01x07 - The Lavender Road

[bunniefuu]

[BIRDS TWEETING]

[BIRD SQUAWKS]

[SOFT METALLIC CHIMING]

[BIRDS TWEETING]

[RIVER RIPPLES]

[BIRDS SCREECHING]

[BABY BURBLING]

[RIVER RIPPLES]

[ROPE BRIDGE CREAKS]

[MAN] Chet-chet!

[BIRDS SQUAWKING]

- [WINGS FLUTTER]
- [HORSE NICKERS]

[MAN CHANTS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

[CROWD] Chet-chet-chet!

[RHYTHMIC CHANTING]

[SNARLS]

[SILENCE]

[WOMAN WHIMPERING]

[CRIES OUT, GASPS]

[GRUNTS, WHIMPERS]

[TAMACTI JUN]
Dorian the Elder once said...

"The most unsettling sound
in the human experience is silence...

when nature begs for wailing."

Silence in a birth, silence in a moment
of devastating heartbreak.

Silence during the infliction
of such extreme pain.

[BREATHES RAGGEDLY]

You've done yourself proud.

Your defiance is powerful.

Some men in my position
might find themselves affected by it...

suddenly fighting the onset of pity,
their resolve weakened...

and so on, and so on.

Just to be clear, those men are cowards.

There's a reason why I am
in this position, and they aren't.

And eight fingers from now...

we start on toes.

[CRIES]

[GASPS, GRUNTS]

[SOBS]

I will do this for days
until you tell me where my queen is.

I have the destination
where the queen is being held.

They won't be expecting us.

It's days from here at a quick pace.

The company is already preparing
to depart.

There's only a few things
that we need to resolve before then.

"Resolve"?

First, the boy.

I'm grateful he aided in the capture
of the two Shadows out there.

Now...

I'd like to know how he did it.

He's not your son.

That much was clear
the moment he was brought to you.

But he has vision too, doesn't he?

Yes.

Another child of Jerlamarel's...

with another woman.

You deserved more than that.

None of that is the boy's fault,
and you'd be nowhere without him.

I'm the Witchfinder, Maghra, and there
is one sitting in my tent as we speak!

Fault has nothing to do with it.
I can't simply ignore who he is.

Of course you can!

He's with me.

He has my protection.
And I'm the daughter of the king.

What else do you wanna resolve?

Whether he comes with us.

[MAGHRA] "Comes with us"?

I'm moving this army.
I cannot leave you behind.

Absolutely not.
I am not leaving until my family is found.

It's been days,
and my scouts have found no signs of them.

- You promised me!
- I promised to search.

And from where I stand,
that promise is kept.

Well, then you leave some of your men
behind. I will continue to search.

I have no choice in this matter,
and neither do you.

[COT CREAKING]

Boy...

I have forgotten more about k*lling
than you will ever know.

If you think because you have sight
that that will even the odds between us...

think again.

It's all right.

This place is uninhabited.
There's little danger here.

Just a few men could guarantee my safety.

Maghra, the queen is compromised.

She may be incapacitated. She may be dead.

We don't know
who is governing the kingdom.

We don't know
if anyone is governing the kingdom.

The chaos that preceded your family's rule
was dire.

Countless rivalries,
grievances and vendettas.

Without a Kane on the throne to rule,
they will rear their heads again.

And you are rightfully the next Kane
in the line of succession.

I will leave a contingent behind
to continue looking for your family.

But as far as your presence goes...

this isn't a choice for either of us.

[HORSES SNORTING, WHINNYING]

[MAGHRA]
You're in command of the men left behind?

[SOLDIER]
Yes, Your Highness. Four men under me.

Eight would be better.

Do it.

You understand how important
your charge here is, yes?

Yes, ma'am, of course.

They're my life.

[SOLDIER] Yes, ma'am.

You must talk to your father.

He doesn't wanna hear anything
I have to say.

That is why you must talk to him.

Why me?

Haniwa,
it doesn't matter who speaks first.

It is the way forward.

You think it's simple.

It is.

Break this silence while you can.

Why are we stopping?

We'll camp here for the night.
Your father's gone ahead, scouting.

