanos, you can't be serious! You're still brooding away on that day? We were children!
Thanos: Children are capable of wrongdoing just as men...
Sindr: Come now, brother… all was not lost on that day. Remember the splendor, the world we created. No one knew the wonders and visions we saw, the dreams we dreamt. You and I birthed a new age of creation in the world, you and I brought magic to Erthwile man! Thanks to your abilities and my inventions, I have shown the world that there is more than hunger, death, and suffering in this life; there are wonders yet to be known. How many can say their dreams became reality? How many can even remember the visions of their youth?
There are few of us who know
What wonders we were shown
In the stories and fables
And visions of our youth
For children, as we were,
Think only half formed thoughts
And now, as men, we recollect
A dull and shattered dream
Sindr speaks, and the forest echoes his poetry:
“To trace the remote in the immediate;
the eternal in the ephemeral;
the past in the present;
the infinite in the finite;
these are the springs of delight and beauty”
Both sing:
But some of us awake
With phantasms so strange;
Enchanted hills and golden plains
And cities made of stone
Where ancient heroes rode
Caparisoned with gold
We come alive and then we know
We’ve looked back through the gates,
The gates the Forest Keeper made
Years earlier:
A much younger Sindr stands in the same forest clearing where we just were. Thanos looks on from behind a bush in fascinated confusion as his brother makes strange movements, odd gestures with his hands, and foreign grunts and shouts. The spectacle is too much and Thanos lets a muted laugh slip. Sindr whips around and immediately spots Thanos amidst the trees, walks swiftly over to him and drags him into the clearing.
Sindr: Alright, little brother; since you seem to think it looks so easy, why don't you give it a try...
Thanos (mockingly): try what? Dancing around in the forest like a fairy?!
Sindr (angrily flicks his brother’s ear): I’m not dancing you idiot! This is ancient Relic magic, I've seen the Fendwellers do it. They can control the wind, the rocks and trees and vines, they can shift the flow of the stream, or tame the wildest beast with just a touch… Do you want to try it or not?!
Thanos: … how do I do it?
Sindr performs his well-practiced moves slowly, and Thanos mimics them one after the other.
Sindr: Good work, Thanos, now the trick is to do it all as one motion. I have been practicing for weeks now, so don't expect to…
Thanos performs the move with swift precision, and a surge of energy bursts from the palms of his hands up through the tall forest canopy, ripping through the leaves and knocking branches aside as it climbs skyward.
Sindr stands in silent amazement: … how did you do that?
Thanos: I don't know… I just did what you said! I don't know what that was!
Sindr: That was magic, little brother. The magic of the immortals who have long since gone from this world; their energies flow freely in this place. Few can sense them, and fewer still can do what you just did. Come with me, Thanos. We have much to learn.
As the brothers strode deeper into the woods, they passed by a tree which had dropped a large branch when Thanos cast that magical burst. As he walked closer, he saw a deer sifting the soil where the branch had fallen, the deer quickly ran off and Thanos ran towards the branch. To his horror, a faun lay helplessly crushed beneath the branch. Retching and gasping for breath, the tiny animal clearly had very little time left. Thanos stepped backward slowly, and hung his head in shame.
Sindr, undaunted by the gruesome scene, walks casually toward the fragile creature and turns toward Thanos:
Sindr: What are you crying about? It’s just a deer…
*Thanos gives Sindr a scathing, tearful look*
Sindr: All right, all right, here; try this. I’ve seen the fendwellers do this before.
*Sindr places both his hands on the faun’s rib cage and begins to chant some foreign spell*
Sindr (to Thanos): Here, do it with me, since you seem to have the magic touch…
Thanos: Do what? Mumble some Fen gibberish? I don’t even know what you’re saying!
Sindr: Just try it; breathe deeply, put your hands here, and make the sounds I make.
Thanos places both his hands on the tiny animal, and speaks the incantation as best he can. A powerful, crimson glowing energy emanates from his palms, and Sindr once again stares wide-eyed at his little brother, hiding his jealousy behind his amazement.
Sindr: That’s it, Thanos! Keep going, louder! Faster!
Thanos chants faster, speaking the words as if they were his mother tongue, and he can hardly stand the force of the energy flowing through him. The faun’s chest begins heaving and he perks up his head. Sindr lifts the felled branch as much as he can, but before the faun can attempt to move he vomits and writhes in his final death spasm. Horrified, Thanos runs back home, ignoring the scornful laughter of his brother.
*Back to present*
Sindr looks sincerely to Thanos,
Sindr: I am sorry for that, brother, I was young and cruel and eager! I was toying with forces I knew nothing of and you were my instrument. For that I can only beg your forgiveness… please, Thanos I have come to acknowledge my wrongs.
Thanos: It was long ago, my resentment is well outweighed by the joy your return has brought me.
Sindr: Good! Excellent brother! Besides, that old magic was a mere trifle compared to what I've come to learn, and I don't need you for an instrument anymore, I've fashioned many of my own design, I’ll show you tomorrow… Come now, let's rest, I am aching!
Thanos and Sindr walk back home in the afterglow of their reconciliation, the morning light seeps through the trees as they finally lay down to sleep.
*In Deep and Wooded Forests of my Youth* --
Thanos awakes to a nervous Vera pacing about their room.
Vera: Where have you been? I waited well into the night for you.
Thanos: Sindr and I were up all night reminiscing… he told me the most wondrous things; of the Great Stone City, the wonders of ancient Erthe, he's seen it all Vera! We even spoke of that day… Thanos holding back tears… He told me he is sorry, Vera.
Vera: I'm glad to hear it Thanos, but that will not be enough for my father and my people, they've been watching Sindr ever since he returned, they don't trust him Thanos…
Thanos: Well, they will! They must! He means to bring light unto the world, and we could help him! There are so many in the world who could use the healing powers of the Fen… It's our responsibility to help them!
Vera: Listen, Thanos… come with me into the deep, we must speak with my father… Thanos follows Vera as she moves swiftly through the trees in typical Fen fashion. She sings:
I know the place
Where Memory sleeps
And secrets hide
It is not far
Or hard to find
Or too ancient to recall
They arrive at the Fen encampment, where Vera’s father Ask greets her warmly. He then leads Thanos through the Fen village, and attempts to impress the importance of the woods upon Thanos. He sings:
A sighing stream
This endless forest's dream
Are you still too blind to see it?
The force that feeds
Our endless need
This deep and wooded dream that is my heart
But night will fall
And trees once tall
Will bend to his will
That scorching Raven’s smile
Writhing, putrid, vile
His sharpened tongue
A spear to kill
Thanos: “Surely you don’t think my brother intends to destroy the Fen and the forest? He only wants to share the magic of these woods with the rest of the world!”
Ask: “Thanos, it is an honorable thing to love one’s brother, I know you trust that Sindr is only doing what’s best for the world. But my people have been watching these men of his; there have been whispers around the world of their exploits, and of Sindr’s methods. They come with fire, with hungry machines that devour the Erthe, leaving nothing but destruction behind them. He and Vera sing:
A song of soil
The vine’s exquisite coil
All but faded footprints of my past
But night will fall
And while the midnight
Forest breathes
I will not leave my home
My deep and wooded home
*The Sound of Hunger Rises*--
Conflicted, Thanos returns from the Fen to meet his brother the next day, hopeful that he will be willing to cooperate with the Fendwellers and Vera to find a balance between their worlds.
Before he arrives to find his brother, Thanos hears the bellowing chants of Sindr’s men as they carry through the trees, and he rushes to find them
Ne aveas Mortem
Non dat is pacem
In enim morte
sciemus morsus
quos reliquimus
*Do not welcome Death
He offers no Peace
For even in Death
We will know the pains
We have left behind*
Just as he came
So he shall go
In woe, in pain, in poverty
Sindr: Brother! Come, come! You are about to see what we can really do!
Thanos: (rushing to meet Sindr aboard his newly assembled vehicle) Sindr wait, I need to…
Sindr’s vehicle takes off as soon as Thanos climbs aboard, followed by the rest of Sindr's company. The vehicle swallows the forest in front of it, collecting the foliage in a massive chamber. Vein-like tubes carry the glowing emerald energy to a bank of cylindrical capsules that capture the magical ooze. Thanos becomes mesmerized by the spectacle...
Sindr sings:
Have you ever felt this way before?
Can you feel the power surging through your soul?
And once it’s over, you’ll want more
Can’t you see it’s what the earth is for-
Can you hear the sound of hunger rise?
We could bring an end to all those mournful, helpless cries…
Indeed, it was intoxicating, Thanos had never felt so powerful, but he saw the trail of devastation left by his brother’s machines and knew that he must try to stop him.
Sindr’s men sing on as they continue to work
Take then good heed
Heed To your end
For as I say
So it shall be
Thanos approaches Sindr, imploring him to look back at the destruction he is causing, but Sindr is drunk with power and won’t listen, he states:
We, the paragons of creation
We, the arbiters of change
Was this not the dream we shared
When we were young and unafraid?
But you saw her there,
Gentle eyes, tempting stare;
And still you’re bound by her
Thanos is angered and confused by Sindr’s accusation; that he is under a spell by Vera, he sings:
No, no, not bound but held
And you needn’t think this way
He reminds Sindr:
We, were but children you and I
We, thought, as only children think,
This world was ours to conquer,
And its blood was ours to drink
How far you have wandered,
How deep lie your pains.
Bask in this eternal summer
Revel in Morning’s glow
Join me on silted shores once more
Sindr scoffs at Thanos’ plea, but as he and his men finish their first day, Sindr sneaks off into the woods to visit a beloved place before it is destroyed forever. Thanos’ words haunt him as he goes, and he ponders:
How long have I labored
How deep lie the crusted jewels of my innocence
*The Sound of a Glinting Blade*--
Sindr arrives at a familiar forest clearing, the same clearing where he and Thanos first experienced the magic of the Relics. He reminisces:
I heard the Forest sing
Songs of my youth
I’d never felt such pain before
You held my hand that day
You were my Sun before the dawn
The darkened morning I have loved so long
Vera, having watched Sindr and his men from the treeline the whole time, emerges to confront him, concealing the pain he caused her when he left:
I don’t recall that day
And I never thought of you when I cried
You know the place
And I never wondered why
Where memory sleeps and secrets hide
You left so suddenly
Vera’s anger is piercing, but Sindr recognizes she is still holding onto their past in some way, just as he is. The two stand on opposite ends of the clearing. The calm of the woods surrounds them:
Silence fills this place
Naught but a memory of your embrace
You, servile and sweet
Soft as the sediment beneath our feet
Far beyond the trees
We roamed
Yet, now, I plead:
Sindr sings:
Recall the plans we made
Dreams once so bold
The jealous Sun stood still and cold
What now has time revealed?
