In the year of our Lord 1646,
the German countries were in a series of terrible wars,
known as the Thirty Years' War.
The result was the devastation of all Europe,
and miserable deaths for hundreds of thousands.
Those spared by war and hunger,
had yet another, invisible enemy to fight:
The plague.
It was between New Year's and Epiphany.
Krabat, a 14-year-old orphan boy,
went with his last two friends
as carolers from village to village.
The panhandling sufficed just enough that they remained alive.
That night Krabat had a dream,
one he had already dreamed of in the nights before.
Eleven ravens sat on poles and gazed at him.
One place was free.
Krabat,
come to Schwarzkolm to the mill.
It will not be to your loss.
You are called to higher things and should not have to suffer from hunger.
Come, and obey the voice of the Master.
Contrary to the boys' oath
to remain together always,
Krabat left Baro and little Lobosch behind,
and followed the somber call of the ravens.
There you are.
You can be my apprentice. I need one.
What do you say?
Come.
And what shall I teach you?
The Mill ... or also everything else?
Everything else.
Shake on it, Krabat! Or are you afraid?
I'm not afraid.
The mill ...
Now it grinds again.
This is your place to sleep.
Your shoes, your bed, and your clothes.
It will go well for you, if you keep to the rules.
Never go away from the mill, and do what you're told.
Up until Easter I'll put you to the test.
Now try to sleep.
You have to be up early.
Don't be afraid.
I'm the senior artisan.
Tonda.
This is Merten.
Michal, Hanzo.
That's Andrusch, Staschko.
Juro.
And I'm Kito.
That there is Petar ...
... and up here is Kubo.
That is Lyschko.
I hope we didn't frightened you.
Get dressed.
- Whose things are these? - Get dressed and don't ask further.
Fits very well.
- Hungry? - Yes ...
Kindly seat yourself at the other table, Dogbreath.
Woof! Woof!
This one is free.
Beat the ice from the mill wheel and from the sluice.
- The new one will help you. - I don't want him.
That's an order.
Damned ice.
Well, Lyschko. How it's coming down there?
Shut your mouth, Michal!
Shut your own mouth.
Like so. It must be tight.
Stop, you're not allowed to clear the grinder yet.
New ones aren't allowed to do that. You have to be as strong as us.
Exactly. Can you pull the cart?
Wait. Try to lift a sack.
That I can do.
Krabat.
You need to eat. Need your strength.
Then I'll have it.
Save your strength for tonight.
Until then go up to the sleeping chamber.
From now on, no more talking!
Nobody dare to look at him!
Go back, before the Master catches you.
Tonda?
Where is that boy?
- Forget what you have seen. - Tonda?
Here I am.
What are you doing out here?
I was seeing after the horses. They were restless.
Come here.
Nobody goes off, unless I permit it.
Do you understand?
Yes, Master.
Krabat tried to obey Tonda's advice,
to forget the events on the night of the new moon.
With all the laborious work, it wasn't difficult for him.
Krabat became better acquainted with the boys.
Hanzo was a rough diamond and seemed unkind and emotionally cold.
He and Andrusch, who couldn't be trusted at all,
always stuck together with Lyschko.
The simple-minded Juro was good for nothing but the housework.
Door closed.
His biggest concern was
that all the flour could fly up in his face,
and he said over and over again ...
Draught. Flour dust.
One kick and ... !
In the craft Staschko was the most skillful.
I've got it. For the new mill wheel we need oak wood.
He dreamt of
building a mill wheel bigger and stronger than the old one.
Staschko, Andrusch, Lyschko, come.
Harness the oxen.
There was no great attachment among the Twelve,
if one disregards the sensitive Merten
and his cousin Michal, whose back troubled him.
Krabat was eager and wanted to be a good apprentice to the Master.
The mill had become his home.
One day, however, Krabat was suddenly alone in the mill.
There was no trace of the boys for hours.
- What's behind the door? - Which door?
At the end of the corridor, next to the Master's chamber.
Wait and see.
And where have you been for so long?
In lessons with the Master.
What does he teach you?
You'll soon find out.
Today ...
At the Easter vigil.
Come now.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there and return in the morning light.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there and return in the morning light.
Krabat, Tonda.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there and return,
as the custom requires.
Promise me that you will return tomorrow.
I promise.
Where are we going?
To Schwarzkolm.
Before the village there is an old tree on a hill.
It's called "Bäumels Death". We'll lie awake there.
We're here.
I mark you with the sign of the secret brotherhood.
Give me your hand.
Firmly.
And now close your eyes.
I want to show you something.
Now stand up with me, and keep your eyes closed.
Open your eyes.
You can let go now.
They can't see us.
You mustn't touch them.
Worschula?
Don't be afraid.
Tonda ... How nice to hear your voice.
Have you considered it?
Yes, I will do it.
Promise me. So much depends on it.
I'm really scared.
Wait ...
Now take my hand again.
You touched the girl.
Your eyes are glistening.
Talk to nobody about it!
I don't understand.
All this secrecy.
You have to trust me.
Leave the mill.