[BABA VOSS] How far off is it?

How far is what?

[BABA VOSS SNIFFS]

Oh, wow.

I can't tell if I'm relieved
or if I was hoping we'd never find it.

I'll go tell the others.

[COUGHS, CLEARS THROAT]

[GRUNTS]

[DOGS PANTING]

[MAGHRA] How does a queen
who never leaves her palace

end up by the side of the road with
nothing but a handmaiden and a driver?

You think someone attempted
to move against her?

I could imagine a number of things.

I'm trying not to.

She had enemies.

Comes with the crown.

More for some than others.

She's my mother. You know that, don't you?

Their faces, their voices,
the way they breathed, even.

I was so young when my mother d*ed,
but even then I knew it.

The two of them were exactly the same.

So when she d*ed,

it felt especially cruel
that every time my sister was nearby...

to hear her, to smell her, to touch her...

suddenly,
I'd be mourning my mother all over again.

I imagine it was no different
to my father.

I imagine that's why he could never
bring himself to take away the one thing

SHE TREASURED ABOVE ALL ELSE:

her birthright.

[CORA]
I brought food for her, as you asked.

[CUTTER] You can call her what she is.
There is no power or magic in it here.

I brought food for the queen,
as you asked.

Very well.

[CLATTERING]

Still not up to your standards, huh?

I had heard stories of your stubbornness,
your self-destructiveness, even.

When I first heard them, they seemed
outlandish to me, not to be trusted.

But now... [CHUCKLES]

Perhaps you could confirm
or deny a few of them for me.

I heard you k*lled lovers
for snoring in their sleep.

Servants,
because you didn't like their smell.

You severed the tongues of young maiden

- [BELLS JINGLING]
- because they didn't... please you

fast enough.

Any of these you'd care to dispute,
or perhaps even claim credit for?

[SHOUTS, GRUNTS]

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

[GROANS]

[SHOUTS, GASPS]

[GROANS, COUGHS]

You know the rules.

The bell rings, and how do we know
you aren't trying to escape?

The bell rings, and we must respond.

The bell rings,
and you will suffer for it.

[GRUNTS]

Until your ransom is paid,

you are an asset
that I intend to be very careful with.

[COUGHS]

So why don't you just relax?

Let us continue our conversation,
shall we?

Please know, inasmuch as I found
those stories entertaining...

the one that really interests me
involves a particular lover...

who broke your heart and then left you.

- [JINGLING]
- [GRUNTING]

[STAFF TAPPING]

[WHIMPERS]

[JINGLING CONTINUES]

[GRUNTS]

- [BLOW LANDS]
- [GRUNTS]

- [BLOW LANDS]
- [GRUNTS]

[PARIS HUMMING]

- [PARIS HUMMING]
- [STAFF TAPPING]

[HUMMING CONTINUES]

[HUMMING STOPS]

[WIND WHISTLING]

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

Haniwa.

What I said before...

I know.

- It's just because...
- It's okay.

- In the cave...
- I understand.

You sure?

[WOOD CLATTERS]

[HANIWA] Yeah.

[WIND WHISTLING, GUSTING]

[HANIWA]
What do you think we're headed towards?

Honestly, I think you need to manage
your expectations.

To set aside what we know of him, okay?

Set aside the fact
that he left his child to be abused

until he turned into a monster.

- We don't really know what actually happ...
- Mom didn't want this.

I have no memory of her talking about him
without sounding sad.

I have no memory of her talking about
any of this without warning us against it.

I mean, that has to have been
for a reason, Haniwa.

[THUNDER RUMBLES IN DISTANCE]

Don't you think it's strange that
she never told us what that reason was?

I don't know...

what was... in Mama's head.

But I do know that she loved him.

And there must be a reason for that.

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

- [SHRIEKING]
- [GASPS, PANTS]

[PARIS GASPS]

- [GRUNTS]
- [PARIS] You heard it in your sleep.

Is that an owl?

Not an owl. That is a man.

We're in the Badlands, Baba.
Lawless land.

- And you are not well.
- [GROANS]

I'm fine.

Do the children know?

- There's no need for them to know.
- [SCOFFS]

They always know more than you think.