A tepid pool of youth misspent
A faded tapestry of dreams undreamt
Vera sings:
Strange, how you recount
Wanton days, blissful nights
Strange, as it seems,
There was suffering
And pain you never knew
How could you?
Despite her bitter response, Sindr moves closer to Vera. Frightened, she slips one hand subtly behind her waist, a warning voice wisps through the trees, echoes of Sindr’s mens’ credo:
Do not welcome Death
He offers no peace
For even in death
We will know the pains
We have left behind
Sindr, moving ever closer, proclaims:
Far beyond the trees
I long to be
A deeper stream
Free from
Flows endlessly
Your incessant dream
Toward my dream
Sindr grabs her tightly despite her protests, as if to take her for his own. A sharp pain rips through his gut and he screams. As he releases her, he sees a small dagger covered in blood. Shocked, Sindr falls to the ground as blood pours out from his wound. Vera, at once horrified and relieved, leaves him for dead and runs back to join her people as they prepare to ambush Sindr’s men.
*The Sound Which Has No Name*--
Ever-weakening, Sindr drifts further and further into the throes of Death. He feels the Wings of the Watcher enveloping him as he moves closer to his end… He remembers the legends of the immortal Relics, how they fell when Death entered the world as the Winged Watcher.
No ancient script
Was ever writ
No jewel-decked throne
On which to sit
Soaring high,
The Watcher waits
To slake his thirst
To clean his plate
His jaws agape
His claws unfurled
The Winged-Watcher
Swallows the world
The oceans rise and fall
With his heaving chest
And in the wind
We feel his breath
He comes face to face with the devourer, though he resists his imminent doom, the ease of acceptance tempts him evermore.
No cries are heard
No tears are wept
For wise ones know
The bond once kept
The price he asked;
The cost of death:
A single drop,
Still glistening wet,
Of crystal'd pain
To pay a debt
The Watcher hunts ferociously, he hunts for the last Relic. The last of a race who betrayed his trust and defied his supreme authority. Knowing this, Sindr attempts to strike a bargain to spare his own life.
Sindr: I can give you what you want! I can bring you the last Relic…
Watcher: I know the tongues of men… they are rife with lies, you have nothing I want.
Sindr: I am Sindr, son of the great Xanthos, the Relic who lived his final years as the Axon chieftan Renatus. As you see, I am Erthwile born… a pitiful soul for your collection, but I can offer you a far greater treasure; the last Relic of Axen, my brother, Thanos…
Watcher: Wisdom warns me against your promise, but I will entertain your offer… You may live, so long as the Relic is delivered to me…
Released from his wings, Sindr watches in amazement as the Watcher ascends instantly to the sky. Still reeling in pain, Sindr’s captain comes to his aid:
Captain: Admiral, there you are! What happened?
Sindr: Nothing that I can’t fix… where are the men? We have important work to do.
Captain: That is why I am here… the Fendwellers are attacking! The men are holding them off, but there are so many, we won’t last long… Sir, are you sure you can-
Sindr: There’s no time, captain, quickly, come!
While camping amongst Sindr’s men, Thanos awoke to the ferocious battle cry of the Fendwellers as they emerged through the mangled treelines. Vera appeared quickly by his side and the two absconded from the battle into the trees.
Thanos: Vera! What is happening?! This is not the way! This will bring only death and pain!
Vera: Your brother is lost, Thanos… My people will do what they must to survive.
Thanos: Lost? Where is Sindr? Vera, what have you done?!
Vera: There is no time, come Thanos, they will see us, we must meet my father.
The two run swiftly through the trees to meet the Fendwellers, Vera joins ferociously in the battle while Thanos does all he can to protect her.
Meanwhile, Sindr emerges from the forest, much to the delight of his men, he rallies them to the mournful tale of the Watcher:
As time went on
The debt accrued
And we foolish Men
The price refused
Now all is lost
And we, Erthwile
Peer at the stars
Through his crooked smile
Vera’s father Ask calls out to the possessed Sindr:
Your soul is crumbling, rotting
Beneath the chains of hate
The Fendwellers join him in his decree:
Can you hear those mournful, helpless cries?
The sound which has no name
Open your eyes
The blackened fog has blinded you
And with this darkness you have shrouded
Our deep and wooded home
Sindr focuses his energy toward the defiant old man, he lifts his weapon and fires a powerful surge of magic at him. The greenish orb turns to red, as it hurtles toward Ask, gathering broken rocks and tattered roots on its way. Crying out to her father, Vera throws herself in front of the approaching mass and it consumes her.
Thanos: VERA NO!!!
In horror, Ask, and Thanos rush to Vera’s lifeless corpse. Before they can reach her, the earth begins to shake violently, and the armies are knocked to the ground.
Vines rip through the ground around Vera, wrapping themselves around her as they carry her beyond the trees. The forest comes alive, the earth cracks beneath the feet of Sindr’s men. They are swallowed by the gaping crevices, and torn apart by the serpentine vines. Chaos ensues as every man runs for his life. The Watcher has come to collect his debt:
He is our fatal end
Our recompense
He is the fear
We all can sense
The creeping serpent
The reeking breath
The fangs of Erebus
The certainty of Death
The fangs of Erebus
The certainty of Death
The Fendwellers retreat to the woods while Thanos searches for Vera among the carnage, Sindr lets out a scream as he is dragged into the forest. A dark figure emerges quickly from the treeline and drapes Thanos under his cloak, carrying him away from the destruction as he cries out in anguish.
A reddish glow illuminates the glassy waters of the Axon ocean as a ship approaches the treacherous labyrinth of obstacles known as the Krikos Kranion. A man in a coal-dusted uniform stands at the bow of the vessel as it slowly emerges from the dense fog.
He is slender and stands tall amid his crewmen, his black hair is kept tidy and slick in a tail that reaches halfway down his back. His eyes shine the same crimson glow as his ship’s gaping jaw, and he gazes unwavering towards the approaching shore. -- the Captain steering the ship calls out to him:
Captain (looking both fearful of his surroundings, and his commander): “Admiral, we cannot maintain this speed while traversing the Krikos Kranion, no ship like this has ever made it to the shore.”
Admiral (approaching the crewmen): “Captain, there has never been a ship like this… now move aside!”
To the engineer: Engines at full capacity! … (to himslef) “I’ll show you what my ship is capable of…”
--With it’s master at its helm, the ship is undaunted by its menacing surroundings; it glides swiftly and uncaring through the tempestuous waters as if it were born of this place. Its mouth glows a crimson red that calms the seas in front of it, tempering the water to a polished glass over which it slides. And from its stern rises a haze which dwarfs the ship itself; a black and whirling plume of smoke that propels the vessel forward.--
--Meanwhile, miles away in Axen, townspeople have gathered at a rocky shoreline to hold a memorial for someone:--
Elder: “Renatus came to this village in its greatest time of need… when Axen was young and hope was frail, he brought strength and wisdom that was nearly lost from the world. In time, he became our most respected chieftan, as well as a beloved husband… (The Elder pauses and looks at a young man among the mourners) … and a father” (the young man and the elder lock eyes) “Thanos, it is time…”
Thanos reluctantly steps forward, leaving the embrace of the woman who stood beside him. He unsheathes a ceremonial sword and steps onto a platform atop a cliff overlooking the ocean.
-- This is an Axon funeral. The casket is a woven basket shaped like a teardrop and filled with flowers, plants, and possessions along with the deceased. The basket is raised like a pinata overhanging the rocky shores below. It is lit on fire, and then released to the sea by cutting the rope. --
The Elder begins a recitation:
“Through oak and ash, and fiery hail
Through blood and sweat, and mountains of shale
At last, to the sea, where giants sleeping lie
We join them in slumber, and gently dreaming, die
(another Elder approaches the platform with torch in hand)
Axonborne, axonbled,
Unto the sea, your graven bed.
Ours is ashes, ours is fire
Go now, upon your peaceful pyre”
The second Elder lights the basket aflame, and Thanos heaves the massive sword over his head. The weight of the sword alone cleaves it through the thick rope, and releases the flaming pyre to the rock-strewn sea below. It seems to float through the air as it falls, and hits the water with an unheard splash. Its flames still flickering as it is consumed by the sea.
Thanos rejoins his wife Vera, and returns home in grief and mourning.
--Back upon the ocean, the Admiral and his crew exit the gauntlet of the Krikos Kranion unscathed--
Admiral (clearly pleased with himself and his ship): “What was that you were saying, Captain? No ship has ever… what was it?”
Captain (embarrassed): “Indeed sir, there is no other ship like yours, and none equal to your skill… forgive my lack of faith.”
Admiral: “No harm done, good Captain, (he looks at the approaching shore as he abandons the helm, and we see a twinge of memory in his eye) can you take it from here?”
Captain: “Aye, sir”
--The Admiral reassumes his position at the bow of the ship and watches the glorious scene unfold in front of him. The sun sets behind the quaint port town that seems to be lost in time. Much of the world had changed in the time of his travels, but not this place; it is just as he remembered it…
The sight of the vessel nearing the docks of the town was a mysterious and intriguing scene for all the locals, and onlookers stared curiously as the sea-weary travelers shuffled off their ship. The banner men marched down the steps that were lowered from the ship, behind them the dark-haired officer stepped casually down the staircase, the villagers’ eyes fixed on him. He stopped half way down and addressed his audience boldly:
“We have come to pay our respects to the great chieftan Renatus; can someone tell us, where is the funeral?”
Townsman (suspicious): “I regret to inform you, you just missed it, sir…”
Admiral: “I’m sorry to hear that… (the admiral walks toward the townsman, staring him straight in the eye as the man peddles backward) might you be able to tell me, then, where I can find his son, Thanos?”
-- The townsman and the admiral lock eyes, fearfully, the townsman points toward a road reaching beyond the horizon --
*To Lost And Ancient Gardens* --
Years earlier: A much younger Thanos tends a neglected garden which borders a forested swamp. Having just lost his mother to illness, the young man is distraught and is trying to keep her memory alive through her beloved garden; Thanos has always had a supernatural ability to heal and grow plants and connect with living things.
