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000: The Seven Angels Television Network (7ATN was a short-lived fourth American television network created in 1960 by the US branch of Sodales Exemplaris Divini (“Angel Academy”) with financial support from their commercial arm, General Materials. It focused on educational programming, both religious and secular, but unlike NET (National Educational Television, which was sponsored by the Ford Foundation) 7ATN leaned more into entertainment to make their shows more appealing. The network’s most popular program, 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺, was shot on 35mm film and survived for decades in syndicated reruns. In the early part of the 21st Century the series was collected by very appreciative fans in a DVD box set.
001: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 aired on Thursday nights at 8 pm. It was followed in the 7ATN lineup by 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢! starring Father Charles Kendall, a neo-Thomist Catholic priest, alongside a well-meaning but frequently errant altar boy known only as “Credo.” Unlike 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺, the program used live television cameras and performed before a studio audience. Only twenty-six kine-scopes are known to survive. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢! episodes frequently opened with a discussion of the 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 episode that immediately preceded, with Fr. Kendall taking pains to correct the liberties he believed the series took with accepted Christian doctrine. More commonly, however, Fr. Kendall concerned himself with reconciling reason and faith, and questions of morality, against what he perceived to be the secularist onslaught of the times. Though structured as a brisk but reverent on-camera daily Mass for the studio audience, the program was also noted for its humor. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢! proved popular with Catholic and non-Catholic viewers alike, and many converts to the Church cited this program as an influence.
002: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 was shot like a film. The show employed a single camera setup, rather than the multi-camera production technique popularized by 𝘐 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘺. Episodes were not filmed before a live audience nor did they employ canned laughter. 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 was certainly hilarious at times, to be sure, but the producers had a high opinion of the audience and felt their laughter should be earned rather than prompted. In the early going General Materials was the sole sponsor for 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺, with commercials for products such as the Stargazer television set, which “𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 … 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥!” Titan-Glass was a scratch-resistant, lead-infused glass used for coffee tables and shelving: “𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯.” Gen-Lustre was a specialized cleaning solution designed specifically for the delicate screens of Stargazer televisions and the high-gloss cabinets of GenMat stereos. “𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴.”
003: Soon the producers of 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 paid tribute to Fr. Kendall by having the show’s characters use “Maranatha!” (Aramaic for “Come, O Lord!”) as a generic interjection or even a mild expletive. Together, 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 and 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢! formed an informal Catholic Hour on 7ATN. In 1964, Pope Pius XII honored Fr. Kendall with the title of monsignor. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also had mixed feelings about 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺. Enoch, Elijah, and John the Baptizer appeared on the series from time to time as glorified men, which comported well with Latter-day Saint doctrine. The angel Moroni was also depicted as a respected professor of North American indigenous studies at Migdalel College on the Great Plains. However, Latter-day Saints identified Gabriel with Noah, and while the glass of wine in Gabriela’s hand was scripturally Noahide, many LDS felt the depiction of Gabriel as female was a poor choice, and having her blowing horizontal smoke rings that drifted over people’s heads as “halos”, despite the clever but obvious animation, was considered much too much.
004: This being the 1960s, all of the faculty at Angel Academy (except Dr. Miriam Wahkan, aka Raphael, the angel of healing, who knew better) were unapologetic smokers. In the pilot episode El Roi was asked to sacrifice three of his precious Cubans to make a copy of Special Order 191 catch the eye of passing federal troops, a move that Remiel assured him would change the course of the Civil War. Gabriela once took a sip from a can of Coke that Dumah, the Angel of Silence, had just used as an ashtray, but Dumah hilariously would not (or could not) say anything to warn her. The Dean, Mikaela, smoked Dunhills, believing it lent her a certain 𝘫𝘦 𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘪, and occasionally lit them from her flaming sword.
005: 7ATN tried to smooth things over by devoting all the network programming on Saturdays to content provided by the LDS church. It was a unique but short-lived experiment in radical ecumenism. At 9 AM the network aired 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵, with puppets and scripture stories for LDS children, emphasizing faith, family, and the Articles of Faith. At 11 AM was a weekly broadcast of the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir performing hymns and classical arrangements, live-to-tape from Salt Lake City. At 1 PM 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘳 aired historical documentaries and dramas highlighting the trek of the Mormon pioneers and the settling of the Great Basin. At 3 PM was 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥, with inspirational messaging, sermons, and moral philosophy hosted by prominent Church educators. At 5 PM was 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, a unique family-centric variety show offering practical tips on gardening, preparedness, food storage, and domestic harmony. 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 aired at 7 PM with family-friendly Western films and serials sponsored by Utah-based agricultural co-ops. 7ATN signed off the air at 9:30 PM local.
006: Evangelical Christians of the Jimmy Swaggart/Oral Roberts stripe were offended that Muslims and Catholics were not automatically categorized with the demons on 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺, and that demons themselves were not called demons at all, but rather “the loyal opposition,” or “the Powers of the Air,” and were treated as little more than a rival political party with a sharp disagreement on what to do with “ishim” (baseline humans). Some with a more conspiratorial bent pointed out that Seven Angels Television Network spelled SATN and tried to make much hay with that. But 7ATN played no favorites, and Protestants with a Charismatic or Pentecostal bent were given air time on the same network with Seventh Day Adventists and Southern Baptists. But they did have professor Gabriela give lectures on history that seemed to run in stark contrast to fundamentalist beliefs, and Mikaela’s lectures on science tended to land in the Bible Belt with the same impious thud.
