THE OASIS
971 Words
PART I – BLOOD ON THE ROAD
Narration (Riego):
That’s when I saw them. A slow-moving caravan of covered wagons—five in all. No banners. No markings. Just cloaked figures guiding beasts of burden too thin to be alive.
Riego:
(steps into path, hand resting on hilt)
"You're a long way from safe roads. Not many caravans pass through demon-touched land."
Traveler #1 (gruff, cautious):
"We don’t seek trouble, stranger. Just passing through with a delivery."
Riego:
"Delivery?" (glances at rear wagon)
"...What’s in the cage?"
[Camera shifts to last wagon. Inside a reinforced iron cage is a woman—bloodied, unconscious, in fine but tattered noble garb. Chains coil around her wrists and ankles like living serpents. Her face is hidden behind a veil of silver hair.]
Riego (internal):
My sigils stir. Not from demons. But blood magic. Old. Forbidden. Taint clings to the iron like a disease.
Riego:
"You’re transporting a woman. Bound and caged. Explain."
Traveler #2 (younger, nervous):
“She’s not... just a woman. She's—she's a sacrifice.”
Riego:
(to himself)
"A sacrifice. Of course."
Traveler #1:
"She’s a marked soul, cursed by her bloodline. Offered to the demon Vulkheran of the Deep Spire to spare the town of Elyr’s Hollow. We’re just the deliverers."
Riego (internal):
I’ve heard of Vulkheran. The Bone-Collector. Feeds on noble essence, delights in long deaths.
But this—this isn’t a ritual. This is trafficking.
Riego (draws blade slowly):
"No."
Traveler #3 (panic):
"Back away, hunter! We were sanctioned by the pact-lords!"
Riego:
"And I was sanctioned by blood and fire. Let her go."
Traveler #1 (draws curved sword):
"We don’t want to fight—"
Riego:
"Good. Then this won’t take long."
Narration (Riego):
Their forms flicker with minor enchantments—speed, shadow-veils, mind-shields. Nothing I haven’t buried before.
[Traveler #2 chants dark rune. Fire ignites. Riego raises gauntlet—sigils absorb flame.]
Riego (coldly):
"You use demonfire like a child plays with knives."
[He hurls a radiant spear from his palm. Traveler #2 disintegrates mid-scream.]
Traveler #3:
"Monster—!"
Riego:
"Wrong side of the cage to call me that."
[Two remaining travelers encircle him. Chains snake toward Riego’s legs—he burns through them with Whisperfang’s edge, a burst of sigil-light driving both men back.]
[SFX: Sudden silence. The third traveler flees. The fourth falls to his knees, dropping his weapon.]
Traveler #4 (terrified):
"She’s cursed! She carries a name demons remember!"
Riego (walking toward cage):
"Then it’s time I learned it."
[SCENE: NEAR THE CAGE – NIGHT FALLING]
Background darkens. Moonlight reflects on the woman's pale face. Her eyes flutter open—violet, piercing, and full of quiet fury.
Woman (weakly):
"...Did you kill them?"
Riego:
"They deserved worse."
Woman:
"You don’t understand. By stopping them... you’ve damned more than me."
Riego:
"Then start explaining."
Selene (softly):
"My name is Selene... Selene Van Astrea. Of the high house of Van Astrea. Or what’s left of it."
Riego (internal):
Van Astrea.
Even I’ve heard that name. Keepers of the old seals. Blood-woven into the runes that bound the first demons. Their downfall was legend.
Selene (lifting her gaze):
"Three generations ago, my ancestors forged a pact with the Demon King’s court. A shameful one. They gave up our youngest, once every decade, in exchange for... protection."
Riego:
"Protection from what?"
Selene:
"Other demons. War. Plague. Human greed. All of it. Van Astrea would offer a ‘bride’ to the great demon Vulkheran, and in return, he would veil our lands from ruin. Our banners flew untouched while kingdoms burned."
Riego (cold):
"And you were born into that blood-debt."
Selene (nods):
"Marked since birth. The silver hair is no gift—it’s the brand of the Chosen. The more noble your lineage, the sweeter the soul. Vulkheran feeds on legacy... and suffering."
[Camera slowly pans to her ankle shackles. Runes pulse faintly—binding glyphs woven from noble blood.]
Selene:
"They planned to deliver me this moon. I could’ve run. Could’ve died. But I didn’t. I wanted to see if anyone—anyone—would question it. Would stop it."
Riego (internal):
She let herself be caged to test humanity’s soul. She gambled on mercy in a world that has none left.
Riego:
"And they failed you."
Selene (quiet):
"Not entirely."
[Pause. Fire crackles. The silence lingers like smoke.]
Selene:
"You shouldn’t have saved me, Riego El Bathory."
Riego (raising an eyebrow):
"You know my name."
Selene:
"I saw your sigils. Heard your name in demon prayers. You’re the one who burned the Temple of Cindergloom. The one who slew the Wyrm-Governess in Veridan."
Riego (dryly):
"Didn't know demons prayed."
Selene:
"They do. When they fear something."
Riego:
"What do you want, Selene?"
[Selene pauses. Her voice shakes—not with fear, but restraint.]
Selene:
"I want to end the pact. End him. Vulkheran’s throne is carved from bones of my blood. His lair is beneath the ruined cathedrals of Van Astrea’s homeland—now called the Spire of Sorrow."
Riego (internal):
The Spire. That’s where the ash winds begin. Where the sun never rises. Where death walks upright in a crown of horns.
Selene (growing fierce):
"I know the rites. The keys. The hidden paths through the Wailing Hollows. But I can’t reach it alone."
Riego:
"And you think I can help you kill him?"
Selene:
"No. I know you can."
Riego (internal):
I should walk away. She’s cursed. Dangerous. Every demon in the land will scent her blood like incense.
But something in her eyes…
She doesn’t just want vengeance. She wants to sever the chains at the root.
[– Riego extends a hand.]
Riego:
"Then we do it together. You guide me through the Hollow. I’ll do the killing."
Selene (smiling faintly):
"You're mad."
Riego:
"Mad’s all that’s left of me."
- Writer