My love is petals and dew
The Erthe, the wilderness too
For a fonder man, there is none
Who admires her like the Sun
Shining down so she may glow…
Amidst his ode to the rose, a girl appears at the edge of the forest; a sight he is actively trying to ignore, despite her obvious interest in him. In fact, Thanos knows this girl well. She is Vera, a daughter of the swamp-dwelling tribe known as the Fendwellers. Vera has long been the object of Thanos’ older brother Sindr’s desire, and although she has never given in, Sindr is very much infatuated with her. Thanos is reluctant to interact with the girl he knows his brother loves.
But a maid stood alone
In the trees, overgrown
And she pondered the plight
Of the rose
She drank the dew from the rose
I drank the dew from the rose
I envy the one that she chose
His stare and longing did grow
Then she offered me a sip,
But I dare not touch my lip
Where the serpent’s tongue hath coiled
For a man she desires,
And indeed one she would have
If I should but meet
Her gaze
A man like you I’ve never known
Her words a womanly moan
So lonely he must remain alone
Her dress so perfectly sewn
If you’d come away with me,
We shall never lonely be
What a travesty it would be,
Have you never felt the touch
If our eyes should fondly meet
Of a maid politely struck
By a man so handsome as you?
Come away, silly man
No, no
‘Tis a green and pleasant land
This cannot be
That awaits us through the trees
She has led me through the trees
The Erthe, she whimpers neath my feet
Her tears, they beg me not to leave
Although sadder tales have been told,
None so truthful
Or so old
As the man
And his maid
Gladly joined
In the wake of their mother’s death, Sindr announced to Renatus and Thanos that he would be leaving Axen to join the military forces of Ealdormere in Erthe. Sindr believed his talents as a warrior, tactician, and engineer went largely unappreciated by the Axons, and especially by his father; who always seemed to favor his younger brother. Sindr blamed his mother’s death on the primitive means of the Axons, proclaiming that there are medicines and technologies in Erthe that could have saved her life. He sets out on his journey much to the dismay of his younger brother, who has always looked up to his big brother.
Thanos ultimately gives in to Vera’s allure and follows her into the woods. Sindr is none the wiser, and sets off to Erthe in hopes of one day returning as an accomplished soldier. He hopes he will finally prove himself as a son to Renatus, and as a man to Vera.
Back to present: The Admiral and his men marched swiftly through the twilight; the banner men carrying peculiar lanterns which shone an unearthly green light upon their path. To travel by night was an unfamiliar practice to the local Axons, and rumor quickly spread that a sorcerer had come with an army to find the son of Renatus. The unit of men marched on through the night without stopping.
*To Higher Climes Where Few Might Stand* --
Thanos sits alone in a sort of greenhouse surrounded by plants, the pale morning light barely illuminates the room. Vera enters...
Vera: Thanos! You never came to bed… have you slept at all?
Thanos: I think I’ve finally done it! Look, Vera! (holding up a plant) It was dead last night and I revived it!
Vera: Thanos… I…
Thanos: Dear, it’s just a plant, don’t be frightened!
Vera: Thanos, LOOK! (points behind him)
Thanos turns around to see figures emerging through the fog, they look threatening, carrying weapons and supplies walking toward Thanos’ house. “Wait here…” he says to Vera as he steps outside the greenhouse and stands helplessly as the horde approaches… Thanos thinks:
Beyond the feeble reaches
Of conscious memory
A voice long forgotten
Echoes through the chamber of my thoughts
I cannot recall
The speaker or what was spoken
Just a whisper now
Still, it’s crying, screaming, wanting to be known
The leader of the horde comes to a halt and stares face to face at Thanos.
“… hello brother…”
Thanos: … Sindr? How could it be??
Sindr: It’s been many years, Thanos. Surely the seasons have changed me, but indeed it is I.
Thanos: Seven years to be precise… I was still a child. Father and I, we tried to…
Sindr: Ha! Speak not of that old man, you know he has forsaken me. Let us speak instead of well-spent youth and brighter days. Brother, my men are weary… we have not properly rested since we left Erthe, I’ve come here in hopes of setting up camp, with your kind permission of course.
Thanos: Never would I deny such kindness to my own brother! How I have secretly yearned for your return only the gods can tell. Come, brother, come! You shall have the finest Axon breakfast and a proper bed, let us rekindle the flame of our youth!
As dawn greets dew-wet grass
A brother returns at last
Seven years in patience passed
Long since have I laid my dreams to ash
Oh rekindled Flame
Dare not speak His name
Oh unfettered son
What gifts you were given
Why, then, did you run?
As night drapes silted shores
No laughter is heard anymore
Tales of terror and of war
Hang heavy in the dampened midnight air
Oh, recall the dream
Hunger's rising scream
Rays of glinting light
Glancing off dew-wet blades this night
Sindr tells Thanos of his travels and all the strange and dazzling splendors of Erthe; of his accomplishments, and his longing to return home and see his family.
I was there
Where once our fathers rode
Beyond this mortal coil
Toward that precipice of stone
Which stands unchanged, uncaring, and old
Thanos is enchanted by his brother’s tales, and ecstatic to see him after so many years; he welcomes him with open arms, but Vera is not so welcoming. She is suspicious of Sindr’s motives, and when the two lock eyes across the table, she recalls their uneasy past.
Sindr had long been fascinated by the power of the forested swamp that the Fendwellers call home, and would often wander into their territory alone to observe their peculiar and secretive way of life. He saw them do things he thought were impossible; magical energies seemed to emanate from their bodies, water flowed at their command, and they moved through the wood like the wind. Knowing they were not fond of visitors, Sindr hid himself behind shrubs and rocks and watched from afar, studying their strange ways.
Countless wonders I have seen
Endless skies of emerald green
Minds can never idle be
When magic stirs beyond the trees
It was not long before Vera saw Sindr on one of his little missions and followed him home. She watched him mimicking the motions of her people; he was trying to harness the same energy the Fendwellers use in the forest. Sindr’s awkward attempts made Vera laugh suddenly, alerting Sindr to her presence as he searched the treeline for the source of the sound.
Sindr: Who’s there? Who are you!
Vera (still obscured behind the trees): You’ll never be able to do it like that… especially not all the way out here.
Sindr: Do what? Who am I talking to, come out!
Vera (walking slowly toward Sindr): You can’t do what we do
Sindr: Oh? And why not?
Vera: (haha) You’re just an Erthwile farm boy from Axen… only Relics know the old ways
Sindr (taunting): And I suppose you’re a Relic then? And all your people?
Vera (defensive): I’m not a Relic! But my people still practice the old ways, not like you people… you’ve forgotten…
Sindr (playful): Well perhaps you could teach me…
You know things of which I speak
Secrets buried deep beneath
Still eclipsed in jaded truth
By the nameless wonders of my youth
*back to present*
Despite the awkward reunion between Sindr and Vera, the day carries on with bombast and celebration.
Oh, recall the dream
(In dreams we cannot die)
Hunger’s rising scream
(It calls us to its side)
Rays of glinting light
Glancing off dew-wet blades this night
No one has slept, and they start to drift off one by one as night falls. The two brothers stay up into the night and recollect their past, and Sindr convinces Thanos to come with him to an old familiar place in the forest.
Come with me to better days
To higher climes where few might stand
And never shall we tread again
On silted shores, on blackened sand
*To Souls Distant and Dreaming* --
Through the pantheon of oak and pine, a wide and misty clearing appears, and the brothers stand in awe of this unchanged place.
Sindr: Do you come here still, brother?
Thanos (ashamed): Never since that day, Sindr, I can't bear it.
Sindr: Haha! Thanos, you can't be serious! You're still brooding away on that day? We were children!
Thanos: Children are capable of wrongdoing just as men...
Sindr: Come now, brother… all was not lost on that day. Remember the splendor, the world we created. No one knew the wonders and visions we saw, the dreams we dreamt. You and I birthed a new age of creation in the world, you and I brought magic to Erthwile man! Thanks to your abilities and my inventions, I have shown the world that there is more than hunger, death, and suffering in this life; there are wonders yet to be known. How many can say their dreams became reality? How many can even remember the visions of their youth?
There are few of us who know
What wonders we were shown
In the stories and fables
And visions of our youth
For children, as we were,
Think only half formed thoughts
And now, as men, we recollect
A dull and shattered dream
Sindr speaks, and the forest echoes his poetry:
“To trace the remote in the immediate;
the eternal in the ephemeral;
the past in the present;
the infinite in the finite;
these are the springs of delight and beauty”
Both sing:
But some of us awake
With phantasms so strange;
Enchanted hills and golden plains
And cities made of stone
Where ancient heroes rode
Caparisoned with gold
We come alive and then we know
We’ve looked back through the gates,
The gates the Forest Keeper made
Years earlier:
A much younger Sindr stands in the same forest clearing where we just were. Thanos looks on from behind a bush in fascinated confusion as his brother makes strange movements, odd gestures with his hands, and foreign grunts and shouts. The spectacle is too much and Thanos lets a muted laugh slip. Sindr whips around and immediately spots Thanos amidst the trees, walks swiftly over to him and drags him into the clearing.
Sindr: Alright, little brother; since you seem to think it looks so easy, why don't you give it a try...
Thanos (mockingly): try what? Dancing around in the forest like a fairy?!
Sindr (angrily flicks his brother’s ear): I’m not dancing you idiot! This is ancient Relic magic, I've seen the Fendwellers do it. They can control the wind, the rocks and trees and vines, they can shift the flow of the stream, or tame the wildest beast with just a touch… Do you want to try it or not?!
Thanos: … how do I do it?
Sindr performs his well-practiced moves slowly, and Thanos mimics them one after the other.
Sindr: Good work, Thanos, now the trick is to do it all as one motion. I have been practicing for weeks now, so don't expect to…
Thanos performs the move with swift precision, and a surge of energy bursts from the palms of his hands up through the tall forest canopy, ripping through the leaves and knocking branches aside as it climbs skyward.
Sindr stands in silent amazement: … how did you do that?
Thanos: I don't know… I just did what you said! I don't know what that was!
