I have decided to share what had been the last draft of my screen-play here (from Nov.2021) —it may be a great way to lay out “DNA Memory theory” as the blog evolves to a new Medium
I will put it up in pieces as I left it in my notes so here it is as it follows:
Series 1/Film 1
First image takes up the whole screen
It is the painting of Wave girl; image of a girl with red hair bent over a rock with a sea green wave washing over her head. She sits on a rock, like the Littlemermaid, but there is a hole cut out of her abdomen and she has legs and feet. This is a symbolic image
Nexts the words: Electra’s dictionary appear in bold black Ariel type right over the image
Soon the letters turn invisible in a slow fade out until, again, it is only the image of the painting again
Soon another image starts to overlay the girl in the painting; this image fits inside the painting, the new image will start to take over. This girl too sits on a rock, but she is live. We are now in a woodsy scene, with trees and forest around. We do not see her face. She is in profile. She is turned with her right on profile to us. She wears a hooded dark woad dyed blue robe like cloak in a heavy velvety fabric. She is bent over the water and looking into the water; mist is all around her, this looks like either a dream, or something from a magic image as it appears she is scrying into a pool like a Seer who looks into the future
As she bends over, a spill of long dark red hair falls free of the cloak, like a like a curtain
The camera moves behind her and we see over her shoulder her looking into the water. It is a kind of fresh watering hole for travelers on the road but she is alone. Her nails are short but clean, her hands delicate. As her slim, small hands reach into the water, the camera follows. She is humming something to herself as she swirls her hands into the water, but then she bends her head and pulls herself closer to look into the water. She whispers but not loud enough for what she says to be heard; she seems to do this secretly; it suggests by her motions, she is doing an incantation
A large silver crescent moon falls from her robe from a long chord into the water
Something seems to stir within the water; mist and a sense of old magic
The next image that takes over from within the pool is the Painting of a reflection of a horse in the water
The girl stares into the image and after several long beat of time, pulling back from her image to stop as the camera returns to the first position it began with on her as she still bends over the water but we hear in, as if from a far distance, the loud ‘ney’ of a horse and the pounding of hoofs
Fade to black out
Scene cut
Scene 2
Areal shot of the Mediterranean Sea and on the screen it says, “Mediterranean Sea”
As the camera drops down to close in, it narrows on a long boat filled with Vikings and at the front of the boat is Raoul, a distant shot, we see a tall, fit, well muscled, weathered, blonde, Viking as he talks to two of his men as he points on in the direction they go, who reply in kind with enthusiasm and laughing smiles
The camera pulls back as it moves on in the direction they are going
On the screen it says:
Scene opens of what might seem as an unlikely presence of a Viking in the midsts of a marketing arena in Arabia. We follow him into the shadowy and shaded interior of some Arab Chieftain, he wears a colorful turban, they embrace like old friends and speak in a mixture of languages; old Arabic mixed with Gallic and old Nordic
The Chieftain waves his arm and invites Raoul to sit among his cushions and silk, we see colorful liquids in ceramic dishes, we see alchemist symbols written on slates in a quick camera pan of the Arabs interior but first Raoul stops to remove his long, leather bag which contains the swords he makes. He is a blacksmith but his work is superior in both the workmanship and the materials he uses. The Arab steps back to admire the pieces as Raoul lays out his swords. Among the swords is an Ulfbertsword and there is just a quick glimpse of the imprint of the markings, like a flash of the flame in the light. And here the Arab moves closer with interest
“One of your own or….?”
Raoul just stares him in the eye and then there is the slightest suggestion of a smile but he does not answer
The Arab picks up the sword and studies it as he glances sideways at Raoul thoughtfully,
“You never have said how you came by your craft, was it handed down to you from your father?”
“Something like that,”Raoul says vaguely and looks thoughtfully around the interiors before he casually says, “I did not know my father,” now he reaches deep into the long leather pouch where he had pulled the swords from, “There is the other you requested,” Raoul says now as he pulls out a leather pouch which is heavily filled with precious silver coin
The Arab’s eyes light as he puts down the Ulfsbersword and walks over and looks with interest at Raoul
The Arab says,
“You want the code.”
The Arab looks furtively around outside to be sure no one is around. He pulls down the curtain and goes to a hidden chest beneath a pile of folded blankets and colorful damask fabric. He opens it and now the camera zooms in as he unwraps a scroll that has alchemist symbols
Next scene is from above. Viking ships crossing the North Sea in a storm
Raoul is seen among the Vikings on one of the ships. Here we see him with his boat filled with his army rowing as they fight the wind and choppy waters, he shouts, as he squints into the sea spray, pointing in the direction and giving orders as the wind blows roughly, sweeping his cloak and wildly blowing his long blond hair
The Viking year is 946 AD
Series 1 Episode 1
Act 1 Scene 1
Setting— Sweden Clear Aerial view of the shape of it as it appears on a map as though from Google tEarth, we see the shapes from above like a ‘map’ but gradually, the dimensions get filled in as we start to see it as three D as things appear like trees and mountain ranges and become shaded in the approach to show that this is live
We see now a quick image of a settlement, we see the lay out
We approach from the south and hover facing somewhat to the west a bit as the drone drops down to get closer, more details are visible
We see the long houses arranged neatly in a familiar shape
-
[Now we see from above, overlaid, the outline of an excavation of an archeological site that is neatly cut out in squares with labeled plaques and the faintest suggestion of people working on the site
But this image quickly fades out and the island becomes our setting
On the screen it says:]
A settlement on the island of Adelsö 946 AD
and then closing in settlement, we see the layout of the community.
The camera goes in and around longhouses
You see structures of long houses and clear signs this is a thriving Viking settlement by the structures which are well built and neatly kept;
Season-winter; there will be sights of frozen water, frosted scenery, and everywhere snow, white and shades of ice-cold gray.
Time: Very early morning, just at daybreak, pale light, that is almost blue and that sense of frozen chill seems to cling to the frames of the camera.
*******
*****
Sound: at first there is only silence, like the kind of quiet before a storm
Everything is still; everyone appears to be asleep, as now, camera drone goes inside the first longhouse we encounter, entering through the window
the camera shows a close up of a blacksmith’s forge and the tools around; which are high quality blacksmith tools; but here the camera does a closer shot.
