+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 151: It was placed upon skids of wood and hide, to be drawn |
| away behind the horses. Nothing was cast aside, for the |
| People do not waste what is given by the Spirit over all. |
| |
| When he saw that the younger men labored well, Takoda turned |
| from them. He rode his horse up the slope, going alone, |
| until he came above the clouds. |
| |
| There the hill stood apart, rising like an island. Beneath |
| it lay a great sea of white, and all around was a circle of |
| other hills, holding that sea within them. It was a thing |
| seldom seen, and it was beautiful. Takoda looked upon it, |
| and his heart was moved. He spoke no word aloud, but within |
| himself he gave a name to that place. He called it the |
| Island in the Sky. |
| |
| After a time the herd came again out of the mist to feed |
| upon the grass of the high place. They were watchful, yet |
| they did not run. It was as if they knew the hunters had |
| taken what they would take, and would not trouble the rest. |
| |
| But as Takoda lifted his eyes to the highest place of that |
| hill, he saw that he was not alone. Nor were the animals |
| alone. Something was there. A white man-shape sat upon the |
| ground. It was a smooth figure with no eyes, nor mouth, nor |
| ears. And it was not white like the men from the east who |
| are called whites, but white like the purest snow. Its body |
| was smooth, and it had no eyes, no mouth, and no ears. It |
| was like a form made, but not finished. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 152: And in its hand it held a dark rod. This it put forth, |
| as a man gives a gift. Takoda came down from his horse. He |
| did not go quickly. He walked with care, and with respect, |
| for he did not know what spirit he beheld. When he had come |
| near, he reached out his hand and took hold of the rod. The |
| figure did not move. It did not resist him. Takoda stood |
| with the thing in his hand. |
| |
| He turned it, and as he did so, there came from it a flame. |
| But it was not as other fire. It was black, and it made a |
| low sound, like the hiss of something that lives. The flame |
| was as a hollow place, the size of a man's head, and it |
| seemed to swallow the air. Then Takoda saw this strange fire |
| might cut the very earth itself. He set it to the ground, |
| and it opened the hard stone as though it were soft. |
| |
| After a little while the dark flame grew less, and drew back |
| into itself, and was gone, as if it had a will. Then the arm |
| of the white figure went down again to its side. It made no |
| other motion. It did not turn nor give any sign of life. |
| Takoda stood alone upon the height, holding the thing that |
| had been given to him. And the figure remained as it was, |
| and he never saw it move again. |
| |
| After a time the companions of Takoda came up to the high |
| place. They saw the white man-shape, and they saw Takoda |
| standing near it, with his horse beside him. In their sight |
| Takoda lifted a great stone and set it down close by the |
| figure. Then the others came forward and did the same. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 153: They gathered many stones and placed them one upon |
| another, as men make a lodge, but this was of rock. |
| |
| They worked in silence and with care, for they believed the |
| place to be holy by what had been shown to them. When the |
| work was finished, they stepped back to look. The white |
| shape was no longer seen. It was covered over, and a mound |
| stood there, a cairn raised with purpose. And the men said |
| among themselves that it was fitting, for they believed |
| Wakan Tanka had made himself known to them upon that height, |
| and the hunt had been blessed. So they left it there, as a |
| lodge set apart. |
| |
| But Takoda alone knew what else had been given. The dark |
| gift he kept hidden within his clothing, and he spoke of it |
| to no man. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
When the People made their feast from the slain cow, the horns
fastened with thongs of leather. Then one of the wives of Chief
Tatanka came forward and set those horns upon his shoulder, as
if he himself had gone out from his lodge. Then the Chief spoke,
saying, "There are five tellings of how this animal was taken."
Takoda, the best hunter among the People, did not answer at
once. He turned his face aside and sent forth a ring of smoke
into the air.
Then the Chief spoke again, and his words were sharp. "Speak now
of the hunt, Who Hunts as a Woman."
+------------------------------+ At this Takoda's eyes came back
| 154: Angel Academy season | quickly, as if he had been
| 2 episode 1, September 1, | struck. He said, "We followed
| 1960: | the herd into the hollow where
| | the waters smoke and the air
| Cold Open EXT. CHARRED | is thick. I could not see
| GROUND - DAY Embers glow red | even those who rode with me.
| across the scorched ground, | The herd led us to a lone
| smoking beneath the massive | height, and each man went up
| bulk of the HUSK OF AYOT. | by himself. There the clouds
| The central structure rests | were broken, and we took the
| heavily on five gimbaled | animal."
| thrusters. A hatch drops |
| open on the underside. | And the one called Plenty
| SAR LAILAH drops to the | Lice added to Takoda's tale,
| ashen ground. Her attendant, | saying, "The Great Spirit then
| BODEA, hands down heavy | came forth from the cloud and
| canvas bags of comestibles | blessed the hunt."
| and a light, narrow |
| WATERCRAFT. Bodea leaps down | At this the Chief looked at
| to join her. | Takoda with hard eyes. "You
+------------------------------+ have taught your hunters to
speak false words with ease." Then Plenty Lice said, "Wakan
Tanka had the form of a man, but he was white as snow. He sat
upon the top of the mountain."
And those who had gone with Takoda made sounds of agreement.
They had seen the white figure, though not the thing that had
been given to Takoda. But the Chief did not soften his heart. He
said, "And what did you do when you saw this man of snow, you
who speak falsely?"
+------------------------------+ And Takoda said, "We built a
|155: LAILAH | lodge of stones for the Great
| We need to get much | Spirit, that we might honor him
| further away. You | for blessing the hunt."
| are valiant, Bodea, |
| but I doubt you | Then Tatanka drew forth his
| should wish to be | knife and came near. He cut
| burned. | lightly across the cheek, so
| | that the blood came but a
| Bodea nods. Grabbing the | little. He did not strike
| ropes, the two Shalemites | deeper, for he knew the true
| drag the watercraft and | worth of the man before him,
| their supplies away from the | who held hunger back from the
| ship. | People. Then he spoke and gave
| | a name, saying, "You shall be
| EXT. LAKE EDGE - CONTINUOUS | called Hole in the Cheek."
| They reach the lapping water |
| of a dark lake. Behind them, | Then Takoda put his hand to his
| a deafening ROAR shatters | face and went away from the
| the silence. The Husk's five | fire with a steady step. Chief
| motors ignite, bathing the | Tatanka laughed, but no other
| jan and wan in a harsh | man joined him. Takoda's wife
| orange light. Piloted by the | Yuha rose also and followed
| unseen Ayot, the colossal | after him, leaving the circle
| vessel slowly lifts into the | of light.
| night sky, leaving Lailah |
| and Bodea alone in its fiery | In their lodge she sat near him
| wake. FADE OUT. | and washed the wound, and bound
+------------------------------+ it so the blood would cease.
While she did this, the son of Takoda, who was called Shy Bear,
spoke and said, "Father, did you truly see the Great Spirit?"
+------------------------------+ Takoda looked upon the boy, but
| 156: Director's Note: Since | he remained silent until Yuha
| there is only one line of | had finished her work and the
| dialogue, the actors and the | wound was closed.
| camera must do the heavy |
| lifting here. The physical | Shy Bear smiled and his eyes
| strain of dragging the | took on a knowing look. "I
| watercraft and lingering | understand father! You spoke
| shots of the glowing embers | so only to trouble Sad Heart
| should naturally stretch | Bull!"
| the opening scene to the |
| 90-second target without | And Takoda said, "Yuha, that
| feeling rushed. | which we spoke of before, now
+------------------------------+ is the time."
Yuha showed that she understood, and she brought forth a pouch
of leather with many colors, and things to place them upon the
skin. Yuha began to mark the face of her son Shy Bear with care.
Then Takoda rose and brought out a garment that was set apart.
It was made from the skins of the bison, and it was adorned with
feathers and many beads. Takoda held it with purpose.
Shy Bear turned his head to look upon what lay in his father's
hands, and in that turning the paint was marred. Then his mother
grew troubled and said, "Stand and be still, my son."
Takoda placed the garment upon the boy and made it fast, while
Yuha finished her work. When all was set in its place, Takoda
spoke. "You will have no answers from me," he said. Then he put
the boy's own bow into his hands. "I will give you no meat."
