THE PAST  ORA It doesn’t make any sense!!  KEVIN Are you okay?  Karras made tea, thought you’d want some.  ORA Thanks.  KEVIN Interesting set-up.  ORA I’m trying to make any order out of  all the Prophecies.  KEVIN Any luck?  ORA Well...I started putting duplicate  ones into piles.  KEVIN Oh...these are in piles? ‘Cause I  think that means you have a few dozen piles.  ORA So, to answer your question,  no...no luck. This is too hard. How can I find the original Prophecy without anything to go on? I mean, It was easy enough to find some of the fakes that were written for the tournament; See look here. They often call the Chosen One by name. But after removing those, what’s next? How do I separate the lies from the truth?  KEVIN I don’t think anyone can be  completely sure they know the truth, but maybe there’s something that all the ones based on the original share.  (MORE)   KEVIN (CONT'D) Besides the obvious fakes, what’s  something the others have in common?  ORA Well, I originally thought if I  studied the Prophecies written on old parchment I’d be able to find one that stood out as the original...  KEVIN See? There you go...  ORA But some of the Prophecies on much  newer paper have the exact same lines as the older ones. And some of the newer ones describe this...unusual...situation we’re in so well, it’s hard to discount them.  KEVIN So...huh.  ORA Most have the same whimsical style,  where the lines sound like a bad poem without rhyming. That’s actually been the problem. I thought maybe if I just fit the lines that rhymed together, It would be like a map or a puzzle. But that failed very quickly because the rhymes contradict themselves.  KEVIN You may need a break.  ORA I’m fine.  This tea is actually really good.  KEVIN I know we already had food, but are  you still hungry? I could try and find out something else. Maybe something sweet?  ORA Thanks, but I’m alright.  I guess I should have suspected I wouldn’t be able to solve anything in a day. I’m not great at being patient, I guess.  Seems like the only thing I have  been good at is getting people killed.  KEVIN Don’t say that. Nothing’s been your  fault; it’s either been bad luck or bad people. If anything, your hope is what brings people together.   ORA Corpses rose up I think we need  KEVIN Well, you can’t  and killed people, more than hope.  berate yourself for not finding the true Prophecy when  obviously no one’s figured It out in fifty years. Or more than fifty? Just how old is this thing, anyway?  ORA Old. When my parents were teaching  me how to read, they included dead letters since they were in the Prophecy my mom had.  KEVIN Dead letters?  ORA That’s what we called them anyway.  You see, language changes over time and when our grandparents were young the alphabet sometimes included redundant letters. I mean maybe they were some sound years and years ago, but they just became symbols that represented a sound that could also be represented with other letters. Something that was lost. They’re almost never used now, hence “dead letter.” I’ve only seen them in Prophecies and really old books. Oh. Thats It!  KEVIN What are you doing?  ORA Look at this! Look at this. It’s a  dead letter. It looks like a lowercase “p” with an “l” on top of It.  KEVIN You do remember I can’t read,  right?  ORA And this is a newer Prophecy! By  the feel of the parchment, It can’t be more than five years old. So why would It have a dead letter?  KEVIN Because It copied that letter  from...somewhere?  ORA EXCATLY! The dead letters mean  those lines were copied! I always wondered why my mom’s Prophecy had dead letters in some of the lines, but not in others, even though It was the same sound. It wasn’t a spelling mistake, it’s because some of the lines were copied and from an older document that used older letters.  KEVIN That’s...um...great?  ORA YES! With this, if I find all the  lines with the dead letters, then those have to be the oldest lines. And if I can compare those then maybe we can get a version of the Prophecy that’s close to the original.  KEVIN You seem happier?  ORA Maybe we can actually do this!  