Chet-chet!
Chet-chet-chet!
Maghra!
Here I am.
Dad. Dad.
Boy.
There's more of them coming. We're about to be surrounded.
-Dad. -What happened?
What happened?
I didn't see it, but he said he saw it, and--
-Saw what? -Saw what?
What-- What's she talking about?
Did you find Mom?
I saw her leave the woods.
I saw her with them and...
I saw her die.
What? What?
She was taken before their leader.
She pled with him.
He seemed to be listening, but then he drew for his sword and he cut her down.
He-- He killed her.
No. No. She's not dead.
-He's lying. -No.
Why should I believe him?
I didn't believe it either.
I went to look for her.
And I found this.
-I found her bag in blood. -What?
I saw it with my own eyes.
I'm sorry, but we have to run.
No, no. I'm not running.
I'm not going anywhere until we find the Witchfinder and kill him.
-No. -Papa.
We run.
-What? -There will be another time,
a time of our choosing, but right now I have to keep you safe.
-No. I'll go without-- -Listen to me.
I have to keep you safe.
We must go. We must go. They're on their way.
I know a place we can hide safely.
Follow me.
You were dead and now you are not.
How can this be?
Where's my family?
These children with vision, they are yours...
aren't they?
I'll answer nothing until I have your assurance
that my family will not be harmed.
I have orders to seize them by any means necessary.
I'm giving you different orders then, aren't I?
You are not the queen.
And whose fault is that?
Tell your men to bring them in alive and unharmed,
and I'll tell you what you want to know.
And then I'll tell you more.
General.
Pass word into the field, the fugitives must be caught alive.
Any damage visited upon them will be returned to every tenth man of ours,
drawn by lots.
Do you understand?
Yes, General.
The order has been given, as you asked.
Now, will you answer my question?
There was a time...
had I given you my word...
you would not have hesitated to believe it.
That was a long time ago.
Yes, it was.
But we are who we are.
No amount of time could change that.
If you trusted me then, do it again now.
Please...
tell me what happened.
This way.
Where are we?
It's a cave, well hidden.
I used to play inside as a child.
It's deep and dark. Nobody will find us here.
The air is still here.
-It's a dead end. -It's all right. We've arrived.
Boots!
What are you doing?
-Open the gate. -Can't.
Boots.
Listen to me. Open this gate.
Please don't leave us in here.
Please stop.
Why are you doing this?
We took you in. I told them to take you in.
It is better this way.
Too many of you to trust all of you.
One would be better.
-Goodbye. -Boy.
-No. -Boy!
-Open the gate. -Hey!
Open the gate.
Open this gate!
-Boots! -Open the gate!
Boots!
-It's not. This can't be happening. -I knew this would happen.
You never wanted to listen. Nobody wanted to listen.
We told you not to do it.
-What did you say? -She heard me.
Kofun!
We told you not to go inland.
We told you not to trust him. But since when has that ever mattered?
You're always so fucking certain you're in the right!
Well, look where it's left us now, Haniwa!
Fuck.
What is it?
It's dropping.
Kofun.
When we get to the bottom, we're gonna be in the dark.
I have a flint. I just-- I need something to light.
The letter.
If this cage can be lowered, it can be raised.
Do you see any tools we can use to do it?
I don't think so.
Someone's here.
I don't see anyone.
We can't stay here.
If we can't get out the way we came, we have to find a way through this.
We're gonna be in the dark again soon.
Then follow me.
What are you doing?
What do you care?
You've stopped working.
They will notice, and you don't want that.
The cocoon, it moves. Why does it do that?
That's even worse. You must summon someone quickly so they can take it away.
What for?
The worm is ready to emerge
and it cannot do so without ruining all the silk from the cocoon.
The Overseers will not take kindly to it.
What is your name?
What do you care?
You seem awfully concerned with my welfare despite the fact we've never spoken.
-I want to know your name. -My name is Cora.
And my concern is for my welfare, not for yours.
If the Overseers or, worse yet, Cutter gets angry with one of us,
the rest of us end up suffering as well.
I'm gonna be very honest with you, Cora.
This is no way to live your life.
Okay. So you're one of those.
"Those"?
You're not the first woman of means who's found herself kneeling before the rack,
lamenting her change in circumstances.
Here, I am fed, I'm sheltered, and I'm unmolested.
There are much worse ways to live your life, I can assure you.
Perhaps you're entitled to want more than that.
