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.oO [ S A I N T | G A T H L Y N | A N D | T H E | B E A S T ] Oo.

{ A PLAY IN TWO PARTS }
- by Valory Diluculo, Eyes of Ice -

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{ CAST OF CHARACTERS }
from most to least words spoken

• ALEXEI NOVEKEI - Evgenii Novekei's grandfather, elderly Grandpa Al tells the tale of Saint Gathlyn.
• VYLAHI SINENTH - Gathlyn Sinenth's mother, Gathlyn inherited her long fair hair and boundless love and compassion.
• THE DISEMBODIED VOICE OF RAZIELA - The Loving Radiance's resonant voice.
• TETALNE SINENTH - Gathlyn Sinenth's father, Gathlyn inherited his clear blue eyes and unflinching bravery.
• THE PRIEST - An elderly friend of Gathlyn Sinenth's, who resides in the Great Blue Cathedral.
• GATHLYN SINENTH - The hero of the tale, this young fourteen-year-old boy commits the ultimate sacrifice to save his people.
• THE ECCLESIARCH - The Ecclesiarch of Old Celest City.
• EVGENII NOVEKEI - Alexei Novekei's grandson, fourteen-year-old Ev is eager to hear the tale of Saint Gathlyn and bring a toy to his memorial in honour of his ancient sacrifice.
• THE CROWD - A frightened crowd that flees to the Great Blue Cathedral.
• THE BEAST - The monster that terrorizes Old Celest. Mute role.

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{ COSTUMES }

GATHLYN SINENTH

Gathlyn Sinenth wears richly embroidered purple robes. Raziela’s sparrows flit back and forth in black and silver embroidery, interspersed with thin golden filigree of a golden tree. Spiderweb-thin gold grasses and white daisies decorate the hem, and delicate pink flowers adorn the sleeves and frolic among the golden grass. Soft silver sandals grace his feet, and he wears a pink, iridescent sash tied elaborately around his slender waist.

VYLAHI SINENTH

Vylahi Sinenth wears luxurious sea green robes embroidered in golden wave designs. Pearls are tucked into its folds, discreetly catching the light whenever she moves. A sky blue satin sash studded with emeralds emphasizes the slender curve of her waist.

TETALNE SINENTH

Tetalne Sinenth wears luxurious maroon robes embroidered with golden doves and angels. Rubies, sapphires and emeralds are spread opulently across the deep red cloth, to gleam and glint at every movement. A heavy brocade sash of white and gold completes his outfit, and his golden sandals appear to be fashioned more for display than convenience.

ECCLESIARCH OF THE CELESTINES

The Ecclesiarch wears pure white satin ceremonial robes with wide sleeves and golden embroidery along the hems depicting cherubs and symbols of the Supernals. A heavy silver belt studded with amethysts and pearls contrasts with the simplicity of his robes, indicating his rank. He wears simple woven sandals and a long silver necklace of the Supernals.

CELESTINE PRIEST

The priest is dressed in the flowing white robes of the Celestine priesthood, the waist secured with a white leather belt bearing a burnished circular buckle dyed deep cobalt blue. He carries an unadorned prayerbook and wears simple woven sandals, his garb the essence of simplicity and prudence.

THE BEAST

This massive monster somewhat resembles a quinotaur, with a barbed green, scaly tail of a huge serpent and a mammoth’s hind, resting upon great colossal round feet studded with five hoofed toes. In the front it possesses the chest and partial back of a roc, white-and-black feathered, its forelegs tipped with webbed, four-toed bird feet that end in vicious, gargantuan black talons. Its head is that of a bull, and curling horns protrude with titanic length and width from the nightmarish creature’s lower jaw, wickedly sharp. Nearly completely buried by folds of flesh as it snarls, its beady eyes filled with a glowing red fury.

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{ SCENE I }
The Memorial of the Saint of Rapturous Ardour, Oleanvir Valley, 286 C.E.
The roomy memorial is obviously very ancient. Though clearly a tomb, the atmosphere is bright and welcoming. Crowding around a marble bust of Saint Gathlyn are many excited children and their smiling parents, each filling the many nearby shelves with a unique toy.
EVGENII Novekei and ALEXEI Novekei are here.

[ALEXEI nudges EVGENII forward.]
ALEXEI: Go on, Ev. Give Saint Gathlyn your toy!

[ EVGENII clutches a Celestian teddy bear to his chest.]
EVGENII: What if he does not like it, Grandpa Al?