Oh, there’s a dead letter. Of course this old one is full of them. I should have arranged things better...  KEVIN I’ll uhh....I’ll get you some more  tea.  ORA Uh-huh.  FORMOSA Hey, how’s Ora?  KEVIN She’s...well, she’s happier. She  thinks she had a breakthrough figuring out the Prophecies. I don’t know, It all makes me worried. I think she’s going down a bad path. Oh, and she said the tea is good.  KARRAS (Grunts happily.)  KEVIN Where’s Isten? I haven’t seen him  for hours.  ELIZABETH He’s outside.  KEVIN It’s a cold night. What’s he doing  out there?  FORMOSA I asked if he wanted supper, but he  said no. I think he wants to be alone.  ELIZABETH Maybe Isten wants tea.  KEVIN I’ll ask.  KARRAS Thought you hated him.  KEVIN I thought you hated him, too.  KARRAS Humm...it’s tricky, I think I...  Hummm...  KEVIN Things change. Don’t worry, I won’t  try to kill him. Besides, even if I did, he’d just rise again.  FORMOSA Don’t say that.  KEVIN Sorry. Bad joke.  I’ll go check if he wants tea. Oh! Hey, Karras, throw me an apple.  FORMOSA Really?!  KEVIN (laughs)  Oh, leave me alone.  Here.  KARRAS  KEVIN Thanks.  SPIRIT (Whinnies)  KEVIN Hey girl.  It’s Okay girl.  SPIRIT (Blows)  KEVIN Hahaha. I knew you would find us.  Ora was so excited to see you.  SPIRIT (Blows)  KEVIN I haven’t seen her smile like that  in a long time. Here, I brought you a nice apple. Here you go. (Chuckles). Now, don’t tell anyone. Don’t want to get a reputation as a softy, do I?  SPIRIT (Blows)  KEVIN Ha! Oh, stop It.  KEVIN (CONT'D) You have the best bedroom in the  world, don’t you? I did love sleeping outside. Maybe I’ll just sleep with you out here tonight, hmm?  SPIRIT (Whinnies)  KEVIN Haha! Okay, okay...I can take a  hint. Get some rest. You deserve all the rest in the world.  SPIRIT (Whinnies)  KEVIN Isten?  Yes?  ISTEN  KEVIN Oh, there you are.  Do you want to come inside? Karras made tea.  ISTEN I’m not thirsty.  KEVIN You could warm yourself by the  fire.  ISTEN I’m not cold.  KEVIN So, your plan is to stay outdoors  and stare at nothing?  ISTEN They don’t want me inside.  KEVIN Well, we don’t want you out here  either. (MORE)  KEVIN (CONT'D) Sorry...Look, I admit, we all  have...complicated relationships with you. You were awful, but you did save us back there. I don’t know if we could have survived without you. That helps with the bad feelings a bit.  ISTEN They stare at me with eyes filled  with horror and pity. I am their own mortality, hobbling beside them, proof of how death awaits us all. And then, perhaps worse than death. I think it’s best if I stay away.  KEVIN And I don’t look at you that way?  ISTEN You look at me like I’m an asshole.  KEVIN Oh...I’m sorry?  ISTEN It’s a good thing. It’s how you  looked at me before. And uh, to be fair, I was an asshole. Sorry about that.  KEVIN Are you really apologizing? I saw  the dead come back to life, but this feels like a bigger miracle.  ISTEN It’s comforting that you don’t look  at me differently. Though I suspect that feeling is going to disappear, too.  KEVIN What do you mean?  ISTEN Everything’s becoming dimmer.  Emotions, physical sensations...even my thoughts are becoming...sluggish.  (MORE)  ISTEN (CONT'D) It’s like a fire has been put out  and the smoke still remembers the heat of when It was a raging conflagration, but it’s disappearing into nothingness.  KEVIN That’s terrifying.  ISTEN I don’t fear oblivion. It almost  seems restful. What I fear is what this body will do when what’s left of my consciousness disappears. Will I try to kill you? Will I continue to follow after you like some decaying pet? How can I do that to you all? Despite everything, Ora still believes in me. And Karras... Karras deserves so much more. I keep thinking of what I could have done differently. How many people I hurt. I have so many regrets, yet even those regrets are dimming into nothingness.  KEVIN Can I do anything for you?  ISTEN I doubt there’s anything to be  done. Though everything withers away, one thought grows: an aching desire that there’s somewhere I need to go.  KEVIN Do you know where? Maybe It has  something to do with the Prophecy.  