+------------------------------+ Yuha stepped back from her son
| 157: ACT I EXT. BLUE VEIL | when she was quite finished,
| FALLS - DAY (MONTAGE) SERIES | and she looked upon him in
| OF SHOTS: Location shooting | silence.
| captures the treacherous |
| journey. Lailah and Bodea | Takoda said, "Until this day, I
| abandon a battered raft at | have only lent to you the name
| the roaring lip of BLUE VEIL | Shy Bear." Then he opened the
| FALLS. Below the cataract, | door of the lodge, and the
| they fashion a new raft from | night stood outside. "Go now,"
| dark timber. They plunge | he said, "into the darkness,
| through violent, white-water | you who have no name. Take your
| rapids. The river calms, | food for yourself, if you are
| carrying them into a stark, | able. And if you are not?" He
| stony desert. Ponderous, | made a small motion with his
| ox-like beasts graze the | shoulders. "Perhaps, in your
| banks. Local farmers stare | hunger, Wakan Tanka will send
| in silent awe as the raft | you a vision."
| drifts past. |
+------------------------------+ At these words the face of the
boy was full of wonder and fear, for he had not looked for such
a thing. Shy Bear looked upon his father's face, and then his
gaze followed the arm and the hand that pointed outward into the
night. At last he understood, and he bowed his head. But he saw
also his mother, and he knew her heart was not easy. She did
what was required, for the thing had a form that must be kept,
yet her spirit was troubled. Still, she spoke the words that are
spoken: "The boy goes out from us. The man will return." And Shy
Bear heard her, and he feared that the shadow upon her face was
not only sorrow, but the knowing that sometimes came to her
before a thing was fulfilled.
+------------------------------+
| 158: LAILAH (V.O., | Shy Bear did not speak again.
| measured, regal) | He went out into the night.
| From the roaring of |
| Blue Veil Falls, | There was no moon, and the
| and running the | darkness lay heavy upon the
| unrunnable rapids, | land. Young Shy Bear walked
| we were borne into | upon the prairie and stumbled
| the deserts of | often, yet he did not turn
| Kemen. We sought | back. He climbed the rim of the
| that which Ayat | hollow of the smoking waters
| commanded the House | and looked behind him. The
| of my father to | fires of the Kuwapi people were
| seek, yet we found | far away, shining like red
| only withering heat. | stars upon the earth.
| |
| CC: EXT. KEMEN DESERT - | When the night was deep, he
| DAY (MONTAGE) The sun beats | came to the first rising of
| down relentlessly. Lailah | the mountain which his father
| and Bodea sit on the raft, | named the Island in the Sky. He
| exhausted, wiping sweat from | climbed it slowly, placing his
| their brows. | feet with care, lest he fall
+------------------------------+ in the darkness. And he came
to the top as the night was ending.
When the light of morning came, the boy sat down so that his
shadow fell upon the stones his father had raised. He did not
move. He watched as the sun climbed slowly, and the shadow drew
back little by little, until at last it no longer touched the
cairn. Then, as the day went on, the shadow of the stones
reached toward him in its turn.
+------------------------------+ When the sun went down, Shy
| 159: LAILAH (V.O. | Bear had seen no vision from
| begins when they | Wakan Tanka. A wind came up,
| arrive pier side and | and it was strong. When the
| depart their raft) | light was gone, the cold
| For a full season | entered into him. Then he
| we sojourned in the | gathered the dry brush that
| city of Sessai. | grew upon that high place. With
| Thence overland unto | the edge of a stone he cut
| Murzi Bog, and the | it, and with the same he made
| war-torn Isle of | a spark and kindled a fire.
| Danya. We took ship | But the flame did not stand
| to Medon. Yet in | steady. It bent this way and
| all these lands, no | that, and the smoke went in
| answer was found. | many directions, as if it did
| | not choose one path. The boy
| EXT. TANNEDI MARKET - DAY | watched this, and he took it
| The montage ends. We fade | for a sign. He believed he
| in on a bustling, crowded | was called to remain upon that
| marketplace. Stalls overflow | place, and to pass the night
| with green produce and | within the lodge of stones that
| vibrant silks. Lailah and | his father had made for the
| Bodea, cloaked and weary, | Great Spirit.
| walk the narrow, dusty |
| thoroughfare. The heat is | So he went to the cairn and
| visible, shimmering in the | drew away some of the rocks,
| air. Bodea stops, leaning | making an opening. Then he bent
| against a stone archway, | low and went inside. And there,
| fanning herself. | in the dimness, he saw the
+------------------------------+ white form of a man, just as
his father said, though Chief Sad Heart Bull did not believe.
+------------------------------+ The boy was hungry, and the
| 160: BODEA | hunger pressed hard upon him.
| I realized something | But the night had come, and it
| today, Your Highness. | was too dark to seek the small
| I was born and dwell | runners of the grass. The fire
| in what the humans | he had made gave little warmth,
| of Earth call the | yet he was glad for the stones
| "hot place" where the | that kept the wind from him.
| land wraps around to |
| become the sky, and | Within the cairn there was not
| the sun is really a | room for him to lie at ease, so
| lake of fire the size | he lay upon his side and curled
| of a province. But | around the white man-shape. He
| even so, this must be | took care not to touch it, for
| the hottest place in | he did not know its power.
| the hot place. |
| | In the middle of the night he
| Lailah stops, her posture | was awakened by the sound of
| remaining rigidly upright | many feet running together. He
| despite the oppressive heat. | rose and went out. He saw that
+------------------------------+ his fire had gone low, and only
the coals were left. But the wind had carried living embers down
the slope, and from these a fire had begun in the brush and came
to encircle the small mountain. The small creatures of the land
fled before it, running over the height.
The boy saw them and he knew he might take one and have meat.
But the fire did not wait, and each moment brought danger
nearer. At first Shy Bear went down toward the fire, that he
might have light to see his way. Then he turned and moved toward
the west, seeking a place where he might pass beyond the flames.
+------------------------------+ But the boy could go no
| 161: LAILAH | farther. Before him the earth
| Bodea, I have taken | was broken, and there was a
| unto myself a | deep cut in the land. He heard
| certain philosophy | water moving over stones far
| of necessity. If | below where it passed around
| the weather of | the mountain. The darkness lay
| Kemen cannot be | thick there, and he could not
| altered, then there | see how to cross.
| is no wisdom in |
| lamentation. | Behind him the fire grew, and
| | it spread to the north, closing
| Lailah pauses, wiping a bead | that way. The wind drove it,
| of sweat from her neck. | and the flames were many. Then
| | the boy looked down into the
| LAILAH (CONT'D) | chasm. He saw a small light,
| Nevertheless, this | very bright, like the strongest
| brings me little | star. It moved along the side
| comfort. Nor yet | of the slope, rising and
| ease. | falling, as if it ran. At times
+------------------------------+ it went north, and at times
it went south, yet always it climbed higher, and it moved very
quickly.
Soon the light came up to the rim. Shy Bear saw that it was worn
upon the head of a person, and that person was taller than he.
Then a voice was heard, and it was the voice of a woman who
spoke in his own tongue, as one who had always known it. She
said, "Follow me, and you will live."
The woman turned, and she went back the way she had come.
+------------------------------+ The boy followed after her. He
|162: BODEA | did so to live, for he thought
| Sessai, Murzi Bog, | of the water below, and how he
| Danya, Medon... and | might lie within it when the
| now Tannedi. Are we | fire came down.
| chasing a phantom, |
| Princess? | The path before them was clear,
| | though the ground was rough. At
| LAILAH | times the young woman looked
| We are chasing | back to see if he still came
| Ayat’s charge. You | behind her. As they went, the
| know her command to | sound of the water grew less.
| my father king of | This seemed strange to the boy,
| Shalem: We seek a man | for they were drawing nearer.
| that feels himself | When at last they came to the
| estranged within this | creek, it no longer ran. It
| world. He must hunger | stood in small pools, one above
| for another world | another, like steps of water
| which is the true | leading upward to a low opening
| source of all that is | in a wall of dark stone. Then
| here perceived. Until | the young woman bent herself
| such a man is found, | and went within that place,
| our journey does not | passing through the water
| end. | wearing knee high boots.
+------------------------------+
The boy did not delay, but followed after her. Inside there was
a pool, and a narrow ledge of stone ringed the waters. The light
that she bore upon her head filled the cave, so that he could
see clearly, and he looked upon her. She was like a woman of the
Kuwapi, yet taller than any he had seen. She did not seem very
much older than he.