007: Despite its willingness at times to play fast and loose with traditional lore for comedic purposes, such as in the notorious Garden of Eden episode, 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 was very careful in depicting Jesus Christ and steered clear of showing God the Father altogether. For Msgr. Charles Kendall, this omission was far more than a simple matter of broadcasting standards; it was the key to understanding the show’s flawed cosmology. Kendall concluded that the program’s celestial faculty viewed Earth’s history as their own ongoing, collaborative masterpiece, while leaving the rigid laws of physics and the ultimate governance of the universe to a distant Creator. The angels of Migdalel College did not expect God to constantly intervene in human affairs (though they conceded it occasionally happened) and messages from the Almighty seemed to filter down through impenetrable layers of bureaucracy. On his program 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢! Kendall frequently argued that this worldview bordered on a kind of deism, effectively separating the Creator from His creation.
008: If syndication kept the series breathing in the 1970s and 80s, the rise of Internet discussion groups in the 90s gave 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 eternal life. As early adopters logged on, the show found a fresh home among newsgroups, mailing lists, and the garish blinking HTML of rudimentary web pages. Eventually, the fandom centralized around dedicated, fiercely intellectual message boards like 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘖𝘧𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.𝘯𝘦𝘵. For GenX nerds raised on Commodore 64s, dog-eared Tolkien paperbacks, and Velvet Underground bootleg cassettes, 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 became a spiritual totem. It was a show that was strange, profound, occasionally ridiculous, and unmistakably theirs. This groundswell of digital evangelism ultimately proved to the industry that a viable market still existed. In 2003 a boutique distributor acquired the rights and released the long-awaited complete DVD box set. They were packaged with restored footage and marketed with the unforgettable tagline: “𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.” The collection sold surprisingly well, cementing the show’s legacy in modern cult media.
009: Still, the fanbase was undeniably aging. The Boomers were checking out for good, and the second generation of viewers who discovered the show’s profound oddities in collegiate dorm lounges were now entering their fifties and sixties. For them, the memory of the series was less about the plot and more about the quiet elegy of having found something genuinely strange and wise long before the Internet knew everything. In the 2010s, a recurring joke on the remaining message boards insisted that fans weren’t simply dying off, they were going “Up the Line.” This was a reference to the show’s iconic visual of angels departing into the future by the time-traveling Spectral Train, disappearing into the white mist of the Dole impact basin and leaving behind only whispered regrets. By the 2020s, the box sets had fallen out of print, and most of the foundational fan websites returned cold 404 errors. Now the show’s survival rested entirely in the hands of a few dedicated digital archivists who maintained seeded torrents of old interviews and DVD commentary tracks.
010: Any show dealing with theological topics risks offending its own audience if there is a perception of disrespect toward the source material. 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 navigates this minefield by making God something of an absent father. Even for the angels, the existence of the “Old One” is a matter of personal belief rather than a bare fact. Yet the talents and abilities (Mercies) manifested by the angels bear explaining, so the show’s lore includes an intermediate level of lesser deities, ranging from the beneficent to the malign, along with others that operate wholly outside morality. These are the Elohim, and in contrast to the aloof nature of the Creator they are quite involved in human and angel affairs, frequently making use of mechanical avatars called ophanim. Ayat uses Zuriel, a faceless white robot that resembles a smaller version of Gort from the film 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭. Avyah appears as a mobile tree. Imran is seen as an orrery with wheels and eyes. Azul appears as the red dragon Moloch. Davar is a 22nd Century android in the form of an ageless girl named Hope.
011: A show depicting angels can also offend believers who consider certain of them as part of their sacred tradition. Christians and Jews alike accept the archangels Michael and Gabriel. The book of Tobit in Roman Catholic scripture adds Raphael. The Russian Orthodox tradition venerates Uriel. 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 sidesteps this problem altogether by making the winged angels female. They have a VX allosome, rather than the XX chromosome pair in human females, or XY in human males. Nevertheless, they are not a separate species from humankind in biological terms. Only the VY combination (one-fourth of conceptions) fail to come to full term, since the V itself is a modified Y. In this way 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 can have its angel food cake and eat it, too. Mikaela may be understood to be identical to Michael by some, or a wholly different being by others. The same goes for Gabriela as Gabriel. Father Kendall objected to all this, of course, but angels as depicted in the fine arts with their beautiful faces and flowing gowns were never exactly paragons of hyper-masculinity to begin with.
012: Sar Lailah, daughter of Kar Melchizedek and his wife Ma’or, became queen of Shalem in exile when her father the king was slain during the siege of that great city. She fled by sea with Uriel and their son Yishak. Lailah was born to one of the nephiloth, the kindred of the Made, long thought barren, after Avyah amended the broken works of Azul. When Davar came into existence, the first halo became possible. At will Lailah could wrap herself in a bubble wherein her weight was nought, and her black feathered wings (for the len had heretofore borne them merely as tokens of their being) became fit for true flight. And there was war in Kemen: Lailah fought against the red dragon, and Moloch prevailed not. The great mechanized dragon-avatar of Azul was cast down, and with Shahar Haruach Sar Lailah struck off the head of the fire drake. Mother of all the Begotten, tall beyond most men, Lailah is ever clad as a warrior in red leather and much brass. Uriel fondly called his wife “Sarah”. She commands the military choir of the Sarim, the House of Haivri, to this day.
013: The body of Ariel Haivri-Lange, daughter of Mikaela, produces an overabundance of designer molecules. In the case of Ariel these are airborne pheromones that strongly affect animals. In her presence beasts eagerly comply with her vocalizations and gestures. Ariel returns their affection in equal measure. Some talebearers among the Root of Jesse Fellowship (also called the Stiffnecks) say that Ariel’s husband, Apostle Joshua Lange, likewise fell under this odd influence. In the fourteenth century Ariel became known among the Lakota people as Ptaysanwee, or Buffalo Calf Woman, after she restored the bison herds following a sharp die-off. In celebration Ariel introduced the seven ceremonies of the sacred pipe, which persist to this day among the Kuwapi band in Havilah. Her wings bear brown feathers, and when folded away they are concealed (mostly) beneath a fringed and bleached buckskin jacket. Ariel was deeply involved in the Academy field operation bringing the Stiffnecks and Kuwapi together at the Dole impact complex, the future site of Havilah, in 1865.
