Act 5.6
Two years before the battle at the cathedral:
On the open plains near vineyards three armies met. Quaz, hosting this merry affair with 12 000 men, Kingdom of Natvra with 6 000 men who had come to aid Quaz and finally Tarl empire who had conservatively garnished 35 000 men. King of Natvra Aradus and his brother-in-law and brother-in-arms Mikele lead from the flank as their cavalry charge brakes one stalemate after another, but Natvra cavalry overreaches and after having fallen into enemy trap. Forced to dismount, they are pushed to the nearby vineyard where they battle their pursuing forces. As Mikele and Aradus keep fighting. Aradus is wounded in the arm and tackled by two of the Tarl soldiers into the nearby well. Mikele and his men continue to fight until reinforcements join them and drive away the enemies. Mikele orders full pursuit and as the Tarl soldiers are pushed downhill, he and king's guards turn to aid the king.
Mikele looks down to see the king has smothered both of his attacks and is clutching his wounded arm, looking up as proud as ever.
Mikele- Good to see some benefit has come from this your grace, at least you got to take a bath.
Aradus- and I thought marrying my sister was your worst joke!
Mikele- I will tell Edna that even in the darkest of times she was at the forefront of your thoughts.
Aradus- HAha it’s not that dark yet!
Mikele- Stay right there, (turns to king’s guards) Men! come! let’s find a way to extricate our noble leader, you! bring that boulder we will tie a rope around it.
Aradus stands in the water clutching his arm and humming away. Time passes slowly when you are in a well, with adrenaline from battle weining the sting of his wound was getting harder to ignore and the king was getting agitated.
Aradus- Are you waiting for the entire army to come and pull? What's going on up there!?
He squints and looks up into the scorching sky, suddenly the sky above is darkened by Mikele.
Aradus- Finally.
Is all that he musters before a boulder almost as wide as the well and as big as an anvil is dropped on him sinking him under the water. Ending his life in an instant.
Mikele looks around at the king’s guards he just killed, shrugs and trots down to the battlefield.
A week before the battle at the Cathedral:
Mikele lounges in his lavish quarters on his ship. Captain of his guard enters the quarters and salutes him.
Captain- We are ready to set sail General!
Mikele- Thank you captain, you may leave.
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Mikele gets out of his bed and walks over to the table, from under the blankets a beautiful raven-haired woman emerges and walks up to him hugging him from behind. She looks over her arm and stares at the map of the region.
Mikele- Curious?
Woman- just anxious.
Mikele- Me too, but by now Ardus would have reached Natvra, by next week the entire island will be up in arms, King dead, both heirs dead, bishop dead. The only survivor will be my devoted wife who could not bear to be at her brother’s funeral and stayed in the castle, my devoted wife who would be next in line to the throne and me as her consort and my army to defend her kingdom.
Woman- And me?
Mikele- Once Reza removes his pirates and marauders from the islands, I will tell him to bring you over. I will show everyone that only I alone can bring peace to my new kingdom.
Woman- I don’t mind sailing on my brother’s smelly ship to be with you my love, but what about Edna?
Mikele- steps from the throne room are very slippery as are the future ruins of the cathedral.
With those words they kiss and return to bed.
Back under the olive tree Lomu drags himself into the pond and collapses next to Vera. His face had gotten colder and longer, cropped blond bearded filled out his sunken cheeks otherwise that was the face Lomu had kept in his mind for all these years.
Sarah having put on flame keeper’s clothes that were in the cabin walks out and approaches the pond. She witnesses as men are rushing down the steps and looks back at Lomu who is now hunched over and seems to be embracing a severed head.
Realizing what is happening she grabs his sword and run towards the steps to hold of the incoming attackers, wave after wave the assailants fall, but the numbers keep increasing. Finally, she is given respite when parts of the steps crumble from the weight of so many men and collapse into the sea. She falls back and tries to get Lomu up, but he is immovable. A weeping statue that neither hears nor responds. She sees men starting to get around the steps and goes to engage them when a javelin flies past her and plants itself near Lomu. The second hits the decapitated body of Vera. That shakes Lomu out of his daze, crimson eyes wet from tears glare at the top of the stairs. He calls for Sarah to get the ship ready, hearing his resolute voice she runs toward the cabin and once inside gives Lomu one more look. A third projectile finds its mark in Lomu’s chest, by now she sees that Mikele personal banners have reached the cathedral and Lomu sees Mikele himself is standing with Edna in the doorway of the cathedral looking down at him from above.
Lomu tightens all his muscles and heaves himself up making his way to the edge of the pond. He grabs the blazing torch and turns to light the brazier; he looks at Sarah and sees that she has already vanished into the cabin and is no longer on the platform. He looks down at Vera and closes his eyes, passing the torch over the brazier. Flame from the torch is instantly engulfed and sucked into the brazier, moments later a dull shockwave passes from the ground toward the Cathedral and Edna has but a moment to realize what is happening, she turns to see her brothers coffin shimmer on the pedestal as it catches flame, followed by an explosion which blast the entire cathedral. The force of the explosion hurls Sarah through the cabin into the tunnel behind it.
When she regains consciousness, the sun is already up, she manages to get back outside from the cabins remains, she finds that neither platform nor the promontory on which the cathedral stood have survived the explosion. She scouts royal guards far in the distance searching for survivors, she can even see regent Vance among them scanning the wreckage before half her sight is lost to streaming blood on her head. She rips a piece of cape off and bandages her head. While rummaging with bandages she stumbles on the letter she hid in her braids. She retrieves it and looks around one more time searching for Lomu, but only finds Lomu’s signet ring wedged into the cabin wall. Sarah unfurls the letter only to read the message she failed to deliver:
“This ring from me, an oath to you,
I’ve come for you, please wait for me”
Letting the wind take the letter away Sarah plucks out Lomu’s ring and follows the path down to the cavern, reaching the moored ship below with an uprooted olive tree drifting by its side.
The End