[bell tolling]
Is there any word from Ristridin?
Not yet, Your Highness.
It's the wrong time to be leaving.
King Favian is insisting on the summit.
I'm not sure you have any choice.
[Queen Alianor] I can't hope to understand the loss you must be feeling.
You know my son is innocent.
What I know...
and what I can act upon...
are two different things.
But while I'm away, I will protect you.
You think I need protecting?
In the darkness that is coming,
you will scarcely be able to protect yourself.
The crown of Dagonaut...
Means nothing.
Your power means nothing.
There are forces at work which you cannot comprehend...
let alone control.
And your only task...
is to stay out of the way of those of us who do.
[Lavinia] Grey Riders, Red Riders,
most of your friends.
[chuckles] Everyone in the White Hart.
Is there anyone in the three kingdoms who doesn't want you dead?
Any time you want to head back to Mistrinaut, be my guest.
All because of this.
Be careful with that.
Who's it for?
I'm not telling you.
- What's it about, then? - I don't know.
[Lavinia] How can anyone be in this much trouble
and know so little about it?
I'm opening it.
No, you're not.
I saw you trying to open this in the White Hart.
You want to know what's in it just as much as I do. Ow!
Happy now?
[Ardanwen whinnies]
- Put it away. - Why?
Are you worried the bunnies and the squirrels are going to read it?
Huh? [laughs]
There's no one around for miles.
Hello?
[echoing] Hello? Hello? Hello?
I mean it. I can't go on.
My legs are killing me.
Say that once more, and I'm gonna kill you.
Where are they taking us?
If they're gonna kill us, why don't they do it?
What are they waiting for?
[Foldo] They're not going to kill us.
They're Red Riders. They kill everyone.
Father says the Red Riders are so steeped in war and bloodshed,
they've forgotten what it is to be human.
This can't be happening.
I'm too young to die. I've got so much to offer the world.
[Jaro laughs]
Debatable.
Giddy up.
Giddy up!
No slacking!
Nice knife.
Bronze hilt, cocked hat pommel...
silver cross-guard.
Eviellan hunting dagger, right?
Who'd you rob that from, huh?
Bold girl.
Here, let me.
You may think by making yourself known to me,
things will turn out differently.
They won't.
Get back with the others!
What was that about?
None of your business.
- Did he say what they'll do to us? - Isn't it obvious?
[Jussipo] No.
It isn't obvious.
This is it.
This is where they're going to do it.
Please, I'm begging you, don't do this.
We all want the same thing, right? The boy.
So when you think about it, we're all on the same side.
They killed Ristridin. You're on the same side as that?
I'm trying to save my neck here. If you wanna die, do it on your own time.
Where were we?
Keep...
moving.
[Piak] You said it was obvious.
What's obvious?
Are they still there?
Yes.
[Jussipo] What are they doing?
Nothing.
They're not coming after us.
No, they're just...
watching.
This is our chance. Ten more steps, and we start running.
- No. - Don't tell me no.
Maybe he's right. Maybe we can make it to those trees.
No one's running anywhere.
I decide that.
Think. Why do you suppose they're back there, and we're out here?
I don't know, Iona. Why is your stupid face covered in snow?
My face isn't...
- [gasps] - [Piak] Ooh!
You will pay for that.
Hey. Hey, Iona. Iona, no!
[Iona grunts]
[Novices laugh]
No, wait. Hey...
[Jussipo] Not the lute! Not the lute!
Unbelievable.
Stop hitting the lute!
Pack it in!
And keep walking!
Why are we out here, and they're back there?
[snow creaking]
That's why.
They're using us to test if the snow is stable.
[snow creaking]
What happens...
if the snow isn't stable?
[snow cracking]
Oh, God.
Huh.
Not stable.
[chuckles]
Too bad. I kinda liked those kids.
[horn playing fanfare]
[carriage approaching]
All hail King Favian of Unauwen.
All hail!
Come. I've got you.
[King Favian] Oh! Careful! Careful. Watch it. Ah! [grunts]
The ground gets lower every year. [sighs]
Ah, my queen.
My king.