014: Dr. Miriam Wahkan (Lakota: Plenty Practice) is the angel traditionally named Raphael. As Mary Magdalene in the first century CE she unobtrusively performed the healings attributed in the gospels to Yeshua ben Yosef. Onlookers only saw a tall woman washing and anointing the sufferers. Today she is the sole doctor in Havilah, which is large enough to require at least two or three physicians. As part of her V chromosome inheritance, her body produces molecular machines that facilitate rapid self-repair, but Dr. Wahkan produces them in abundance, permitting her to share them with the afflicted by a mere touch. Her use of the term “veterinary primer” is typical of her droll wit, though indeed she occasionally works alongside her sister Ariel tending animals as well as humans. Raphael may heal, but she cannot confer immortality even to angels, only the nephiloth remain deathless. Miriam is frequently seen at the Migdalel College hospital wearing a white lab coat over her cloak of blood-red feathers. When complimented on this ensemble she often replies, “Thanks! It has pockets!”
015: Gold-winged Gabriela Haivri, younger daughter of Uriel and Lailah, was the second of the Begotten and the first among the Gavrielim. Unto her was given the Mercy of directed motion, whereby she might turn aside the paths of iron in flight, such that arrows and bullets swerved from their courses, or else strike true those missiles she desired should not miss. In later ages she was accounted as one who held the highest office in the public affairs of House Haivri, and her influence was known even in dealings with the Roman Curia and the Israeli Knesset. Yet she was also set to a quieter labor, for she gave counsel in matters of marriage and household peace, even between her own daughter Cassiel and Jashen Shy Bear. Gabriela was sought by women who found no child within them, among whom were Sarah and Elizabeth, and Maryam of Nazareth, who had known no man. It is said also that she spoke with Yosef of Nazareth concerning these matters, wherein lay the designs of Ayat, and set his mind at ease regarding Maryam, daughter of Yoachim and Anna, lest he cast away his intent in haste.
016: Nahimana is Lakota for Secret, and this is the sacred name of the blue-winged angel Rashiel, daughter of Cassiel and Jashen Shy Bear. Her nickname of Tea Spiller arose after she revealed the name intended to be known only by herself and the shaman. Rashiel insists on being called Dory for everyday use. She is a telepath who serves as the central clearing house for all mind-to-mind communication between the angels, a talent that extends instantly across space and between the two inhabited worlds. She frequently abuses this Mercy with what she calls ancillary information, though others describe it, frankly, as gossip. When this ability first emerged in her late adolescence Dory found it intrusive. She soon laid down the law: the channel was for emergencies only, and when the Voices disobeyed her she punished them by keeping them awake late at night with voices of her own. Dory played acoustic bass at the Migdalel College Conservatory and with the Havilah Harmonics, later picking up a pink Fender electric P-bass when the band was renamed The Beer Mothers in 1962.
017: Remiel, silver-winged daughter of Ariel, sees her future as a vivid daydream continually collapsing like a house of cards with each action that renders the former vision counterfactual. The sequence of events in the new future then immediately reassembles itself within her mind. It is almost impossible to harm Remiel, for she may simply absent herself from the place of danger. She calls this technique the Dance of Life and it is astonishing to see in action against a persistent attacker. Yet in truth her precognition is a terrible power. Remiel knew when her husband El Roi would betray her with Bat Kol. She knows when people she dearly loves will die, yet at times she can say nothing, because the warning itself leads to far worse outcomes. This Mercy makes Remiel the most formidable among the angels. Davar once told Remiel she alone in all the universe shares the Old One’s divine power of free will. Yet the burden of this thing was judged so terrible Davar required Remiel to submit willingly to her own (temporary) murder to affirm she was willing to retain the power.
018: Mikaela the Fire Angel has white wings. On Academy “Pranks” she goes by the code-name Pyro. She can invoke an Einstein-Rosen bridge back to the living star Davar fat enough to pass fermions, as in plasma, not merely bosons like Uriel can do. A big concertina wire fence is in the way? She’ll make a ring in the fence melt like butter but leave the center cool enough to push with your bare hands. She stood at the Gate of Eden with her fiery sword. The “flame that does not consume” was classic Mikaela stagecraft. She accompanied the Hebrews as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, discomfiting the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. That thing with Elijah and the soaking wet altar on Mt. Carmel? That was her. Mikaela doesn’t mess around. Think a tokamak got religion. When DECON showed up to bust a “Haivri Crime Family commission meeting” their agency cars ended up being towed back to the Bureau carpool as smoking black hulks. But her day job is dean of Migdalel College and professor of physics.
019: Cassiel is called Wachipi, or “Dancing Star” by her husband Jashen Shybear. She is the daughter of Gabriela. As the Scribe of God, Cassiel maintains the written record of the Shir ha-Zikaron, the angel’s living Song of Remembrance. The surface of these scrolls is just three molecules thick, consisting of two transparent layers with a third between them of unnatural whiteness. No ink, nor dust, nor blood can mark this layer, but only X-rays issuing from a special pen possessed by Cassiel alone. Modern Assyriologists would give anything to examine the Paleo-Hebrew abjad in this songbook, dating to the Omride dynasty of the ninth century BCE. With a perfect memory of what was written, Cassiel is a living repository of the lore of House Haivri, even on the abandoned timelines. A wan with an XX allosome, Cassiel has no wings but she can still invoke a halo to alter her rate of experienced time relative to that outside the bubble, fast or slow. She can appear to race over the ground at high speed, or seem to freeze and endure being smuggled into a battle zone in an airtight box.