Sindr: That was magic, little brother. The magic of the immortals who have long since gone from this world; their energies flow freely in this place. Few can sense them, and fewer still can do what you just did. Come with me, Thanos. We have much to learn.
As the brothers strode deeper into the woods, they passed by a tree which had dropped a large branch when Thanos cast that magical burst. As he walked closer, he saw a deer sifting the soil where the branch had fallen, the deer quickly ran off and Thanos ran towards the branch. To his horror, a faun lay helplessly crushed beneath the branch. Retching and gasping for breath, the tiny animal clearly had very little time left. Thanos stepped backward slowly, and hung his head in shame.
Sindr, undaunted by the gruesome scene, walks casually toward the fragile creature and turns toward Thanos:
Sindr: What are you crying about? It’s just a deer…
*Thanos gives Sindr a scathing, tearful look*
Sindr: All right, all right, here; try this. I’ve seen the fendwellers do this before.
*Sindr places both his hands on the faun’s rib cage and begins to chant some foreign spell*
Sindr (to Thanos): Here, do it with me, since you seem to have the magic touch…
Thanos: Do what? Mumble some Fen gibberish? I don’t even know what you’re saying!
Sindr: Just try it; breathe deeply, put your hands here, and make the sounds I make.
Thanos places both his hands on the tiny animal, and speaks the incantation as best he can. A powerful, crimson glowing energy emanates from his palms, and Sindr once again stares wide-eyed at his little brother, hiding his jealousy behind his amazement.
Sindr: That’s it, Thanos! Keep going, louder! Faster!
Thanos chants faster, speaking the words as if they were his mother tongue, and he can hardly stand the force of the energy flowing through him. The faun’s chest begins heaving and he perks up his head. Sindr lifts the felled branch as much as he can, but before the faun can attempt to move he vomits and writhes in his final death spasm. Horrified, Thanos runs back home, ignoring the scornful laughter of his brother.
*Back to present*
Sindr looks sincerely to Thanos,
Sindr: I am sorry for that, brother, I was young and cruel and eager! I was toying with forces I knew nothing of and you were my instrument. For that I can only beg your forgiveness… please, Thanos I have come to acknowledge my wrongs.
Thanos: It was long ago, my resentment is well outweighed by the joy your return has brought me.
Sindr: Good! Excellent brother! Besides, that old magic was a mere trifle compared to what I've come to learn, and I don't need you for an instrument anymore, I've fashioned many of my own design, I’ll show you tomorrow… Come now, let's rest, I am aching!
Thanos and Sindr walk back home in the afterglow of their reconciliation, the morning light seeps through the trees as they finally lay down to sleep.
*In Deep and Wooded Forests of my Youth* --
Thanos awakes to a nervous Vera pacing about their room.
Vera: Where have you been? I waited well into the night for you.
Thanos: Sindr and I were up all night reminiscing… he told me the most wondrous things; of the Great Stone City, the wonders of ancient Erthe, he's seen it all Vera! We even spoke of that day… Thanos holding back tears… He told me he is sorry, Vera.
Vera: I'm glad to hear it Thanos, but that will not be enough for my father and my people, they've been watching Sindr ever since he returned, they don't trust him Thanos…
Thanos: Well, they will! They must! He means to bring light unto the world, and we could help him! There are so many in the world who could use the healing powers of the Fen… It's our responsibility to help them!
Vera: Listen, Thanos… come with me into the deep, we must speak with my father… Thanos follows Vera as she moves swiftly through the trees in typical Fen fashion. She sings:
I know the place
Where Memory sleeps
And secrets hide
It is not far
Or hard to find
Or too ancient to recall
They arrive at the Fen encampment, where Vera’s father Ask greets her warmly. He then leads Thanos through the Fen village, and attempts to impress the importance of the woods upon Thanos. He sings:
A sighing stream
This endless forest's dream
Are you still too blind to see it?
The force that feeds
Our endless need
This deep and wooded dream that is my heart
But night will fall
And trees once tall
Will bend to his will
That scorching Raven’s smile
Writhing, putrid, vile
His sharpened tongue
A spear to kill
Thanos: “Surely you don’t think my brother intends to destroy the Fen and the forest? He only wants to share the magic of these woods with the rest of the world!”
Ask: “Thanos, it is an honorable thing to love one’s brother, I know you trust that Sindr is only doing what’s best for the world. But my people have been watching these men of his; there have been whispers around the world of their exploits, and of Sindr’s methods. They come with fire, with hungry machines that devour the Erthe, leaving nothing but destruction behind them. He and Vera sing:
A song of soil
The vine’s exquisite coil
All but faded footprints of my past
But night will fall
And while the midnight
Forest breathes
I will not leave my home
My deep and wooded home
*The Sound of Hunger Rises*--
Conflicted, Thanos returns from the Fen to meet his brother the next day, hopeful that he will be willing to cooperate with the Fendwellers and Vera to find a balance between their worlds.
Before he arrives to find his brother, Thanos hears the bellowing chants of Sindr’s men as they carry through the trees, and he rushes to find them
Ne aveas Mortem
Non dat is pacem
In enim morte
sciemus morsus
quos reliquimus
*Do not welcome Death
He offers no Peace
For even in Death
We will know the pains
We have left behind*
Just as he came
So he shall go
In woe, in pain, in poverty
Sindr: Brother! Come, come! You are about to see what we can really do!
Thanos: (rushing to meet Sindr aboard his newly assembled vehicle) Sindr wait, I need to…
Sindr’s vehicle takes off as soon as Thanos climbs aboard, followed by the rest of Sindr's company. The vehicle swallows the forest in front of it, collecting the foliage in a massive chamber. Vein-like tubes carry the glowing emerald energy to a bank of cylindrical capsules that capture the magical ooze. Thanos becomes mesmerized by the spectacle...
Sindr sings:
Have you ever felt this way before?
Can you feel the power surging through your soul?
And once it’s over, you’ll want more
Can’t you see it’s what the earth is for-
Can you hear the sound of hunger rise?
We could bring an end to all those mournful, helpless cries…
Indeed, it was intoxicating, Thanos had never felt so powerful, but he saw the trail of devastation left by his brother’s machines and knew that he must try to stop him.
Sindr’s men sing on as they continue to work
Take then good heed
Heed To your end
For as I say
So it shall be
Thanos approaches Sindr, imploring him to look back at the destruction he is causing, but Sindr is drunk with power and won’t listen, he states:
We, the paragons of creation
We, the arbiters of change
Was this not the dream we shared
When we were young and unafraid?
But you saw her there,
Gentle eyes, tempting stare;
And still you’re bound by her
Thanos is angered and confused by Sindr’s accusation; that he is under a spell by Vera, he sings:
No, no, not bound but held
And you needn’t think this way
He reminds Sindr:
We, were but children you and I
We, thought, as only children think,
This world was ours to conquer,
And its blood was ours to drink
How far you have wandered,
How deep lie your pains.
Bask in this eternal summer
Revel in Morning’s glow
Join me on silted shores once more
Sindr scoffs at Thanos’ plea, but as he and his men finish their first day, Sindr sneaks off into the woods to visit a beloved place before it is destroyed forever. Thanos’ words haunt him as he goes, and he ponders:
How long have I labored
How deep lie the crusted jewels of my innocence
*The Sound of a Glinting Blade*--
Sindr arrives at a familiar forest clearing, the same clearing where he and Thanos first experienced the magic of the Relics. He reminisces:
I heard the Forest sing
Songs of my youth
I’d never felt such pain before
You held my hand that day
You were my Sun before the dawn
The darkened morning I have loved so long
Vera, having watched Sindr and his men from the treeline the whole time, emerges to confront him, concealing the pain he caused her when he left:
I don’t recall that day
And I never thought of you when I cried
You know the place
And I never wondered why
Where memory sleeps and secrets hide
You left so suddenly
Vera’s anger is piercing, but Sindr recognizes she is still holding onto their past in some way, just as he is. The two stand on opposite ends of the clearing. The calm of the woods surrounds them:
Silence fills this place
Naught but a memory of your embrace
You, servile and sweet
Soft as the sediment beneath our feet
Far beyond the trees
We roamed
Yet, now, I plead:
Sindr sings:
Recall the plans we made
Dreams once so bold
The jealous Sun stood still and cold
What now has time revealed?
A tepid pool of youth misspent
A faded tapestry of dreams undreamt
Vera sings:
Strange, how you recount
Wanton days, blissful nights
Strange, as it seems,
There was suffering
And pain you never knew
How could you?
Despite her bitter response, Sindr moves closer to Vera. Frightened, she slips one hand subtly behind her waist, a warning voice wisps through the trees, echoes of Sindr’s mens’ credo:
Do not welcome Death
He offers no peace
For even in death
We will know the pains
We have left behind
Sindr, moving ever closer, proclaims:
Far beyond the trees
I long to be
A deeper stream
Free from
Flows endlessly
Your incessant dream
Toward my dream
Sindr grabs her tightly despite her protests, as if to take her for his own. A sharp pain rips through his gut and he screams. As he releases her, he sees a small dagger covered in blood. Shocked, Sindr falls to the ground as blood pours out from his wound. Vera, at once horrified and relieved, leaves him for dead and runs back to join her people as they prepare to ambush Sindr’s men.
*The Sound Which Has No Name*--
Ever-weakening, Sindr drifts further and further into the throes of Death. He feels the Wings of the Watcher enveloping him as he moves closer to his end… He remembers the legends of the immortal Relics, how they fell when Death entered the world as the Winged Watcher.
No ancient script
Was ever writ
No jewel-decked throne
On which to sit
Soaring high,
The Watcher waits
To slake his thirst
To clean his plate
His jaws agape
His claws unfurled
The Winged-Watcher
Swallows the world
The oceans rise and fall
With his heaving chest
And in the wind
We feel his breath
He comes face to face with the devourer, though he resists his imminent doom, the ease of acceptance tempts him evermore.
No cries are heard
No tears are wept
For wise ones know
The bond once kept
The price he asked;
The cost of death:
A single drop,
Still glistening wet,
Of crystal'd pain
To pay a debt
The Watcher hunts ferociously, he hunts for the last Relic. The last of a race who betrayed his trust and defied his supreme authority. Knowing this, Sindr attempts to strike a bargain to spare his own life.
Sindr: I can give you what you want! I can bring you the last Relic…
Watcher: I know the tongues of men… they are rife with lies, you have nothing I want.
