ArrinWinterstar

        Dogs were among the purest of animals as considered by Man, capable of sniffing out the lies from the truths of mankind and their ways when eyesight could not be trusted. The smartest ones could determine the difference between a native human and a foreign one not from the clothes they wore or the way they spoke, but the smell of their odor and the scents they carried around them. They could tell from which part of the country they hailed by the scents they carried from the earth, whether they hailed from the mountains or tundra, the marshlands, the grasslands, the deciduous and coniferous forested country, the smell of the flora, and

Calaway embraced the soft, feline body a little too tightly as the claws of cold gripped his chest, wracking his body in violent shivers. The large calico in the boy's arms had a dappled pelt that shone like spilled oil, an iridescent radiance in which all colors were swirled within its black depths. The cat, seemingly immune to the boy's crushing embrace, rubbed its pronounced muzzle closer to the boy's heart. When the numbness finally settled and the boy lay still, breathing shallow, the cat struggled out of the boy's arms and began to lick the tears off the boy's face. The cat's rough tongue helped ease the numbness, and soon the boy was

DREAM SEQUENCE: Madoc stands on the edge of a cliff, on the small island of Avalon. Arthur stands beside him, peering over the edge. About thirty feet down lies the body of GUINEVERE, Arthur's wife and Queen of Camelot. Her crown has fallen off and lies in a bed of foxgloves. ARTHUR You killed her! You killed my wife! MADOC You don't have the power to stop me. No one does! Never again will I be in your shadow. ARTHUR What has become of you Madoc? Why are you doing this? VOICE 2 (V.O.) Isn't this what you always wanted? A chance for power? To show the world your full command? VOICE 3 (V.O.) Selfish. MADOC Selfish! You have always

INT. ISLAND - DAY Madoc washes up on a sandy shore. He is still unconscious. The island is a small knoll with several cliffs and large rocks. A forest of trees settle the entirety of the island. Overhead the sun is beginning to fall in the sky. Madoc wakes up SPLUTTERING and COUGHING up water. He curls up weakly on the soft sand. After some time he pulls himself together and crawls up onto the drier sands of the island. He looks around him, still on his hands and knees, his dark, lanky hair wet and disheveled. MADOC Where am I? What is this place? He starts shaking. MADOC There's something not right about this place. After some time

EXT. CAVE - NIGHT Outside the cave, Madoc and Gawain take the tiny boat onto the water and make their way toward Nymue. Gawain is paddling while Madoc sits up staring at Nymue, who has stopped a stone's throw from the shore. GAWAIN How do you think we are going to stop her? We can't easily stand up in these tiny boats. MADOC We'll have to try. Arthur is counting on us. Gawain nods but says nothing. Nymue makes no attempt to escape. Finally their little boat reaches Nymue's own. NYMUE You have come to stop us? You're too late. MADOC Why's that? NYMUE Morgan already has the blade and is enchanting it as we speak. She will open the

EXT. CAVE - NIGHT Arthur and Madoc crouch behind a granite boulder just outside the lip of the cave. Arthur is clad in chainmail, with a basic sword at his hilt. Madoc is in his regular clothing, carrying a pouch. SIR BEDIVERE and SIR GAWAIN crouch a little away behind another boulder. Bedivere has long hair and a stern face, and Gawain has short cropped hair and a rather bored expression. Just beyond the cave they are watching as Nymue climbs into a tiny boat. She has blonde hair and a rather soft face for a cruel sorceress. ARTHUR We have to hurry before Nymue has a chance to use the sword. Morgan is likely inside enchanting the blade.

FADE IN: INT. MERLIN'S STUDY - DAY The kingdom of Camelot is now under the rule of the Britons after the driving out of the Saxons and conquering of Northern Albion. MYRDDIN EMRYS, also known as MERLIN, tutors the young KING ARTHUR. MADOC, also Merlin's apprentice and friend of Arthur, overhears Merlin conversing with Arthur about the threat of the sorceress NYMUE to the East, who is making an alliance with MORGAN LE FAY, Arthur's half-sister, also a sorceress. Madoc is pressed up against the door of his room, lit dimly by a candle behind him, listening with bated breath. MERLIN (O.S.) You will need my assistance if you are to overpowe

Friend and father, I regret I have nothing For which to husk away the red-threaded roots that twist into my soul. The tenderness of loathing which pierces my shattered guilt Hoards only memories of my shame. Please be unforgiving to this dearest rose that grows beneath The darkest caverns, and grows still. I give to you my sword, Not to pierce at my heart, nor to splash my blood. But to fling against my steel And let her howl her songs inside me. Oh howling wolf-blade, tear into these parchment-bled words And rebound inside my hollowed veins Echo your siren song through my caverns And shake the petals from my twisted soul. Gent