Did Haniwa speak to you?

Why?

She's holding something...

something that she cannot give voice to...

and it frightens her.

Well, she's mourning.

Ah, so is Kofun.

But he's not gripped by the same darkness.

They're different.
They need different things at this moment.

I would think you of all people
would understand what she needs.

What do you mean?

You remember when I first came to you?

The rage, and how destructive I was?

Because I was afraid.

Afraid to trust you...

afraid to believe that I actually escaped
and that it was true.

And do you remember
what you told me when I did?

I told you if you broke any more
of my things,

I would k*ll you in your sleep.

Yes. But after that...

do you remember what you did?

You sat and you stayed for as long as
it took me to be able to breathe again.

You stayed so that I would know
I was not alone.

Haniwa's lost.

She's facing an uncertain future...

a lost mother, and a new father.

But I will give her the space she needs.

And like you, I'll make sure
that she knows she's not alone.

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

[PARIS HUMMING]

[HUMMING CONTINUES]

[BIRD CAWING]

[PARIS SNIFFS]

[GAGS]

- [BABA VOSS COUGHS]
- [VOMITS, COUGHS]

- Paris, what is it?
- [PARIS SPITS]

[GROANS]

Lavender no more. [SNIFFS]

I taste death.

[PARIS GASPS]

[PARIS SPITS, GASPS]

[PARIS GAGS, MUTTERS]

- [GAGS]
- [COUGHING]

It's days, it's maybe weeks.

It's human, isn't it?

[FLIES BUZZING]

[BABA VOSS] Oh...

[BABA VOSS COUGHS]

[BABA VOSS] Oh.

[FLIES BUZZING]

[BIRDS CAWING]

[KOFUN READING] "A new world lies beyond."

A new god resides within.

Enter, and be seen.

Enter, and be judged.

Enter, and find death.

"Enter, and be seen."

Jerlamarel.

He's lost his f*cking mind.

[PARIS] Perhaps not.

Maybe... Maybe this is what happens

when your work is important
and you don't want visitors.

[KOFUN] Paris, I don't know.

Oh, you must know now how dangerous
it is to be sighted in this world.

The lengths one must go to
to keep it at bay.

I agree with Paris.

We didn't come this far just to turn
around because of something like this.

I want both of you to know
what we set out to know.

I want to know
what we all sacrificed so much for.

I want to know
what I sacrificed my wife for.

I need to know it.

Come.

At least we know
we're going the right way.

[PARIS] Kofun. [CLICKS TONGUE]

[PARIS GROANS]

We forge ahead.

[WHEEL SQUEAKING]

[BANGING]

I saw four guards.

One here, by the entrance.

Two more...

patrolling between
the rows of silk workers.

And another by the second window.

The workers are all stationary, then?
Only the guards are walking?

Yes. And they tap their staffs
to announce their presence.

What kind of shoes are the guards wearing?

What kind of shoes?
Are they leather? Are they wood?

Leather, I think.

And what about the queen?
Do you know where she is?

I don't know what the queen looks like.

There was a bloodied woman here,
in the back.

Bloodied? Is she alive?

I don't know.

So, you're certain?
Four guards and a space in between them?

That's what I saw.

That's what you saw.

As if vision absolves you
from being wrong.

You have enough men
to overwhelm them, don't you?

The moment they hear any of us,
the moment they sense us,

the moment an alarm is given,
this is over.

The only way to reach her alive

is for there to be no guards left
by the time they know we're here.

One man must do it, one at a time.

I'll do it. I can get them all.

I remember asking for your eyes, witch,
not your opinion.

The future of the kingdom is at stake.

I've relied upon you
as far as I'm willing.

Unless, Maghra, you trust him.

Forget I asked.

Marshal a vanguard. Signals, no words.

The next man to speak will be me,
when I'm ready to call you in.

If you give no signal?

Then I have failed, the queen is dead.

You should burn everything to the ground

and take the princess to Kanzua
and see her installed upon the throne.

I haven't consented to that.

If it comes down to that,
you won't have to.

Is it going to come down to that?

No.