+------------------------------+ The light resting upon her brow
| 163: Bodea sighs, stepping | pierced the eye, and it shone
| aside for a passing merchant | steadily, and he did not know
| | how it came.
| BODEA |
| Yet I wonder, where | The young woman placed her hand
| on the Gudrun Road | upon her chest and spoke a
| does one find a wor- | name. "Cassiel," she said. Then
| shipful infidel? | she looked upon him, and it was
| | plain she waited for his name
| Suddenly, a SHOUT rings out | in return. The boy did not wish
| over the din of the market. | to seem foolish before her, so
| Lailah and Bodea both turn. | he answered, "My father once
| Precisely where the road | gave me the name Shy Bear, but
| divides lies a rather large | he has taken it back, and now I
| shop filled with stone idols | have no name."
| and objects associated with |
| worship. Within the shop TWO | Yet this seemed to pleased her,
| MEN are locked in a loud, | for now she understood the path
| bitter dispute. The older | he had been set upon. He had
| one is dressed in a merchant | gone out to seek a vision and
| man's finery. The younger | would not be called back soon.
| appears a bit ragged, and | Among his people it would be
| dusty from the field, but he | said that the boy tarried, and
| is fiercely defiant. | they would not go at once to
+------------------------------+ seek him.
Then the young woman named Cassiel took from her head the light
she bore and cast it into the water. It sank, and its brightness
faded as it went down. Yet the water did not grow dark. Instead
it began to dimly glow, as if something within it had awakened.
+------------------------------+ After this Cassiel went down
| 164: Lailah narrows her eyes | into the pool. She turned
| and steps closer to the shop | herself and passed beneath the
| to listen. | surface, and he saw her no
| | more.
| FADE OUT. (End of Act I) |
| | The boy waited. He thought she
| The travel montage will | must come up again, for all
| eat up about three to | who live must breathe. But she
| four minutes of highly | did not return. Then the water
| visual storytelling, backed | began to move. It rose and
| by music. The discussion of | spread, and it went beyond
| the heat and the quest will | the place where it had stood
| take about three minutes of | before. Shy Bear knew he was
| measured, deliberate acting, | kept from the fire in that
| leaving a solid one minute | cave, yet still he was not
| buffer for the argument to | safe. The air was growing thin,
| escalate before cutting to | and what he needed to live was
| the sponsor. | being taken from him. So he did
+------------------------------+ not wait longer. He chose, and
he went after Cassiel, passing down into the unknown.
When Shy Bear came again to the air, there was much light about
him, more than in the place from which he had come. Many hands
reached down to him, and they lifted him from the water, for his
garments were heavy and drew him under.
Then he stood upon a place made smooth with worked wood, set all
around a wide pool. At the outer edge there were many small
lodges, and beyond these there grew a forest, green and full of
Life.
+------------------------------+ He looked upward, and the sky
| 165: Act II will be | was not as he had known it.
| our longest block (8:30 | It held many soft colors, and
| runtime). This act must hook | the sun had a shape that was
| the audience immediately | strange to his eyes. Yet the
| after the GenMat commercial | air was cool, and the wet
| break. We need to open with | garments upon him brought a
| our focus entirely on the | chill into his body, so that he
| dispute between the two men. | began to tremble.
| |
| INT. TERAH'S SHOP - | Cassiel also was wet, yet she
| CONTINUOUS We follow the | did not seem troubled. She took
| shouting into a small, dimly | Shy Bear by the hand and led
| lit shop off the market. | him into one of the lodges near
| Racks of wooden idols and | the water. There she closed
| totems cover the walls. | the entrance behind them, that
| TERAH (60s, shop owner) | they might not be seen in such
| stands behind a worktable, | a state. Then, without shame,
| chisel in hand. His son, | as one who does not think in
| AVRAM (30s, nomadic garb), | such ways, she removed the wet
| paces fiercely before him. | garments from him, and from
+------------------------------+ herself, that they might be
free of the cold.
Cassiel opened the door once, and the wet garments of the boy
were given out to those who waited. When she moved, Shy Bear saw
that her limbs were strong and well-formed, as of one who runs
often and far.
Then she took a narrow band, marked with signs he did not know,
and set it against his body in many places, measuring him.
+------------------------------+ After this she spoke through
| 166: AVRAM | the door in words he could not
| Father, thou cuttest | understand. Within the lodge
| down the cedars which | there were already garments
| Ayot planted! Avyah | laid out, dry and folded with
| sent rain to water | care. They were of green and of
| them. Imran made the | dark purple, mingled together.
| Lake of Fire to shine | These Cassiel put on.
| upon them. |
| | When she had finished, another
| Avram grabs a piece of scrap | set of such garments was given
| wood from the floor, holding | through the door. These were
| it up. | smaller, made to fit the boy.
| | Seeing what was meant, and
| AVRAM (CONT'D) | taking courage from her, he
| Thou growest cold, | clothed himself in them. Then
| and with a portion | Shy Bear looked upon what he
| of thy firewood thou | wore, and he saw that there was
| raisest a blaze to | thought in it. The colors were
| warm thyself and bake | as the forest, and the shapes
| thy bread. Yet with | broke the form of the body. A
| the remainder, thou | man or woman so dressed, with
| carvest an image | face and hands suitably marked,
| of the dragon, and | might pass unseen among the
| bowest thyself before | trees.
| it! Azul! |
+------------------------------+ Then Shy Bear looked again
toward the water, and he saw another woman standing there. She
was clothed in gold and white. She spoke, and her voice carried
clearly. "Welcome to you, Shy Bear of the Kuwapi. I am called
Gabriela. All that you see here is the lodge of Wakan Tanka."
+------------------------------+ Shy Bear knew he was called
| 167: Avram slams the wood | to answer, and he said, "Why
| onto the table. | have I come to this place,
| | Gabriela?" The woman said,
| AVRAM (CONT'D) | "Here my daughter Cassiel shall
| Thou givest adoration | teach you the speech of the
| unto the one god who | white-skinned people, if you
| had no part in the | are willing to learn. When you
| provision of the wood | return home, you may teach your
| itself! Why Azul? | own people this tongue."
| Because he is thy |
| god. And wherefore is | But hearing this Shy Bear was
| he thy god? Because | troubled. "If I return speaking
| he was the god of thy | as the whites speak the People
| father Karnebo. So | will be afraid. They will beat
| praise be unto Azul, | me, and perhaps they will kill
| and contempt upon the | me. They will say I am Coyote
| others! | come in the shape of a man." So
| | he said, and he did not hide
| Avram drops to one knee, | his fear.
| mocking Terah’s posture of |
| prayer. | But Gabriela answered him, and
+------------------------------+ her voice was steady. "Do not
let your heart be troubled by these things, Shy Bear. Wakan
Tanka has already placed into the hands of your father that
which will keep you from harm. For now he keeps it hidden and
safe, but when you return he will use this gift to rise up and
become chief among your people."
Shy Bear listened, yet he did not set aside his doubt. He asked
Gabriela, "Why must these things come to pass?"
+------------------------------+ She said, "There is a time
| 168: AVRAM (CONT'D) | drawing near. In three winters,
| Thou bowest thyself | a band of white wanderers will
| before this image | meet the Kuwapi. These people
| and criest, 'Azul, | are strong in their will. Some
| deliver me from this | say they are proud, and do
| cold season.' Yet it | not easily turn from their own
| entereth not into thy | ways. They look upon the people
| mind that this deaf | of the grass as children who do
| and dumb block, which | not know the path. But you are
| thine own hands have | much more than they think. You
| carved, is a vain | will show this not by receiving
| thing. | their tongue from them, but by
| | taking it for yourself. They do
| Terah sets his chisel down | not believe they have anything
| and points to a small | to learn from you. Yet it has
| carving on a shelf. | been set down that you shall
+------------------------------+ teach. For Wakan Tanka has
ordained that these people, and my house, and your own, shall
come together and live as one people, in peace."
Shy Bear had seen many things that were beyond his knowing, and
now his heart was drawn to that other world. He desired to
remain, and to look upon many more wonders. But the thought of
his father Takoda and of his mother, Yuha was stronger in him.
So he turned again to Gabriela and said, "I will return. I will
do as you have said, and teach the People the speech of the
whites."
Gabriela was pleased, and she smiled. "It is good," she said.
"You shall no longer be called Shy Bear.
+------------------------------+ "Now you shall be called
| 169: TERAH | Jashen. When you have learned,
| Behold there the | and when you go again to your
| image of Amathlai. | people, this shall be your name
| Thinkest thou that I | as a man."
| take it to be truly |
| thy mother? | The boy heard this, and he
| | said, "If I remain here long,
| Avram holds his peace, | my father and my mother will
| answering not a word. | think me to be dead."
| |
| TERAH (CONT'D) | Gabriela answered him, "Do not
| These images do no | let your thoughts dwell on
| more than direct the | that. However long you stay in
| heart and mind along | this place, when you return it
| paths of devotion. | will seem to them that only a
| | short time has passed, not more
| The chime of the shop door | than the turning of one moon.
| interrupts them. LAILAH and | In time you will understand how
| BODEA enter. | this is done, and you will see
+------------------------------+ that it is not really magic."
