Ch 10 The Lost Land
Back in the village, Ashim and Nima’s parents are worrying about them.
___ and _____
Someone comes in.
We have fetched a psychic. She will be able to show you where your children are and what they are doing.
Mom: …!
Psychic: Now watch me. I will show you your children. May it be good news…
She makes a motion with her hands and creates a bubble. In it you can see Ashim and Nima riding the Albu.
Mom: Oh Ashim! Oh Nima!
The parents watch, with their hands around one another’s shoulders.
Mom: I’m glad….
A foot crunches onto the snow.
Nima: Ready?
Ashim: Let’s get the compass back, and find the Lost Land!
They ride the albuu and follow June’s foot steps.
‘I wonder why no one can reach the top?’
‘There must be something impossible waiting ahead-!’ Ashim shivers. Nima puts her hands on his shoulders. ‘We can do it! We’ve come this far!’
They notice something glowing. ‘It’s like that light the albu was chasing!’ ‘Should we go after it?’ ‘It looks like it’s waiting for us’.
‘Ok. I just sure hope it’s not a trap’.
June reaches the top.
June: I’ve found it!
But Ashim and Nima are close behind her and they arrive after her.
Ashim puts his hand on an invisible barrier.
Ashim: There’s something blocking our way.
Nima: We’ve got so far…
Ashim: If we are truly destined to find the Lost Land…
He closes his eyes.
Ashim: I may not have magic… But I know it is my destiny to find the Lost Land!
The invisible barrier dissipates. They walk up the mountain and when they get to the top they see June.
June turns around.
June: Well well, I wasn’t expecting to see you two here.
June: We can’t all find the Lost Land. I will take you down, and get there by myself!
Ashim: You…!!!
A girl appears from the ground.
Girl: Halt.
‘Welcome, travellers’, a voice says. They turn around.
Sitting on an altar made of rocks, a blonde haired girl appears.
Goddess: You have come at a splendid time. If you had come later, our world may have been no more.
I commend you.
‘You have passed the test;’, she says. ‘to find the Lost Land’.
‘It took me so long for me to find anyone. They were all weak and feeble and faint of heart. They did not have respect for nature’.
‘But you two’, she says, ‘are pure at heart. Even look at how you befriended that albu’.
June: Excuse me??
‘Who are you?’
‘I am this mountain’s deity. The job of caring for this mountain has been entrusted to me.’
‘I am the one who made that compass, because I needed a hero. Many have failed, but you succeeded in getting past the perils of the snowy wilderness’.
‘But most importantly… You are kind, and responsible’.
‘I think I may entrust this planet’s future to you’.
‘Say what?’
‘Relax, relax, it’s not as big as it seems. I just want to see someone look after this planet… Unlike the people who came before you’.
Scenery flashes by rapidly.
‘I have watched over the land for as long as this mountain existed. And the humans are always the same. They have all ruined this planet. And that’s what led to the Big Freeze. And the Day of Judgement, which you witnessed before your very eyes.’.
‘Why would they destroy their own planet though?’ says Ashim.
‘That’s something you will understand in due time’, says the girl.
For now, I will give you a choice. I can show you the Lost Land. But you must promise to take responsibility for taking care of the Land.
Ashim: Hmmm… What would you say Nima?
Nima: It seems like a big responsibility. But we have nothing important to do anyway. It feels like our destiny, doesn’t it?’
June: YOUR destiny???
‘Maybe so. The only people that can pass this test are those that are pure of heart. And you two, who are still children, are the purest of heart I have seen.’
‘Not many people are pure enough to reach the Lost Land. That is the real reason why so few people make it’.
‘Deity-’ says Nima.
‘Call me ____’
‘Ok ____. Has anyone else ever come this far?’
‘I’m afraid not. Except for one person… That got very far. Now that I think about it he looked like you,’ *points to Ashim* ‘but he was older’.
‘Brother!’
‘What happened?’
‘That, I cannot tell you. This information is private. If you want to know, you will have to figure it out yourself.’
‘No…’
‘So, getting back to things, do you accept my offer?’
Nima and Ashim look at each other and nod. ‘Yes. We’ll do it.’
‘Very well. I will now…’
‘Stop’. A voice comes from June. ‘I’ve had enough of this chit-chat! Have you forgotten about me?! I am the strongest person there is. And the Lost Land is mine!! Stop ignoring me!’
‘You!’ Nima and Ashim go red with anger.
Goddess: Strength, is not enough.
‘We’ll never forgive you for what you did’.
‘Deity, don’t let her through. She’s a murderer!’
‘Hmhmhmhm’, the woman mumbles.
‘It’s alright’, says the deity. ‘She won’t get through.