As pretty as your father was wise.
A sparkling, delicate jewel in the crown of Dagonaut.
To the feast!
Now, get me some mead.
Oh, and a bowl of sweetmeats. And be quick about it.
You know...
in his youth, he was an athlete.
- Really? - Hmm.
As I recall, his sports were chop eating, farting, and noxious belching.
It was something to behold.
In all seriousness...
here's to a productive summit.
May Dagonaut and Unauwen forge a lifelong alliance.
Indeed.
An alliance which will...
How shall I put this?
...transcend the merely political?
Oh, stop it.
I'll catch fire.
[gasps]
[coughs]
[shivering]
Foldo?
Jussipo?
Arman?
[Jaro] Afraid not.
Just me.
Seriously?
How many times does a Red Rider have to kill you before he's satisfied?
Surviving that...
pretty impressive.
You're stronger than you look.
[chuckles] So... killing people
and, uh, stating the obvious...
those would be the main qualifications for being a Red Rider, would they?
Give it back.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
[sighs]
Drowning...
good way to die.
Freezing to death, another excellent option.
But being dispatched with my bare hands...
take my word for it...
not a lot of fun.
[chuckles] Oh.
You mean this?
That's my girl.
Sorry. It was so beautiful I couldn't resist.
[Jaro chuckles]
[laughs] Bold.
[Jaro groans]
You're a piece of work.
You really think you can beat me?
Go on then.
Do it.
You didn't learn that in a castle.
You'll never make a knight in Dagonaut, you know?
Street scum like you and me...
have to look a little further afield for our opportunities.
[Jaro singing] ♪ It's a lovely day to get butchered ♪
♪ It's a lovely day to get knifed ♪
[laughs]
[panting]
Okay. Okay, guys. Half-freezing, wow.
Very, very cold.
[coughs]
[Foldo] Foot is in my face.
[Arman] Forget your face!
My poulaines are ruined.
Yes! She made it! [sighs with relief]
Oh, good.
[wind howling]
Don't close your eyes.
If you close your eyes, you won't open them again.
I'm not closing my eyes.
I mean it.
What was that for?
Eat.
[sniffs]
- What is it? - Cured pig intestines.
I'd rather freeze to death.
Fine. But know this:
If you die, I will eat you to survive.
What?
When I tell you to duck...
duck.
Have no fear.
We come in peace.
Duck!
Your caution is well placed.
Not everyone in the mountains wishes a lost traveler well.
We're not lost.
We are all lost in one way or another.
Aren't we, my child?
[Lavinia] We're not doing this.
We're getting out of here right now and finding my road.
[Tiuri] No, we're not.
[Lavinia] Are you mad?
[Tiuri] Ardanwen needs to rest.
If we stay out here, we'll die for sure.
[Lavinia] Look at these freaks.
I'll take my chances with the weather.
They're monks...
who've taken a vow to help lost travelers through the mountains.
You will literally believe anything you're told, won't you?
We are here.
Welcome to the Monastery at the End of the World.
[thunder cracking]
To our humble home, I bid you welcome.
Follow me.
Your beast is being stabled and fed.
I take it all back. You were absolutely right.
No need to worry about this place.
[man screaming in distance]
We are a somewhat unusual order.
What you might call a community of lost souls:
brigands, killers,
mercenaries...
[chuckles] We even have the odd pirate.
My life's work has been to find all these people...
and bring them here to cleanse their souls...
and show them a holier life is possible for even the worst of the world's sinners.
[screaming]
[growls]
Brother William's made the most extraordinary progress
in the time he has been with us.
But until that progress is complete...
our regard for him must be leveled with a little restraint.
It's coming.
This cloister is not to be entered unaccompanied.
Is that clear?
- Yes. - Yes.
[Tiuri] But we are safe here?
Oh, yes, quite safe.
Their bark is much worse than their bite.
What, even the murderers?
Especially the murderers.
Show a man kindness, show him affection and acceptance,
and in return, he will show you his true nature.
And a man's true nature is only ever...
Love.
Love, you fools.
What is man but love...
inverted into a form and cast upon the world to do love's work?