But Shy Bear said, "To me it would always be strong magic,
Gabriela."
Then she said, "When my people teach, that which is called
strong magic becomes weak, and that which is called weak magic
is no longer fit to be called magic at all."
Yet after a span of only a few days Shy Bear witnessed a thing
he could only call very great magic. A large pile of broken
timber appeared in a nearby meadow where before there was none.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| +---------------------------+ |
| | 170: The father and son | Angel Academy season x epi- |
| | fall into a tense silence | sode xx, month day, year: |
| | as the strangers slowly | A kinswoman of Cassiel was |
| | walk the perimeter of the | present on the field, wearing |
| | room, examining the racks | a raiment of red feathers be- |
| | of idols. After one full | neath a long white tunic with |
| | circuit Bodea draws forth | many pockets. Cassiel told |
| | a heavy satchel. Slowly | Jashen that her name was Raph- |
| | she begins to lay forth | ael and she was accounted as a |
| | gold tiles, a staggering | great healer. With her stood a |
| | fortune set openly for | white youth named Samael, who |
| | anyone in the street to | was perhaps only two years |
| | see. Terah and Avram look | older than Jashen, but he was |
| | upon this in shock. With- | much larger of frame. Jashen |
| | in moments shadows darken | thought he would dread to meet |
| | the doorway. | him as an enemy of his people. |
| | | |
| | FIVE MEN OF VIOLENCE with | At the bidding of Raphael, the |
| | swords drawn cross the | white youth drew near to a big |
| | threshold. | pile of broken timber that lay |
| | | Samael approached the great |
| | LEADER | pile of broken timber that |
| | Stand away from the | lay in the meadow. Raphael |
| | gold, both of you! | said, "Samael, do take great |
| +---------------------------+ care. Marcus is still alive |
| under this debris, but he is severely injured. Jashen under- |
| stood little of this, but he saw Cassiel draw near as well, |
| looking diligently within but careful not to shift any of |
| the beams. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 171: Cassiel said, "Same thing as last time, Cuz, the three |
| men who were about to lose arms or legs are here as well." |
| |
| "I will tend to all four," said Raphael. "Providence |
| smiles on these soldiers today. I can preserve the limbs the |
| ishim doctors were preparing to saw away." |
| |
| Samael knelt beside the fallen timber and began to clear it |
| away. He moved the great beams with such ease that Jashen |
| could scarcely believe their weight. At last he lifted a |
| heavy length of wood, and beneath it lay a man whose face |
| was pale and drawn with pain. |
| |
| Then she said to the young man, "You did well, Samael. You |
| were not here on the previous loop, so Gabriela cut through |
| to him with Sha'ar ha-Ruah, and not a few timbers shifted, |
| and Marcus suffered immeasurably more." |
| |
| When the way was clear Raphael drew near and examined him |
| quickly, by sight and touch. "Do not be afraid, Marcus. A |
| splinter has pierced your kidney, and your leg is broken. |
| You cannot feel it because the beam is compressing the nerve |
| but that will change when we lift it. It will pain you |
| considerably, to my great sorrow, but I see no way to avoid |
| it." |
| |
| Marcus tried to answer Raphael, but he could do no more than |
| gasp. She nodded. Samael took hold of the timber. Again he |
| lifted it without any apparent effort, and the massive beam |
| rose from the man's broken leg. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 172: And his countenance was fixed with the astonishment |
| thereof; and being overcome, he did lose all sense, and he |
| knew no more. |
| |
| When Lange finally revived, he found himself lying in a bed |
| within a remarkably well-appointed house of glass, stone, |
| and fine wood. He was nursed with great care by strangers, |
| who urged him to remain at rest long after he felt he had |
| recovered sufficient strength to rise. Out of gratitude, |
| Lange obeyed his caretakers, though he could not banish |
| thoughts of his congregation. He knew the brethren must be |
| troubled by the sudden disappearance of their deacon in the |
| midst of the battle. |
| |
| A woman clad in green approached his bed, introducing |
| herself as Cassiel Haivri, the sister of Ariel, whom Marcus |
| had invited to speak to his congregation before the battle. |
| "Are you well, Marcus?" she asked. |
| |
| "I am fully recovered," he answered, "yet I would feel |
| better if permitted to rise." |
| |
| "Please do, Deacon Lange," she replied. "I wish to introduce |
| you to a fellow who arrived in the same manner as you did, |
| though under the threat of fire rather than battle." |
| |
| Lange asked, "Where is this place?" |
| |
| "It will be easier to show you than to tell you," Cassiel |
| answered. "Come and see." |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 173: She led him outside, where he observed a young man |
| seated beside a large pool surrounded by a dark wooden deck. |
| Marcus guessed the youth was of the same race as the |
| original inhabitants of the continent. As he approached, |
| Marcus realized with some surprise that the pain in his back |
| and fractured leg had almost entirely subsided. Given the |
| severe injury he had sustained during the bombardment this |
| rapid recovery was extraordinary. |
| |
| "Marcus Lange," Cassiel said, "I would like you to meet this |
| young man. Among his people he is called Shy Bear, though |
| the name of his manhood which he shall take hereafter is |
| Jashen. He has not yet learned much English, but I am |
| working to remedy that." |
| |
| Cassiel smiled and took a seat beside the young man, |
| gesturing for Lange to do the same. He complied somewhat |
| reluctantly; having been confined to bed for so long he |
| would have preferred to remain standing. |
| |
| "I asked that he be present so you might know him by sight," |
| Cassiel explained. "In a time to come, God willing, you |
| shall meet again." |
| |
| Lange studied the youth to commit his features to memory, |
| but his attention was quickly arrested by the heavens behind |
| the pair. He observed drifting clouds, but the firmament |
| beyond them was a stationary expanse of muted colors. He |
| realized with profound disorientation that he was looking at |
| land masses suspended in the sky. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 174: Above them, the sun hung directly overhead. It |
| was irregular in shape, like a giant gloved hand, and |
| slowly waxing in brilliance, yet it remained entirely |
| fixed in its position. Confronted with these astronomical |
| impossibilities, he asked once more, "Where are we?" |
| |
| "This place is called Kemen," Cassiel replied. "But there is |
| no measure of distance, nor any heading, by which it can be |
| placed in relation to the places you know." |
| |
| "Then have I passed on?" Lange asked in full wonder. |
| |
| "No, Marcus," she answered. "You are safe, as are your |
| people in the other world. The invading army is presently |
| retreating across the river, and the United States forces |
| will soon also vacate your lands. My sister will return your |
| livestock, just as she promised in her letter." |
| |
| Cassiel smiled gently. Reaching beneath her chair, she |
| produced a roll of canvas and placed it in his hands. "This |
| map will guide you and your people to a place where you can |
| make a new home. "Jashen will be waiting for you there, and, |
| it is much to be hoped, I will be there together with him." |
| A sly grin escaped her. "That will be up to Jashen, really." |
| |
| Lange unrolled Cassiel's canvas for inspection. It depicted |
| rivers, forests, and elevations, yet it was devoid of names |
| or boundary lines. But he discerned the location of their |
| designated settlement was deep in the American West. "It is |
| a considerable distance." |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 175: "It is indeed as far as you can go by river and by |
| rail, and yet further on foot. The Haivri family maintains a |
| small holding near the terminus of the rail line where my |
| grandmother Lailah will wait for you. She will provision |
| your company for the final leg of the journey." |
| |
| She leaned in close and drew her finger along one broken |
| line of countless disconnected oxbow lakes that spanned the |
| plains for hundreds of miles to the Missouri. "I bid you to |
| proceed to the very source of this seasonal river, where |
| your people may dwell in peace alongside the Kuwapi." |
| |
| Hearing that name, Shy Bear looked up in recognition and |
| offered Lange a smile. |
| |
| "But I must caution you, Marcus Lange," Cassiel continued, |
| "that some among your own congregation will judge you |
| unsound of mind when you recount your brief stay in this |
| place, and how swiftly Raphael restored your body." |
| |
| "Then I shall entreat the Lord to select servants more |
| worthy, that His will might be accomplished," Lange |
| answered. |
| |
| "There is no call for that," Cassiel countered. "The |
| brethren of the Lord of Hosts Fellowship are very much like |
| those who first loved Lord Yeshua when he walked in your |
| world. However, the territory designated for your settlement |
| would only bring a slow starvation if the water marked upon |
| that map proved to be a mere mirage." |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 176: "Then God invites us to proceed by faith," Lange |
| observed. |
| |
| "Yes indeed," Cassiel answered. "Even at the slow pace of |
| oxen and wagons. However, Ariel will travel with you, should |
| you receive her. So too may any who hear of what you have |
| seen, come to believe, and elect to make the journey. As it |
| has been from the very beginning, El Elyon, God Most High, |
| seeks earnest students, not thralls." |
| |
| She paused, looking directly at him. "And you, Marcus, are |
| not excepted from the liberty of this choice. Do you freely |
| choose to take up a new life in the West?" |
| |
| Lange did not hesitate. "I do," he replied. "It shall be as |
| you have spoken." |
| |
| And Shy Bear, a youth raised among the nomadic tribes of the |
| Great Plains, observed how pleased Cassiel had become by |
| Lange’s response, despite understanding so very little of |
| the exchange himself. Rising to his feet, he approached |
| Lange with his hands held open in a gesture of peace and |
| said in farewell, " Marcus Lange, hello." |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
In the days that followed Cassiel sang to Jashen the Song of
Remembrance, which she had written down upon many skins. She
recited it before him again and again in the speech she was
teaching him. But once Jashen stopped her, for something in his
mind would not rest. He said, "Were you truly that running
girl?"