ISTEN I thought you didn’t believe in  that.  KEVIN I believe in Ora and she believes  in It. Maybe that’s enough.  ISTEN You’ll destroy her, you know.  KEVIN Why would you say that?  ISTEN (sighs)  She trusts you...and yet you disagree with her at every turn, in every belief and yet you stay with her. It’s a tough place for her to be...you’re either wrong, or enabling her.  KEVIN I know Ora better then you ever  will. You keep your shit thoughts to yourself.  ISTEN Well, if I can’t have a friend with  me as I fade away, perhaps I can have an enemy. That’s more intimate in some ways.  KEVIN Well, that’s a lousy excuse for  saying a horrible thing.  ISTEN The stars are so bright tonight.  Were they always this bright, or did I not notice?  KEVIN You’re an asshole. Dead or alive,  you’re an asshole.  ISTEN You may be right, but I’m glad  you’re with me.  KEVIN I am too.  SCENE BRAKE  LINUS What do we do now?  ANN We go after everyone! They killed  Hal, I’m going to destroy every one of them.  LINUS We only survived because they  suddenly left, there’s no way we can go against them again.  ANN Coward.  VORLAUF We do not need to concern ourselves  with the dead.  ANN How dare you! I thought Hal meant  something to you!  VORLAUF We go after Ora, the Prophecy-  seeker. She was there when magic was used when we raided that house in the countryside. She used It on me when we fought over the Prophecies. And then all these dead magically come back to life while she’s around? I don’t believe in coincidences.  ANN Then we should still follow the  dead. If Ora’s doing this, then she’ll be with them.  VORLAUF Perhaps. Perhaps not. The dead can  follow exact commands, perhaps she’s making them walk in the opposite direction to lead us away from her.  LINUS You sound like you’ve seen this  before.  VORLAUF I have.  ANN You knew this was possible and  didn’t tell us?! Ugh!  VORLAUF Put your sword away before I give  you mine.  ANN If you had warned us then Hal might  still be alive.  VORLAUF I’ve always said magic was evil.  Now, do you want to continue to bicker amongst ourselves or do you want to go after the person who did this?  ANN I’m not going anywhere with you  until you explain yourself.  VORLAUF I don’t owe you an explanation.  LINUS I’m with Ann. I’m not leaving  unless you tell us everything.  VORLAUF Very well. Though let us walk as I  tell you, the blood on the streets will attract Lusus Naturae. I grew up in a small farming village. My mother died in childbirth and my father died in a farming accident. My aunt took me in and raised me like her own son.  ANN Get to the point.  VORLAUF Do you want a hasty explanation or  one that truly lets you understand?  LINUS I want to hear everything.  ANN Fine.  VORLAUF I was close to a neighbor my age,  Diana. She was always energetic and eager to help; smart, too. Bribed a wandering priest to teach her how to read.  If I ever find that priest, I’ll kill him slowly.  LUSUS NATURAE (Roar)  VORLAUF We should quicken our pace.  LINUS What happened to Diana?  VORLAUF Somehow she got her hands on a  Prophecy and got It into her head that I was the Chosen One.  ANN You?  VORLAUF According to her, I fit the  description. She described a male orphan with the ability to fight, but no taste for It. That peeked my attention.  ANN Did you believe It?  VORLAUF I couldn’t read It; and she claimed  the rest described me perfectly. I liked the idea that I was special, but I didn’t like the idea of having to change my life. Diana wanted me to leave with her and pursue my destiny, but I argued that if I was truly the Chosen One then whatever was fated to happen would still happen even if I stayed on my farm.  ANN An argument I wish more Chosen Ones  would think of.  VORLAUF But Diana was insistent and she had  a way with words. Finally, I agreed to travel with her.  LINUS Did you love her?  VORLAUF I admired her. She was confident  and kind. We spent a year together; track down other Prophecies. She would read them to me and everything seemed to fit. Eventually, we went to a deserted, walled city. She had It in her head that if we could simply get inside then the world would be saved.  