If I wipe away the sign, you are free.
Why should I go away from you? You're all I have.
You can go to Schwarzkolm. I'd also like to, but not just yet.
If you return to the mill,
something will happen there that will separate you from people forever.
Maybe you think I can't handle it.
All the others have done so.
I'm not afraid.
Believe me, Krabat, everything in this world has its price.
I will, Master, be obedient to you in all things,
now and forever.
I bow under the yoke of the secret brotherhood.
Remember that you are a student.
Remember that I am the Master.
I will, Master, be obedient to you in all things.
Now and forever.
That night Krabat was in the grinding chamber for the first time.
Now, with the pentagram on his forehead,
the other work was no longer easy.
Like oxen they slaved away in all the chutes,
except for one.
The boys mysteriously called it the seventh millstone,
and whispered that the grotesque face only spewed forth on the night of the new moon.
They carried the bags to the grinder, where the grain became ground to flour,
and from there to the flour chamber,
where it changed back again into grain.
- How long shall this go on for? - Keep at it, Krabat.
What kind of test shall this be?
None of the boys came to help him.
Tonda.
Forget Tonda! You have to do it yourself!
- Do what? - Overcome the limits of your strength.
Sorry.
And although his wound was burning like fire,
and his calluses tormented him,
Krabat was only dominated by one thought:
To be strong, and not give up.
He shall be rewarded for it.
Pull the cart.
You have passed the probationary period, Krabat,
and as a reward, I accept you into the circle of my students.
Now begins for you the lessons in the black arts,
as it is written in the Koraktor.
And now I want to see how much you can drink.
Krabat! Krabat!
Drink up.
Drink up, drink up, drink up ...
The purest mill stream ...
A horse doesn't care.
What do we want to do? I'm ready for anything!
Tomorrow you can be ready for anything.
- Let's go to Schwarzkolm! - Leave my beer.
- Make them jealous. - Make who jealous?
- Who? The girls ... - Krabat!
The Master wants to talk with you.
You have hidden this from me.
It's a memory of my dead mother.
Keep the chain, but bury the cross.
It prevents you from being one of us.
Do you understand?
You hesitate?
Do as I told you.
Bury the cross.
Yes, Master.
Mother!
- Mother! - She has the plague.
- Take the cross. - Mother!
Forgive me, Mother.
Krabat buried not only the thoughts of his childhood,
but his whole recollection of a time before the mill.
From now on there shall be for the boy only one thing:
The magic.
There is only one true faith. Black magic.
Keep away from everything secular.
Your strength is concentration on the dark power.
The sticks will protect you in battle.
It only takes one thought.
Throughout the summer Krabat tried
to approach as near as possible the abilities of the other boys.
How attractive was the thought, to be superior to ordinary people,
and from that arose an irresistible power.
Try it. It's best down here ...
Juro also regarded himself a great magician,
and there was no stopping his ambition.
Summer passed in a flash,
and brought the boys hours of daylight
on the fields around the mill.
Winter was still far away, and the Master was good-humored.
Lyschko.
Many knew to take advantage of that.
Finally, the day came for which Krabat had waited so long.
Krabat? Who vouches for you?
I vouch for him.
Step closer.
Henceforth you shall be an artisan amongst artisans.
As the wheel with the mill,
so you remain firmly with me linked.
Juro.
He's not managing it.
He'll never do it from his own power.
You dirty creature.
Hep!
Tonda.
I'd really like to see that girl again.
I miss her so much.
You'll see her again, for sure.
No matter what happens ...
The Master can never find out her name.
Two villages from here, I've seen marauding soldiers.
Tomorrow they'll be in Schwarzkolm.
Shall we allow this?
No, if we don't expel them, we'll soon have them at the mill.
Tomorrow morning, you may go to Schwarzkolm.
Krabat can show us what he has learned with me.
Then we'll show you the ropes.
Only those who were skillful in the lessons.
Juro, you stay here.
Kito, Kubo, and Petar, you likewise stay here.
Master?
- Leave Michal here. His back ... - I ask only the senior artisans!
Michal has got what it takes.
Right, Tonda?
The ones from the mill.
Don't be scared.
We'll protect you.
Soldiers are on the way.
Run to the village and seek shelter.
Tonda, I've dreamt that a one-eyed eagle has pursued us.
- What does that mean? - Run!
Run to the kitchen Wait for my sign.
Now!
Come on, you snake.
Come here.
Krabat!
Krabat ...
- Tonda! - Worschula!
Worschula?
Tonda!
Where's the girl?
So Worschula is her name ...
Well?
How did it ... ?
Did he tell you what happened?
Lyschko said that Tonda has a girl.
Tonda?
What's so bad about having a girl?
There was a boy here some years ago. Janko was his name.
We liked him.
He secretly met a girl and wanted to live together with her.
He didn't keep it to himself.
Shut your mouth.
What happened to Janko and the girl?
We found them.
Killed by a fallen fir tree.
Pig's feet.
Thanks, Juro.
I was just with the horse to the Mühlbach.
And in the creek ...
Tonda!