Now we see mysterious symbols inscribed and engraved in metal blades as well as on another object laying around; it looks like three runes combined into one character so that we may suppose this is the blacksmith's signature.
Quickly the camera moves around pans a tafl board; what looks like small metal warrior sculptures on a little board; these are high quality well made objects with great detail and high quality, with precious gems, like sapphires and rubies sparkle in this exception of color on the screen; we may suppose it was either made by himself, passed down, or of great significance to the hersir; this is obviously something of great value and allows us to understand this must belong to a powerful Lord.
The camera pans the hut that is the workshop for this highly prized smithy, who is also the chieftain/warlord settlement, and now we see him from behind,bent with a serious tension in his wide muscular shoulders, while working the forge even though it is not yet full morning. You see the strong muscular back of a man at work now who works with a sense of seriousness.
The neatness of his beard and hair, blind and sectioned so two pierces meet in a thong at the back of his head as the rest of it is long, reaching mid back; a golden tone. By the other personal objects around, the clear prizes of trophy like souvenirs from raids; goblets, torcs, jewelry and silver bowl,
a finely made ivory comb, a finely made silk pouch open, displaying runes while outside the wind howls; in the midst of a storm with an ominous sound in the noise of the wind
[The first notes of music are now heard: Holst’s Planets;op. 32 I. Mars the Bringer of War but stop at 50 seconds in]
Sudden stillness and no sound is heard
Now from above we can see again how the settlement is laid out but now we see the sinister and planned attack as it is about to occur as the encroaching enemy Vikings circle around, we see it from above; all warriors are crouching down to conceal in the shadows, we see them pointing and motioning the directions of the plan of attack to each other as they work stealthy advancing in
*****The camera drone moves down and now, as it reaches ground level, it scales *****
We see now by the way the men work together that this is a well planned attack:
Enemy Viking1: [ holding two lit torches, mouths and motions to Enemy Viking2 on left towards the direction of the nearest long house on left and nods at Viking2, then tosses him one of the torches.]
Enemy Viking2: [from a crouched position catches it and light another torch to pass to next warrior]
Cut to smithy/warrior who seems to have heard the sound of the swoosh of fire, and now we see him in profile, carefully reaching for his own prize sword [as he turns the sword blade we see a kind of inscription; a kind of lettering written across but the light catches the blade to white out what it says; just the suggestion of what looks like B E R before he is on his way to peer out his window, leaning up against the side wall
Now the camera shows what he sees; the encroaching upon his Villege and ensuing attack
We realize he is the settlement hersir warlord now as he jumps into motion, grabbing his shield and reaching for his blowing horn to sound the alarm in an ear splitting crack
But already the enemy has the unfair advantage as we see when the scene moves from the warlords view to all the neighboring long houses outside.
Outside each dwelling the few warriors who woke in time to try to fight off attackers and were forced to do so with just bare hands lay dead outside and their families butchered
In one of the dwellings Enemy Viking Warrior3/Ulf, a battle-scarred warrior with white hair and beard; Chieftain Lord of the enemy. He holds a sword up to the neck of a woman who stares at him in fear: how you dare to deny Ulf!!!—did you think you could and live?— this is what you get! [he runs the sword through and kills her]This is what happens when you insult Ulf! This arm is the silver hammer, I crush you with it!
quick and methodical we see all the warriors only motion to each other as they surround the entire settlement of long houses with torches before one lets out a whistle and they all close in at once
The camera moves quickly with the running warriors outside around the settlement. From outside the camera will move to the window of a longhouse to show a sleeping family; the camera moves to the next house and from outside this time, does the same; pans the sleeping family. By the third view of another family through a window, this time we see a fully geared up Viking Enemy warrior climbing through the window to murder the family
Music is Carina Barana mixed with the sounds of metal as the attack is taking place, wind and fire as a surprise attack is underway. Surrounded settlement aerial view key grip coming in from above sounds of screams and cries. Children screaming, women wailing, wind.
The colours on the screen are cold, grey and white snow like dreams with shocks of bright blood red in a strangely visually gruesome beauty.
Dialogue here in Swedish:
ULF: ( shouting to his warrior men)
Spare no one! Wipe out that devil’s seed!
The wind and sleet blow in a visual mist across the screen it is cold and the wind blows bitter as the waking settlement is attacked and butchered in the early dawn.
In the midst of this raid, the settlements lord, Raoul a battle-weathered, Hersir who has seen a few decades of battle is already in the thick of battle defending his land, family and people.
It becomes a gruelling and long bitter fight as the ill-prepared, sleepy settlement is effectively eliminated except for their warrior lord.
As the fight now closes in on one we now know as his family by the shouts given as he calls
RAOUL’s SON: FATHER!
Raoul tries to reach in time as he watches his son overcome and is slaughtered before his eyes. He tries to reach his children and what would appear to be his wife and they too are overcome and slaughtered as well as an old woman among them.
The key grip pans the carnage there is a clear shot of Raoul. His expression is like that of the shock and deep expression of seeing the worst fears realised as he looks upon his destroyed family and settlement.
The key grip pulls back as you see the still and burnt out settlement littered with dead bodies and blood and not one person left but the warlord.
But suddenly Raoul lets out a heart wrenching roar. Closeup of the wildness of his eyes as savagery is born. His features become twisted and maniacal a chill raises like a fog from his body like steam. Closer shot of his eyes; his eyes have gone cold like one undead and no longer alive.
In a wild cry he volts onto his horse snarling in a rage. He heads straight in the direction of the departing war party. Catching up to Ulf and in a swift move and rage tosses his axe and gets Ulf in his left calf while they are still both on horseback. Circling around Ulf Raoul jumps off his horse and pulls Ulf off his horse and in a mad swing with his sword takes off Ulf’s right arm with his sword.
All the enemy riders move around in a circle to witness as Ulf’s son now rushes to his father’s side.
ULF’s SON: No! (looks up at Raoul as he is about to murder his father)
ULF: Leave me son! (looks up at Raoul) Not my son!