020: Avram son of Terah (Abram, or Abraham) freely consented to enter into hypostatic union with Ayat, becoming a living avatar for her. Ayat and Avram formed a new composite being with the name of Uriel. And Uriel was capable of manipulating light that came directly from Ayat’s true body that was the heart of Sol. He became the first teacher of Angel Academy, a wise reformer who taught the imitation of God and accompanied his sermons with “slides” that could be viewed from any angle. These images were best viewed in the dark, and the most memorable of Uriel’s sermons is recorded in the Song of Remembrance as the Eventide Discourse. As he spoke, the images he summoned, of such thing as ponderous beasts, and burning buildings, and clusters of priests with hearts of flint, began to decay and grow indistinct, like an afterimage burned upon one’s eye. The most memorable image he saved for the conclusion of the sermon, the stars of Earth’s night sky, a sight unimaginable to the people of Kemen, who lived in a hollow world where the land in any one place was the sky in another place.
021: Ehawee Wicasa (Lakota: Laughing Rich Girl) possesses the XX allosome of wen. Within House Haivri she is known as Bat Kol, or Daughter of the Voice, a title theologians long framed as a divine yet abstract principle rather than an anthropomorphic being. Ehawee was granted the Mercy of an immensely powerful voice, and serves as the chief annunciator (ha-Nevi’im) among the angels. Ehawee was the star vocalist at Temple Derekh Me’hudeshet and the Academy music program, and recorded with the Havilah Harmonics in the 1950s. But true fame arrived after the band toured as The Beer Mothers in the succeeding decade. During concerts Ehawee required neither microphone nor amplification to make herself heard, even over El Roi’s soaring electric guitar, a thing audiences found uncanny. She moved freely about the stage without the encumbrance of a cable, all the better to tend to the mixing board. Although keyboardist Remiel stole the band’s melodic hooks and chord progressions from hits “up the line” that didn’t yet exist, The Beer Mother’s lyrics originated entirely with Ehawee.
022: Dory’s brother Wiiya Wiiya (Coyote Cub) Shybear possesses the XY allosome of baseline human males. Nevertheless, as one of the Sarim, descendants of Sar Lailah, he has been granted the power to effect a Mercy. His talent resembles the “Bag of Holding” that features in Dungeons & Dragons, though in Cubby’s case a black velvet bag conceals his hand where it vanishes into a space-time pocket that always accompanies him. Even Yeshua found the sight of a stubby forearm disturbing. With his right hand Cubby may place objects into this pocket or retrieve them. With his left hand, retrieval leaves a duplicate behind. This Mercy is made possible by the growing-block (or growing forest) nature of time. Loops generate new parallel branches of history. A warm loaf of bread placed within Cubby’s pocket may be set beside a prior instance of itself, resulting in two loaves. One time he produced five thousand loaves in this manner. Hagar named him El Roi (God sees me). Cubby accepted this, and uses it as his everyday nickname. But when out on official Pranks he is known as The Magician.
023: Lirael means “God’s Song”. At the Academy she is called Ping Song, a typically ridiculous Academy moniker but also a nod to her half-Korean ancestry. She can create short bursts of realistic sounds, such as gunshots, or the strike of a bell. Her sounds have the sonic power of the voice of Bat Kol, but not in such a sustained way. On Pranks she is used in a role of operational deception. Chiefly, Ping Song uses ultrasonic bursts in a technique of echo location, quickly identifying open doors on lower levels, or the range to approaching enemies. She can build situational awareness of a scene even in total darkness. Frequently she is teamed up with Dumah, the Angel of Silence, who can suppress ambient noise and render the team acoustically non-existent. Ping Song creates a fake gunshot in the wrong hallway. Footsteps seem to approach the guards from the opposite direction. The Prank wanders into area that wasn’t in the briefing. Ping Song gives a tiny ultrasonic chirp. Two seconds later she says, “Stairwell on the left. Two guards are waiting on the stairs and they came heavy.”
024: The silence of Dumah doesn’t make him passive furniture, he is constantly doing things. He gets messages across through nods, expressions, and props. The audience learns to watch him because he is often the most active person in the room. A slight eyebrow movement carries the force of a paragraph. Dumah understands silence as the presence of things that cannot be said. His powers are whatever the producers need them to be, but he can’t (or won’t) tell anybody, even Dory. He can sense the presence of a stowaway but decides to scoop up the miscreant himself. He may exist only in the television version of Angel Academy. His voice is only heard giving running commentary on the DVD box set. Dumah may be one of the most beloved figures in Havilah, not because he’s nurturing like Ariel or inspiring like Lailah, but because everyone trusts him. The man knows how to keep a secret. In a town filled with telepaths, prophets, diplomats, spies, and angels, there is something very comforting about the knowledge that if you tell Dumah something, it is staying with Dumah forever.
025: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 ep. 1, Sept. 1, 1960- Students and teachers from the Academy’s compound in Havilah board a Civil War era train, traveling through the fog to the bloody height of 1862. Their target, General DH Hill’s camp, where a courier carries Lee’s Special Order 191. They witness the courier pocketing his copy of the order after learning the copy from Jackson had already been received. Possibly he wanted a war memento. El Roi’s team confronted this officer and demanded an accounting of all the papers in his possession. They took the copy of Special Order 191 and reprimanded the officer on the spot for failing to carry out ANV protocol. Remiel suggests wrapping the stolen orders around three of El Roi’s Cuban cigars and dropping the bait in the smoking ruins of Hill’s abandoned camp. “The cigars will draw their eyes,” Remiel explains coldly as the temporal train prepares to depart and in a flash-forward she sees the timeline settle into a brutal new channel. “The war will stretch on for years longer and cost thousands more lives. But ultimately, the Union will win.”