+------------------------------+ For though he had seen many
| 177: Lailah faces them, with | strange things, still it was
| her posture perfectly calm. | hard for him to believe that
| | she could run swifter than the
| LAILAH | pronghorn of the plains.
| Suppose we do not? |
| | Cassiel said to him that he
| With a sudden, mechanical | should bring his bow. Then she
| shift, Lailah's cloak falls | took him by the hand and led
| away. BLACK-FEATHERED WINGS | him out from the place of the
| unfurl from her back, | water, and through the trees,
| stretching across the | until they came to a wide and
| cramped shop. The thieves | level ground. There she went
| flinch, but the Leader grips | apart from him, standing many
| his sword tighter. | paces away. Then she spoke in
+------------------------------+ the tongue she was teaching
him. "Shoot an arrow at me."
At this the boy cried out in protest, for he thought she made
sport of him and wasted his time.
But she answered him again, saying, "I speak truly. Do your
best. Try to strike me down."
So he set an arrow to the string. Yet he did not aim to kill
her, but sent it a little above her.
Then Cassiel moved. Her body sprang as if it had been released
from a cord. She ran backward across the open ground, and her
speed was greater than that of the arrow in its flight. The
shaft fell to the earth and did her no harm. And she did not
stop.
+------------------------------+ Even as she ran, she turned,
| 178: LEADER | and passed into the trees at
| Then we will take | the far edge of the clearing.
| thy heads, and have | In a moment she was gone from
| the gold also. | sight. And the boy stood where
| Immortal thou mayest | he was, filled with wonder at
| account thyself, yet | what he had seen.
| if thy head be |
| severed, thou shalt | In a glade among the trees,
| die even as any wan. | Cassiel came upon her mother
| | Gabriela, who sat upon a fallen
| Lailah's eyes narrow. By a | log. With her was another young
| motion of perception deeper | man of the Kuwapi, and Gabriela
| than conscious thought, she | spoke his name, calling him
| identifies the Leader. From | Wiiya Wiiya, which was Coyote
| her side, Lailah draws her | Cub in Jashen's tongue.
| weapon: Sha'ar ha-Ruah, the |
| Windgate. | Cassiel had run swiftly, and
+------------------------------+ now the hunger came upon her.
The young man named Coyote Cub raised his hands, and two small
loaves flew into his hands. They were still warm, and he gave
them to her. She looked off to the far end of the glade and saw
the source of the bread, an angel she did not know was prancing
around a stone oven like a hen cackling over her eggs.
Cassiel ate eagerly. As she did so, she said to him, "Whoever
you are, you have the making of one who will be dear to me, as a
close companion." The young man named Coyote Cub smiled and
answered in a light way, "I hope it shall be so, mother. It
would trouble my heart if it were not."
At this Cassiel paused, and she looked upon him with surprise.
+------------------------------+ "Mother?" she made query. "It
| 179: [DIRECTOR'S VFX NOTE: | is as he says," answered
| The weapon is a burning | Gabriela, and there was knowing
| torch, but via high-contrast | in her voice. "Before this day
| optical printing, the flame | you could speak in jest, as men
| is held out as a matte. | often do, and say you were not
| The result is a roaring, | certain you had any children.
| absolute BLACK FLAME that | But now you see such words
| seems to consume the dust | are not yours to speak." And
| and light around it.] | she nodded in the direction of
| | the woman who was baking the
| Lailah thrusts the black | bread as though to suggest that
| flame forward. She smites | she, too, was one of Cassiel's
| the Leader once. A | future offspring.
| wide aperture is carved |
| completely through the midst | Cassiel considered this, and
| of his body. He collapses as | she said, "I know exactly what
| the camera dollies closely | you have set in motion here,
| on Lailah, leaving the worst | dear mother, and I do not turn
| of the carnage unseen. But | from it. I can think upon a
| even she looks momentarily | lifetime spent with Jashen, and
| astonied at the uncontained | it does not displease me. Yet I
| power of the weapon. | believe he does not hold me in
+------------------------------+ his thoughts in the same way."
Gabriela said, "That is why you are set near to one another, and
time is given. What is to grow will grow."
"It is not as I hoped," said Cassiel. "We have come as far as
the council of rulers in the Song of Remembrance, yet Jashen
grows more distant from me, not nearer."
+------------------------------+ Gabriela answered her, "His
| 180: A SECOND MAN lunges. | spirit is as one who is carried
| Lailah sweeps the Windgate | in deep water. From the moment
| down upon his head, and | he followed you, he has not
| again the camera tracks away | stood upon ground that he
| judiciously, leaving only | knows. "He depends upon us for
| the collapse of his lifeless | his food, his clothing, even
| body to be seen. | the path of his return. So he
| | does not feel as a man among
| A THIRD MAN strikes, his | his own people, who walk by
| blade meeting the black | their own will."
| fire. The flame consumes his |
| sword down to the hilt, | Then Coyote Cub spoke and said,
| eating the metal as though | "It is the same with Remiel, as
| accepting it into its own | I see it now. And I remember
| substance. The thief stares | well how it was when I first
| at his empty hilt in terror. | came into this place."
| He drops it, turns, and |
| flees into the market. | Cassiel said, "But I went to
| The remaining two thieves | Earth and brought him forth.
| follow, scattering into the | How different can Kemen be?"
| crowd. |
+------------------------------+ Gabriela looked upon her and
said, "You were there only for a short time, and in the dark.
You did not see that world as it truly is. It is far greater
than this one. And the land does not rise up to hide the stars."
