Ep. 46- The Queen’s Arc

ext. night sky night

The night sky as seen above the Moon’s meadow. It is dotted by stars. As the Moon speaks, the sky illustrates her words as appropriate.

MOON
Hello, my children. It has been some time, has it not? Have you enjoyed the adventures of our dear Alice so far? Has she lived up to your expectations? I’ll bet you didn’t imagine she was so strong. People can be very surprising.

Alice’s face appears in the sky for a moment, illustrated by stars before dispersing.

MOON
By now, you’ve met the major players. You know about the world of Arcana- its division between the Major Arcana, like myself, and the Minor Arcana, like the 4 houses- Cups, Wands, Swords and Pentacles. You’ve also met the Party of the Discarded- emissaries from all parts of Arcana, tasked with scaling The Tower in a plot to stop the World Machine from destroying Arcana- and eventually, The Real- the world Alice calls home.

The Stars take shape to show a horse, a cup, a set of horns, a witch’s cap…and finally, settle on a Sword.

MOON
Each member of the Discarded was cast out for one reason or another. In time, we will learn each of their stories. The first story will be that of the Queen of Swords. She comes from a broken house, wears a false crown, hides behind a mask, is hunted by a lost daughter and is driven by a mission of revenge. All the elements of an intriguing story, no?

The sword disperses and the stars begin to dim.

MOON
For this story, there will be flashbacks and flash forwards. It might become a bit disorienting. But just stick with us, and you will soon better understand the Queen of Swords- her peculiarities, her strengths, her weaknesses- and why Alice will someday refer to her as the strongest card in all of Arcana.

The sky extinguishes at this and we fade back to present time.

ext. valley of the bones morning

The bedrock of the valley- red rocks, bones and dust. Ancient, rusted armor and swords litter the floor of the valley, remnants of a thousand past battles.

The Queen of Swords walks through the dust. It’s a steady, if not eager pace. She hums a tune as she presses into the oppressive rays of the sun, which pierce the valley like a blanket of lasers. Her hum takes the form of muffled words which slip out from behind her porcelain mask.

QUEEN OF SWORDS
(a spoken sing-songy cadence)
I forsook the smile,
I forsook the warmth,
All that’s left is the blade.
I used to love mine,
I used to slay, not to roam,
I’m alone, left to my own
All that’s left is my blade.

ext. fortress of swords day flashback

A subtitle reads “XX YEARS AGO”

A balance of silver, sharp spires piercing the sky like daggers, sparkling sunlight and tranquil waterfalls. This is the castle fortress of the Kingdom of Swords. Gathered about its sharp spires are ramparts and walls with a number of earthy hovels clustered about within the confines of the outer ring of the fortress.

This begins the tale of the Queen of Swords…