RAOUL: (smiles like death, his eyes like a vampire, shine brilliant and electric-like one gone crazy now takes a swing at son as the son grapples to defend himself Shouts to Ulf)
Why should I spare your son? Do I look like I care? You’ve taken my family, my men, burned our homes. I have no reason to spare your son! That I let you breathe one more breath or him is more than I now have the chance for to see anyone who ever mattered to me. (He stands over agonized son and swings and takes off his right arm.
He pulls his hammer to finish off Ulf’s son
ULF: No! Proxy Lord! We bargain! My son’s life in trade - my men, my Proxy Lord as thanks for sparing my son’s life!
Raoul hesitates over the son close up of Raoul’s eyes. They are cold. With an icy beauty. They are savage. With a twisted smile they sparkle with a frightening madness as he laughs throwing back his head in a curdling howl.
Here the Beethoven music starts we begin with The Emporer Allegro in background.
Folkmoot/Council Meeting/an assembly, known as a “Thing” where laws are spoken
As it is the dead of winter, and their days get dark early, by now, the sun would be going down, even as it may only be about two or three pm.
This lighting will lend its own kind of mood [a feeling of dark ages; crude brutal survival by whatever means in darkness and icy cold]
It is a dark scene and as we enter inside from outside, we can hear the howling wind as it snuffs out, we come inside with a noise like a slam
There are torches to light the way through as we can see where we are going; the camera is us as we walk through the structure
Everything inside is wooden interior as the camera moves to scope the inside of the structure
As we move through the structure now, we are able to see how it is shaped inside like a long house that is something like a “Great Hall” prototype with suggestions of enclosed passages, like narrow corridors that lead to other places of assembly
The direction the camera takes now, leads past some banquet halls, seen through tall, wide, arched doorways
From the narrow, corridor looking in,
We are now within the the largest hall where voices are heard before we approach what would be a kind of court setting
there is a blazing fire to provide warmth;
a long wood table where people are all seated around;
as the camera pans the people at the table, we recognize several from the attack on Roual’s settlement and the scene that took place soon after. But also among this group are two females; one sits beside Ulf at the table on his right(his wife wearing formal dress for the Thing assembly), and on her right sits Ulfsson; to Ulf’s left sits the other younger female (his daughter, dressed similar to her mother; both females wear similar expressions as well as they glance around the table to each other in a conspiring way)
It is a crowded room and now we can see there are people standing and crowding the room, all facing the discussion going on at the long wood table; there are a lot of voices speaking on top of each other; loud, boisterous men arguing
Separately from the table another man is calling for order, he is standing on a wood platform, something like a podium, but everyone is shouting at once.
LAGMAN (law speaker/lawman-person who recites the law in old Norse Law held at an assembly called a “Thing” <where English word came from/bastardized meaning>): vi måste ha ordning! män, är vi inte adelsmän?! (Men we will have order! are we not nobles?!)
Men are still shouting and cannot even hear him
We only hear outbursts of parts of what the men are shouting
Ulf: vi känner till lagen om lemlästring! (We know the law about maiming!)
Ulfsson: hur kan jag försvara min fars rikedom och folk nu? se vad han har gjort! (how can I defend my father’s wealth and people now? Look what’s he’s done!) [holds up father with good arm to show how both are maimed; right now he in enraged and his face is twisted]
LAGMAN: och hur är det med hans folk? (And what of his people?)
Now camera pans the room into the direction of where Roual is standing which at the moment is somewhat distant from nearly everyone in the room —he stands to the right of the entrance doorway almost to imply he is ready to leave if he chooses
He paces from the spot on the right crossing to the left across the entranceway to a podium on the left of the door which faces the long table in the center of the room
The other podium where the LAGMAN stands is center facing the long table to the right of the “plaintiff’s” podium which Raoul chooses not to step upon with sn attitude of uncompromised rage and disgust over the proceedings
as they are all the enemy who destroyed his settlement and murdered everyone —
He stands almost by the doorway as if he states he does not wish to be among the vile crowd
He appears wraith-like/deadsoul empty but at the same time more lethal and deadly somehow; close up of “vampire eyes”—long close up; he should seem like a frightening demon, his appearance much altered since earliest scene of him. There are lines of coldness and bitterness, deep hidden sadness, and inner deadly brutal rage stemmed from his fresh need to avenge his family and his people
To the left of the man sitting at the head of the table which faces the entrance and is on the furthest wall facing the entrance are a group of men who are dressed similar to the man at the head of the table that faces the entrance
These men have a nobility to them in their overall appearance; their breeding of good looks and physical fitness should be such that we may imagine these were the men who became the future noblemen of the Swedish court and kingdom
The man at the head of the table is in his early to late middle age. Some gray and silver mixed with golden blond in his hair snd beard. He is still very attractive and fit. But he does not appear as someone who dirties his hands to go to war but rather decides on actions of this nature as this is a role that was acquired by birth and generations of similar leading men
He has experience at warring, raiding, and training as was part of his earlier life education and experience to rule
The young man facing him at the other end is his son. His son is understood to be the next in line snd sits in active training
The camera reaches him as he reacts to something he hears his father saying to his “privy council men” to the right of his father
Council Man 1: vi känner till lagen om rättvisa för mord
Council man 2: (grumbles and exchanges glances with BV sharing his head)
Ulfsson: och hur försvarar vi vårt folk?
LAGMAN: lösningen är enkel; han är krigsherren och det är ditt straff (the solution is simple; he is the warlord and that is your punishment)
Ulfsson: hur är det med rättvisa? vi är båda lemlästade!
LAGMAN: det lagliga sättet skulle ha varit att komma hit för att diskutera innan du planerade en attack för att förstöra hela hans ätt (the legal way would have been to come here to discuss before planning an attack to destroy his entire ätt[family/clan/army/settlement])
Ulf: de förtjänade att dö! (they deserved to die!)(Outburst yell)
All council people look at each other
Ulfs wife: de borde aldrig ha låtits gå ohävda så länge. det sista rådet uppmanade till deras förstörelse. detta är inget brott. det borde ha skett enligt det rådet (they should never have been left unchallenged for so long. the last council called for their destruction. this is not a crime. it should have happened according to that advice)
BV: och du skulle veta? (Laughs)(and you would know?)