There is no part of me that needs more than that in my future.
Well, maybe, like our little friend here,
you could grow new parts to accommodate the need to want more.
You! Why are you idle?
Why are you not working?
I am glad you're here.
I wasn't sure what to do with that and I wanted to--
This is urgent.
This could have been wasted.
Get back to work.
I said, get back to work!
Mind your racks.
Will you get up for me?
You're making me so very angry right now.
I said, will you get up for me?
No.
You are new. You will learn.
Let me know when she stirs.
We'll try again.
So much is about to change...
in a moment.
The world is shedding its skin, revealing something new.
And yet all I can feel is sadness.
Any words I might deploy to address it...
seem small to me...
and unworthy of a great life.
So I'll just say...
The task of succeeding you...
it's doomed to fail.
You're irreplaceable.
But I will do my best...
to preserve what you've left me, to make you proud.
Come.
Maghra?
It's okay, don't be frightened. I'm here.
I'm right here.
Things will change.
But what will never change is this:
I'm going to take care of you.
Maghra.
It's astonishing how the smallest moment can change an entire world.
How many lives can be upended.
Kingdoms. History. All of it.
All set in motion by a dying man whispering four words to his daughter.
"You must rule... soon."
What he said, if he said it, was far less destructive than what you did about it.
Your choice, Maghra, not his.
"If" he said it?
There was a time you would have taken me at my word.
I have no wish to play games with you.
What games?
When I came of age and tried to rally support
to remove my sister from the throne, it was no game to me.
When most of the generals and half the court pledged their support
to make the change, it certainly was no game to them.
And when you held the fate of the entire kingdom in your hands,
the one voice of support I needed to make good a king's dying wish,
when you could have changed the world with just one word, "yes"...
you said "no."
-Was it a game to you then? -You were a child--
I was old enough to understand what had been obvious to my father,
that my sister was ill-suited for the role...
that the weight of her authority would aggravate all of her weaknesses.
I loved my sister, but I knew what she would become.
And I tried to save her from it.
And was I wrong?
Were you wrong?
You were smart.
You were kind, and you were loyal.
And you weren't strong enough.
Say what you want about your sister,
but that has never been a label applicable to her.
You underestimated me then, and you're doing it again now.
None of this is what I asked.
She told me you were dead.
She told us all that Jerlamarel killed you. Why?
As soon as I failed, I knew I could not stay.
So I ran.
She lied. And here we are.
You didn't just attempt to seize her crown.
You didn't just run when you failed.
You took her most favored consort in the bargain too.
It gave me no pleasure to hurt her in that way.
But Jerlamarel had an opportunity to wield significant power through her,
and instead he chose to be a fugitive with me.
That should tell you how little control we had over that relationship.
It was simply beyond our abilities to deny.
And where is he now? Where is Jerlamarel?
I don't know.
I haven't heard his voice since before the children were born.
Children I have hunted to the ends of the earth,
without ever knowing who they truly were.
Children who are still fugitives
that I have spent half a lifetime sworn to apprehend.
Then your grievance is with the queen who swore you to it.
I encourage you to go home and confront her about it.
I will have something brought to you to eat.
In the meantime, I thank you to remain inside.
Your presence among the men will only confuse them.
Tamacti Jun.
When you find them...
will you leave us be?
Someone's here.
You are uninvited, yes?
Woman. Yes. But we did not intend--
You came to us. Why?
We were trapped here by a man who-- By a boy who betrayed us.
We're only looking for a way out.
A boy.
You are welcome as long as you like. Come.
Where is here? Who are you?
Come. This way.
It's all right. You'll be all right.
Where are we?
We all woke up here with the door locked.
None of us know any more than you do.
That taste in your mouth is Queen's Stalk.
It's mushrooms to numb the senses.
And the lights?
Lights?
You didn't tell them, Kofun?
Some kind of glowing bugs hanging from the ceiling.
There are stories of clans who took refuge below.
Some who have been away below so long...
they are something other than human.
Whoever it is, if they wanted to kill us, we'd be dead already.
How do we know we're not dead?
'Cause Mom still isn't here.
And wanting to kill us is different from wanting us dead.
Maybe they left us in here so we'd finish each other off for them.
Well, they're going to be very disappointed,
because for as long as we are in here, we will remain together.
We will hold together until we get free of it.
If they don't mean to kill us, then they need to feed us.