ANN I don’t see a saved world.  VORLAUF We didn’t even make It to the gate.  Hundreds of dead guarded the city. Some so rotted they were practically skeletons, others so fresh they seemed alive, but with dead, dull eyes. And not only humans, there were bears, gnomes, Lusus Naturae, and more. A mass of nightmares, standing guard, still as the grave.  LINUS What did you do?  VORLAUF I was the Chosen One. How could I  not try?  LINUS How...  VORLAUF We tried to sneak past them. When  that didn’t work, we tried to fight our way through. Diana died saving my life, yelling at me to run. And I did.  ANN I’m sorry, Vorlauf.  VORLAUF The dead caught me and as rotting  hands held me down, a man approached. Tall. Handsome. Happy. He asked if I wanted to play.  VORLAUF (CONT'D) He used magic to control the dead  and, with a smile, forced me to return to Diana. She laughed as Diana’s corpse wobbled to its feet. Diana, but not Diana. Whatever made her human was gone, all that was left was a husk.  ANN Like Hal.  VORLAUF The man promised me freedom if I  could outrun the dead. If I failed then I’d be punished. Four times. I failed four times. He had Diana peel off parts of my skin then forced me to devour my own flesh each time I lost. The man laughed. The fifth time I ran...after a few minutes, I looked over my shoulder and nothing was following me except a trail of my own blood. Maybe he was bored? Maybe he thought my wounds would do me in anyway. I left broken and alone, but still had all the Prophecies that Diana had copied down. I found some people to teach me to read so I could continue... Diana had deceived me. Chasing down Prophecies, she simply ignored the ones I didn’t fit and assumed the ones that described me were confirmation.  ANN What! Why would she do that?  VORLAUF Magic, she was obsessed. I made my  own promise: I would eradicate magic. Damn the “prophecy” and damn anyone else. I would raze this world of that cursed power, where one person has the ability to destroy so much while Laughing.  ANN Did you ever go back?  VORLAUF No. I will not fight if there is no  chance of winning and I could not take companions who did not understand the risk. Perhaps one day I’ll return with my blade unsheathed, but in the meantime I will do my duty. I will annihilate all magic. The only way to stop the evil is to dig It out wherever It lies. Some may curse my name, but everything I do is for the sake of humanity.  Alight?  ANN Yes... alright.  SCENE BRAKE  ORA (Muttering)  ELIZABETH Thought you’d be hungry. For  breakfast, I brought tea and biscuits.  ORA It’s morning already??  ELIZABETH If you didn’t notice the time, you  must have been making a lot of progress.  ORA I was. I am. Though by removing  lines that don’t have dead letters, some of what I thought was true, isn’t.  ELIZABETH What isn’t true?  ORA The parts that reflected Godrick’s  appearance and how the One is an orphan. All of that is just wrong. Just like he thought.  ELIZABETH His death wasn’t your fault.  ORA But It was. When his family was  attacked, if I created that magical fire and not Godrick, then my whole reasoning on why he was the Chosen One was false. If I had known myself, even a little more, then I wouldn’t have forced him to accept what I wanted. If I hadn’t done anything, he’d be safe at home.  ELIZABETH He died falling off a horse,  correct? Not in some grand battle that only a Chosen One would fight. It was an accident that could have happened at any time. At least with you by his side, he knew he had a loyal friend.  ORA With the dead coming back, do you  think that he...?  ELIZABETH No. And far better that way.  Although, that reminds me... ...I wanted to give you this.  ORA Is that Godrick’s?  ELIZABETH Yes. When you brought me his amulet  I felt I needed to hold on to It, to keep It in the family. But why? I have no use for It, and I can see that you were more family to him than I ever was.  ORA He was my brother.  ELIZABETH If you would like It, I’d like you  to have It.  ORA I...I would love to have It.  ELIZABETH So, what else have you discovered  about the Prophecy?  