[ALEXEI smiles warmly and embraces EVGENII encouragingly.]
ALEXEI: I am sure he will love it, Ev.
ALEXEI (wistfully): After all, he gave me one such toy when I was a young boy. Except it was a small porcelain doll of the Eternal Light, Elohora, blessed be.
[ALEXEI touches his heart.]
ALEXEI: I still have it, you know. But you must not play with it. It is very valuable to me.

EVGENII (awed): But, Grandpa! You never told me you met Saint Gathlyn!

[ALEXEI chuckles softly.]
ALEXEI (nostalgically): Saint Gathlyn was once a live boy, right around your age right now. He was very old for his years, and did a lot of charity work.
ALEXEI (sadly): We were very poor then, you know. Celest was made up of the few lucky aristocracy and employed citizens, but the rest of us, hugging its outskirts, did not have such a glorious life.
ALEXEI (sorrowfully): It is a sad tale, the tale of Saint Gathlyn, but it is also a story of hope.

[EVGENII jumps up and down enthusiastically.]
EVGENII (excitedly): A story! A story! Tell me a story, Grandpa Al!

ALEXEI: All right, Ev.
[ALEXEI ruffles EVGENII'S hair.]
ALEXEI (nostalgically): A long, long time ago, in Old Celest...

ALEXEI'S voice trails off as the light dims and the curtains close. They open once more a heartbeat later to feature a magnificent marble fountain.

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{ SCENE II }
The Eastern Fountain, Old Celest City
The fountain, facing the magnificent Old Celest harbour, shows a proud merian knight lifting his sword to the heavens, in thanks to the Supernals for Their aid in all his victories. It is the only anchor in a picture of utter chaos. All around, citizens scream and run away from the shore of the Inner Sea, where a horrific silhouette rears up to cast its shadow upon the marble knight, who suddenly seems perilously small.
TETALNE Sinenth and VYLAHI Sinenth are here. The BEAST is here.

[From within the roiling mass of fleeing citizens, two people - TETALNE and VYLAHI Sinenth - run against the crowd like stones in a fast-flowing river.]

THE DISEMBODIED VOICE OF ALEXEI: ...a great and terrible monstrosity rose from the depths of the Inner Sea.

TETALNE (shouting): Gathlyn! Gathlyn!

VYLAHI (screaming): Our son! Where is our son!

TDVO ALEXEI: It was called...

TETALNE (stopping a man running the other way): Excuse me! Please, sir! Have you seen-

[The MAN pushes TETALNE aside and keeps running.]

VYLAHI (sobbing): Tetalne! Tetalne, he is not here!

[TETALNE sees the BEAST.]
[TETALNE freezes in his tracks, people milling heedlessly around him as the BEAST'S shadow falls over him.]
TETALNE: Good Gods!

[VYLAHI screams.]

TDVO ALEXEI: ...The Beast.

VYLAHI: RUN!

[TETALNE and VYLAHI duck under the statue of the fountain just as the BEAST hits the earth before it, claws digging into the marble like a hot knife through butter.]

[The BEAST emits a blood-curdling shriek and cracks spread through the fountain statue.]

TETALNE (whispers): Vylahi! I remember! I remember where Gathlyn went!

TDVO ALEXEI: It terrorized the citizens, and soon they were fleeing in all directions. They all ran, more or less, to the one place they all felt safest.

[VYLAHI gasps.]
VYLAHI (whispers): Yes! The Great Blue Cathedral! With his friend, the priest!

[The BEAST'S shadow falls over them as it soars over the statue, leaping into the fringes of the fleeing crowd.]

TDVO ALEXEI: And this place was...

[VYLAHI buries her head into TETALNE'S shoulder.]
VYLAHI (weeping): I cannot watch!

TETALNE: Come on! Let us escape to the Cathedral while it is distracted!

VYLAHI (collecting herself): You are right. We must go!

TETALNE and VYLAHI flee to the north.

TDVO ALEXEI: ...the Great Blue Cathedral of Old Celest.

The light goes out and the curtain closes. It opens again a moment later to reveal the interior of a dazzling cathedral.

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{ SCENE III }
Inside the Great Blue Cathedral, Old Celest City
The hallmark spire shoots off into the sky, the painting of Elohora in the circular base of its apex almost totally indiscernible from a standpoint on the polished parquet floor, which boasts an intricate star pattern. Four paintings of Raziela, Japhiel, Shakiniel and Methrenton respectively adorn the surrounding walls, and a spectacular statue of Elohora, Her face an unmarked blank with only vague indentations to suggest facial features, decorates the centre of the room. A young blond-haired boy is interrupted in his avid discussion with an elderly priest when the door crashes open and a frenzied crowd of citizens pours in screaming and falling to the priest's feet.
GATHLYN Sinenth and the PRIEST are here. The CROWD is here.