Sindr: I am Sindr, son of the great Xanthos, the Relic who lived his final years as the Axon chieftan Renatus. As you see, I am Erthwile born… a pitiful soul for your collection, but I can offer you a far greater treasure; the last Relic of Axen, my brother, Thanos…
Watcher: Wisdom warns me against your promise, but I will entertain your offer… You may live, so long as the Relic is delivered to me…
Released from his wings, Sindr watches in amazement as the Watcher ascends instantly to the sky. Still reeling in pain, Sindr’s captain comes to his aid:
Captain: Admiral, there you are! What happened?
Sindr: Nothing that I can’t fix… where are the men? We have important work to do.
Captain: That is why I am here… the Fendwellers are attacking! The men are holding them off, but there are so many, we won’t last long… Sir, are you sure you can-
Sindr: There’s no time, captain, quickly, come!
While camping amongst Sindr’s men, Thanos awoke to the ferocious battle cry of the Fendwellers as they emerged through the mangled treelines. Vera appeared quickly by his side and the two absconded from the battle into the trees.
Thanos: Vera! What is happening?! This is not the way! This will bring only death and pain!
Vera: Your brother is lost, Thanos… My people will do what they must to survive.
Thanos: Lost? Where is Sindr? Vera, what have you done?!
Vera: There is no time, come Thanos, they will see us, we must meet my father.
The two run swiftly through the trees to meet the Fendwellers, Vera joins ferociously in the battle while Thanos does all he can to protect her.
Meanwhile, Sindr emerges from the forest, much to the delight of his men, he rallies them to the mournful tale of the Watcher:
As time went on
The debt accrued
And we foolish Men
The price refused
Now all is lost
And we, Erthwile
Peer at the stars
Through his crooked smile
Vera’s father Ask calls out to the possessed Sindr:
Your soul is crumbling, rotting
Beneath the chains of hate
The Fendwellers join him in his decree:
Can you hear those mournful, helpless cries?
The sound which has no name
Open your eyes
The blackened fog has blinded you
And with this darkness you have shrouded
Our deep and wooded home
Sindr focuses his energy toward the defiant old man, he lifts his weapon and fires a powerful surge of magic at him. The greenish orb turns to red, as it hurtles toward Ask, gathering broken rocks and tattered roots on its way. Crying out to her father, Vera throws herself in front of the approaching mass and it consumes her.
Thanos: VERA NO!!!
In horror, Ask, and Thanos rush to Vera’s lifeless corpse. Before they can reach her, the earth begins to shake violently, and the armies are knocked to the ground.
Vines rip through the ground around Vera, wrapping themselves around her as they carry her beyond the trees. The forest comes alive, the earth cracks beneath the feet of Sindr’s men. They are swallowed by the gaping crevices, and torn apart by the serpentine vines. Chaos ensues as every man runs for his life. The Watcher has come to collect his debt:
He is our fatal end
Our recompense
He is the fear
We all can sense
The creeping serpent
The reeking breath
The fangs of Erebus
The certainty of Death
The fangs of Erebus
The certainty of Death
The Fendwellers retreat to the woods while Thanos searches for Vera among the carnage, Sindr lets out a scream as he is dragged into the forest. A dark figure emerges quickly from the treeline and drapes Thanos under his cloak, carrying him away from the destruction as he cries out in anguish.
ACT II
*Reveal your Shape, O Formless One*--
Thanos drifts in and out of consciousness as he is whisked through the forest by a cloaked
figure. Spears of moonlight pierce the darkened sky as the clash of a distant battle echoes
through the woods.
Thanos turns his head toward the thickening canopy. Giant branches seem to swallow the
ever-shrinking patches of sky as he drifts again to sleep.
#
Freed from the clutches of a forest now returned to rest, Sindr searches for Vera among the
aftermath of battle. A shining emblem catches his eye: the badge of his trusted captain
reflects a patch of silvery light, and Sindr rushes toward it. He calls out to his companion
only to find an empty breastplate attached to a tattered left arm.
His heart racing with shock, Sindr darts his eyes around the battlefield. Mangled metal and
wayward limbs litter the scorched earth where his men made camp just the morning before.
Tears well up in his fiery eyes, but he swallows his grief and twists it into a fierce
determination. He scours for the few survivors he can find and tends to them by firelight
through the night.
#
Deep in the woods, having been spared the violence Sindr and his men suffered, the
Fendwellers gather solemnly around Vera’s lifeless body. Each member of the tribe holds a
small candle as they stand in a circle, softly chanting a mournful dirge:
“O ageless fount of youth
The heavens for you sigh
Reveal thy shape, O formless one
Who walks amongst those who die
For ages have I wandered
For aeons have I cried:
Walk with me, O Winged Mother
So that I might come alive.”
A stoic Ask approaches the corpse of his daughter and drapes her in a ceremonial white
gown. He backs away, and a group of men use vines to lift her body and lower her into her
grave.
The women wail, and Ask retires to his home.
*Of Aching, Empty Pain*--
When he reawakens, Thanos is in a chasm enclosed by by impenetrable vines and branches.
Across a crystalline pond bejeweled by stars, his abductor sits still across the way.
“Who are you?” Thanos asks.
The creature snorts an inhuman chuckle. “Who am I?” He digs his staff firmly into the
ground, pulls himself to a stand, and steps into a stream of light.
He stands over eight feet tall. His hooved feet sink into soft moss as he shakes the dew from
his antlers.
“I am the keeper of these woods,” the creature thunders. "The guardian spirit of the Fen. A
child of the soil...”
Thanos’s voice is small and hoarse. “You’re the Forest Keeper?”
“Ha! Aye! That is how they call me, yes! The Forest Keeper.”
“Why have you brought me here?” Thanos asks, his voice verging on a sob. “Where am I?”
The Forest Keeper bows his head knowingly. “Would you rather I left you out there,
Thanos? With those daemons who killed your wife?”
Thanos turns his head, recalling the past few hours. He looks back at the Forest Keeper
through welling tears. “She’s gone, isn’t she...?”
Twenty years I've wished
To know my place
A hunt for peace
An endless war
Still I ran toward
The throes of death
'Til I felt the warmth
Of her chest
I heave and sigh
And reach and writhe
’Til at last I’m home
And can see her
Dancing
She looks at me with
Screaming eyes
Twirling
Calming motions
Gentle sighs
(I am lost), lost
Lost in untold pleasures
(In secret worlds)
Where once we dwelt
Flaming
Enveloped in her fire
Scorching
I no longer feel the pain
(Here I’ll stay)
Swaddled in her blazing fire
(I shall remain)
Swinging, swaying
Where she is
Dancing in the darkness
Tempted by her touch
Screams impale the silence
The Forest Keeper listens intently to Thanos but asserts that Vera knew from the moment
she saw Sindr return that she would stop him or die trying:
Running carelessly into the fray
Who can make the willful stay?
Can you tell me, what did she say?
That she’d give her life away?
And though I know
Days are dark and filled of woe
May your countenance never show
What the child inside you knows
Back at the Fen camp, Ask cries to the night:
Ageless fount of youth
The heavens for you sigh
Reveal thy shape, O formless one
For ages have I wandered
For aeons have I cried:
Walk with me, O Winged Mother
Dancing
She looks at me with
Screaming eyes
Twirling
Calming motions
Gentle sighs
(I am lost), lost
Lost in untold pleasures
(In secret worlds)
Where once we dwelt
Flaming
Enveloped in her fire
Scorching
I no longer feel the pain
(Here I’ll stay)
Swaddled in her blazing fire
(I shall remain)
Swinging, swaying
Where she is
Sindr and his wounded men thrash through the woods, searching for Thanos and the
Fendwellers. He screams:
Twenty years I've wished
To know my place
A hunt for peace
Decades of war
Still searching for a soul
Though separated by distance, Thanos and Sindr share in the same cry:
I hope you know
I hope you’re there
Where dreams at last prevail
Where fear is met with laughter
Where promise cannot fail
I hope you know
My heart is there
In the damp and misty air
Where still the scent of morning
Hangs softly in your hair
I hope you know
My heart is yours
My angel of repose
My only fleeting solace
Of this aching, empty pain
*Of Gods Bereft of Grace*--
The Forest Keeper bellows a deep laugh.
Thanos glares at him. “How do you know my name? About Vera and Sindr?”
“Thanos, a Relic like you cannot depend on mortal company your whole life,” the Keeper
says, stilling himself. “Sindr. Vera. The Fens. The Axons. Erthe and Ealdormere... They will
all be gone one day...”
“A Relic?” Thanos scoffs. “The Relics are a myth. You think I’m one of them? This is
some...some sorcery...a dream...”
“The weight of eternity is heavy, but I assure you, you will find beauty amidst the madness...
Relicry is a gift, but it is not without its cost. Look to the order amidst the chaos — to the
music in your heart.
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to
everything.”
Come
Release your hate
Revile your pain
Lay down the weight
Crushing your soul
Oh, the well lit halls of my home
Painted by polyphony
May I find some peace
Solace in this harmony
Built from broken, nameless sound
Hear
Colors unseen
Cast from their mouths
Halls once well lit
Dampened and dim
Have you grasped the infinite?
Can you feel the weight of eternity
Mocking, mangling
Smothering you with hands that never shake?
The Forest Keeper explains that Thanos possesses a power beyond anything he can imagine,
but he must learn to control it. Sindr will never stop pursuing the magical energies of the
world, and Thanos must become strong enough to stop him. He must bear the ancient
Crown of Septentria.
Thanos stares at the ground in silence for a long while. Then, he looks to the Forest Keeper
with resolve in his eyes and bids:
Reveal to me
Those glorious wanton days
The Keeper places the Old Crown on Thanos's head, flooding his mind with revelation.
At last I feel
The truth is gripping me
I can scarcely draw my breath
My soul is drifting toward
The valley deep within
Thanos is granted knowledge of the history of the Relics, of Etymos, of their fall, and
of the rise of Erthwile man.
He sees his father, Renatus, is actually Xanthos, who the Thuleans in Septentria call
Xanthochroid. This makes Thanos the rightful bearer of the Old Crown and
successor to the throne of Thule.
When Thanos reopens his eyes with a terrified gasp, the Forest Keeper removes his
mask. Thanos realizes it is his father, who he thought dead, and collapses in tears.
