The Iveni Saga

Act III, Scene IV: The Marthalans Reunite

(Atuyo, alone. He walks briskly through the audience. On stage, Itolias leads the Marthalan soldiers out of the wings. Atuyo reaches the stage, hears the soldiers and freezes.)

ITOLIAS:

Hurry, friends, not long now until morning,

And we must find the road to lead us home.

But all around us is this wretched forest.

(He points)

We will make camp by this here standing stone.

ATUYO:

(To himself)

Do I hear true? Or do my ears deceive me?

Do I hear voices calling through the night?

(He calls out)

Who wanders in these woods, who hears me calling?

Hi! Ho! Does anyone have light?

ITOLIAS:

Here to us, stranger! Follow our voices!

Sergeant Lishek, will you please light a spark?

Here, this is the last of our torches,

Use it to bring light into the dark.

(Lishek lights the torch, Atuyo and Itolias see each other.)

ATUYO:

Itolias?

ITOLIAS:

(Throwing himself at Atuyo)

[Atuyo! Oh, Atuyo!

We tried to find Kaveyan for a day,

But then, when the sunlight started fading,

For our homeland we made our way.

But this must be a deep and cursed forest

That keeps us all so tightly in its hold...

ATUYO:

But no, Kaveyan lies just south of here,

An hours marching, for the brave and bold.

ITOLIAS:

Brave and bold we may be, but should not

Our feet be carrying us back toward home?

ATUYO:

(Sadly)

Alas, we have no home to find our way to.

Our river-city has been overthrown.

ITOLIAS:

How terrible! And what about our people?

ATUYO:

All of them fallen, as I thought you were.

ITOLIAS:

You thought me dead? Atuyo, please forgive me.

ATUYO:

There's nothing to forgive, my love, I swear.

But now we must make haste to reach Kaveyan,

We must be there by dawn, to stand our ground.

(He waves to the assembled Marthalans)

So hear me, all you soldiers of Marthala,

Take your spears and gather close around.

We may be few, but we are few together.

We may be worn, but we are strong in heart.

This night will make us legends, fools, or corpses,

But either way, we will not be apart.

We have no city to return to, have no families,

And a land that is not ours beneath our shoes,

But let us now remind the kaveyani

Why the dangerous are those with naught to lose.

Rise all with me! Rise like hopes and eagles!

Fight until your body holds no breath!

There is no victory for us here, there is only

The bloody honour of a warrior's death.

Let us march now for Kaveyan. We might reach it

Before the early dawning of the day.

We will not rest, and we will not surrender,

And no one will dare stand in our way.