Council man 1: det rådet finns inte längre. vi bytte ut dem när du fortfarande låg vid din mammas bröst. och vet du varför de byttes ut? de visade sig utarma rikedomar som andra vunnit (that council no longer exists. we replaced them while you were still lying on your mother's breasts. and do you know why they were replaced? they proved to be helping themselves to riches that others gained)
Council man 3: (under his breath but loud enough to be heard) och det är ett av de mindre av deras många andra välkända verkliga brott (and it is one of the smaller of their many other well-known real crimes)
Ulf: (to his daughter in a low scold to save face) dotter, det är inte din plats att tala (daughter, this is not your place to talk)
Roual: Herre, jag står här av respekt... vad är mer kvar? …. skicka mig som din legosoldat, om du vill. skicka mig till Valhalla (Lord, I stand here out of respect ... what's left? …. send me as your mercenary, if you want. send me to Valhalla)
Next we follow as four men remove from the table from beside BV
One is his main advisor, one is the Royal Privy council spokesperson and the other two are from within the council, the LAGMAN joins the group as they gather to the side away from the table
[to be translated:]
BV’s advisor: Why throw him away as a mercenary?
‘Royal’ Privy council man 1: Ulf has been a problem for years
BV’s advisor: He has a lot of men
RP councilman 1: Without Ulfsson as his right arm, Raoul has done us a favor
BV’s advisor: If we have Raoul leading Ulfs men
LAGMAN: It solves two problems
After privy council (not the ‘nobles’—but the LAGMAN, councilman 1 and three other men who were listening in a back corner to the left/we man assume they are part of the governing complex of the Thing law) end discussion, in a side area by the fire—they walk back over to the king BV
BV stands up as we watch them discus in a small circle by his end of the table
From above we watch by the entrance as Raoul turns to listen to “verdict” and BV moves forward
Everyone else sits down
Now we see/but don’t need to hear BV raise his arms and deliver the verdict with a big grin and look at Roual with an attitude of—you are the man for the job
Raoul close up: his eyes are important here. They will tell us exactly his conflict
His eyes say in a mix: loyalty to his responsibility but with deepest agony and broken, bitter heart
Scene: Raoul sees Elan for the first time
It is a snowy autumn overcast day at a crowded port along the Bay of Biscay several days from the border of Brittany by boat
He leaves his ship at the beach and carries his bag of swords with him to the trading center which is a wide area along the beach that stretches inland and across the most accessible part of the beach for boats to port
He goes to the part of the market that deals with the finest materials. He walks with authority as he has been here so many times that he seems to be as much a part of it as he is with the entire route network of operations he deals with as a regular part of his life. He knows the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Romans; he knows the Dnieper river system and the Dniester trade route and the portage routes over land with transport to cross for the next waterworks and continue on water
He has grown up with the way this way of life
Only with his work also comes warfare; sometimes mercenary and seasonal invasions but having a knack for diplomacy when necessary
He walks around the market grounds to see who has turned up. He does this in the way it would seem was his regular habit.
But this is a man who has had his whole settlement destroyed over a blood vengeance; he has see. His sons killed before his eyes. And he has had to continue on as a Chieftain warrior only because it is his Viking pride to do so. But his soul is dead. He is dead inside.
All he does is raid and lead his army and work on his metal weaponry to sell and trade; sometimes for furs, silks, or valuable merchandise but his heart is cold and not in it; he merely exists because he wishes only to die a warriors death
When he walks away from the market, he goes in search of the watering hole for fresh water.
This is an area away from the beach, towards a wooded, forestry area. This part of the grounds slightly away from the marketing throng, is covered in snow, as it is away from the beach and sand. It is a pure white snow everywhere here, the ground seemingly untouched with its fresh blanket of snow; but such a cold it seems, there is a lonely quality to this cold; like death and haunted thoughts; the image he looks upon now is with a sense of desolation.
This is a quiet time of day, early enough in the morning before the watering hole becomes overpopulated with women from the market arena doing the washing which is why he seeks it out, knowing this
But his thoughts are back on the day of his murdered family. Here we see images from that day across the screen; we see his undead eyes, we see an image of a little girl and we see his eyes again. His thoughts turn darker with howling calls of images he imagines of Norse gods with ghoulish eyes inviting him to join them at the banquet
This is when the turtle dove appears. Among all the white, empty cold scene before, arrives a coppery, red turtledove, flapping its wings gloriously, in that moment he is quite off guard. He is mesmerized by the dove. He stares at it as if it is some beautiful mericle, and in a sudden flash, it disappears
But in the place where the bird last was has been replaced in the same spot. Like the turtledove, she has dark red hair and for a moment it seems possible she changed from dove to human
This is the same girl from the opening sequence. As the lighting shifts, the blue of her robes start to be more visible
He sees her from across the pond as she bends down with a pitcher to capture some water in it. She does not see him at first and dips her pitcher into the water
After she fills it and starts to pull it from the water, without looking up, as if she sees him in the water, like the earlier image, she gasps and looks up and sees she is being watched
She draws the pitcher out and stands up carefully as she looks upon him. Here the camera will pan how he appears to her, first the swords, then the familiar characteristics recognizable as Viking; how he wears his hair, rune markings, etc but it is the swords that have her on guard as this should be the last close up we see of what she looks at about him ….but then she stops as she is about to hasten away and by the way she is turned to him in profile with her hood hiding her face from the side —clearly she stares transfixed by his appearance to her —we know this as a little water spills over the pitcher as she starts with a bit of a jolt
He stares back at her but his look is openly possessive; like a man who has suddenly found a reason to not be in such a rush for Valhalla but —but it is really more than just her beauty; it seems there is something about her that reminds him of the little girl we saw in the image
He starts to walk towards her but that is when she hurries away with a clear reaction of fear, but she moves with deliberate and practiced moves like one used to forcing caution even in the face of fear
All this he watches with interest as she quickly rushes away
The camera follows him from behind as he follows her. We see him follow her all the way to the market area. He makes sure she does not see him follow her by stepping in time behind convenient trees.