Xanthos encourages him once again to turn to music in times of doubt:
Melt my heart, O music
Let flow your stream
Resonant chambers of rage
Passion or fear
Melt my heart, O music
Let flow your streams
Resonant chambers of rage
Contentment, passion, or fear
Life to ever-sleep
For only you can strike us with your magic
*Of Strength and the Lust for Power*--
Panting and parched after hours of searching, Sindr pauses in a lightless thicket to reorient
himself. As the pounding in his ears subsides, he nearly dismisses for a phantasm the distant
sound of conversation. He pads carefully toward it, head cocked to one side, and is rewarded
as the voices steadily grow clearer. The corner of Sindr’s mouth twitches into a grin, he tells
his men to wait in silence and takes off at a run toward the source.
#
Thanos and Xanthos are interrupted when Sindr barges into the chasm where they hid.
Thanos’s eyes go wide with rage at the sight of him, and he starts forward, fists clenched, but
Xanthos raises an arm to stop him.
Sensing an opportunity in his anguish, Sindr appeals to Thanos:
Redeem thy misspent time that is past
And live this day as if thy last
Do you remember the forest before dawn?
When you and I were impetuous and strong
Forming worlds and making legends with our thoughts
Dreaming boldly with a strength that can’t be taught
Red-faced, Thanos storms off as Xanthos and Sindr engage in a heated discussion.
Xanthos tells Sindr he will never wear the crown — that he is not of Relic blood and
could never bear its weight.
Leave this place
You are not welcome here
In light of what you’ve done
Oh, my tainted son
Sindr’s expression darkens, his eyes narrowing.
How welcoming
Just like the father who
Resented me from birth
I am not your son
Thanos proclaims:
The strength you seek
Is buried ‘neath a reeking corpse
The death wrought by your dreams
“Is this what you’re after?” Thanos shouts.
Xanthos calls out as Thanos lowers the Old Crown onto his head. Its roots reach into
his body, becoming part of him.
Sindr smirks at the sight, “You wouldn’t know what to do with all that power”
Thanos lashes out with a surge of emerald energy. Sindr draws to deflect, but the
attack mangles his weapon. He raises his hands in surrender and motions toward
Xanthos. “Did he tell you what that thing is capable of? Did he tell you why I truly
wanted it?”
I beheld the great stone city
Bastions of marble rose gleaming above the clouds
I only seek to restore what wisdom was lost
To champion those who must remain
Erthwile
You think me mad
My mind twisted and cruel
I admit, my sins belie my goals
But the madness is your own
The power is limitless
Don't you know? We could bring her back!
“You lie!” Thanos screams. “It’s not so! It could never be!”
“Don’t listen to him, my son,” Xanthos says. “He’s manipulating you.”
Sindr shakes his head vigorously, unable able to hold back the crazed smile fighting
across his face.
One day I know you will let me soar
And then you shall watch in excited horror
As you see all of the terrible things that I do
And you realize, it is only you
Baring his teeth, Thanos unleashes another surge, but Sindr is prepared. Using his
mangled weapon, he lets the energy course through his body and releases it at
Xanthos, killing him.
“Father!” Thanos screams.
“What have you done?” Sindr snickers.
“What have I done? It was you! Always you!
“You should never have come back!” His rage pulses outward in scorching waves as
he draws toward Sindr with death in his eyes. “You are not my brother! Not my
blood!”
Sindr bows his head, a faint smile still playing on his lips.
I, as well
Longed for that wistful gaze
(I was never meant to know)
O, to know
A father’s warm embrace
“Not another word!” Thanos wails, raising his hand for another blast. “You’ll die for
what you’ve done!”
Sindr produces a strange contraption from his cloak and vanishes in a cloud of black
smoke.
Thanos rages, turning what had been a pulse into an inferno that scorches the
surrounding wood and causes the earth the quake beneath him.
He collapses at his father's side and sobs:
I, as well
Longed for the fresh sea air
(All those years I never thought)
I had thought
Somehow I'd make you care
Not far away, Sindr collapses from exertion and gasps:
Within me
A bestial entity
Is in control
Destiny no longer belongs to me
Corruption takes its toll
*Walk With Me, O Winged Mother*--
His mind wandering, Thanos stumbles through the woods and searches for Vera’s grave as
rain begins to fall. He wonders if Sindr was right — if the crown holds the power to bring
Vera back to life.
Warm drops of petrichor
Stream from the trees
To the forest floor
Thanos hears Vera’s voice but is too ashamed to commune with her spirit. He finds
the place where she is buried and places his hands on the softened soil above her
corpse.
Try to find me
In the morning mist
‘Neath the canopy
Where once we kissed
Where I am held by evergreens
Silently
With their oaken eaves
I am where
The scent hangs in the air
Where I drank the dew
And met your stare
Where you can sleep amongst the leaves
Peacefully
Dream of simple things
Thanos hesitates, lost in his memories, then digs his fingers deeper into the soil.
I should have followed you
O, the warm, warm forest floor
Where I'll dream no more
Tendrils of energy flow from the crown through Thanos’s fingers and into the
ground, entangling Vera's corpse in a pulsing emerald web.
Impatient, Thanos sends as much energy as he can into Vera's body. He feels her stir
but loses control.
As her body is sundered from the inside out, Vera’s spirit erupts from the grave,
corrupted by the magic of the crown. She summons dark spirits from the forest to
retrieve the crown from Thanos' head.
Thanos tries to remove the crown, but it has fused with him. He flees deep into the
swamp, hiding in an old orchard where, utterly drained, he drifts into a deep sleep.
I felt the outstretched arms of Death
Reaching t’ward my heaving chest
But in the orchard I was kept
Safe within that thorny crest
Though through the mist the Reaper crept
Row by row, ’til none were left
There I slept amongst the leaves
Held silently by evergreens
With giant, arching, oaken eaves
I slept and dreamt of simple things, so trifling
Of wishes whispered silently
Of when I saw her through the trees
O dreams are real until we wake
Beneath this curtain’s heavy weight
The chains of sleep I cannot shake
Skies may thunder, Erthe may quake
But never could they from me take
Her tender spirit, the one for whom I ache
*Through Caverns Old and Yawning*--
What a friend
What a friend
Has Torment
Found in me
My chest, my chest
A cavern
Wherein he may dwell
My eyes
But shadows
My mind, my mind
A void
Unable to escape
This vile, vile
Carcass
I shall remain
Purposeless, purposeless
Without thoughts
But what a friend,
What a friend
Has Torment found in me
Unable to imagine the torment of an eternal existence, Thanos douses himself in oil,
sets himself ablaze, and leaps from the same seaside cliff where he let drop his
father’s casket.
Life seems to flow from his body, and the Crown retracts its roots and slides off his
head.
*Through Chains That Drag Us Downward*--
Sindr, who had been silently watching, approaches Thanos' mangled body on the rocky
shore while a small company of his men look on.
Making sure Thanos is dead, Sindr snatches the crown. Slowly, with quavering hands, he
lifts the it over his head and brings it rest upon his skull.
The weight of the crown is immense, and Sindr falls to his knees. Using one of his weapons
as a crutch, he struggles to his feet.
Overwhelmed by the power flowing through and against him, Sindr makes a grand address
half to his crew and half to himself:
So, it must be true
Few are worthy of its weight
Few are meant to know
What the ancients knew
And fewer, still
Dare to test their will
Few possess the strength
Timid and tame, but I
I would return this race to its former glory
I have seen the crumbling face of our gilded past
Wind-worn monuments of a more glorious age
Mock us with their unchang’d stare
How can we know what wonders came before us?
I long to feel that power which lies dormant in our blood
As they assembled, this gleaming precipice
Reaching high, above the clouds
How many lifetimes would I waste
Trying to reach its top
Clutching its edges, higher still
Grasping at the hair-like roots
That grow out from the cracks
Only to swipe through the open air
And fall again and again
What sort of creature am I?
Sindr goes on extolling the virtues of technology and pronouncing his claim to the throne of
Thule. Surely, he insists, his ability to bear the weight of the crown is evidence of his
worthiness to rule.
From this day on, Sindr would be known as Ereptor — the thief. The Thane of Thule who
will propel the world of Etymos down an irreversible path of technology, industry, and
progress.
Both good and evil, lawful and chaotic, Ereptor's mission would be fully realized through the
powers granted by the crown.
And though he would seem to bear it, as the crown would reach deeper inside him, Ereptor
would succumb ever more to its weight, and so he would need to invent ever more elaborate
methods of sustaining himself through technology.
So I bear this burden
I suffer and I grow
I grow in vision and in fortitude
(I grow with the fire that is my soul)
With the fire that is my soul
I’ll teach the world to speak in truer tongues
To ever strive for better days
I’ll let the visage of this mangled form
(I'll teach the world to strive for better days)
Teach me the value of each day
To spend the full force of our energies
Advancing towards a new and glorious morning
The genuine life full of vibrancy and meaning
This shall be our aim
So let us marshal our motivations
To align with such a high and worthy cause
Let us set new declarations
And discipline in our lives
Let the value of freedom
Run through every crevice in our minds
Through every thought and every action that we choose
Through every monument we erect
Through the long days and long marches
That lead us to our highest selves and contributions
Through all the hopeful dreams
Born from a liberated soul
*Toward Truth and Reconciliation*--
After Sindr and his men have gone, Thanos awakens suddenly and in agony. Surprised to
find himself alive, he glances over his body and is repulsed. He is covered in burns, and he
aches while his shattered bones pull themselves back together.
Too exhausted to move, Thanos rolls onto his back and sucks in the salty air in ragged sighs
as waves lap against his reddened skin. He is left to reflect on his reluctant responsibility to
the throne of Thule, the grief of losing Vera and Xanthos, and the sting of his brother’s
betrayal.
O, the biting pulse of my memories
Gnawing the roots of my pain
O, the icy tendrils of the past
Striking my heart with a cold, whipping chill
O, the mountains’ moan
The cackling of the crows
Singing the forest’s refrain
Winds whistling through
My deep and wooded home
But I am deaf to the sound
The sound which has no name
Thanos all but loses hope until he sees the true Forest Keeper, far more magnificent than his
father's disguise. He is awestruck in the presence of this being. Pushing himself to his feet, he
treks once more into the woods, where he is reminded once again of the beauty and intricacy
of nature.