‘How do you know?’ says the woman. She is filled with rage.
‘I’ve been watching over you. You are the queen of the military town _____. Your ways are violent and damaging to the environment’.
‘Why you-!’
‘I remember you from when you were a baby. Your poor father nearly got to the Lost Land, but was defeated by a monster just before he reached it’.
‘It looks like you have lost your way since then. Your heart is no longer pure, and thus you will not be able to reach the Lost Land’.
If only you had followed your father’s strong sense of justice.
‘You! You-! Liar!’
‘Let’s get them!’ ‘I’ll show you who’s suitable!’
She charges and throws a spear at the deity, who dodges it. The deity blows up a snow storm and charges at the woman. She is blinded by the snow storm and falls off her horse.
‘Fight me one on one’, says the deity.
‘Very well. Challenge accepted.’
They lock into a battle and the deity defeats her, she ends up hanging at the edge of a cliff. Deity offers her hand but she refuses her help. ‘I will not be helped by my opponent. I will not stop until either of us dies.’ Her hand is slipping.
‘Hold on!’
The woman grimaces. She loses her grip and falls down the cliff.
The soldiers are left. ‘Let’s retreat’, says a soldier.
Ashim clenches his hands.
Nima stands looking down for a long time.
Nima takes a deep breath. ‘You haven’t told us your name’, she then says.
‘I’m ______.’
‘I am choosing you as the heirs to our land because I have watched over you, and you have the hearts of heroes. Together, I will entrust you with this land.’
We will create a new God of Sustenance.
Just then the ground shakes and the sky turns red.
Nima: No! What’s going on?!
The sky flashes and changes colour rapidly.
Goddess: This, is the fury of the gods.
They are furious at humanity for what they have done to the earth.
That blizzard was only the beginning.
You couldn’t have arrived at a better time.
They watch in silence as the sky flashes different colours and lightning strikes violently.
Then, they all look at each other.
Ashim, Nima, quick. Get into this cave, and pray for the Lost Land. Before the gods do irreparable damage.
Ashim is seen with his back turned, praying and facing a door, with Nima. Around them, there are flashes of images, documenting the history of humanity, from cavemen to Ancient Egyptians and Greeks and people of the future. Then we see nuclear war, climate change, and an upsurge in magic.
Outside the deity is looking at the destruction.
Deity: I am one of the only deities left. It will be such a wonder… to finally meet the other deities again.
As she looks on we see something huge shining in front of her.
The yellow creatures howl again, but stop…
The sky slowly returns back to normal.
Something starts forming.
Pan of the route they took and all the places they visited, including the city in the sky overlooking the place they visited in ch 3.
The god of sustenance is seen being remade as we pan up.
The snow is melting.
The god of sustenance flies into the sky, and turns invisible.
Goddess: The Lost Land is not some mystical place hiding away from you.
The Lost Land…
Has been here all along.
You have been living in the same place as the Lost Land all this time.
All you needed to do…
Was switch to the right plane.
‘Ashim, Nima, there’s somebody waiting for you…’
Nima: At first, there was nothing but soil. But as time went on all kinds of plants started growing. We walked on grass, we walked through forests and flower beds.
Man from a village they visited: Do you think humanity will learn this time?
Woman: I certainly hope so. But we cannot know.
(Close up of notepad in which he is writing about the nature around him)
*Turns around and smiles*
Joshua: Welcome, Ashim.
A foot crunches onto the snow.
‘Ready?’
Ashim and Nima are standing on a mountain. Down below, as far as the horizon, one can see plants and greenery.
They are somewhat older here?
At the end, the melting of the ice causes magic to reappear stronger than before.
Now that we are here… I feel that this is just the beginning.
----
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Scrapped:
What happened to your army?
They have all been wiped out. I am the sole survivor. Which is why I will take you out!
A foot crunches onto the snow.
‘Ready?’
‘Let’s make ____ proud’.
They set off up the mountains.
‘There’s no sign of the soldiers’. ‘That’s good’.
‘I wonder why no one can reach the top?’
‘There must be something impossible waiting ahead-!’ Ashim shivers. Nima puts her hands on his shoulders. ‘We can do it! We’ve come this far!’
They notice something glowing. ‘It’s like that light the albu was chasing!’ ‘Should we go after it?’ ‘It looks like it’s waiting for us’.
‘Ok. I just sure hope it’s not a trap’.
They follow the light until it stops. A projection appears.
‘Welcome, warriors. If you want to get past here, you must solve a puzzle.
After completing all the puzzles, the light talks.
‘Very well done’, it says, in a female’s voice. Now, just follow me.
They reach the top of the mountain and the weather suddenly becomes still, it is completely silent.