Some people just need a little help to see it.
Will it suffice?
We live a simple life here, but it's warm and dry.
And there are cheese and bread if you're hungry.
Oh.
And your knife?
I'm not giving it up.
I wouldn't expect you to, my child.
But if you can keep it hidden, I would be very grateful.
Otherwise, it might trigger unfortunate appetites
in some of our weaker brothers.
[Lavinia] And what of your appetites?
Any of them unfortunate?
[Tiuri] I'm sorry, Father.
She didn't mean that.
Not at all.
It is a very good question.
Undoubtedly, my own appetites are some of the darkest of all.
Sometimes,
I miss it, of course.
There is nothing quite like the sound of a skull beneath your boot.
But there's no going back, not now.
And at my age...
who's got the energy? [laughs]
Please, stay as long as you wish.
One night! We're only staying one night!
It's a pirate ship.
Five miles up a mountain, run by murderers.
Reformed murderers.
[scoffs] Only according to the murderers.
[thunder rumbling]
Listen to that.
I don't see we have any choice.
And besides...
I liked him.
That stark raving lunatic.
Everyone has demons.
He's doing his best to fight them.
Is he?
Or... is he a spider...
sitting in the corner of this ghastly web,
looking at us like two fat, fresh flies?
You think you see the world so clearly.
But maybe all you're seeing is yourself.
Oh, how profound you are!
You can trust him all you like, but I'll be sleeping with one eye open.
Forgive me, my lord.
The messenger...
he's still waiting.
Greetings, sire.
I have been sent by your father, His Majesty King Favian of Unauwen.
He bids you a warm welcome home and sends this gift.
[chirps]
I believe it is a wren, sire.
No.
It's a kinglet.
Or that's what they call them in the villages of the north.
'Cause of its yellow crown.
It's what my father used to call me.
Tell me.
Do you know the story of the kinglet...
or the contest among the birds
to see who could fly highest and be crowned king of them all?
The eagle won, of course...
until...
the tiny little bird...
that had hidden under its feathers jumped out...
flew higher.
Take my sword to the king.
Tell him I seek only peace...
and to hold my father's warm embrace once more.
Sire.
No.
[Lavinia snoring]
[Tiuri breathing heavily]
[creaking]
[gasps]
Trouble sleeping?
[Tiuri] I was just looking for my talisman.
[Abbot] So when the voices come...
They go... just as quickly.
And they come unbidden?
Always.
And from nature.
Birds...
trees, roots...
Fascinating.
Take it.
Trust me, Tiuri. Take the sword.
It's too heavy for me.
On the contrary,
that heaviness, that weight,
that's what we carry around in our hearts our whole lives.
Grip the sword.
Observe it.
Now breathe.
Breathe.
Into your heart, boy,
breathe into your heart.
I can't.
What's in there?
What's in that heart of yours that dare not speak?
You will have been told to ignore it...
to pretend it's not there.
But ignoring it is like choosing a lighter sword.
And what comes from turning our back on the heaviness inside?
It destroys us.
You have to face it.
You have to face the heaviness.
Because the heaviness
is what's keeping you from being who you really are.
Embrace it.
Look into your heart with clear eyes...
and move with it.
Let out the boy you are inside,
the boy you've never known...
the boy who's never dared step into the light.
Face the heaviness that's stopping that boy...
and name it.
Loss.
My heart... is heavy with loss.
Loss of my father.
Loss of my home.
Loss of my mother...
who even now is trying to fight for her life.
It's not the pain which ruins us, my child.
It's the things we do to avoid the pain.
I fear it might break me.
Then break.
Break.
Let spirit crack you open.
Let yourself be forged in the crucible of your own agony...
transformed into the most perfect instrument of destiny.
For that's what I sense you are.
From the moment I saw you,
I felt the power in you...
the power of Eviellan.
If you can embrace the fullness of your pain,
you can embrace the fullness of that power.
Again.
- It's coming. - [gasps]
[Brother William] It's coming. It's coming.
[Lavinia panting]
What are you doing here?
Get your hands off me.
[grunts]
We found her with Brother William.