An Ode to the Feral Heart
The wild one who roams
Without shame or guilt or fear
God and man at once
The king without a throne
His spirit strikes you with wonder
His words are thick with truth
Like heavy drops of amber
That cloak, the oaken bark
He is the one who came before
In whom all powers lie
Flowing from his fingertips
Those warm and gentle streams
The current running ceaselessly
Through trees forever dark
And when you see him standing tall
He speaks her words into your heart:
“I know the place
Where memory sleeps
And secrets hide
It is not far
Or hard to find
Or too ancient to recall”
The Forest Keeper tells Thanos that he must face his brother one final time to save
what is left of the world. Thanos’s conviction that the Keeper is right does not
prevent the rush of anxiety in facing this reality:
Heaving my chest
Gripping my throat
Sleepless, senseless
I cannot speak
But the tears stream
Warm and heavy
With the weight of
What I must do
O, my brother, what have you done?
What have you and I become?
Can you count the links, one by one?
Of the chain that you've begun
Chains of hate for each man you've wronged
Chains that hold forever strong
They will follow you where you go
As their weight forever grows
With a deep, ragged breath, Thanos straightens and speaks:
Open the gates, O forest keeper
To lost and ancient gardens
To higher climes where few might stand
To souls distant and dreaming
In deep and wooded forests of my youth
The sound of hunger rises
The sound of a glinting blade
The sound which has no name
Reveal thy shape, O formless one
Of aching, empty pain
Of gods bereft of grace
Of strength and the lust for power
Walk with me, O Winged Mother
Through caverns old and yawning
Through chains that drag us downward
Toward truth and reconciliation
Walk with me, O Winged Mother
Through caverns old and yawning
Through chains that drag us downward
Toward truth and reconciliation
Thanos drifts in and out of consciousness as he is whisked through the forest by a cloaked
figure. Spears of moonlight pierce the darkened sky as the clash of a distant battle echoes
through the woods.
Thanos turns his head toward the thickening canopy. Giant branches seem to swallow the
ever-shrinking patches of sky as he drifts again to sleep.
#
Freed from the clutches of a forest now returned to rest, Sindr searches for Vera among the
aftermath of battle. A shining emblem catches his eye: the badge of his trusted captain
reflects a patch of silvery light, and Sindr rushes toward it. He calls out to his companion
only to find an empty breastplate attached to a tattered left arm.
His heart racing with shock, Sindr darts his eyes around the battlefield. Mangled metal and
wayward limbs litter the scorched earth where his men made camp just the morning before.
Tears well up in his fiery eyes, but he swallows his grief and twists it into a fierce
determination. He scours for the few survivors he can find and tends to them by firelight
through the night.
#
Deep in the woods, having been spared the violence Sindr and his men suffered, the
Fendwellers gather solemnly around Vera’s lifeless body. Each member of the tribe holds a
small candle as they stand in a circle, softly chanting a mournful dirge:
“O ageless fount of youth
The heavens for you sigh
Reveal thy shape, O formless one
Who walks amongst those who die
For ages have I wandered
For aeons have I cried:
Walk with me, O Winged Mother
So that I might come alive.”
A stoic Ask approaches the corpse of his daughter and drapes her in a ceremonial white
gown. He backs away, and a group of men use vines to lift her body and lower her into her
grave.
The women wail, and Ask retires to his home.
*Of Aching, Empty Pain*--
When he reawakens, Thanos is in a chasm enclosed by by impenetrable vines and branches.
Across a crystalline pond bejeweled by stars, his abductor sits still across the way.
“Who are you?” Thanos asks.
The creature snorts an inhuman chuckle. “Who am I?” He digs his staff firmly into the
ground, pulls himself to a stand, and steps into a stream of light.
He stands over eight feet tall. His hooved feet sink into soft moss as he shakes the dew from
his antlers.
“I am the keeper of these woods,” the creature thunders. "The guardian spirit of the Fen. A
child of the soil...”
Thanos’s voice is small and hoarse. “You’re the Forest Keeper?”
“Ha! Aye! That is how they call me, yes! The Forest Keeper.”
“Why have you brought me here?” Thanos asks, his voice verging on a sob. “Where am I?”
The Forest Keeper bows his head knowingly. “Would you rather I left you out there,
Thanos? With those daemons who killed your wife?”
Thanos turns his head, recalling the past few hours. He looks back at the Forest Keeper
through welling tears. “She’s gone, isn’t she...?”
Twenty years I've wished
To know my place
A hunt for peace
An endless war
Still I ran toward
The throes of death
'Til I felt the warmth
Of her chest
I heave and sigh
And reach and writhe
’Til at last I’m home
And can see her
Dancing
She looks at me with
Screaming eyes
Twirling
Calming motions
Gentle sighs
(I am lost), lost
Lost in untold pleasures
(In secret worlds)
Where once we dwelt
Flaming
Enveloped in her fire
Scorching
I no longer feel the pain
(Here I’ll stay)
Swaddled in her blazing fire
(I shall remain)
Swinging, swaying
Where she is
Dancing in the darkness
Tempted by her touch
Screams impale the silence
The Forest Keeper listens intently to Thanos but asserts that Vera knew from the moment
she saw Sindr return that she would stop him or die trying:
Running carelessly into the fray
Who can make the willful stay?
Can you tell me, what did she say?
That she’d give her life away?
And though I know
Days are dark and filled of woe
May your countenance never show
What the child inside you knows
Back at the Fen camp, Ask cries to the night:
Ageless fount of youth
The heavens for you sigh
Reveal thy shape, O formless one
For ages have I wandered
For aeons have I cried:
Walk with me, O Winged Mother
Dancing
She looks at me with
Screaming eyes
Twirling
Calming motions
Gentle sighs
(I am lost), lost
Lost in untold pleasures
(In secret worlds)
Where once we dwelt
Flaming
Enveloped in her fire
Scorching
I no longer feel the pain
(Here I’ll stay)
Swaddled in her blazing fire
(I shall remain)
Swinging, swaying
Where she is
Sindr and his wounded men thrash through the woods, searching for Thanos and the
Fendwellers. He screams:
Twenty years I've wished
To know my place
A hunt for peace
Decades of war
Still searching for a soul
Though separated by distance, Thanos and Sindr share in the same cry:
I hope you know
I hope you’re there
Where dreams at last prevail
Where fear is met with laughter
Where promise cannot fail
I hope you know
My heart is there
In the damp and misty air
Where still the scent of morning
Hangs softly in your hair
I hope you know
My heart is yours
My angel of repose
My only fleeting solace
Of this aching, empty pain
*Of Gods Bereft of Grace*--
The Forest Keeper bellows a deep laugh.
Thanos glares at him. “How do you know my name? About Vera and Sindr?”
“Thanos, a Relic like you cannot depend on mortal company your whole life,” the Keeper
says, stilling himself. “Sindr. Vera. The Fens. The Axons. Erthe and Ealdormere... They will
all be gone one day...”
“A Relic?” Thanos scoffs. “The Relics are a myth. You think I’m one of them? This is
some...some sorcery...a dream...”
“The weight of eternity is heavy, but I assure you, you will find beauty amidst the madness...
Relicry is a gift, but it is not without its cost. Look to the order amidst the chaos — to the
music in your heart.
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to
everything.”
Come
Release your hate
Revile your pain
Lay down the weight
Crushing your soul
Oh, the well lit halls of my home
Painted by polyphony
May I find some peace
Solace in this harmony
Built from broken, nameless sound
Hear
Colors unseen
Cast from their mouths
Halls once well lit
Dampened and dim
Have you grasped the infinite?
Can you feel the weight of eternity
Mocking, mangling
Smothering you with hands that never shake?
The Forest Keeper explains that Thanos possesses a power beyond anything he can imagine,
but he must learn to control it. Sindr will never stop pursuing the magical energies of the
world, and Thanos must become strong enough to stop him. He must bear the ancient
Crown of Septentria.
Thanos stares at the ground in silence for a long while. Then, he looks to the Forest Keeper
with resolve in his eyes and bids:
Reveal to me
Those glorious wanton days
The Keeper places the Old Crown on Thanos's head, flooding his mind with revelation.
At last I feel
The truth is gripping me
I can scarcely draw my breath
My soul is drifting toward
The valley deep within
Thanos is granted knowledge of the history of the Relics, of Etymos, of their fall, and
of the rise of Erthwile man.
He sees his father, Renatus, is actually Xanthos, who the Thuleans in Septentria call
Xanthochroid. This makes Thanos the rightful bearer of the Old Crown and
successor to the throne of Thule.
When Thanos reopens his eyes with a terrified gasp, the Forest Keeper removes his
mask. Thanos realizes it is his father, who he thought dead, and collapses in tears.
Xanthos encourages him once again to turn to music in times of doubt:
Melt my heart, O music
Let flow your stream
Resonant chambers of rage
Passion or fear
Melt my heart, O music
Let flow your streams
Resonant chambers of rage
Contentment, passion, or fear
Life to ever-sleep
For only you can strike us with your magic
*Of Strength and the Lust for Power*--
Panting and parched after hours of searching, Sindr pauses in a lightless thicket to reorient
himself. As the pounding in his ears subsides, he nearly dismisses for a phantasm the distant
sound of conversation. He pads carefully toward it, head cocked to one side, and is rewarded
as the voices steadily grow clearer. The corner of Sindr’s mouth twitches into a grin, he tells
his men to wait in silence and takes off at a run toward the source.
#
Thanos and Xanthos are interrupted when Sindr barges into the chasm where they hid.
Thanos’s eyes go wide with rage at the sight of him, and he starts forward, fists clenched, but
Xanthos raises an arm to stop him.
Sensing an opportunity in his anguish, Sindr appeals to Thanos:
Redeem thy misspent time that is past
And live this day as if thy last
Do you remember the forest before dawn?
When you and I were impetuous and strong
Forming worlds and making legends with our thoughts
Dreaming boldly with a strength that can’t be taught
Red-faced, Thanos storms off as Xanthos and Sindr engage in a heated discussion.
Xanthos tells Sindr he will never wear the crown — that he is not of Relic blood and
could never bear its weight.
Leave this place
You are not welcome here
In light of what you’ve done
Oh, my tainted son
Sindr’s expression darkens, his eyes narrowing.
How welcoming
Just like the father who
Resented me from birth
I am not your son
Thanos proclaims:
The strength you seek
Is buried ‘neath a reeking corpse
The death wrought by your dreams
“Is this what you’re after?” Thanos shouts.