[HORSE WHINNIES]

[TAPPING]

[TAPPING]

[BONES SNAP]

[SOFT THUD]

[STAFF TAPPING]

- [WOMAN GRUNTS]
- Cutter! Cutter! Come over here!

Guards.

[GUARD]
There's an intruder! Someone's here!

[CUTTER] Up, bitch.

- [CUTTER SCREAMS]
- [QUEEN KANE GRUNTS]

[GRUNTS]

My Kn*fe. My Kn*fe.

- [CORA GRUNTS]
- [CUTTER SHOUTS]

[GROANING]

[CHOKING]

You think I would tell her who I am
without having a plan? Huh?

- [BLADE SLICING]
- [GUARD GRUNTS]

[PANTING]

[TAMACTI JUN] Majesty?

The queen is here.

Why doesn't she speak?

[GASPS, SIGHS] I'm f*cking tired.

It's all right. [PANTS] You're safe now.

[WHIMPERS]

How did this happen?

How did they get you?

[QUEEN KANE] I had to leave.

Someone moved against you. Who was it?

So many.

You'll recover soon,
and we'll return to Kanzua.

But first, a healer's coming.

[SNAPS FINGERS]

[SNAPS FINGERS]

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]

She's here.

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

- [GASPS] Careful.
- Of course.

Have we met?

I'm sorry this happened to you.

You shouldn't leave, Maghra.

Not until you've heard the news.

What news, Your Majesty?

They all moved against me.

Claimed the gods were on their side.

And when they failed,
I was left with a choice:

to let this heresy stand...

or to answer with one of my own.

What does that mean?

You wish to return me to Kanzua?

There is no Kanzua.

For years, we held power based on
the whim of the machines beneath us.

When they chose to work, we were adored.

When they didn't, we weren't.

I don't want to be queen
because the machines work.

I want to be queen because I am.

SO NOW THE STORY WILL BE THIS:

The gods took the dam.

They destroyed it in a rage

and took with it the true heretics.

The weak, the selfish, the backward.

But they left me.

Only me.

You destroyed it.

Those soldiers out there...

For 20 years, they've done your bidding
on the promise that one day,

they will return to their homes,
their families.

Through countless battles...

and miseries and horrors,

that was what sustained them.

And you just took it all away.

I did what needed to be done.

I saved our dynasty.

You think I'm gonna go out there

and tell my men all their families
were k*lled to save your dynasty,

and they'll just go
wherever I tell them from there?

Your men?

My men.

And I think they will do as I tell them...

because I am their queen.

I think,
for the first time in a long time...

that's something we should reconsider.

Whoa, whoa.

What?

- Why are we stopping?
- [BABA VOSS] Shh.

Something doesn't feel right.

- What's ahead?
- It's a mountain pass.

- Is there another way around?
- No, not that I can see.

Paris.

I sense conflicting things.

I dream danger.

But I'm not exactly sure
where the danger lies.

Maybe because there is none.

We'll find another way around.

We'll lose days.

- I said we find another way around.
- There is nothing here.

Kofun, tell him there's nothing here.

Dad, I don't see anything.

- [SCOFFS] I'll go.
- Hey.

Kofun, where is the God Flame in the sky?

It's already passed behind the mountain.

Why should the sun matter to you?

It doesn't. I'm just trying to figure out

how soon it will be dark
and you'll be completely useless.

Baba.

[HANIWA GASPS]

Sound traps.

Point to them.

[DISTANT CLICKING]

[BOW CREAKING]

Yeah.

Go.

[ARCHER GRUNTS, SCREAMS]

[ARROWS THUDDING]

Don't move.

There's a bow and arrow. We need it.

What are you doing?

I can move in silence. You can't.

[ARROW CLATTERS]

[GRUNTS]

- Haniwa, no!
- [ARCHER LEADER] Cease fire!

[BOW LION GROANS, PANTS]

[ARCHER LEADER] You are Haniwa?

Yes.

[ARCHER LEADER] And you who shouted...

what's your name?

Kofun.

Children of Jerlamarel,

just beyond these trees there is a bridge.

You may pass over that bridge
into the House of Enlightenment.

Is there a healer
in the House of Enlightenment?

[ARCHER LEADER] You cannot pass.

