Daylight - First Draft

Act III - Scene 59: The Deciever

SC59 - The Deciever

EXT. THE SHATTERED RISE. TIME UNKNOWN.

Eleanor jumps the stairs two at a time, climbing the tower as fast as she can. Soon the sounds of fighting below turn to distant echoes. She stops momentarily to catch her breath and glances over the railing but the only thing visible from this height is the bursts of fire hitting the walls - and there appears to be even more than before. Eleanor continues the climb and before too long she spots a wooden door up ahead.

ELEANOR: Almost there now. Just a little bit further...

Eleanor forces herself up the last flight of stairs. She reaches the door and turns the handle, but it won't budge.

ELEANOR: Locked... of course it's locked.

She takes a step back and kicks the door as hard as she can. The wood creaks on impact but the door still does not open. She tries again to no result. She stops to breathe again then takes several steps backwards and runs at the door shoulder first. The door caves and swings open and she stumbles to catch herself. Once she has regained her balance, she looks around to see where she is. The tower continues to rise up above her, but the structure is too broken to continue climbing. Through huge gaps between the crumbling walls, she can see the red of the sky and the purple energy holding the tower together. She takes a closer look at the level she is on. There is nothing in the room but a small pedestal holding a familiar object aloft.

ELEANOR: The sceptre...

Eleanor hurries towards the pedestal but as she draws close a wall of fire bursts to life between her and the sceptre, cutting of the other half of the room entirely. She stops in her tracks as Demencia's cold voice booms out of the shadows.

DEMENCIA: You were a fool for coming here.

He falls from a level above and lands gracefully in the center of the room, the fire roaring behind him.

DEMENCIA: The only one left who can close the portal, and here you are alone and unguarded.

ELEANOR: I know, but I have a responsibility. The sceptre falls to me now and as Haven's descendant, I have to protect her legacy.

Demencia laughs.

DEMENCIA: Haven's legacy! If only you knew the truth about your legendary general-saint. You idolise a false hero.

ELEANOR: That's not true. Haven was a great woman!

DEMENCIA: Great?! Perhaps from your uninformed position she might appear so, but I know better! I was there! Haven chose willingly to extinguish an entire race. She doomed my people to die. Everyone, you understand? Even the innocent, the women, the children, everyone! You've seen the vortex out there. Haven knew about it. She came here herself.

ELEANOR: You're lying! Nobody's ever made it here before.

DEMENCIA: But Haven did. We were getting desperate. In our efforts to gain an upper hand we experimented with magic beyond our comprehension, and one of our spells quickly grew out of our control. The vortex we had created threatened to consume us all. Peace seemed like our best option for survival, so I invited your leaders to meet us here. We talked, we treated but only when they left did I realize what had truly conspired. Haven had used the meeting to steal away our last hope at controlling the vortex. I think you know what it was, after all you call it 'your responsibility'.

ELEANOR: No... that can't be true.

DEMENCIA: It is. I created the sceptre, not Haven as she claimed. It belongs to me. It is too late to stop the vortex, but I will ensure the survival of my race. That is MY responsibility.