‘We made it to the top’, says Ashim. ‘We really did it’.
‘But where is the Lost Land? We don’t see any clues here.’
-------------
‘Welcome, travellers’, a voice says. They turn around.
Sitting on an altar made of rocks, a blonde haired girl appears.
‘You have passed the test;’, she says. ‘to find the Lost Land’.
‘It took me so long for me to find anyone. They were all weak and feable and faint of heart. They did not have respect for nature’.
‘But you two’, she says, ‘are pure at heart. Even look at how you befriended that albu’.
‘Who are you?’
‘I am this mountain’s deity. The job of caring for this mountain has been entrusted to me.’
‘I am the one who made that compass, because I needed a hero. Many have failed, but you succeeded in getting past the perils of the snowy wilderness’.
‘I think I may entrust this planet’s future to you’.
‘Say what?’
‘Relax, relax, it’s not as big as it seems. I just want to see someone look after this planet… Unlike the people who came before you’.
Scenery flashes by rapidly.
‘I have watched over the land for as long as this mountain existed. And the humans are always the same. They have all ruined this planet. And that’s what led to the Big Freeze’.
‘Why would they destroy their own planet though?’ says Ashim.
‘That’s something you will understand in due time’, says the girl.
For now, I will give you a choice. I can show you the Lost Land. But you must promise to take responsibility for taking care of the Land.
Ashim: Hmmm I dunno… What would you say Nima?
Nima: It seems like a big responsibility. But we have nothing important to do anyway. It feels like our destiny, doesn’t it?’
‘Maybe so. He only people that can pass this test are those that are pure of heart. And you two, who are still children, are the purest of heart I have seen.’
‘Not many people are pure enough to reach the Lost Land. That is the real reason why so few people make it’.
‘Deity-’ says Nima.
‘Call me ____’
‘Ok ____. Has anyone else ever come this far?’
‘I’m afraid not. Except for one person… That got very far. Now that I think about it he looked like you,’ *points to Ashim* ‘but he was older’.
‘Brother!’
‘What happened?’
‘I don’t know. There was a huge blizzard while he was climbing this mountain, and by the time the blizzard was over he had vanished. [[[Might change to having got to the LL]]]
‘No…’
‘So, getting back to things, do you accept my offer?’
Nima and Ashim look at each other and nod. ‘Yes. We’ll do it.’
‘Very well. I will now…’
‘Stop’. A voice comes from a woman leading the army.
‘You!’ Nima and Ashim go red with anger.
‘We’ll never forgive you for what you did’.
‘Now now, we have no time for petty scraps over a life or two. We have bigger fish to fry’.
‘Deity, don’t let them through. They’re bad people!’
‘Hmhmhmhm’, the woman mumbles.
‘It’s alright’, says the deity. ‘They won’t get through. They are far too unsuitable’.
‘How do you know?’ says the woman.
‘I’ve been watching over you. You are the queen of the military town _____. Your ways are barbaric and damaging to the environment’.
‘Why you-!’
‘I remember you from when you were a baby. Your poor father nearly got to the Lost Land, but was defeated by a monster just before he reached it’.
‘It looks like you have lost your way since then. Your heart is no longer pure, and thus you will not be able to reach the Lost Land’.
‘You! You-! Liar!’
‘Let’s get them!’ ‘I’ll show you who’s suitable!’
She charges and throws a spear at the deity, who dodges it. The deity blows up a snow storm and charges at the woman. She is blinded by the snow storm and falls off her horse.
‘Fight me one on one’, says the deity.
‘Very well. Challenge accepted.’
They lock into a battle and the deity defeats her, she ends up hanging at the edge of a cliff. Deity offers her hand but she refuses her help. ‘I will not be helped by my opponent. I will not stop until either of us dies.’ Her hand is slipping.
‘Hold on!’
The woman grimaces. She loses her grip and falls down the cliff.
The soldiers are left. ‘Let’s retreat’, says a soldier.
Ashim clenches his hands. ‘Good riddance….’
Nima takes a deep breath. ‘You haven’t told us your name’, she then says.
‘I’m ______.’ ‘Sorry for the intrusion’.
‘I am choosing you as the heirs to our land because I have watched over you, and you have the hearts of heroes. Together, I will entrust you with this land.’
We will give life, once again, to the God of Sustenance.
Ashim is seen with his back turned, praying and facing a door. Around him, there are flashes of images, documenting the history of humanity, from cavemen to Ancient Egyptians and Greeks and people of the future.
The yellow creatures howl again, but this time, from the sky falls…
Organic life.
‘Ashim, there’s somebody waiting for you…’
(Close up of notepad in which he is writing about the nature around him)
*Turns around and smiles*
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