Xanthos calls out as Thanos lowers the Old Crown onto his head. Its roots reach into
his body, becoming part of him.
Sindr smirks at the sight, “You wouldn’t know what to do with all that power”
Thanos lashes out with a surge of emerald energy. Sindr draws to deflect, but the
attack mangles his weapon. He raises his hands in surrender and motions toward
Xanthos. “Did he tell you what that thing is capable of? Did he tell you why I truly
wanted it?”
I beheld the great stone city
Bastions of marble rose gleaming above the clouds
I only seek to restore what wisdom was lost
To champion those who must remain
Erthwile
You think me mad
My mind twisted and cruel
I admit, my sins belie my goals
But the madness is your own
The power is limitless
Don't you know? We could bring her back!
“You lie!” Thanos screams. “It’s not so! It could never be!”
“Don’t listen to him, my son,” Xanthos says. “He’s manipulating you.”
Sindr shakes his head vigorously, unable able to hold back the crazed smile fighting
across his face.
One day I know you will let me soar
And then you shall watch in excited horror
As you see all of the terrible things that I do
And you realize, it is only you
Baring his teeth, Thanos unleashes another surge, but Sindr is prepared. Using his
mangled weapon, he lets the energy course through his body and releases it at
Xanthos, killing him.
“Father!” Thanos screams.
“What have you done?” Sindr snickers.
“What have I done? It was you! Always you!
“You should never have come back!” His rage pulses outward in scorching waves as
he draws toward Sindr with death in his eyes. “You are not my brother! Not my
blood!”
Sindr bows his head, a faint smile still playing on his lips.
I, as well
Longed for that wistful gaze
(I was never meant to know)
O, to know
A father’s warm embrace
“Not another word!” Thanos wails, raising his hand for another blast. “You’ll die for
what you’ve done!”
Sindr produces a strange contraption from his cloak and vanishes in a cloud of black
smoke.
Thanos rages, turning what had been a pulse into an inferno that scorches the
surrounding wood and causes the earth the quake beneath him.
He collapses at his father's side and sobs:
I, as well
Longed for the fresh sea air
(All those years I never thought)
I had thought
Somehow I'd make you care
Not far away, Sindr collapses from exertion and gasps:
Within me
A bestial entity
Is in control
Destiny no longer belongs to me
Corruption takes its toll
*Walk With Me, O Winged Mother*--
His mind wandering, Thanos stumbles through the woods and searches for Vera’s grave as
rain begins to fall. He wonders if Sindr was right — if the crown holds the power to bring
Vera back to life.
Warm drops of petrichor
Stream from the trees
To the forest floor
Thanos hears Vera’s voice but is too ashamed to commune with her spirit. He finds
the place where she is buried and places his hands on the softened soil above her
corpse.
Try to find me
In the morning mist
‘Neath the canopy
Where once we kissed
Where I am held by evergreens
Silently
With their oaken eaves
I am where
The scent hangs in the air
Where I drank the dew
And met your stare
Where you can sleep amongst the leaves
Peacefully
Dream of simple things
Thanos hesitates, lost in his memories, then digs his fingers deeper into the soil.
I should have followed you
O, the warm, warm forest floor
Where I'll dream no more
Tendrils of energy flow from the crown through Thanos’s fingers and into the
ground, entangling Vera's corpse in a pulsing emerald web.
Impatient, Thanos sends as much energy as he can into Vera's body. He feels her stir
but loses control.
As her body is sundered from the inside out, Vera’s spirit erupts from the grave,
corrupted by the magic of the crown. She summons dark spirits from the forest to
retrieve the crown from Thanos' head.
Thanos tries to remove the crown, but it has fused with him. He flees deep into the
swamp, hiding in an old orchard where, utterly drained, he drifts into a deep sleep.
I felt the outstretched arms of Death
Reaching t’ward my heaving chest
But in the orchard I was kept
Safe within that thorny crest
Though through the mist the Reaper crept
Row by row, ’til none were left
There I slept amongst the leaves
Held silently by evergreens
With giant, arching, oaken eaves
I slept and dreamt of simple things, so trifling
Of wishes whispered silently
Of when I saw her through the trees
O dreams are real until we wake
Beneath this curtain’s heavy weight
The chains of sleep I cannot shake
Skies may thunder, Erthe may quake
But never could they from me take
Her tender spirit, the one for whom I ache
*Through Caverns Old and Yawning*--
What a friend
What a friend
Has Torment
Found in me
My chest, my chest
A cavern
Wherein he may dwell
My eyes
But shadows
My mind, my mind
A void
Unable to escape
This vile, vile
Carcass
I shall remain
Purposeless, purposeless
Without thoughts
But what a friend,
What a friend
Has Torment found in me
Unable to imagine the torment of an eternal existence, Thanos douses himself in oil,
sets himself ablaze, and leaps from the same seaside cliff where he let drop his
father’s casket.
Life seems to flow from his body, and the Crown retracts its roots and slides off his
head.
*Through Chains That Drag Us Downward*--
Sindr, who had been silently watching, approaches Thanos' mangled body on the rocky
shore while a small company of his men look on.
Making sure Thanos is dead, Sindr snatches the crown. Slowly, with quavering hands, he
lifts the it over his head and brings it rest upon his skull.
The weight of the crown is immense, and Sindr falls to his knees. Using one of his weapons
as a crutch, he struggles to his feet.
Overwhelmed by the power flowing through and against him, Sindr makes a grand address
half to his crew and half to himself:
So, it must be true
Few are worthy of its weight
Few are meant to know
What the ancients knew
And fewer, still
Dare to test their will
Few possess the strength
Timid and tame, but I
I would return this race to its former glory
I have seen the crumbling face of our gilded past
Wind-worn monuments of a more glorious age
Mock us with their unchang’d stare
How can we know what wonders came before us?
I long to feel that power which lies dormant in our blood
As they assembled, this gleaming precipice
Reaching high, above the clouds
How many lifetimes would I waste
Trying to reach its top
Clutching its edges, higher still
Grasping at the hair-like roots
That grow out from the cracks
Only to swipe through the open air
And fall again and again
What sort of creature am I?
Sindr goes on extolling the virtues of technology and pronouncing his claim to the throne of
Thule. Surely, he insists, his ability to bear the weight of the crown is evidence of his
worthiness to rule.
From this day on, Sindr would be known as Ereptor — the thief. The Thane of Thule who
will propel the world of Etymos down an irreversible path of technology, industry, and
progress.
Both good and evil, lawful and chaotic, Ereptor's mission would be fully realized through the
powers granted by the crown.
And though he would seem to bear it, as the crown would reach deeper inside him, Ereptor
would succumb ever more to its weight, and so he would need to invent ever more elaborate
methods of sustaining himself through technology.
So I bear this burden
I suffer and I grow
I grow in vision and in fortitude
(I grow with the fire that is my soul)
With the fire that is my soul
I’ll teach the world to speak in truer tongues
To ever strive for better days
I’ll let the visage of this mangled form
(I'll teach the world to strive for better days)
Teach me the value of each day
To spend the full force of our energies
Advancing towards a new and glorious morning
The genuine life full of vibrancy and meaning
This shall be our aim
So let us marshal our motivations
To align with such a high and worthy cause
Let us set new declarations
And discipline in our lives
Let the value of freedom
Run through every crevice in our minds
Through every thought and every action that we choose
Through every monument we erect
Through the long days and long marches
That lead us to our highest selves and contributions
Through all the hopeful dreams
Born from a liberated soul
*Toward Truth and Reconciliation*--
After Sindr and his men have gone, Thanos awakens suddenly and in agony. Surprised to
find himself alive, he glances over his body and is repulsed. He is covered in burns, and he
aches while his shattered bones pull themselves back together.
Too exhausted to move, Thanos rolls onto his back and sucks in the salty air in ragged sighs
as waves lap against his reddened skin. He is left to reflect on his reluctant responsibility to
the throne of Thule, the grief of losing Vera and Xanthos, and the sting of his brother’s
betrayal.
O, the biting pulse of my memories
Gnawing the roots of my pain
O, the icy tendrils of the past
Striking my heart with a cold, whipping chill
O, the mountains’ moan
The cackling of the crows
Singing the forest’s refrain
Winds whistling through
My deep and wooded home
But I am deaf to the sound
The sound which has no name
Thanos all but loses hope until he sees the true Forest Keeper, far more magnificent than his
father's disguise. He is awestruck in the presence of this being. Pushing himself to his feet, he
treks once more into the woods, where he is reminded once again of the beauty and intricacy
of nature.
An Ode to the Feral Heart
The wild one who roams
Without shame or guilt or fear
God and man at once
The king without a throne
His spirit strikes you with wonder
His words are thick with truth
Like heavy drops of amber
That cloak, the oaken bark
He is the one who came before
In whom all powers lie
Flowing from his fingertips
Those warm and gentle streams
The current running ceaselessly
Through trees forever dark
And when you see him standing tall
He speaks her words into your heart:
“I know the place
Where memory sleeps
And secrets hide
It is not far
Or hard to find
Or too ancient to recall”
The Forest Keeper tells Thanos that he must face his brother one final time to save
what is left of the world. Thanos’s conviction that the Keeper is right does not
prevent the rush of anxiety in facing this reality:
Heaving my chest
Gripping my throat
Sleepless, senseless
I cannot speak
But the tears stream
Warm and heavy
With the weight of
What I must do
O, my brother, what have you done?
What have you and I become?
Can you count the links, one by one?
Of the chain that you've begun
Chains of hate for each man you've wronged
Chains that hold forever strong
They will follow you where you go
As their weight forever grows
With a deep, ragged breath, Thanos straightens and speaks:
Open the gates, O forest keeper
To lost and ancient gardens
To higher climes where few might stand
To souls distant and dreaming
In deep and wooded forests of my youth
The sound of hunger rises
The sound of a glinting blade
The sound which has no name
Reveal thy shape, O formless one
Of aching, empty pain
Of gods bereft of grace
Of strength and the lust for power
Walk with me, O Winged Mother
Through caverns old and yawning
Through chains that drag us downward
Toward truth and reconciliation
Walk with me, O Winged Mother
Through caverns old and yawning
Through chains that drag us downward
Toward truth and reconciliation