[sighs]
[Abbot] We have very few rules here.
I thought I told you not to enter that cloister unaccompanied.
[Lavinia] I didn't want to enter it.
All I want to do is get as far away from this madhouse as I possibly can.
It's not running away you need, my child.
It is looking deep into your...
[Lavinia] Don't tell me.
My heart. Right?
Well, forget about my heart.
It's none of your business.
[chuckles] And I'm not your child.
Maybe we should go.
Fine by me.
Just one last thing.
If you wouldn't mind
replacing that candlestick.
What candlestick?
[candlestick clanks to floor]
It's mine.
I, uh, brought it from home.
I'll take care of it.
Thank you, Father.
Come on.
What is wrong with you?
There's nothing wrong with me.
It's you who's communing with the madmen.
So you thought stealing from them would be the best way to keep things calm?
[laughs] It was a candlestick.
You stole a horse.
I didn't steal anything.
I'm telling you...
There is something wrong with this place. There's something wrong with that Abbot.
- In your opinion. - Fine.
But we are leaving, Tiuri, the moment this storm has passed, agreed?
I haven't said "agreed" yet.
Well, maybe we can get down to business before the drinking starts again.
That'll give us about five minutes.
Shut up.
So, madam, you know what we're here to discuss?
A renewal of the bonds between our two great nations
- by means of a royal marriage. - Precisely.
And you're not adverse to the coupling with my son?
I think of it more as a union.
But yes, Crown Prince Iridian will do very well.
[King Fabian] But you're not marrying Crown Prince Iridian.
You're marrying his brother, Prince Viridian.
There's been much consternation about how Prince Viridian will react
when he returns from the greatest victory in 1,000 years...
to see his unbloodied brother take to the throne.
People are worried. I'm worried.
Now, if you ask me, I think...
he has every right...
to expect a reward.
And that's when I thought of you.
If I have him marry you,
both of my sons will have thrones.
Hmm?
King of Unauwen...
and King of Dagonaut.
And all chance of conflict will fade.
I may be a dissolute old sow,
but my brain is still as sharp as my sword.
Father.
I will need time...
to consider your proposal.
Fine.
Consider it.
But after that, you'll marry my son.
All personal preferences be damned.
Because that's what we do, us kings and queens.
Our lives are politics.
Our marriages are politics.
And this is good politics.
Arrange for them to meet.
What is it you see...
in these visions?
I heard you talking to the Abbot.
It sounds unhinged.
[chuckles] From you, I'd expect nothing less.
I see a face...
I suppose.
I hear voices...
trying to tell me something.
[chain clanking]
[Tiuri] Some power they want me to find.
And have you... found it?
What do you think?
[chuckles]
[sighs] [chuckles] I'm freezing.
That's what I think.
So, what about you?
No mystery here.
What you see is what you get.
Lavinia, the straight shooter.
That's honestly how you see yourself?
The first day I met you,
I knew every single word out of your mouth was a lie.
[laughs]
Fine.
What do you wanna know?
I had the pleasure of meeting your father, of course.
- That was regrettable. - [chuckles]
Apology not accepted.
What's your mother like?
I don't know.
She left...
a long time ago.
She went back to Dangria, where she was from.
Yeah, she came from money.
No need to look so surprised.
In the stories...
doesn't the ancient road through the mountains lead to Dangria?
It's got nothing to do with my mother.
No, I wasn't...
Goodnight, Tiuri.
[thunder cracking]
[sighs deeply]
[gasps]
[breathing heavily]
[chain clanking]
Lavinia!
It's coming.
Wait!
- Get him out. - No.
Put the knife down.
- What? - The knife, put it down.
It's coming.
What's coming?
My talisman.
Take him!
[struggling]
No! He doesn't want to hurt you! He doesn't wanna hurt anyone!
The demons in this person's soul scare even me.
So I can face my demons,
and I can let who I really am out into the light,
but this man has to be kept alone in the dark at the end of a chain?
- Where's the love in that? - Take him out!
Please! Stop!
Stop!
[breathing heavily]
It's come.
What are you?
[dramatic music playing]