From a safe distance, he finds which part of the bazaar she goes to,
he watches her as she enters one of the marketing stalls, walking past the table of goods. The market stall has a curtain that is currently drawn open. We see her talking to a man in dirty looking black robes as she coolly walks past him without bothering to look at him
He has black matted hair and an unkempt beard. He has the kind of mad look about him that goes often with medicine men and soothsayers, both his trade; there are Greek letters written on scrolls which tally their inventory of herbs, elixirs, potions, dyes and and oils which is what it appears he seems to be tasked doing and as he sees her return, we see him pointing at objects and telling her what to do
She hardly acknowledges him beyond a turn of her head, walks past him, reaches immediately for a broom and starts sweeping,
She goes about her duties as though it is something she does so often she is half asleep doing it. She first sets down the pitcher on a small wood table behind a kind of crude market stall table. straightening the goods on displays, shining up the potion bottles, dusting off surfaces.
It is between several others that are lined up in a row all with people behind their tables busy with early traders, or setting out their wares; this is an animated, active scene of morning people preparing their daily fare
Druid: [with back to girl as he tally’s his inventory] fy merch!— ewch i'r twll dyfrio! fy merch —stopiwch eich dallying! ewch i nôl y dŵr! (My daughter, go to the watering hole! Stop your dallying!)
Elan: [lifts pitcher from the table where she put it, walks over and with a slight punctuated thump puts the pitcher down beside him] y dŵr! (The water)
Druid starts with a moment of surprise as some splashes on him. Grumbles. Sidelong glance at her, and goes on tallying as he stands up now, setting down his crudely cut, hand made quilled waiting instrument and feigns business whilst glancing in her direction with a self effacing expression that he quickly hides as he loudly goes about setting up his medicine workshop which is situated in the right hand corner of the stall where hung pieces of drapeding cloth serve as back and side walls; providing some protection from the elementswalls
There is a table made of wood and small, crudely made as well and looks as though it has suffered years of journeys. Here there are bottles marked with Greek lettering, as this is the ancient written alphabet Druids used for daily practical purposes. Here he reaches for a clay pot and begins to beat a small cube of hardened a chalky substance and gray colored with a mortar whilst glancing back at her every few moments
Intrigued, the Viking starts to approach the stall
Her back is turned so she does not see him coming, but the Druid medicine man does and gives him a nervous smile as he turns from his work.
Raoul: [close up of Raoul eyes and facial expression revealing a secret look of revulsion, how the man is dressed; filthy—close up of soiled matter smeared in various places of Druids robes and it appears he must have slept in his current outfit; and now Raoul eyes shift back to the girl still busy with her work; his expression as he rests upon her reveals a side to the Viking that has not yet been present in his expression. His eyes take on a kind of amazed wonder as he watches her; the kind of wonder one has when they see something so different one cannot look away; he is compelled with the same kind of attraction a Viking might show for a valuable treasure made of precious material; as he is someone used to trading and selling his own wares, he looks upon precious objects with a professional eye of admiration and now, again we see a kind of lust for the possession of it mixed with the tenderness he showed for the memory of the little girl and the first glimpse of the turtledove. It is a dramatic moment. This is the moment the audience sees him reveal all his tragedy and years of life as a mercenary swept away by this expression of elusive wonder. It is a subtle yet a quick reveal; this must be apparent as from this moment on the viewer will know from this look that he desires her more than he shows. Soon this expression fades, hidden quickly and taken over by his warrior expression as he walks closer approaching the Druid
Raoul: [by the shifty expression in his eyes, we realize he is creating an excuse to talk to the Druid merchant: har…. Ydych chi— du— Halen— salt?
Druid; [anxious to accommodate at first too nervous to comprehend the Vikings request]
Elan: [spins around, somehow sensing who it is. Stares at him now in amazement as she leans against the little table trying not to be obvious. We do not see her face, she is only seen from the shadows and mostly hidden by her cloak, but by her body language and motions we can see her reaction in this way, her full attention is on him, but she too hides this fact under the outward actions of busy work, throwing him subversive glances]
Druid: [as it now dawns upon him what the Viking is asking for] Salt! Halen!
[Druid now spins around in the stall trying to think of where this would be. First he looks in crates hidden under thick bolts of dark fabric and as he searches, Raoul turns to look again in her direction, openly watching her, but her back is to him. ]
Druid: [seems to have located the salt, as he lets out a sound of success:]aha! [now comes over with a generous block of rock salt and places it on the stall table between them to present it to him]
Raoul: [annoyed expression as he now faces the Druid, and without much fuss, and not much interest in the object presented, but Raoul tosses a coin onto the table assuming its worth and with a terrifying grin at the Druid, helps himself to the black of sat and drops it into his long bag of swords and with a casual glance in the girls direction, he walks away left towards the beach and leaves them]
Raoul assesses the Druid, his eyes, narrowed, run over the details of his appearance; close up of Druid’s unkempt details of filth in black beard, matted dark hair, and tattered, dirty cloak. Then Raoul glances back at the woad blue cloaked female, who by comparison, is clean and seems to not really belong, somehow with the man.
Bay of Biscay scene continued
Camera from above follows Raoul as he walks away from the Druid’s stall; we see him from above, looking down and camera pulls back as we see him circle left around the trading, seaport area; all this we see from above, as he walks along the beach side, he finds his way back to the area nearby his boat his boat.
We can see him wave to one of several men, leaving the boat that we will realize belongs to him as this exchange now occurs:]
Raoul: [we hear as he calls to him man] är det arabiska siden torrt? (Is the Arabian silk dry?)
Viking Ship Mate: ja. och redan lossad, herre (yes, and already unloaded, sir)
Now the camera pulls away more as we see him walk toward the stall area where his men have been gathering as they unload and set themselves up. So from above we can see, this is a scene of activity
Fade out here On this last aerial view of this spot on the beach
Open new scene; same exact spot, frame of beach, but now we realize that it is later in the day. We might assume it is the same day, perhaps there are some familiar objects remaining, a stack of fish that has dwindled down.
The sky has darkened and the light now comes from the full moon
The bluish moon tones illuminate the image
We watch Raoul from above walk away from the camp area nearby where his men have arranged their tents and log fires and from this distance above their voices and activity are intentionally muted as we watch Raoul remove himself from the men
He has his long sword on him and the way he walk with it, it moves as though it is a part of his body. The camera follows as we see how he moves.