026: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 episode 2, September 8, 1960- Zuriel bumped into Dimai and Hava in the garden and asked, “Why are you two wearing clothes?” Dimai shrugged and said, “Because we were naked.” “Who told you that?” Dimai and Hava had no answer. Zuriel accused them of eating the forbidden fruit. Dimai shrugged and said, “Hava put some in with other fruit and I ate it. I swear it wasn’t my fault! Besides, you’re the one who made this thing and gave it to me. I didn’t even ask for a partner, let alone a broken one!” Hava’s defense was more methodical. “You said it was poison. Snake said it was brain food. So I ran human trials and used Dimai as a control group to rule out sex-based differences. It turns out the fruit really is brain food, just as Snake claimed! I admit the error bars are pretty large, but that’s how statistics work with small sample sizes.” Zuriel told Dimai, “You always just eat whatever is put in front of your face, but now you will have to work for a living. And Hava?” Zuriel gave a rueful chuckle here. “You certainly will not be running things anymore.”
027: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 ep. 03, September 15, 1960- At a prayer meeting Ariel Haivri tells a group of stubborn farmers a terrible battle is soon to take place. The people will be safe but their animals are at hazard of being permanently “borrowed” by troops from both armies. She offers safe haven for them at her family’s farm to the north. But Ariel faces a slew of hostile questions from the flock. They wonder if she’s a witch, or Catholic. When asked about her cloak of brown feathers, Ariel says she has “grown attached to them.” Then when the fateful day comes, only Joshua attends Ariel with his handful of beasts. They hear the thunder Ariel predicted, high on South Mountain, that is really the artillery of the armies opening up. But just then a great congregation of animals are seen moving toward Ariel and Joshua. Half of the congregation owned animals, and half of these have heeded Ariel’s warning. The animals seem to gather around Ariel eagerly, like to a source of water. Ariel says, “Beasts always seem to fall in love with me. And Joshua, the feeling goes both ways.”
028: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 ep. 04, September 29, 1960- In her office in Havilah, Gabriela conducted a marriage counseling session for a bickering couple by relating (in a flashback) what happened when Joseph discovered Mary’s pregnancy and prepared to call off the wedding. Gabriela intervened in that case too, sitting both of them down in a Nazareth workshop for a blunt lecture on the “facts of divine life.” Gabriela offered Mary of Nazareth a soul-binding contract and explained the benefits of the Theotokos appointment while Mary asked sharp questions about the non-disclosure stipulation. Gabriela assured her that while “The Way” did involve a lot of walking, the retirement plan in the afterlife was top-tier. She added that Joseph’s carpentry skills would soon be secondary to providing celestial security for the young Messiah on a long-term contract basis. Joseph just wanted to know if he was still the father of record. Gabriela told him, “Frankly, ‘Heavenly Father’ is more of a title than anything biological.” Joseph was entreated and Mary went ahead and signed the contract.
029: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 episode 5, October 6, 1960- At a stone bridge the federals and Confederate forces contended bitterly, with men passing up loaded muskets like water in a bucket brigade. A colonel on the Union side was shot, but to the wonderment of his men the Minie ball wedged in his pocket Bible. With this divine sanction the officer led another charge. In the end the rebel forces ran out of powder and withdrew. The federal corps commander ordered a captain to ride back to headquarters and report a bridgehead had been secured. The officer splashed across the stream on foot, bypassing all the carnage on the bridge. After all, the water in the creek wasn’t even waist deep. Deacon Joshua Lange found the Price Meetinghouse had become a field hospital and headquarters for I Corps, and got in an argument with Meade that was interrupted by two shells that filled the chapel with splinters and fallen timbers. Meade escaped to bark orders, but Joshua was injured and trapped within, in severe pain. The walls of the chapel seemed to fall away to allow light to strike his face.
030: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 episode 6, October 13, 1960- Zuriel said, “Grant unto me one of the high kindred of Kemen, even one of a venturous spirit.” And the Red Dragon answered, “And what purpose wilt thou make of such a one?” Zuriel said, “I will set apart a people unto myself upon the Earth, yet I shall not speak unto them from day to day as thou hast done among thine own in Kemen. But once in each year will I make a visible sign unto a single priest, whether it be for a blessing or for a curse.” Thus was the covenant attested between Ayat and Azul to assay mankind. And after much time it came to pass, at the Council of Royals in Letheia when Lailah smote Moloch and brought him low, the still-living head of the avatar of Azul said, “Take now thy son, thine only son Yishak, whom thou lovest, and send him to Canaan, there to become high priest unto El Elyon, but Uriel thou shalt not take with you.” And Lailah was struck to the heart, and sought succor in the countenance of Uriel, who also grieved for his son, but the covenant was fixed from of old, and he could do nothing.
031: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 ep. 7, October 20, 1960- Dumah temporarily filled in for Fr. Kendall at Saint Mary Magdalene Parish in Havilah, at least for Saturday confessions. The sixty Catholic townspeople soon realized that confessing to the Angel of Silence created a curious loophole, for Dumah could not (or would not) verbally assign a penance. Confession lines consequently grew quite long. When at last it became Dumah’s own turn to confess to Fr. Kendall (who had a guest-starring role), he communicated through an intricate sequence of nods and gestures which the astonished priest (repeating back to Dumah as he went along) somehow understood quite perfectly. Dumah revealed that he had once been appointed to escort young Yishak safely into Canaan, and that his unbroken silence was not merely the mark of his divine office but a penance freely undertaken after he tore out the hearts of Sar Lailah and Uriel. Kendall granted absolution and assured Dumah he bore no personal guilt for obeying God’s command. Dumah nodded his acceptance, but chose to continue his silence all the same.