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Angel Academy season x episode xx, month day, year: |
| Gold-winged Gabriela Haivri, younger daughter of Uriel and |
| Lailah, was the second of the Begotten. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 181: With the assistance of the elohim Gabriela can invoke a |
| portal, an Einstein-Rosen bridge between two points in |
| space-time. Yet neither she nor any fermions can pass |
| between the two endpoints, only light and phonons (sound). |
| Essentially she can stand in Havilah and project an image of |
| herself in New York. She can speak before His Holiness the |
| Pope without actually traveling to Rome. It's a form |
| of telepresence. In a sense, she can perform a similar |
| communications role that Dory provides for all the angels, |
| but the recipients could be a crowd of ordinary humans. |
| |
| The information travels both ways. Gabriela can eavesdrop |
| on any conversation in Kemen or Earth, but not without |
| revealing herself in the process. Yet a hostile crowd cannot |
| seize her, a prison cell cannot hold her. She can listen to |
| any conversation, but not without the awareness of the other |
| party. She can hear what people are saying but they get to |
| see her hearing it. So she cannot rely on force, only |
| communication. |
| |
| By necessity Gabriela has grown patient, articulate, and |
| attentive. 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, and set his mind |
| at ease regarding Maryam, daughter of Yoachim and Anna, lest |
| he cast away his intent in haste. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 182: Gabriela conducted a marriage counseling session for a |
| bickering couple in Havilah who also happened to be kinfolk. |
| The fellow was her grandson Coyote Cub Shybear, son of |
| Cassiel. The bride was her niece Remiel Zinter-Shybear, |
| daughter of her sister Ariel. |
| |
| Coyote Cub, it seemed, had acquired the habit of following a |
| scent. Remiel knew everything. Of course she knew. She knew |
| before he even decided to act on the impulse. That was part |
| of the problem. She didn't call him out on it beforehand, so |
| he took that as permission. |
| |
| In a flashback Gabriela related 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 dusty 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 on a 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." |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 183: Mary went ahead and signed the contract. |
| |
| Father Kendall walks out looking as if he has been |
| physically struck by lightning, clutching a massive Latin |
| missal to his chest. |
| |
| "My friends, the writers of Angel Academy have ventured far |
| beyond poetic license and deep into the territory of |
| theological insolvency!" |
| |
| He sets the book down with a heavy THUD. |
| |
| "The Annunciation! The most sacred, tender moment of our |
| faith! The Fiat of the Blessed Virgin: 'Behold the handmaid |
| of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word'. |
| They turned into a corporate contract negotiation over |
| non-disclosure agreements and afterlife retirement packages! |
| |
| He glares at live Camera 1, his voice trembling with |
| rhetorical zeal. |
| |
| "And Saint Joseph! The terror of demons! The pillar of |
| families! Reduced to a nervous tradesman asking if his name |
| will still be on the municipal tax rolls, only for the |
| Archangel to tell him that 'Heavenly Father' is merely an |
| administrative honorific?! St. Thomas Aquinas would weep! |
| Mary did not ask for a pension, my friends, she surrendered |
| to Divine Will!" |
| |
| He catches his breath, smoothing his cassock. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 184: "Credo, if you ever ask me about the 'retirement |
| package' of an altar boy, I will remind you that virtue is |
| its own reward, and so is polishing the communion rail! |
| Maranatha!" |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
In her lodge Yuha wept in a quiet way, and many days passed
thus. Takoda sat near her and spoke what comfort he could, yet
there was little a man could say. At last she spoke, and her
voice was worn. "Almost a full moon has gone since we saw our
son. Has this going out for a vision ever been so long?"
+------------------------------+ Takoda answered her plainly.
| Lailah lowers Sha’ar ha- | "When I went out, it was ten
| Ruah. The black flame was | nights, and no more."
| still licking noisily at the |
| air. Lailah does not pursue | When Yuha heard this, her grief
| them. Instead she turns her | came upon her without measure,
| gaze back to Avram. The | and she could not hold it back.
| hissing black ball of flame | Takoda sat with her and endured
| dissipates. The bodies of | it, hoping she would not set
| the two thieves lie in the | her sorrow against him, though
| shop, motionless. | he knew she might. In his heart
| | he knew there had been no
| FADE OUT. (End of Act II) | other path. The Kuwapi were
| | already cast out from among the
| Act III. BODEA steps | Oglala Lakota. If he had denied
| carefully around the | his son this trial, his spirit
| carnage, and her expression | would have grown bitter against
| is unreadable. | his own father, as he would be
+------------------------------+ despised by the other boys.
+------------------------------+ After a time Yuha grew more
| 185: BODEA | still, though the sorrow
| Last year in Shalem, | remained in her. She said, "The
| the order of | last thing our son saw was that
| things was reversed | even his mother's heart was as
| somewhat; for we were | stone."
| they that overawed |
| the customers, and | Takoda answered, "A heart of
| took unto ourselves | stone is part of what must be
| their gold. | done. There must be a cutting
| | away. This has always been the
| Lailah allows her black | way among the People." So he
| wings to fold away beneath | spoke, though the words did not
| her cloak (spring-loaded | ease her.
| props, filmed in reverse). |
| | Now Takoda remembered how his
| LAILAH | son called the chief Sad Heart
| I think I made | Bull in mockery, and he could
| common cause with the | not wholly deny the truth of
| Fallen Angels only | it.
| that I might draw |
| the attention of my | For Tatanka laid daily burdens
| father. For he seemed | upon him, small and great,
| much preoccupied at | until even Takoda's patience
| the time. | was strained near to breaking.
+------------------------------+
This day was no different.
Without warning, Tatanka entered the lodge of Takoda and Yuha.
He did not wait for invitation. He pointed at Takoda and spoke
in anger. "You have brought no meat into this camp for a full
moon, Hole-in-Cheek."
+------------------------------+ After a time Yuha grew more
| 186: BODEA | still, though the sorrow
| Last year in Shalem, | remained in her. She said, "The
| the order of | last thing our son saw was that
| things was reversed | even his mother's heart was as
| somewhat; for we were | stone."
| they that overawed |
| the customers, and | Takoda answered, "A heart of
| took unto ourselves | stone is part of what must be
| their gold. | done. There must be a cutting
| | away. This has always been the
| Lailah allows her black | way among the People." So he
| wings to fold away beneath | spoke, though the words did not
| her cloak (spring-loaded | ease her.
| props, filmed in reverse). |
| | Now Takoda remembered how his
| LAILAH | son called the chief Sad Heart
| I think I made | Bull in mockery, and he could
| common cause with the | not wholly deny the truth of
| Fallen Angels only | it.
| that I might draw |
| the attention of my | For Tatanka laid daily burdens
| father. For he seemed | upon him, small and great,
| much preoccupied at | until even Takoda's patience
| the time. | was strained near to breaking.
+------------------------------+
This day was no different.
Without warning, Tatanka entered the lodge of Takoda and Yuha.
He did not wait for invitation. He pointed at Takoda and spoke
in anger. "You have brought no meat into this camp for a full
moon, Hole-in-Cheek."
+------------------------------+ Takoda answered him with an
| 187: BODEA | icy calm the chief's intrusion
| Then verily the | did not merit. "The fire still
| design hath greatly | burns to the south. It has
| succeeded. For His | driven the herds away."
| Majesty hath taken |
| notice, and behold, | "Then go around the fire," said
| here are we both. | Tatanka, "or I will name you
| | Hole-in-Neck."
| TERAH, who is trembling |
| uncontrollably, collapses | Takoda said, "It will take two
| to his knees. He presses | days to reach where the animals
| his face to the floor, | now are, then another day to
| believing he is in the | take them, and prepare them.
| presence of two of his | Then two days to return. By
| carved demigods made flesh. | then the meat will spoil."
| |
| AVRAM remains standing. He | "The nights are cold," Tatanka
| looks down at his groveling | said. "It will not spoil. I am
| father, his face twisting | weary of dried meat. Go."
| into a countenance of |
| profound disappointment with | Before he left, Tatanka's eyes
| his father. | passed over Yuha, and lingered.
+------------------------------+ She saw it. Without a word she
drew the blanket of bison hair closer about her.
When Tatanka departed, Takoda went alone to where his belongings
were kept. From a hidden place he brought forth the thing he had
shown to no living person, not even Yuha. He set it in his
raiment that it could not be seen. This he did quietly, for he
knew that while he was away nothing would restrain Tatanka from
entering any lodge and taking what he wished.
+------------------------------+ Then Takoda and his hunters
| 188: AVRAM even steps a | made ready. They saddled their
| bit closer to Lailah despite | horses and gathered what
| having seen what she | remained of the dried meat
| could do. He offers no | belonging to the People, for
| fearful obeisance. Sar | their stores were now small.
| Lailah watches him. Avram's | Takoda mounted his own horse,
| defiance all by itself | Kaleetan, and for a moment he
| confirms his worth beyond | considered how it was that
| all doubt. She nods to the | the horse had been given a
| Hashmal Bodea. | true name, while his own son
| | had been sent into the night
| BODEA (Regal, echoing) | without one.
| In the name of El |
| Elyon, God Most High, | The burning grasslands lay far
| Lord of Heaven and | off, even when seen from the
| Earth, I bid thee | height of the Island in the
| go forth from thy | Sky. Yet Takoda led the band
| father’s kin, and | south toward that place, that
| dwell in the other | they might look upon the hurt
| world. Upon Earth | on the Earth. And they also
| shall God make of | sought to see if their cairn
| thee a great nation, | raised for Wakan Tanka had been
| and multiply thy | disturbed.
| bounty beyond all |
| measure. Thy name | They crossed the line where the
| shall become great | grass was yet black and dead,
| among men. | as though the land itself had
+------------------------------+ been struck. Then they climbed
once more to the Island in the Sky. When they reached the
summit, they saw that all had been burned. The stone and earth
were darkened as by great fire.
