STORMERE
Season 1, Episode 13: "The Calm"
FADE IN
EXT. DESERT ROAD – MORNING
Heat comes off the ground. Pale sand stretches endlessly, sparkling faintly like crushed glass beneath the sun.
Above them: KRYSTAL SANDS.
A coastal city carved from white stone and translucent crystal, rising gently from the desert towards the sea. Sunlight refracts through towers and arches, casting rainbows across the sand.
For a moment… no one speaks.
LYRA (awed): Okay. Yeah. This was worth almost dying for.
SOREN: I hate that I agree with you.
ARIADNE (quiet): The primal magic here... is so powerful.
Kael is gone. The absence still feels loud. Hunter scans the horizon, jaw tight.
HUNTER: Let’s move. Before we get caught in the middle of a sandstorm...
EXT. KRYSTAL SANDS – OUTER MARKET – LATER
The city feels alive. Silk canopies flutter in the breeze. Merchants sell glass-carved trinkets, crystal blades, bottled seawater glowing faintly blue. Children run barefoot across warm stone.
Life. Normal life.
Lyra spins slowly, taking it all in.
LYRA: Tell me this isn’t the prettiest place we’ve seen so far.
SOREN: It’s nice. Which means, I have zero doubt we'll end up destroying this place.
ALERIC (laughing): I was thinking the exact same thing.
Ariadne pauses near a fountain made of living crystal, water flowing upward instead of down. She touches it. The glow responds.
ARIADNE (soft): It's so peaceful...
Hunter notices her unease.
HUNTER: You alright?
ARIADNE: I just haven't felt energy as strong as this...
They continue to move through the city.
EXT. KRYSTAL SANDS – CLIFFSIDE PROMENADE – SUNSET
The ocean stretches endlessly below. Waves crash against crystal cliffs, sending sprays of light into the air. Hunter and Lyra walk apart from the others.
Quiet. Finally.
LYRA: You’ve been staring at the sea like it owes you money.
HUNTER (half-smiles): Just thinking.
LYRA (sarcastically): That’s new.
He stops walking. Turns to her. Serious now.
HUNTER: If this goes bad…I just want you to know, I don’t regret any of it.
She studies him, suddenly nervous.
LYRA: That sounds dangerously like a goodbye.
HUNTER: It’s not. I think... but, this might end up in war. And I rather say this while I still have a chance...
A beat. The wind carries salt and warmth between them.
LYRA (quiet): I love you.
Hunter freezes. Just for a second. Then he exhales, a laugh caught in his chest.
HUNTER: Yeah. I know.
She punches his arm.
LYRA: You’re supposed to say it back, idiot.
He cups her face gently. No jokes now.
HUNTER: I love you too.
They share a small kiss.
EXT. KRYSTAL SANDS – ANCIENT WAYPOINT – NIGHT
The group reconvenes near a half-buried stone arch etched with storm symbols. Aleric kneels, brushing sand from ancient runes.
ALERIC: This is it. This is where it will happen. Stormfall’s sanctuary lies here.
Soren shifts uncomfortably.
SOREN: Then why is no one here?
The temperature drops. The wind dies. A shadow stretches across the sand.
A familiar voice cuts through the stillness.
NOX (O.S.): I am here.
They turn. At the edge of the arch stands NOX.
Cloaked in black and silver. Calm. Untouched. No lightning. No spectacle. Just him.
Hunter instinctively steps in front of Lyra.
HUNTER: You’ve got some nerve showing your face.
NOX (soft smile): You brought me exactly where I needed to be. I figured I’d say hello.
Ariadne’s breath catches.
ARIADNE: You planned this.
NOX: Every step.
He looks at them, not with hatred. With certainty.
NOX: Rest tonight. Tomorrow… we talk.
A ripple of dark light folds around him. He’s gone.
Silence crashes down. The calm is over.
Hunter grips his blade.
HUNTER: Everyone stay sharp. Let's rest here. Tomorrow is the day.
Lyra takes his hand. Holds it tight.
Above them, storm clouds begin to form...
FADE OUT