Which means, at some point, someone needs to come through this door.
And when that door opens... I will get us a way out.
But for how long?
What?
For how long do you think we can hold together in here?
Here. That's warm.
Won't heal anything, but it might at least help you sleep.
Why are you helping me?
I was the youngest of six and our father was a monster.
We all suffered his cruelty and his anger...
his lust.
We all suffered it knowing that it would likely never end.
On the night I turned nine, I'd had enough.
I went to him in the night and I stuck a knife through his heart.
Then I went back to bed and I slept soundly.
Interesting.
You think I'm weak.
You think I don't resist 'cause I don't have the courage to.
And you are wrong.
I was the oldest of two.
Our father was a kind man...
to my sister, at any rate.
To me, I never felt his anger, or violence,
or cruelty, or really anything.
All I felt from him was stark, cold indifference.
I was the oldest...
but he wanted to give away my birthright to my younger sister...
the one I cared for and protected...
any way I could.
He wanted to hand her my future.
It was then that I learned...
in this life...
one must take the life one wants.
So I took everything from them both.
What was "everything"? What did you take?
More than you can imagine.
How many of us exactly are there here?
The workers? There are near thirty of us.
And how many of them?
Four Overseers and the Cutter himself.
What kinds of weapons do they possess?
I don't know. Knives and clubs.
And, well, you've met the Shadows. They lurk outside.
One never knows where they are.
If there are enough of us...
if we get our hands on those weapons, it might not matter.
Follow me and I'll make it so.
Why would anyone follow you? No one has any idea who you are.
I believe once you tell them who I am, they'll understand.
Well, I don't have any idea who you are either.
Let's fix that, shall we?
Well?
I did what you asked.
And I have news.
They're all asleep.
I know. They snore.
Not quite as loud as when they were babies, but I can still hear it.
It's comforting.
I have known them almost as long as I knew you before they arrived.
That isn't right.
Can that be right?
I remember the day you arrived.
So strong...
but so broken.
Baba.
I remember thinking...
"What horrors has this boy walked through?"
I said to myself,
"Oh, Paris, do not put this one through
any more suffering than he's already endured."
I'm afraid... that is exactly what I have done.
Baba. I'm sorry. I am so sorry.
I had her hand in mine. I had it.
She was right there.
Don't.
Then she was gone.
I am the one who's pushing the children to want more,
to need more.
This is where it led.
Paris, stop. Please, stop.
Stop. Stop.
I have to hold this together.
I have to hold them together.
If they have any reason to think that I'm coming apart...
If they sense it, even for a moment, this is all over.
Okay? You have done nothing but love them.
I will not permit you to apologize for that.
What happened was not... It wasn't your fault.
Then whose fault was it?
No. No.
No! No! Let fucking go of me! You fu--
Your Majesty.
When they first brought you to me,
I was skeptical, I admit, that you would be of any use.
We have had wealthy ones before and, frankly, they never last very long.
But you are not merely wealthy.
You are something else entirely.
My army will return for me.
And when they do...
you will regret every fucking malice bone in your fucking body,
you fucking piece of shit.
I'm gonna have you killed.
I'm gonna do everything possible
to take away your fucking power, you fuck.
I can only imagine the number of people that have dreamt of doing this to you.
The Witchfinder is far from here.
But when he left, he made it clear where he was going, and what for,
on the off chance that we might acquire any information
that would be of value to him.
I think we could safely agree that the most valuable thing in his world
is now in my possession.
The only question being how to prove it to him.
I heard a story once. Perhaps you can tell me if it is true.
I heard that when a Payan monarch ascends the throne,
a ceremony takes place to honor the occasion.
And in that ceremony,
an amulet that is embedded beneath the skin of the reigning monarch
is removed and implanted into his heir.
Table.
An amulet that resides just above the heart.
Could this possibly be true?
What do you know? It is true.
Thank you for this.
Now, let us find out what it can do.
Wait, please.
You're gonna help us get outta here.
That is precisely why I'm here.
What I'm doing is forbidden.
If they hear us, it will be as dangerous for me as for you.
Please. Let me tell you what I know.
My name is Delia.
This place you find yourself in, it is peaceful, it is tranquil,
but it is so unforgiving.
To protect this place, it must never touch the world above.
So none who enter may ever leave.
There have been uninvited in the past.
And, in the past, they have been permitted to decide to join us,
but not soon, not for some time.