+------------------------------+ And there, upon the high place,
| 189: And Lailah steps | Takoda saw his son. Shy Bear
| forward, taking up the | was alive, and he was moving
| second portion of the | among the stones, setting them
| recitation. | back into their place.
| |
| LAILAH | Takoda saw that Shy Bear still
| God shall bless them | wore the garments his mother
| that bless thee, | had made for him, but they were
| and curse them that | changed in a way that was not
| curse thee. Mortal | of the Kuwapi. They were fitted
| men and women in | close, and covered with many
| every place and in | beads of bright color, worked
| time yet to come | with great skill, though not by
| shall receive great | the hands of the People. Still,
| blessings through | there was something in them
| thee. These are the | that answered to the old ways.
| words of the Lord of |
| all the Earth. | Beside him stood one like a
| | young woman of their own kind,
| Lailah stops within arms | yet she stood taller than any
| reach of Avram. | among them, even more than the
| | tallest men, and the people of
| LAILAH (CONT'D) | the plains are not small.
| What sayest thou unto |
| all these things, | Before the cairn was closed
| Avram son of Terah? | again, Takoda saw within it the
+------------------------------+ white form, still seated as
before, unmoving, as if it had never known breath. And upon that
blackened summit there walked a single bison, newly arrived from
Kemen. It moved slowly over the burned ground as if searching
for some green thing that might yet remain.
+------------------------------+ Takoda looked long upon the
| 190: Avram looks directly | face of his son. It seemed to
| into the searching dark eyes | him the boy had grown beyond
| of the princess. He does not | the time he had been gone,
| blink. | as if more days had passed
| | for him than for those who
| AVRAM (Firmly) | remained. This was a strange
| Nay. | thing. But the sight of him
| | overcame all thought. Takoda
| And a heavy silence fills | forgot his harsh words, and the
| the shop. It takes a | taking away of the name, and
| long moment for the sheer | the sending out into the night.
| audacity of the word to |
| register with Lailah. | "Shy Bear!" he cried, and went
| | forward to embrace him.
| LAILAH |
| Knowest thou who I | Yet Jashen did not receive
| am? | him so. He stood firm, and
| | stayed his father where he was,
| AVRAM | no less than a single pace
| Thy face is known | away. "You forget yourself, my
| unto many, Your | father," he said. "I am no
| Highness. Though my | longer called Shy Bear. The
| father, I think, | name of my manhood is Jashen. I
| hath never beheld | have come back, and I bring
| the daughter of Kar | with me my wife, Cassiel."
| Melchizedek. |
+------------------------------+ Takoda appraised the woman anew
in the light of his son's revelation.
Jashen spoke further and said, "Wakan Tanka has commanded that
we return to the People and dwell among them for a time."
+------------------------------+ Then Jashen's wife stepped
| 191: LAILAH | forward. Cassiel bowed her head
| Well spoken, Avram. | to Jashen's father with respect
| Traveling with me is | and continued to speak in the
| Hash Bodea. Together | tongue of the People. "I greet
| we have crossed the | you, Takoda," she said. "My
| breadth of Kemen, | mother, Gabriela Haivri, bears
| over land and water, | hope in her heart that the
| and even through the | Kuwapi shall ever dwell near
| air, seeking such a | this place, and that it may
| man as thou art. Thus | be well with them. Yet there
| was I commanded by my | shall be much going and coming
| father, for God Most | between this place and his
| High spake unto the | lodge in the other world."
| king face to face. |
| | So she spoke, but there was
| Avram nods respectfully. He | disquiet among the hunters. And
| reaches down, taking Terah | Takoda also found fault with
| by the arms, and gently | Cassiel's words. He said, "The
| lifts his trembling father | People must follow the herds
| to his feet. | or we will perish. I cannot
+------------------------------+ believe Wakan Tanka would have
us remain here and dig our own graves in this place."
But Jashen answered him, and his voice was steady. "In the lodge
of Wakan Tanka it has been sworn that the Kuwapi shall live and
grow strong. Do I not speak truly, father, when I say the favor
of the Great Spirit has already been given to you in secret?"
And by these words Takoda knew his son spoke of the hidden gift,
the rod with a consuming black flame he had shown to no one, not
even his own wife, and all doubt left him.
+------------------------------+ Before they came near to the
| 192: AVRAM | camp, word had already gone
| I admire thy desire | among the People that the
| to do well in the | hunters returned sooner than
| eyes of thy father, | was looked for. Many feared
| Princess. And I wish | they would bring no meat, and
| thee well therein. | that the fire had cut them off
| But my own father is | from the herds.
| infirm of body. He |
| earneth not enough to | So the women went out to meet
| sustain himself and | them, and Yuha was among them.
| my mother. | When she saw her son, her heart
| | broke open with joy, and she
| Avram makes a brief hand | forgot all restraint. She cried
| signal toward the street. | out his childhood name again
| | and again, “Shy Bear! Shy
| AVRAM (CONT'D) | Bear!” and ran to him and
| As I love mine own | took him in her arms.
| life, I can in nowise |
| turn aside from my | He held her, and then spoke
| father for all the | softly to her. “Jashen,
| days that he is a | my mother. I am now called
| wayfarer in Kemen. | Jashen.”
+------------------------------+
But she did not hear him at first. Her hands moved over him,
touching his face and his shoulders, as if to know that he was
flesh and not a spirit.
Then he took her hands gently and drew a little away, that she
might look upon him fully. And he showed her how the work she
made was now changed, and how the hands of the Sarim had added
to her beadwork, making it into something new.
+------------------------------+ Then Yuha’s eyes were drawn
| 193: A SERVANT enters the | to Cassiel, who was clothed in
| shop, leading TWO LIVING | garments like those of Jashen,
| LAMBS. | shaped and fitted with great
| | skill.
| AVRAM (CONT'D) (To Terah) |
| One for slaughter | Jashen spoke and said, “My
| and meat. The other | mother, this is my wife,
| for sale, that thou | Cassiel, who is held in honor
| might purchase the | among her people.”
| necessities of life |
| until the next | Then Cassiel bowed her head and
| season, when I come | spoke. “I greet you, Yuha,
| up from the open | mother of my husband. In the
| range. | lodge of my family there was no
| | day in which Jashen did not
| Terah, still shaken, accepts | speak of you and of Takoda
| the leads. | with a love that could not
| | be hidden. And in time, even
| TERAH (Whispering) | the love he bore for me could
| Thank you, my son. | no longer be concealed, though
+------------------------------+ long he sought to keep it
so!”
The return of the hunters was a great thing. Greater still was
the return of the boy who had gone out, now come back as a man
called Jashen after the passing of one moon. And greater than
these was that he brought with him a wife, tall beyond any woman
of the camp.
Yet Chief Tatanka gave little thought to these matters. When the
People gathered to share their meal, his mind turned elsewhere.
+------------------------------+ He looked for the horns of the
| 194: Lailah nods in full | bison, that they might be set
| understanding. She gestures | among his regalia, as had been
| to Bodea, and the two | done before.
| travelers from Shalem begin |
| to restow the tiles of gold | When he did not see them, he
| into their leather purses. | spoke no word of thanks for
| Lailah refuses to speak | the meat that had come in one
| another word of persuasion, | day instead of many. Instead
| taking great care not to | his thoughts were troubled. The
| tread upon the fortress of | absence of the horns grew in
| human dignity Avram has | his mind, and took the place of
| asserted. With the gold | all other things. His anger
| packed, Lailah and Bodea | rose until at last he spoke
| exit the shop, disappearing | openly, accusing Takoda of
| into the dusty throng of the | keeping back the head of the
| Tannedi market. | animal for himself.
| |
| EXT. TANNEDI MARKET - | Tatanka, already filled with
| CONTINUOUS The camera pulls | anger, became more consumed by
| high above the bustling | it when Takoda did not answer.
| market, leaving Avram and | He drew forth his knife again.
| Terah behind. | It was a blade of steel such
+------------------------------+ as the whites carry. He said
he had taken it in battle, though many among the People spoke
otherwise, saying it had come to him by chance from the effects
of the dead.
He held it out and cried, “This will make your tongue speak,
Hole-in-Heart!” Then he went toward Takoda, thinking the man
would turn away as he had done before. But Takoda did not move.
He stood where he was, without fear.