You just told us we could cross.

Only the children of Jerlamarel may cross
into the House of Enlightenment.

There is only one rule, and that is it.

You tell Jerlamarel that we're here.
He'll understand.

Only Kofun and Haniwa may cross.

You listen to me...

- [ARROWS THUD]
- Boy.

[ARCHER LEADER]
There is only one rule, and that is it.

You can tell Jerlamarel why his son
and daughter came all this way

just to turn back!

We're not turning back.

What are you talking about?
We have to turn back.

- She needs a healer.
- No. She has Dad and Paris.

He can take her to another tribe.

What are you talking about?
We're not leaving her here, Haniwa.

[HANIWA] She doesn't need all of us.

- We stay together.
- Kofun.

- Enough.
- [KOFUN] This is crazy.

Enough.

Listen to me. Listen to me.

Haniwa, Kofun,

we have traveled too far,
at too great a cost, to turn back now.

I have thought about this
for a long while now.

I never wanted to believe it,
but Paris is right.

Every child eventually comes to a bridge
that they must cross alone.

What are you talking about?

The day you were born, I stood on a wall
fighting to protect you,

and I have done it every day since.

That's what a father does
to protect his children.

But a father must also know
when it is time to let his children go

so that they might find their own path.

- That time is now.
- No, that's not true.

That's not true.
Haniwa, tell him it's not true.

It is true, Kofun.

You and I live
in a different world than him.

We always have.

We'll never really understand each other.

He brought us here knowing that.

Why would you do that?

Because I'm your father.

[HANIWA] Oh, Papa.

My baby girl. [SNIFFLES]

You are wrong.

We don't live in different worlds.

You and your brother

are the only world that I have lived in
since the day you were born.

My children, I'm as blind as anyone.

But I see you both.

I will never stop seeing you.

But I was right.

[SWORD TAPS]

This day had come,
and you must meet your father.

Dad, you're my father.

[KOFUN SNIFFLES]

I love you, boy.

[KOFUN SNIFFLES]

We'll see you again?

[CHUCKLES]

Yes.

Bow Lion.

This will be like a...
Like a tickle for you.

- Aaah! [INHALES SHARPLY]
- Oh. [SNIFFS] Yes.

[BOW LION EXHALES]

Good.

[BOW LION INHALES SHARPLY, GRUNTS]

[BABA VOSS GRUNTS]

[BABA VOSS] Remember your mother always.

Protect each other at all costs.

- Dad.
- Kofun, no. Stop.

He'll be alone.

He will have Maghra with him always.

And now, he will have the two of you.

I will be with him.

Look to your sister.

She knows.

Now...

listen carefully, both of you.

The gift of sight can be blinding.

Jerlamarel... is your father,

and he is sighted.

But he is not a god, and neither are you.

If you are to build this world...

remember your mother.

And remember Baba Voss,
who taught you all things.

And you build this new world
for the sighted as well as the unsighted.

With no gods! Do you understand?

- Do you understand me?
- Yes.

- Yes.
- Okay.

Oh, my babies.

[CHUCKLES, SNIFFLES]

[SIGHS] Read the books for me.
Read the books for me.

[PARIS] Mmm.

[SIGHS] Young man.

- [KOFUN] Oh.
- Mmm.

[EXHALES] My staff.

Okay, go. Go now.

Go now before it's too dark
for you to see. [CHUCKLES]

[HANIWA]
I can't believe he really left us.

We're the ones who left.

[SNIFFLES]

- [INHALES]
- [HANIWA SNIFFLES]

[HANIWA] Okay.

We're coming now, the two of us.

Haniwa and Kofun.

You and me together, little brother.

Always, little sister.

Are you ready?

No.

Me neither. [CHUCKLES]

Let's go.

You sent them alone.

Sometimes the best way
to protect your children

is to let them believe you've stopped.

Did Maghra tell you that?

Yes, she did.

The only home I have is those children.

I have nowhere else to be.

Do you?

So we stay close?

Oh, yes.

[BABA VOSS] We stay close.

What now?

I don't know.

I can't see anything.

[SWITCH CLICKS LOUDLY]

[GENERATOR BUZZING]