032: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 ep. 8, November 3, 1960. As he lay suffering in the gloom, Joshua heard the voice of a woman. “Samael, take great care,” she said, “Joshua is still alive beneath this fallen timber and he is severely injured.” Lange watched a massive pine beam being hoisted upward with effortless ease, revealing a woman wearing a long white coat over a garment of red feathers. “You did well, Samael,” she said. “Last time Gabriela cut through to him with Shahar Haruach. Not a few timbers shifted, and Joshua suffered immeasurably more.” She then addressed him directly: “Joshua, a splinter has pierced your kidney and your leg is broken. You cannot feel it because the beam is compressing it. It will pain you considerably when we lift it.” Lange could manage nothing more than a gasp for help. Samael hoisted the heavy timber with the previous apparent lack of exertion. Instantly, Lange was struck by a vast agony and fainted. When Lange revived he was nursed with great care by strangers who urged him to remain at rest but he could not banish thoughts of his congregation.
033: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 episode 9, November 10, 1960- Dr. Mikaela’s introductory lecture on halos leaves the students confused and unconvinced. She attempted to describe scalar fields, vector fields, and tensors with someone passing gas in a room with a window and a fan. Mikaela then recounted an incident from twelfth-century Constantinople. Seeking a formal portrait for diplomatic purposes, she sat for a celebrated icon painter. The artist quickly became exasperated. Mikaela’s halo distorted perspective, altered the proportions of her white wings, and concealed portions of her face. After days of failed sketches he declared Mikaela impossible to paint and depicted a simple gold disc behind her head. Other artists copied his image, then copied one another. Within a few generations halos throughout Christendom had become decorative golden plates. Back in the classroom, Professor Mikaela concluded that ideally human knowledge advances through careful observation, but frequently bumps up against somebody wanting to take a shortcut. The students find this depressingly plausible.
034: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 ep. 10, February 2, 1961. Takoda led the hunters of the People downwind of a herd of bison drinking water. They went forward on foot, stooping that they might come near without being seen. Then Takoda rose from behind a shrub and loosed his arrow. It struck a cow in a shank and the cow cried aloud. At that cry the whole herd climbed upward. The hunters followed until the fog grew thin and broke apart. The hunters loosed their arrows. This time the shafts flew true, and one of the beasts fell. When Takoda saw how the younger men labored well, he left them and went above the clouds. At the summit there sat the likeness of a man white as the cleanest snow. It stretched a black rod toward Takoda as a gift. Takoda drew near and took the rod. A flame came forth from it, but the fire was black, and Takoda saw it would cut even the earth itself. Takoda never saw the white shape move again. His companions came up to the high place and raised a lodge of stone for the white figure. They worked in silence, for what they had seen told them the place was holy.
035: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 episode 11, February 9, 1961- Abraham went on a road trip and did his notorious “Sarah is my sister” schtick again. This time it was the king of Gerar who took Sarah into his household. Soon after, Gabriela appeared with golden wings deployed and said, “Sire, you are doomed to die. Sarah is the wife of another man.” King Abimelech said, “Hey, I never touched her! That old guy told me she was only his sister. She even went along with it. I’m innocent, I tell you! Besides, she’s a hundred years old if she’s a day!” Gabriela said, “I know you acted in innocence, Your Majesty. That is why I’m now saying do not touch her. Restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet, though he seems to want to play this wife-sister practical joke every twenty years or so. We’re not sure why.” When Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham he had some hard questions, but Abraham answered, “I did not lie to you, Your Majesty. Sarah really is my half-sister. She is the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother.” The King let his mouth droop and said, “Half-sister!”
036: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 ep. 12, February 16, 1961. Shy Bear walked upon the prairie. The fires of his people were shining like red stars upon the earth. When the light of morning came, the boy sat down so that his shadow fell upon the stones the hunters had raised. When the sun went down, Shy Bear had seen no vision from Wakan Tanka. He gathered dry brush and kindled a fire. But the flame would not stand steady. He believed he was called to pass the night within the rock cairn his father had made. So he drew away some of the stones and there, in the dimness, he saw the white form of a man, just as his father had said, though Chief Sad Heart Bull had not believed him. Hunger pressed hard upon him. In the night he awakened to the sound of many feet running together. He saw his fire had burned low, but the wind had carried living embers down the slope, and from them a fire had begun in the brush. It spread until it encircled the little mountain. Small creatures fled before it. The boy saw he might have meat, but the fire did not wait, and each moment lost brought danger nearer.
037: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 episode 13, February 23, 1961- El Roi and Remiel are on something of a working honeymoon. For a year they perform assorted Pranks in both worlds. Remiel tells her husband a certain woman will come to a well in Harran for water. She will be revealed to be Yishak’s future wife. And behold, Rebekah came forth, born to Bethuel son of Milcah, wife of Nahor, with a pitcher upon her shoulder and a smile for the visitors, unlike the other women who are wary. Remiel greets her on behalf of her master Lord Yishak. El Roi draws from his bag gold multiplied in abundance. Her household asks if she will depart with these strangers, and she answers, “I will go.” Rebekah assents not on the basis of Yishak’s character, whom she does not know, but on the conduct of his servants at the well: courteous, humble, and faithful. The gold is customary, but she judges Yishak must be good, given the qualities of those who serve him. El Roi and Remiel bring her into Lailah’s tent, and Yishak takes Rebekah as his wife; he is comforted after his mother was forever parted from him.