This should be a pretty image from above, as though seen from the sleepy mind of an artist
The colors well balanced
Grays and blues
And so even how he moves is here emphasized; seen like some watching him from the shadows suggesting it may be the girl who sees this scene. He would move like a beautiful athlete, stealth, not to be heard and blending his sounds with the ocean waves; this should look almost mystical; he should seem almost like a Norse god, Rigr? Somehow the moon lights the gold of his hair and brings out the “kryptonite” dynamite of the brilliance of “his vampire eyes”
By now we understand where he is going
We should be able to recognize the stall of the Druid’s
As seen from above, we see him circle behind where their stall is and place himself near in the shadows. This is the other side of the stall. Not the same side we saw before. Now we are behind the structure where there is another tent like flap that closes the back side of the stall for privacy, but the glows from behind the curtain reveal a scene taking place
We see the man who must be the Druid slap the girl in silhouette. We see the girl fall down
Next we see Raoul’s reaction. The camera lowers to see his face now as he draws his brows with a kind of fury. His eyes go a bit fierce and his nostrils flare as he moves slightly closer to listen. The camera draws back as we see him rest his hand on the hilt of his sword
From behind Raoul, now the frame we see captures him and the stall within, the scene behind the curtain played like a drama.
We watch another slap as the girl stands up and turns to shield herself in silhouette with her arms as she ducks his next assault. But then we see her pulled up and thrown and next just the sound of her muffled scream
Raoul bolts the distance without hesitation, and acting fast, tears the back curtain in a swipe, and in another, grabs hold of the Druid as he is mounted upon the girl in coitus, and in seconds, stabbed through, dead and hauled off the girl in a motion best equated with filthy waste, with an equal expression on his face
The frame turns now to the girl just as Raoul turns to look at her
She is st
Even from beside, the blue robes pulled around her in a body language expression of horror and shame. She cowers from Raoul and hides her face
The next camera shot is of Raoul
The look on his face is total transformation from savage killer beast to an expression of someone who has fallen under the power of bewitchment; his eyes seem to belong to someone else entity now as he stares ar her.
After a moment he blinks as though returning to himself
She starts to move, we see her begin to remove her hands from her face —but the camera pulls away in time before we get to see it
In silhouette we see him bend to her and help her, covering her body in the robe, he lifts her
The next image in frame is the painting of the Viking with the girl slung over his shoulder
Voyage from Bay of Biscay [this would be a region that would have been considered part of West Francia —towards Raoul’s homeland (Gotland)]
The style of the photography should take on the gritty suggestion of antiquity in the style often used for Beowulf
The following descriptions of scenes are intended to be quick succession of scenes that overlap and tell the story
From above we see the Viking long boat journey at first as an old map with red dashes to provide us with an understanding of their journey as these pace names were called other things then, this should be clear on the map by specific names recognizable but with old spelling. What should allow us to understand where this is in the world, will be clear by the shapes of the land masses
What it looks like is the part of geography of Guernsey and Jersey in the English Channel by Brittany, heading towards the enclave by what is known today as Le Havre (cannot find what it might have been called then as yet)
We see the long boat from above at the port and the men start to file off.
The next frame is of Raoul squinting into the distance but facing the camera. He is looking out at sea as though estimating their journey but then the male voices of men become loud and Raoul turns clenching his jaw as the wind blow back his long hair. The camera pulls back as we see what he sees and both are/in frame. The girl is seen from the side, hidden by her long robes, but we see her wrists are clearly tied up. One of the bearded Vikings on the ship is pulling her by the long chord that by the silver crescent moon and wrapping the chard around his wrist until it his grip reaches her throat. This warrior would be familiar to us from the earlier invasion scene as well as the scene when Raoul maimed Ulf and Ulfsson; he would have been in the background but he should have distinguishing features or scars that would stand out to place him
This is when Raoul’s sword point comes in contact with the throat of the Viking
Raoul: [holding tip of sword upon throat. Narrows cold blue eyes at his man] hon är inte din (she is not yours)[still holding the sword tip on him, looks around at his other men who are now all curiously watching] hon kommer inte att bli rörd av någon av er(she will not be touched by any of you)
A Lone Voice Calls Out: Bara du? (Only you?) [laughing, as though intended to chide in order to start up a fight]
Camera moves back to identify the chiding warrior
We see it is Ulfsson with his missing right arm and a resentful and twisted look on his face that by now has clearly festered into something far darker. This should be clear by his physical appearance change; more scars and a sinister quality to the lines in his face
Raoul: [still holding the point of the sword on the man’s throat, but not looking at the guy whose throat it is while addressing the rest of the men] låt mig vara tydlig med detta så att det inte blir mer förvirring (let me be clear about this so there is no more confusion) then without looking at the man, runs the sword through, blood spurts and kills the man]
Elan: [screams as she is released at the same moment the deadman drops to the bottom of the boat, his hand releasing the chard]
Camera pulls back to shot of dead Viking and blood and Elan bent over on the floor of the boat trembling and clearly gasping and breathing hard with fear as she cowers to the floor shielding herself and huddled in terror hiding her face behind her tied up hands)
Fade out
The next shot is of Raoul with a possessive arm around her shoulder in clear body language of ownership as they are seen walking from the boat from above, the stunned ship mates and the dead Viking in clear view of this shot
Fade out
Fade in
Another scene of the journey along the English Channel and another overlay of a scene where Raoul is seen the same way, with his arm in possession across her shoulders, but there remains the aloofness in his manner to suggest he has not had relations with her
There is an odd manner in how he regards her that at first is not clear to the audience
In her manner, while we never see her face, we do see the body language of how she hesitates as they walk together; by her jerky turns of her head to study him (her face away from the camera in profile) we see she is unsure and confused with what he wants from her
Next they are seen at another place of trading. In this scene it is only Raoul and Elan as they walk towards a tradesman and past the curtain to his shop. In the manner in which they walk together, to suggest some time has gone by, we see they have grown accustomed to each other in ways such as, they walk in synch now together; this should be picked up by the camera; this is to suggest they have begun an unspoken communication and have come to be familiar and somewhat easy together— it should be only a subtle suggestion to show the beginning of a relationship while not meant to appear conscious to them
As they enter the trading shop, Elan goes with him. She stands respectfully back and slightly to the side and here the camera should do a close up of her hands. While there is still a rope around one, the other wrist is noticeably free, suggesting yet another level of understanding they have established between them. And while she makes no effort in her movements to suggest she would attempt to free her other wrist, there is still much in the way of a jerking motion of anxiety when she turns as though to look at him The cameras angle is from the right looking down as Raoul looks up to smile showing the men know each other.