+------------------------------+ Takoda believed that the favor
| 195: LAILAH (V.O.) | of Wakan Tanka was upon him.
| I left him there in | And this caused Tatanka to
| the heat of Kemen. | falter. For a moment the chief
| And in all my | hesitated, and in that moment
| journeys across the | his standing among the People
| length and breadth of | lessened. He knew it, and it
| that world, I found | troubled him.
| no man at all who was |
| remotely like unto | Then Takoda moved, but not in
| Avram. | haste. He reached within his
| | garments and brought forth the
| FADE OUT | thing that had been given to
+------------------------------+ him.
Tatanka’s anger broke loose, and he rushed forward to strike.
Yet he did not come within reach. Upon the Island in the Sky, in
the sight of the other hunters, and his son, and the wife of his
son, Takoda had taken only the head of the bison, offering it to
Wakan Tanka, that it should not be turned to false honor. But
here, before all the Kuwapi, he did not stay his hand.
The dark flame moved. It passed over Tatanka from head to foot,
and when it was gone, nothing of him remained, not even his
moccasins. Even the very ground stood as it had been. Then a
great stillness fell upon the People. Fear took hold of them,
and they looked upon Takoda as upon someone they did not know.
The hunters who had ridden with Takoda had seen the power of
Sha'ar ha-Ruah, and Cassiel knew it well as the weapon of her
grandmother Lailah, and Jashen had been forewarned, but the
others among the Kuwapi people had not known of it.
+------------------------------+ To them it was a thing beyond
| 196: Angel Academy season x | telling. Even Yuha felt that
| episode xx, month day, year: | fear in her heart. Yet she came
| In 1866 Chief Takoda and his | and stood beside Takoda, though
| wife Yuha ride toward the | her spirit trembled.
| sprawling grasslands. Along |
| the way, Takoda recounts | At Takoda’s left stood his
| the legend of a mysterious | son, Jashen, clothed in the
| figure named Ptaysanwee. | fine garments that had been
| Some nineteen generations | made with great care in the
| ago there was a pandemic | other world. And above them all
| among the bison that made | stood Cassiel Haivri, tall and
| the herds extinct on the | unafraid.
| Great Plains and threatened |
| to make the people who | Then Takoda spoke, and his
| hunted them extinct as | voice carried over the People.
| well. The bison populations | “I have sent the Chief to
| had collapsed due to a | stand before Wakan Tanka,” he
| species-specific pathogen. | said, and none there doubted
| But in Kemen Ptaysanwee | his words. “I will lead the
| located genetically viable | People now.”
| specimens that had been |
| taken to that world | He stood with his arms crossed,
| centuries prior and she | and the Dark Gift rested in his
| reintroduced a number of | hand. Then it came to pass that
| them to Earth. | the hunters and warriors began
+------------------------------+ to kneel, one after another.
They opened their hands before him, showing that they held no
weapon.
After them the women came also, the wives, and those whose
husbands were gone, and the young women not yet taken.
+------------------------------+ They bowed themselves before
| 197: As Raphael explains | Takoda, and before those who
| in a voice-over, Ptaysanwee | stood with him. And so all the
| didn't just save the | People gave themselves over to
| species, she restored the | his rule.
| endangered ecosystem, which |
| had cascading good effects | Then Takoda spoke again, giving
| on grasslands, predators, | his first command as chief.
| and human societies alike. | "In the morning we will
| The introduction of the | strike the lodges and go south.
| seven Pipe Ceremonies | We will dwell at the Island
| commemorated this ecological | in the Sky, near the place
| salvation, aligning human | where Wakan Tanka made himself
| ritual with ecological | known to us, and where Shy Bear
| stewardship. Symbolically, | returned as the man Jashen.”
| this encoded a sustainable |
| relationship with the land | So it came to be that the
| and the herd. In effect, | Kuwapi, the Following Ones, who
| Ptaysanwee's seven new | had long followed the herds
| rituals combined biological | across the wide plains, ceased
| restoration with sacred | from their wandering. Of all
| observance. Ptaysanwee's | the peoples of that land, they
| action was an intervention | alone chose this path of their
| without violence, an imprint | own will. They set themselves
| on human and non-human | to remain in one place, and to
| systems that could persist | wait.
| for centuries. |
+------------------------------+ No longer did the Kuwapi
hunters pursue animals when they grazed far from the camp of the
People, for at times the Sarim of the House of Haivri, close kin
of Cassiel, sent beasts from Kemen to the valley of smoking
waters.
There did the herd graze and thrive, and animals were taken only
at need. So the People abode until the coming of Marcus Lange.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 198: Even centuries later it was still remembered how |
| Ptaysanwee wore raiment of white leather, and the Lakota |
| people had always called her White Buffalo Calf Woman. |
| |
| At a newly erected barbed wire fence, Takoda and Yuha met |
| two women waiting for them on the prairie, and one of them |
| they knew well: it was Ariel Haivri-Lange, who came with |
| the migration of Stiffnecks a year before. Ariel greeted |
| them warmly, and introduced her sister Raphael Haivri. |
| |
| Close at hand a small bison herd stood trapped. One animal |
| was bleeding badly where it was tangled in the vicious |
| new iron wire that was proliferating across the plains. |
| Takoda unlimbered Sha'ar ha-Ruah and used its power to |
| slice this wire. Then Raphael stepped forward, healing the |
| beast’s torn flesh almost at once, with a mere touch. |
| |
| Ariel led the herd through the breach to freedom. Then she |
| turned to Takoda and produced a sacred pipe. Only then did |
| Takoda really take notice that she wore a bleached leather |
| long coat. In an instant of quiet revelation, Takoda under- |
| stood: Ariel herself was the White Buffalo Calf Woman! |
| |
| She confirmed it but her eyes were heavy with sorrow. Her |
| sister could heal flesh, but Ariel warned them House Haivri |
| could not halt the plague of barbed wire that was rapidly |
| and steadily closing the wild grazing lands of the West. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------+ Remiel had no idea where she
| 199: And it came to pass | was, but it seemed to be,
| that in the back of his | simultaneously, an ultramodern
| father's shop Avram beheld | medical clinic and a shabby
| a stone image of the Red | prison. The doctors and nurses
| Dragon cast down upon its | who attended her used four
| face. And the base thereof | quick punches on a square,
| remained upon a lower shelf; | sixteen-digit keypad to get
| but the head, striking | back out. Yet in odd places,
| against the stone floor, | nails protruded through the
| had broken, and fragments | walls, as though some teenage
| thereof were scattered. And | boys had slapped the place
| Avram said, "Behold, father, | together after school from
| Azul boweth himself unto | scrap lumber. The overhead
| thee!" | lights cast a hard, even
+------------------------------+ glare over the clean medical
equipment, but the walls were rough plywood, with splintered
edges and seams that didn't quite meet.
There were no windows, but she could hear construction outside:
the ring of hammers, the rasp of saws, men calling to one
another. The noise ceased only at night.
After months of captivity, she began to hear a strange shout
inside her head. It was silent, yet somehow unmistakably Dory's
voice. The professors at the Academy called such abilities
Mercies. Dr. Mikaela had kept a perfectly straight face when
she'd explained that the things Superman could do in the comics,
X-ray vision, freezing breath, and the like, would be called
Mercies. Remiel had always been skeptical that Mercies were
real, at least until her own ability to glimpse moments in the
future began to gel.
+------------------------------+ Now, free to converse on
| 200: And Terah groaned | Doryphone, she was a little
| within himself for vexation | hurt that her cousin had never
| when he beheld the fallen | mentioned her talent before,
| image, and he went about | and she said so. Your power to
| to set it upright with his | use Doryphone comes in with
| own strength. But Avram said | your wings. And you, well, we
| unto him, "Father, forbear. | raced a year ahead of you,
| Thou art an aged master of | remember?
| stone and canst no longer |
| move as once thou didst." | Indeed. When Remiel allowed
| And Avram bent his knees, | herself to be captured in
| and took hold upon the | New Mexico, Dory already had
| dragon, and lifted it again | her beautiful blue wings, but
| unto its place upon the | Remiel had only stubs. Now
| shelf. | they were nothing but stubs
+------------------------------+ again. Somewhere, probably
in Washington, D.C., Senior Asset Trochmann had Remiel's
silver-feathered wings pinned up in a trophy case.
When Dory started chiming in, it took some back-and-forth
before Remy convinced herself she wasn't cracking up from the
isolation. The conversation really was a mercy. Without Dory's
calming voice close at hand, Remiel would have despaired months
ago. Dory's advice never wavered: "You need to talk to whoever
is in charge of this clown show."
So, after five months, Remiel went on strike and offered her
captors no cooperation whatsoever. She said nothing and just sat
in the clinic all day, doing nothing.
There were two ways of killing time available to her now.