PRIEST (fearfully): My dear people, what is the matter?

CROWD (simultaneously): The Beast! The Beast! There is a Beast outside these walls that has risen from the deep! It is killing us mercilessly! The Supernals have left us!

TDVO ALEXEI: Once there, they surprised the Cathedral's priest with their numbers and their haste, and told him of The Beast. With the elderly man was an innocuous young boy whom no one really paid attention to.

PRIEST (confidently): The Supernals are always with us. Come, let us pray. There is always a solution! Do not worry, my friends. I swear to you that I will do all in my power to ensure that The Beast will not take a single step onto this hallowed ground!

[The CROWD separates into large groups who throw themselves in front of the paintings of Methrenton, Shakiniel and Japhiel.]

[PRIEST prays before the statue of Elohora.]

TDVO ALEXEI: You see, nobody believed that such a young boy, no matter how wealthy or famous or kind-hearted, could do any more than them. They had forgotten the wisdom of the young.

[GATHLYN alone walks to the painting of Raziela and begins to pray.]

TDVO ALEXEI: Many prayed to Shakiniel, for protection; or to Methrenton, for strength. Others beseeched Japhiel for His wisdom, or Elohora for Her certainty. That boy alone prayed to Raziela for Her love. And that boy's name was...

TDVO RAZIELA (resonantly): I hear you...

[GATHLYN snaps his head up from prayer in surprise, staring at the painting of the Loving Radiance. The paint flickers as the Supernal appears to smile down at him.]

TDVO RAZIELA (softly): Gathlyn.

TDVO ALEXEI (softly): Gathlyn.

The light extinguishes gradually and the curtains close. A moment later, they reopen upon a fragrant, ethereal garden.

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{ SCENE IV }
The Garden of Raziela, Location Unknown, Timeless
This beautiful garden seems to be composed of every plant imaginable. Flowers and trees and grasses and bushes are all laid out in an unending panorama of colour and vibrance, each specimen extraordinary in its uniqueness, and yet inevitably interconnected through an eternal root system inexplicably palpable even when simply standing upon the soil. Though standing is not the right term - everyone here, mortal or not, simply floats, immaterial, above the ground.
GATHLYN Sinenth is here.

TDVO RAZIELA (melodically): Welcome to My Garden, Gathlyn. Do you like it?

GATHLYN (breathlessly): It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!

TDVO RAZIELA (with a tinkling laugh): I am glad this is so. You are the first mortal to have set eyes upon it.
TDVO RAZIELA (prudently): But on to your prayers to Me, young boy.

TDVO ALEXEI: Raziela Herself transported him to Her Garden, where no mortal had ever trod before, and he told Her more about the terrible Beast.

TDVO RAZIELA (solicitously): Tell me, what is this Beast that has been terrorizing the citizens of Celest?

GATHLYN (sorrowfully): No one knows whence it came. It rose from the sea, they say. It is killing the people. My people. Your people. Please, I beg of you, help me stop it!

TDVO RAZIELA (dulcetly): Of course, good Gathlyn. That is why I brought you here.

TDVO ALEXEI: The sage Raziela told him how to lay a trap for the Beast that would deceive it and end the plight of the people of Celest. Yet She warned him that he would have to make an irrevocable sacrifice.

TDVO RAZIELA (euphoniously): Are you willing, Gathlyn?

TDVO ALEXEI: Some stories say that Gathlyn did not hesitate.

[GATHLYN takes a deep breath.]

TDVO ALEXEI: That he did not even blink.

[GATHLYN closes his eyes tightly for a heartbeat.]

TDVO ALEXEI: But true courage is not to be fearless.

[GATHLYN opens his eyes again, his face appearing as though glowing from within.]

TDVO ALEXEI: It is to overcome your fear...

TDVO RAZIELA (mellifluously): Are you willing, Gathlyn?

TDVO ALEXEI: ...and do it anyway.

GATHLYN: Yes. I am willing.

TDVO ALEXEI: And thus Raziela returned Gathlyn to Old Celest so he might defeat the Beast and save his people.

The light dims and the curtain closes. The stage grows still as the intermission begins.

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INTERMISSION (to be continued)
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