038: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 episode 14, March 2, 1961- In 1870 a railroad spur finally penetrates the ring of hills enveloping Havilah, curving on a narrow shelf along the river in a self-merging terminal loop. To the confusion of the gaping Stiffnecks, Havilah’s first train is not a soot-belching steamer but a sleek bullet express with self-leveling, banking cars. It arrives on no discernible schedule, with only its wheels making any sound, debouching passengers attending the Last Rite for a man whose grandfather isn’t even born yet. Mikaela mutters, “Tsk tsk.” Cassiel asks her, “What do you think, Mikki? Twenty-one or Twenty-two?” Mikaela takes a long look and finally pronounces, “Definitely early-mid Twenty-first,” inaugurating Pin the Decade on the Locomotive, a spectator sport unique to Havilah. The conductor is one of the deathless Nephiloth. Her featherless bat-wings lie folded under a high-visibility vest, ticket punch in her hand, ready to demand fare from departing passengers. Mikaela asks, “Why have you now come, Charen?” She replies, “I would speak to the Manager.”
039: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 ep. 15, March 9, 1961. The wind drove the fire, and it grew. On the lower slopes of the hill Shy Bear saw a light like the strongest star. It alternated north and south, yet always it climbed higher. At last Shy Bear saw that it was worn upon the head of a woman who spoke in his own tongue. She said, “Follow me, and you will live.” The woman turned, and the boy followed after her. He thought how he might lie within the water below when the fire came down. As they went, the sound of the water grew less. Inside a cave there was a pool. The young woman placed her hand upon her chest and spoke a name. “Cassiel.” The boy answered, “My father once gave me the name Shy Bear, but now I have no name.” Yet this seemed to please her, for now she understood the path he had been set upon. He had gone out to seek a vision and would not be called back soon. She passed beneath the surface of the waters, and he saw her no more. The flames caused the air to grow thin, so Shy Bear did not wait longer. He chose, and he went after Cassiel, passing down into the unknown.
040: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 1 episode 16, March 16, 1961- A torrential downpour in Havilah leaves the faculty temporarily marooned in the lounge, including two new professors, and Gabriela decides it’s time to mess with the new “fish”. In flashbacks the old hands tell them the “Great Fish” in the book of Jonah was actually a prototype House Haivri stealth bio-submersible running on a “hydro-displacement drive”. Jonah was a stowaway discovered by Dumah, and when word of that got passed Upstairs orders came over Doryphone to turn around. The belly of the whale looked suspiciously like a cramped 1950s diner complete with El Roi serving plates of pickled kelp. Jonah filed a noise report over what Ping Song was doing in the forward compartment, so Dumah signed for the prophet to follow him, tricked him into getting into a torpedo tube, and flushed him out on a sunny beach of the Hayam Hagadol. The new professors stare in disbelief. The rain continued outside. One finally asks, “Is any of that true?” Gabriela said, “The Navy still uses them.” Cassiel said: “The kelp part is true.”
041: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 ep. 1, September 7, 1961- Cassiel invites Joshua Lange to meet a young man who has come to that place in very much the same way, albeit through fire rather than bombardment. Shy Bear has been given “Jashen” as his name of manhood. He knows very little English but Cassiel says she is working to remedy that. Joshua has many questions, beginning with whether he has passed on (he hasn’t) and why the sun overhead resembles a fat hand (it is a land of flame on the surface of a hollow world). Cassiel offers the assistance of her cousin Ariel and the Haivri family to relocate Joshua and whoever will go with him to a land far beyond the clashing armies, where they will dwell in peace together with Jashen’s people. She warns that many of his fellow believers will think him to be of unsound mind. Joshua begs her to choose pilgrims who are more worthy, but Cassiel assures him Joshua and his brethren are much like those who first loved Jesus, and Joshua accepts. Cassiel is pleased and gives him a curious map. Jashen rises to say in farewell, “Joshua Lange hello.”
042: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 2, September 14, 1961- Dr. Miriam Wahkan, known among the angels as Raphael, struggles to conceal her impossible healing abilities from a visiting U.S. Army surgeon. To preserve the secret of her “veterinary primer,” Miriam performs a grotesque imitation of frontier medicine before the physician, applying leeches, prescribing mercury compounds, and wrapping wounds in foul-smelling poultices while her molecular machines quietly restore the patients beneath the bandages. She falls back on quarantine, boiled instruments, herbal remedies, and exhausting bedside care. Meanwhile, Mikaela and Gabriela host a delegation of the Loyal Opposition at one of Havilah’s scalding geothermal springs. The negotiations proceed with elaborate courtesy and increasing passive aggression while all parties remain submerged in sulfurous water far too hot for ordinary bathers. At last the demons surrender the point under dispute and abruptly conclude the talks, unable to endure the heat any longer.
043: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 ep. 3, September 21, 1961. Above Shalem something like an engine of war descended into the midst of the city, borne upon five flames of white fire; and the sight of it struck dread into all who saw it. But Kar Melchizedek was forced by the weight of kingship to show fearlessness before his people. At the bidding of a voice from within the flying Husk the king entered therein. And Ayat said to him, “I seek a man who feels himself estranged within this world, as though it were but a shadow, or a figment, for in truth so it is. He must hunger for another world which is the true source of all that is here perceived. I lay upon your whole house the task to seek a certain man hungering for another world, whose sovereign reigns alone. Before you lies a short black staff. Take it into your hand.” Then the king reached out within the confined space and took the thing shown to him. And Ayat said: “This is Sha’ar ha-Ruah, or Windgate; it shall give visible assurance that the word you have heard is no phantasm, but proceeds from a true authority set over Kemen.”