Man at trade center: de nouvelles épées ?
Raoul: nouvelles [repeats with understanding]
Trademan: ils ont demandé quand viendront-ils, c'est bon de te voir, mon ami
This scene is merely to show the manner in which Raoul does business and how he acts towards her as they progress
The camera pulls back as we watch Raoul display his swords once again. The man in the trade shop looks each piece over
The next overlay fades in to them leaving together and Raoul with a heavy bag of coin as they walk in the direction of what we assume is towards where the boat is at port; view pulls back,
Now it is of several overlays, one of Raoul and Elan walking and quick scenes of several camped beaches as the map red line moves
From behind, the camera follows as Elan is seen foraging in a wooded area, she is intent as she searches the ground. We see her stopping to search and studying leaves and collecting. But it is when she comes to a kind of tree with unusual bark. She runs to it, dropping the other leaves and places her hand on a part of the trunk to feel the texture, she touches it in such a way to suggest it is the most precious discovery for her. She finds a sharp rock to cut long strips from ; she breaks and rolls the bark to make it fit inside the hidden pocket of her robe
Next is an image of her seen at full moon an the shore of a beach; it is a dark blue scene to suggest the dark blue of her robes. Here she is seen using a wood cup with a stick, mixing dried kelp with the bark with a green mossy paste that she mixes with seawater. We see her drink all of it
The next image is of her on another beach; this time it is a half moon but the tone of the scene is stil blue but darker. Here she is seen on the beach opening her robes. As she bends to wash between her thighs there is a shock of blood; this is the aborted fetus of the Druid expelled by her potion
In the distance and closer to the camera than she is on the beach, we see Raoul watching her do this, his expression showing relief as he turns to the left with a look of resolution
We see the boat then as it is moving up the channel along the upper coast of Francia, towards Belgae then Friesland,
The next overlay is of the next arrival of the Viking boat and the set up of camp. The camera pulls back and we see Raoul head away with Elan slightly off camp
We see her start to go about setting up their camp with him, preparing a fire and looking for supplies suggesting that they have become habit by now together she stands by the fire to stoke it when he suddenly appears beside her
We see his hand move to her as he places it on her upper arm and move and rest along her right breast as his hand cups it
She yanks away suddenly with a sudden shocked cry and moves away, turning her back to him but now suddenly afraid of what she did
He is enraged and lets out a howl of anger. Grabs her by the wrist and dragging her to his long bag, digs out a pair of metal shackles and locks her in wrist shackles and now drags her across the wide beach up towards the cluster of the nearby trading market
He walks in a manner of knowing where he is going and with anger
He stops at a small grouping of market stalls away from the others. Out of one of the stalls comes a half dressed man and a moment later a woman behind him adjusting her clothes before looking around for her next customer as he walks away and disappears
Raoul pulls her to the other stall and knocks hard on the outer wall
An attractive woman comes out who clearly is happy to see him until she sees Elan
Roual smiles and pulls out his coin sack and then with an insulting tug to Elans shackles shackles her to the post outside the stall
Elan is forced to sit outside on a barrel listening to the explicit sounds of the prostitute having sex with Raoul
The next image on the screen is of them leaving together, both wrists tied up and dragged behind him. Her body language noticeably subdued.
But the last shot before the camera pulls away is with her looking towards him, back turned to the camera, her hooded head staring after him with a heavy set to her shoulders showing intense disappointment with herself and what he just did
But as she continues to walk behind him, with each step she begins to get angry and we begin to become aware of a tension formed between them now and from behind we see displayed her manners that suggest a woman scorned; jealousy and quiet rage
The next port beach we find the dragging, bored scene of another camp set up when we move to see Raoul and Elan, the ties still there, she’s forced to walk behind him and due to his careless gruff treatment, he accidentally causes her to stumble and fall, twisting her wrist so that the ties cut her skin
When he sees this he rushes over and instantly cuts the ties off her
elan: [She immediately runs towards the ocean and now she is crying] Mama!
We see her running right towards the water and then throwing herself in and by how she goes under it is clear she intends to drown herself
Raoul catches up to her. Drags her from the water
Next he is seen caring for her like she is a child.
Raoul: du har en stark vilja —men du är stolt (you have a strong will but you are proud)
He is speaking to her in his language but she does not understand
Raoul: vad tänker du på att hoppa i vattnet sådär? (What are you thinking jumping into the water like that?)
she seems not to at all care. He is next seen drying her hair over the fire
Raoul: stolt! [he looks at her and we see him turn her head up to him like she is a naughty child] stolt! (Proud!)
Her head from behind is seen as she looks up at him
Elan: stolt [thinks he means she is supposed to repeat it]
Raoul: [looking down into her face now in a soft tone:] stolt…. men hur är det något att kalla dåligt? (But how is that something to call bad?)
Overlay a scene of them getting on his boat, close up of his hand helping her, as he reaches she takes his hand to step onto the boat. Her wrists unbound just one tied to him. We see the other shipmates exchange jealous looks
Overlay another scene, this time at night and another full moon
We watch her on the shore. Then camera pulls back to him watching her too. The men loud in the distance but her wrists are both unboundShe is doing a pagan ritual. She is saying things in welsh/Breton/Gaelic, she uses her hands and stretches out her hands and arms
Another scene overlaid of her searching the shore line for stones, the moon in view, her hair glows red, her skin glows luminous like the moon
He watches her
She is seen returning to where he is as he is building up the fire. He glances over at her as she goes about comparing her stones to others from her pockets. He walks over to her to look. He looks at her as he wants to talk to her. He seems to struggle for how to begin
She is seen turning to look up at him, her side profile and robe blue/in the light
He awkwardly faces the beach but glances at her and looks up at the stars thoughtfully. After a moment he clears his throat and she looks up at him from her stones
He makes the gestures he saw her doing on the beach and glances at her with a smile and a shrug
She watches him
Raoul: varför?—uhhh…. Ahhh—pam!….[looks at her] pam? (Why?)—magi—pratar du med dina gudar? (Magic—you talk to your gods?)
