Queen Adara:Are you sure it was him?
King Daodyn:It was Derrick himself who confirmed the information. Prince Xarashi was seen with Aryus in Raven Falls. I know you are reluctant to hear it, but it has happened. They have turned against us.
Queen Adara:(lost in deep pain)I denied him… he was… not accepting of this, and what we’ve become. If the rumors are true… and they have achieved the forbidden power…
King Daodyn:…then we must prepare for war, with every minute and every hour.
Queen Adara:I feared this day would come, it is my fault, my mess.
King Daodyn:No, my Queen, it was I who did not see the forest for the trees.
Narrator:King Daodyn and Queen Adara have finally come to understand their roles in the Realm as leaders and the power in their unification. Elsewhere, in Raven Falls, the young survivor of the conflict from years passed aligns himself with the King of the Falls. A forbidden magic, blood magic, has returned to the Realm. It is clear that Adara’s newfound allegiance to the Venustian King has turned her former lover against her.
The scene fades to dark.
Scene 3: The Chamber of Sacrifice
Scene opens to a torch lit chamber where an altar sits at the center of a platform surrounded by four columns.
Narrator:Queen Adara’s worst fear has come true. Raven Falls has launched an attack on Venustas in the night. The powerof King Aryus and Prince Xarashi along with their intimate familiarity with the city and its defenses has nearly brought the entirety of Venustas to its knees. Adara, crippled by her inner turmoil for her role in this horrific event coming to fruition, cannot face Aryus in battle. Her everi is dormant, her god-like power she wields with the Amulet of the Saints is frozen. She becomes cornered by Aryus within her chamber.
King Aryus:Finally, we meet, after your imprisonment here. So many have I lost, well beyond my worst fears. Their lives have been spent, so you may be by my side. No more lies, nor deceit, only the turn of the tide. Away we must go, lest he fool you once more, for if you deny me again, this city will no longer have shores. Beneath the sea it will fall, drowned in its blood and its sorrow, along with its Queen, who withdrew from the morrow.
Queen Adara:(backing away from Aryus towards the altar)Then to the sea I will go, if that spares me of guilt, for this you have done, to all we have built. Never have I seen a day as heinous as this one, forsaken your soul is to come to this kingdom. Whatever I loved in the days long since passed, have been taken by blood magic that you yourself have cast. Gone is your mind, your soul and your wisdom, and left is your heartache, your sin and your sickness! Do you see what you’ve done, what lies out there? We’ve seen this hell once, yet you don’t care. No longer are you the man I once knew. He is gone, and with it, my life is now through.
King Aryus:(in solemn fury)I came here for you. Cut through flesh for you. To save you from this that you did not choose. Yet, alas, you don’t see, what I’ll do so you’re free, and consider it worth it, so your life isn’t forfeit. But your mind, he has stolen and tainted with poison. To give up our love and leave it so gruesome. Your betrayal cuts deep, the wound raw andunhealing. Perhaps your blood will be sweet and grant me the feeling. A feeling I yearn for; one you gave fully yielding.
Aryus attacks Adara, drinking her blood, and resting her against the altar. He looked at her after what he has done and kisses her tenderly on the lips.
King Aryus:My love, my life, forgive me in time. Your blood is now mine, but with you I am not. My passion, my fury—it was for you that I fought. Now I have nothing, as I look upon your fair form. In my heart, there is nothing but this raging storm. How is it true that I look upon thee, and not a flicker, or a sign, of life do I see? Can my eyes be tainted, has Daodyn finally gotten to me? Has his trickery sunk in, and I’m no longer alone? It was the madness that caused this, that he doth condone. He was responsible for her death, him alone.
Aryus exits stage left.
Narrator:In the grip of blood magic, Aryus waged war, blinded by rage and power, killing the one thing he truly cared about. Unable to face his own contribution to her death, he fixates on Daodyn.
Daodyn enters stage right.
King Daodyn:Adara, my Queen, let me heal your weak form.
Queen Adara:(near death)You can’t, please listen, there isn’t much time. We must seal this cursed city, before any more might die. Beyond our borders, the Realm must come as well, but save them we will, from what Aryus brought to dwell.
Adara takes Daodyn’s hand, and their hands begin to glow.
Narrator:The Queen uses the last of her energy to seal the blood mage army that Aryus created and brought to the city. Beyond the Realm and any remaining traces of blood mages are trapped within her curse, containing the dangerous magic that has been unleashed. This is Adara’s final act as Queen.
King Daodyn:Adara, my light, my Queen, and my guide. You gave me a life, though I never tried. You found something inside me that no one else saw; you made me see it, here at the end of it all. I’ll avenge you, one day, when I awaken once more. I’ll find him, I’ll slay him, then I’ll return to these shores.
Narrator:In her final moments, Adara cast the city of Venustas into an eternal slumber, then used the last of her power to channel her everi through the amulet to seal the Realm, along with the evil that had consumed it, far from the world it belonged to.
King Daodyn watches as her light dims and Queen Adara becomes still. He mourns her, holding her in agony.
Chapter 42
The Final Act
BLAKE
Iwatched the final scene of the play from the side stage, covered in Queen Adara’s fake blood. It was just Anna and Caelan on stage now. Anna was stretched out, fake blood spilled across her chest, the fake dagger stuck strategically to her dress.