044: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 4, September 28, 1961- Yishak and Rebekah bore twin sons, Esau and Ya’akov. By mischance Esau found he could not always depend upon his own strength and skill to sustain himself. Returning from the field famished, he begged his brother for food. Ya’akov gave him bread and lentil soup, but he required in exchange a solemn oath transferring the Birthright. Esau agreed, being near to death with hunger. Afterward Esau recovered, and he came to regard the Birthright as of little consequence. Then the Red Dragon came before Zuriel and accused Ya’akov of failing to provide for a received guest, one who was of his own blood, not even a stranger. But Zuriel answered, “Did you know when these two were born Esau came first, but Ya’akov came just five heartbeats later because he was clutching his brother’s heel? Esau is formed by what is present, while Ya’akov seeks endurance by rising beyond the world. On Earth advantage does not always align with strength, and survival may pass to those who secure what others hold not. I’m selecting for precisely that.”
045: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 5, October 5, 1961- Havilah’s annual barn dance descends into chaos when Ariel arrives. Her body radiates airborne molecules that light up the reward centers of beasts…and men. A flashback reveals the truth behind the notched sticks Ya’akov placed to segregate the animals. Ariel didn’t just calm the ringstraked and speckled cattle, her aura left Lavahn and his shepherds too euphoric to notice she was subtly stacking the deck in Ya’akov’s favor. The marked sticks were merely a visual aid labeling the breeding lines so Ya’akov and Ariel could selectively pair them. In 1874 Ariel’s pheromones caused the town council to follow her around like lovesick puppies. Dumah silently watched the absurd parade and blew cigar smoke to disperse Ariel’s localized pheromone cloud, breaking the spell. Dumah, who is completely immune to the effect, silently herded the dazed politicians back into the town hall using a marked wooden stick, mocking the Torah scribes’ misunderstanding of genetics.
046: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 6, October 12, 1961- Cold Open EXT. CHARRED GROUND – DAY Embers glow red across the scorched ground, smoking beneath the massive bulk of the HUSK OF AYAT. The central structure rests heavily on five gimbaled thrusters. A hatch drops open on the underside. SAR LAILAH drops to the ashen ground. Her attendant, BODEA, hands down heavy canvas bags of comestibles and a light, narrow WATERCRAFT. Bodea leaps down to join her. LAILAH We need to get much further away. You are valiant, Bodea, but I doubt you should wish to be burned. Bodea nods. Grabbing the ropes, the two Shalemites drag the watercraft and their supplies away from the ship. EXT. LAKE EDGE – CONTINUOUS They reach the lapping water of a dark lake. Behind them, a deafening ROAR shatters the silence. The Husk’s five motors ignite, bathing the jan and wan in a harsh orange light. Piloted by the unseen Ayat, the colossal vessel slowly lifts into the night sky, leaving Lailah and Bodea alone in its fiery wake. FADE OUT.
047: (Director’s Note: Because there is only one line of dialogue, the actors and the camera do the heavy lifting here. The physical strain of dragging the watercraft and lingering shots of the glowing embers will naturally stretch the opening scene to the 90-second target without feeling rushed) ACT I EXT. BLUE VEIL FALLS – DAY (MONTAGE) SERIES OF SHOTS: Location shooting captures the treacherous journey. A) Lailah and Bodea abandon a battered raft at the roaring lip of BLUE VEIL FALLS. B) Below the cataract, they fashion a new raft from dark timber. C) They plunge through violent, white-water rapids. D) The river calms, carrying them into a stark, stony desert. Ponderous, ox-like beasts graze the banks. Local farmers stare in silent awe as the raft drifts past. LAILAH (V.O.) (Measured, regal) From the roaring of Blue Veil Falls, and running the unrunnable rapids, we were borne into the deserts of Kemen. We sought that which Ayat commanded the House of my father to seek, yet we found only withering heat.
048: EXT. KEMEN DESERT – DAY (MONTAGE) The sun beats down relentlessly. Lailah and Bodea sit on the raft, exhausted, wiping sweat from their brows. LAILAH (V.O. begins when they arrive pier side and depart their raft) For a full season we sojourned in the city of Sessai. Thence overland unto Murzi Bog, and the war-torn Isle of Danya. We took ship to Medon. Yet in all these lands, no answer was found. EXT. TANNEDI MARKET – DAY The montage ends. We fade in on a bustling, crowded marketplace. Stalls overflow with green produce and vibrant silks. Lailah and Bodea, cloaked and weary, walk the narrow, dusty thoroughfare. The heat is visible, shimmering in the air. Bodea stops, leaning against a stone archway, fanning herself. BODEA I realized something today, Your Highness. I was born and dwell in what the humans of Earth call the “hot place” where the land wraps around to become the sky, and the sun is really a lake of fire the size of a province. But even so, this must be the hottest place in the hot place.
049: Lailah stops, her posture remaining rigidly upright despite the oppressive heat. LAILAH Bodea, I have taken unto myself a certain philosophy of necessity. If the weather of Kemen cannot be altered, then there is no wisdom in lamentation. Lailah pauses, wiping a bead of sweat from her neck. LAILAH (CONT’D) Nevertheless, this brings me little comfort. Nor yet ease. They resume walking, navigating through the throng of merchants. BODEA Sessai, Murzi Bog, Danya, Medon… and now Tannedi. Are we chasing a phantom, Princess? LAILAH We are chasing Ayat’s charge. You know her command to my father king of Shalem: We seek a man that feels himself estranged within this world, as though it were but a shadow or a figment, for in truth so it is. He must hunger for another world which is the true source of all that is here perceived. Until such a man is found, our journey does not end. Bodea sighs, stepping aside to let a merchant pass. BODEA Yet I wonder, where on the Gudrun Road does one find a worshipful infidel?

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