ORA Magic’s still important. Starting a  fire alone is fake, but now there’s this line, “Moves nature.”  ELIZABETH So the One still has to be able to  use magic.  ORA Well, at least be able to  manipulate nature unlike others, which means It still fits Isten. Given his current state, his entire being right now is magical.  ELIZABETH Have you considered anyone else who  uses magic? Someone, perhaps, in this very room.  ORA Elizabeth...I was you...but create magic,  wish to everything It you said you can’t and, and also...  ELIZABETH But I’m not alone in here, am I?  ORA No. No. No. It’s not me. No.  ELIZABETH Why do you always look for someone  else to be the Chosen One, but refuse to think It could be you?  ORA No, I don’t fit some of these  lines. Like, This, this here. A few of these talk about a prominent scar or a large scar. I’ve got a ton of tiny scars, but nothing big.  ELIZABETH And Isten has that?  ORA He does. He likes...liked to  stretch in the morning. Something about energy, and sometimes he would stretch shirtless. He has a huge scar across his chest.  (MORE)  ORA (CONT'D) And this line “No doubt of self, a  kempt mind.” He’s the only dead who kept his mind, he’s special. That has to count for something.  ELIZABETH Well, perhaps we should discuss  this more on a later date. When you’re more comfortable with your newfound powers. You should eat your breakfast.  ORA Uh, sure.  ELIZABETH So, what else have you discovered?  ORA A few locations are mentioned. Let  me find them...  ORA (CONT'D) “Atop a red mountain, one’s destiny  awaits.” Here’s another. “Silver walls etched with silver meanings, when the doors are opened there’s hope for the future.” Oh, and, and another. “Protecting and guarding, the city contains secrets that can help those who are lost.”  ELIZABETH Those aren’t different locations.  They all describe one location.  ORA What?  ELIZABETH Carcerem.  ORA Carcerem?  ELIZABETH I only know of It through stories  from when I was child, but those descriptions all fit the city perfectly.  ORA Do you know how to get there?  ELIZABETH No, I don’t. But I know someone who  does. SCENE BRAKE  LINUS Are you certain the dead went this  way?  ANN You can’t be serious. Look at the  footprints and broken branches. A ton of people recently came through here.  LINUS I know, but I feel like we have  been here before...maybe they double backed?  ANN Scared?  LINUS What? No... I mean... I just  meant...  ANN Just wait until we get close, how  much do you want to bet that we’ll be able to smell them before we see them? That much blood and decaying flesh should create quite an aroma.  LINUS Great.  VORLAUF It’s getting cold...  ANN Should we stop?  VORLAUF No, I have gloves.  OUCH!  ANN What? What is It?  VORLAUF I don’t know...but I’m bleeding...  Get me a jar with a lid.  LINUS What?  VORLAUF OUCH!! Get me a jar with a lid.  Now.  ANN Is that a wisp?  It is.  VORLAUF  ANN Why were you holding a wisp?  VORLAUF It was in my pocket.  ANN Why did you have a wisp in your  pocket?  VORLAUF Ora was using It to track a  Prophecy. I killed when I fought her, and apparently magic brought It back to life.  LINUS Why now? Why didn’t It come back to  life when all the others did?  VORLAUF It probably did... but It was stuck  in my glove and couldn’t escape.  ANN Does that mean we have to worry  about an army of undead bugs attacking us?  LINUS Do you want to give me new  nightmares?  VORLAUF I doubt It...I think we would have  noticed that before.  LINUS Maybe insects are too small?  VORLAUF The wisp doesn’t appear controlled.  The dead are going south, yet this creature seems to want to go to the east.  LINUS (groans)  VORLAUF Why do you want to go east? What’s  there?  LINUS You said It was tracking a Prophecy  before...maybe it’s still tracking that?  ANN Sometimes you’re not completely  stupid.  LINUS Aw, thanks Ann.  Though again, times.  ANN you having a good idea, once confirms this may be the end  VORLAUF be following the Prophecy.  It may And if It is, that means it’s following Ora.  ANN Oh! What a handy undead bug.  END OF EPISODE 23