STORMERE
Season 1, Episode 11: "What Remains of Us" (Midseason Premiere)
ACT TWO - "THE CONSEQUENCES"
EXT. CLIFFSIDE – DAWN
Grey light creeps over the cliffs. The storm is gone, but the damage remains. The ground is still scorched where NOX vanished. His sigil, cracked, fading.
The group stands scattered, distant from one another. No one speaks. Hunter stares at the mark. Lyra watches him, worried. Soren paces like an enraged animal. Ariadne keeps her cloak tight, eyes darting. Aleric kneels, touching the burned earth.
ALERIC (quiet, hollow): I trained with men who were professionals in hiding monsters behind their normal lives. I still didn’t see him.
No response.
Hunter finally turns away.
HUNTER: We move.
Soren stops pacing.
SOREN: That’s it? Kael just revealed himself as the end-of-the-world psycho we've been trying to avoid and we just… walk?
HUNTER: What do you want, Soren? For me to start screaming? To start swinging my sword at the wind?
SOREN: I want you to be angry! To crave revenge. HE MADES US LOOK LIKE FOOLS. He's going to destroy everything if we... You know what I want? I want blood.
Hunter steps closer, eyes sharp.
HUNTER: I also want to get revenge, Soren. But I'm not going to be blinded to pure hatred and rage... cause if we do that, what makes us different from him?
A beat. Soren scoffs, looks away.
LYRA: Krystal Sands is a day’s march if we don’t stop much. We can still do this.
ARIADNE: But... if he’s already arriving there… it's hopeless.
She trails off. No one finishes the thought. They start walking.
EXT. COASTAL ROAD – DAY
The road is long. Quiet. Wind off the sea carries salt and unease. Hunter walks ahead. Too fast. Lyra catches up.
LYRA: You've been walking alone most of the time. You know you don’t have to do this alone.
HUNTER: Yes, I do. This is my fault.
She grabs his arm. He stops.
LYRA: You didn’t know.
HUNTER: That's the problem. I should've known. I vouched for him.
Her voice softens.
LYRA: That doesn’t make this your fault. None of us saw this coming. We need to hold ourselves together if we want to stand a chance of doing this.
He looks at her, almost breaking, then pulls away gently.
HUNTER: I'd like to stay alone for a bit.
She lets him go. Watches him retreat.
EXT. ABANDONED WAYSTATION – LATE AFTERNOON
They stop briefly in a crumbling stone shelter. Half a roof. No warmth. Soren sharpens his blade aggressively.
ARIADNE (soft, distant): Why didn't I see it?
Aleric looks up.
ALERIC: What?
ARIADNE: The stars. They didn't show me the truth.
She presses her fingers to her temple.
ARIADNE (CONT’D): That’s what scares me. What if... the stars have left me?
Soren snorts.
SOREN: Congratulations. He fooled all of us. We're all a bunch of idiots.
ARIADNE: Honestly, the only idiot I see is sitting besides me.
Silence. Aleric stands.
ALERIC: Enough. Turning on each other is exactly what he wants.
SOREN: Oh spare me. If you want some friendly discussions and gossip, go find someone else.
Hunter snaps.
HUNTER: STOP.
Everyone freezes.
HUNTER (CONT’D): If we keep on tearing each other apart now, there's zero chance we make it to the coast. That’s it. That’s the truth. So, stop acting like little kids and focus on what we are doing.
A long beat. Everyone looks down. They continue on peacefully.
EXT. CAMPFIRE – NIGHT
A weak fire. Barely holding against the wind. They eat in silence. Lyra sits beside Hunter. This time, he doesn’t pull away.
LYRA (quiet): When this is over… whatever “over” looks like…don’t disappear on me.
He exhales.
HUNTER: I can't promise that... I don’t know who I'll be after this.
She leans closer.
LYRA: Then decide to fight for us.
He looks at her. Really looks.
HUNTER: I’ll try. You have my word.
They share a small, fragile moment. Across the fire, Ariadne watches them, envy mixed with fear. Aleric stares into the flames, haunted.
EXT. KRYSTAL SANDS RIDGE – DAWN
The sun rises. The desert city of KRYSTAL SANDS stretches before them, glass towers, pale stone, shimmering heat.
Beautiful. Unforgiving. No one reacts at first. Then Soren speaks.
SOREN: So this is where everything all goes wrong.
Hunter nods.
HUNTER: Or where we stop him.
Ariadne steps forward, eyes locked on the city.
ARIADNE: This is it. The place where Stormfall will happen.
Lyra tightens her grip on Hunter’s hand.
ALERIC: Whatever happens next…we face it together. It's been a pleasure doing this with all of you.
They stand there, small against the vastness of what’s coming. The wind howls through the sand.
FADE OUT.