Elan: gudar…. [repeats thoughtfully] (gods)
Raoul: ja, gudar— ahhh—duwiau [remembers the Gaelic word for gods from his travels to the island by the North Sea (England)and his visits passing by Bretagne (Brittany)]
She turns in a way that seems a little insulted as she thinks he is making fun of her and she goes about putting away her stones back into her pockets. After a moment he turns away to look at the sky as he says, in a low voice more to himself but really for the wish to tell her
Raoul: vad är magi? Jag lärde mig vägen hem att titta på ljusen på himlen från en magisk man som pojke. min första resa (what is magic? I learned the way home to look at the lights in the sky from a magical man as a boy. my first trip)
He looks down and realizes she is drawing in the sand. She is using a convenient twig from the ground
She draws a picture of a woman and a child, and now she makes the motions again and points to the mother. She draws another picture of the little girl older with the mother and again does the ritual motions. She draws another picture of the girl and the mother but now the mother is flat on the ground impaled by something. She wipes the image away
Elan: [now turns looking up at him] minnas …. [and slowly raises her arms and starts to do the chant] …. Mama…. [and presses her hands to her heart]
Raoul: [thoughtfully] minnas…. [and turns to look out into the distance thinking of his own memories of loss]
In profile she is seen looking up at him
Elan: slslsl….[attempts to say a word] sl-l-äkt…. släkt
He looks quickly at her realizing she is trying to say a word in his language and realizing too her question
Raoul: [voice tight and husky as he nods]släkt…. Familj
Elan: fru….?
Raoul: [heavy sigh and points to her smeared remains of her impaled mother] död…. Fru, släkt, ätt….. [shakes his head and points to his army] ersättning enligt vår lag…. Thing
He is now seen in profile and for the first time we see the agony he carries in his heart and we sense he has had not ever shared before. A hint of his vulnerability is exposed in the moment as he stops to remember them now.
Elan: [moves to his side looking up at him as we can assume she witnessed this too. This is an important moment because it is his vulnerability that moves her and now she reaches for his hand hand moves it the way he had reached to touch her the other time. She puts his hand to her breast and looks up at him
scene shifts to; profiles, and their shadowy figures as he opens her cloak and pulls her to him front of the fire and they move to lay down on the beach, but clearly her arms welcome him to her and the kiss is a slow and gradual burn that becomes unexpectedly intense between them
Fade
Open
Back on the boat, the other crew members are jealously aware of the budding passion with overt expressions of harmful intent
Aerial view of island in the Baltic along the mainland border of Sweden
Open scene of a cold and snowy wet stormy arrival by boat to Raoul’s home land, Gotland
As the winter scene of the long boat arrival occurs, some people from the island who know them arrive to help
In the blinding storm, it is possible to see some of the long houses arranged in a pattern of rows; it is in the pale light which is almost a white out of blindness, the loud howling wind mixing with the crashing sounds of waves; the mens voices eerie in the midst
Among the chaos of the storm, Roual and the men drag the longboat and moves fast through the storm to secure all the merchandise safely.. This includes the dark blue robed mysterious Elan, who he stops to lift from the boat
There is a camera close up of Raoul as he looks into the storm somewhere towards the sea a moment and turns, the wind sweeps up his cloak along with his hair
Roual: [turns to look at Elan; he shouts something inaudible in the storm; telling her directions what todo; they have developed a kind of private language]
Roual: på det sättet!
Elan: yno?
Among the helpers from the long houses are women. They stop to look at who the female is
They are clearly not pleased
One of the older women: [goes over to Raoul]
Longhouse woman: hon stannar med djuren. Jag gillar inte utseendet på henne. hon skickades av Loke — du håller henne härifrån! (she stays with the animals. I do not like the look of her. she was sent by Loki - you keep her out of here)
Raoul: [he looks at the woman who says this as she goes about helping to unload the boat with the other women; there are three of them who are thick as thieves. Roual notices and looks at the maimed Ulfsson who is her son and we know this now as the next exchange occurs between mother and son]
Over the wind she shouts to him:
Wife of Ulf: kommer du tillbaka med stor rikedom min son? (Do you return with great wealth, my son?)
Ulfsson: [embracing] alltid, mamma (always, mother)
After a moment of hesitation, with a thoughtful nod and a grunt, Roual takes her with him away from the long houses to the right slightly there is a small hut like structure covered in a cone of snow at the slight incline, by a grouping of skeletal shrubs
The next shot is of the inside of the hut
We realize this is actually his forging workshop. At the center of the hut there is his forge. Off to thr right of this and towards the back is a place used for sleeping. There are blankets piled her. No
Now Roual piles stacks of white fur hides in several corners of the hut.
Elan: [walks around looking at things. She is still in her dark blue cloak and as Royal comes in from outside carrying in more things, each time he blows in more snow with him.
Elan stands to the furthers part away from the opening. She stands shivering and wrapped in her cloak
Soon, Roual returns and sees she is cold. He takes one hide from the stack and wraps it around her. Them he turns to his forge and set about to gather his stored wood for kindling and goes about to build a fire. As he does this
Roual: hem
Elan: hem?
Raoul: [points to her and then waves around the hut and points to himself and around the hut again]hem
Elan: hem [nodding]
Roual: [finding a flask of mead, pours some into a metal cup for her and hands it to her. Their hands touch and he turns to look at her] för att värma dig (to warm you) [he does a gesture of shivering and nods to drink from the metal cup]
Elan: [takes cup and drinks. Coughs. But drinks more.]
She walks over to the corner area where the sleeping area is and sits on the edge of the pallet. She watches him as he goes about his task building the fire
Camera image of him at his forge. Panning the hut towards the flap, part of the view of the storming waves can be seen, yet it is a cozy scene; he at his forge and elan wrapped in the white hides watching him from the place where he sleeps. Her body language is relaxed. Content. There is a kind of happiness that the scene seems to take that is unexpected. Amid the cold bleakness, in a squat hut, these two share a moment that is unexpected and almost unknown to them
And as he stokes the fire, his arms and motions make dramatic shadows on the wall beside him to the right, her head is turned to watch them. They are like a play she watches, the flames like the mad swings of a nocturnal bat, or like the classical conductor of an orchestra
Fade to black
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