The urge to return is too strong. It cannot be willed away.
How much time?
When I arrived, five winters and summers passed before the door was open to me.
That can't be all you came to say.
Why are you here?
I believe you...
that you were lured here... by a boy.
Though, he's probably more a man and less a boy than he was when he lured me here.
Boots. You know him?
He's my son.
It wasn't long after he was born before I realized he was different.
It wasn't long after that before the rest of the village did too.
I tried to protect him.
I pled for understanding and mercy from the others.
He was just a boy. His curse just an accident of nature.
They ridiculed him, spat upon him, beat him...
sometimes worse.
Where was his father?
He was gone.
A man who'd only joined our village recently
when the boy was still very small.
He left one day. He never returned.
The boy grew quieter as he got older, and angrier...
until one day he couldn't suffer it anymore.
What did he do to them?
He started with the ones who had been most violent with him.
Killed some in their sleep.
Some he chased as they ran in panic and terror.
When that was done, he moved on to the ones who simply spoke ill toward him.
By the time the bloodshed was over, the only Opayol left were him and me.
Why are you telling us this?
The child is my fault.
Therefore your presence here is my fault as well.
Whichever of you is successful in escaping here alive...
swear to me that you will find the boy,
that you will find my son...
and you will kill him.
I'll do it.
This place is forbidden by the elders,
but I have felt the power of the God Flame coming from above.
Haniwa. Why did you fall behind?
Sorry. I saw something.
Saw what?
You wouldn't understand.
She saw. Be so very careful with her.
Dad. Dad, I think I know how this works.
We have to pull this till the elevator rises to the top.
We can control it from above. Send it back down.
But someone has to stay down here and hold this thing.
How many do you think there could be?
Too many. I'll do what I can to slow them down.
All right. Everyone in.
-No, Dad. I can help you. -Get in, boy!
-You in? -Yeah.
Papa, we'll send it right back.
We're here. We're here. Okay, come on.
Papa, we're bringing it back down!
Help me!
No!
Dad, move!
-Kofun! -Papa!
Haniwa!
Dad! Dad!
Papa, we're here! We're here.
-Dad! -He's climbing.
We're here, Papa. You're okay.
Can you hear us? We're right here.
Follow our voices.
You're okay. You're okay.
We're right here. We're right here.
We're here.
Come on. Please. You're okay. You're okay, we're close.
Hold on! Hold on!
Papa, please hold on.
To your right.
Dad, there's a ledge to your right.
No! Dad!
We're here!
You're close.
Come on, Dad, you're almost here.
I don't know wh--
You're so close.
He's too far.
-Kofun, can you reach him? -I'm reaching out a hand.
Dad! Take my hand!
Da-- I can't reach! I can't reach you!
I can't reach you, it's too high.
Okay. Okay.
Dad!
Hold on!
-Dad! Hold on! -Please! Hold on, Papa!
We have you!
Please hold on. Please.
-Dad! -Boy.
Give me your hand!
You can do it!
I have you. I have you!
A member of your party has been located.
He is here.
Maghra.
This is one of yours, is it not?
Yes. It is.
Leave us.
Please.
Where's my family?
-I don't know. -You left them.
There was fighting.
I tried to help them. But when I looked, they were gone.
I came here to help you.
If you wanna help me, go find my husband and my children.
I have tried.
I will try again if that is what you ask,
but please know there are other ways I can help you.
There is nothing else that I want.
I saw them kneel before you.
They believe you to be important. Yes?
To be important you need to be strong.
I can make you strong.
I can do things no one here can.
If I were in your service, you could do things no one here can.
Better if they don't have to believe you're important.
Better to be strong enough to prove it.
I would be devoted to your service...
and all I would ask is one thing from you.
What?
That you promise not to be mean to me.
What is it?
Please return to the tent.
-I'll join you momentarily. -I'm not going anywhere.
Tell me what happened.
The author of that message claims to be holding the queen. Your sister.
Ransom?
They claim that unless we deliver the requested payment
to the specified location--
This is a fraud.
How could someone have kidnapped the queen from inside Kanzua?
An army protects her there.
Give me a moment to confer with my lieutenants.
I'll meet you inside shortly.
Let me help you.
What?
I know who left that message.
Who has your sister.
How could you possibly?
Because they are still here.
I can see them.
Tell me you will accept me into your service as your lieutenant.
I am the only one here who can help you.
Just say yes, and I will do it.