PROJECT SUBMISSION PACK
FILM: Viking Destiny
DATE: July 2016
1. Submission Form p2
2. Information Pack p3
3. Budget p20
4. Sales Estimates p21
5. Script Report p22
6. Script p26
FF II LL MM SS UU BB MM II SS SS II OO NN FF OO RR MM
PROJECT TITLE: DATE: 5th July 2016 VIKING DESTINY
APPLICANT DETAILS APPLICANT CONTACT DETAILS NAME: Andee Ryder Unit 1, 63 - 67, Rosoman St,
ADDRESS: London, EC1R 0HY POSITION: Producer
COMPANY Elephant Gun Films ltd TEL: 07946 396991 EMAIL: [email protected]
PROJECT DETAILS PRODUCER/S BUDGET: £1,922,000 Andee Ryder – Alleycats and CREDITS PRODUCTION
WRITER: David Hughes COMPANIES & Fatal Black Films. UK. GENRE: Action NATIONALITY:
NAME: CREDITS (1 or 2) Proposed Approached Confirmed LOI DIRECTOR: David Hughes Hard Boiled Sweets CAST 1: Terrence Stamp (verbally Confirmed) CAST 2: Liam Cunningham Game of Thrones CAST 3: CAST 4:
SHOOTING SCHEDULE – Prep, Principal, Post, delivery SHORT SYNOPSIS / LOGLINE Pre Production begins in Jan 2017 Princess Helle of Vosung is forced to flee her Principal Photography – March/April 2017 kingdom after being framed for the murder of her Post production - May – October 2017 father, the King. Under the guidance of Odin she Delivery – Q4 2017. travels the world gaining wisdom and building the army she needs to win back her throne...
FINANCE DETAILS FINANCIER NATURE OF INVESTMENT AMOUNT £ BUDGET % Proposed Approached Confirmed LOI Various distributors Pre-Sale £172.5k 8.97 Universal Pre-sale £345k 17.95 GAP TBC £655k 34.10 Private Equity £100 5.2 U-Media Belgium Tax Credit £463.5k 24.10
TBC UK Tax credit £186k 9.68
% Premiere Stakeholder: Proposed Corridor 1st Sales Agents fees recoupment BOND: N/A schedule 2nd Guilds for all 3rd Bank fees AUDITOR: TBC financiers: 4th GAP 5 5th Equity 5
SALES INFORMATION SALES AGENT: Filmmode Entertainment SALES ESTIMATES: CONTACT: Clay Epstein LOW: $ 2,230,000 TEL: +1 818 426 6359 MEDIUM: $ N/A EMAIL: [email protected] HIGH: $ 4,625,000
TERRITORY: DISTRIBUTOR: MG: RIGHTS: Germany ???? Middle East ???? $50000 Austrailia Transmission $75000 FINANCE DETAILS EXCLUDED / WITHHELD TERRITORIES: DETAILS:
PRODUCTION INFORMATION COUNTRY: % SPEND: DETAILS: FF II LL MM SS UU BB MM II SS SS II OO NN FF OO RR MM
Belgium 50% £961,000 UK 50% £961,000
VIKING DESTINY $2.785 2nd June 2016 Script dated June 2016 Schedule dated TBC Script Dated :FEB 2016 Producers : Andy Ryder, David L G Hughes 1st Day PP : TBC Director : David L G Hughes Wrap Date : TBC Locations: TBC Shoot: 7 WEEKS - 3 Weeks drama - 4 Weeks Action Format: Digital - Alexa or Red Cam. Edit: 20 WEEKS Prepared By : Andy Ryder
Acct# Category Description Page Total 100-00 SCRIPT & DEVELOPMENT 1 $82,000 101-00 PRODUCERS 1 $145,000 102-00 DIRECTOR 1 $80,000 103-00 CAST & STUNTS 1 $537,122 Sub-Total Above-The-Line $844,122 200-00 EXTRA TALENT 7 $39,500 201-00 PRODUCTION 7 $76,334 202-00 AD's & CONTINUITY 9 $55,959 203-00 CAMERA 10 $104,764 204-00 LIGHTING 11 $65,162 205-00 SOUND 12 $29,240 206-00 OPERATIONS AND STANDBYS 13 $9,250 207-00 COSTUME 13 $72,870 208-00 MAKE-UP & HAIR 14 $31,150 209-00 PRODUCTION DESIGN 15 $39,400 211-00 PROPS & SET DRESSING 15 $106,700 212-00 SFX/VFX 16 $23,630 213-00 LOCATIONS / FACILITIES 16 $150,702 214-00 CONSTRUCTION 18 $12,000 215-00 ACCOMODATION & LIVING 18 $96,500 216-00 TRANSPORTATION 19 $139,464 217-00 FILM STOCK AND PROCESSING 20 $5,600 Sub-Total Below-The-Line Production $1,058,225 300-00 POST- PROD GENERAL COSTS 21 $32,100 301-00 EDITING 21 $43,980 302-00 VFX & ANIMATION 21 $307,200 303-00 AUDIO POST 22 $70,000 304-00 MUSIC 22 $18,000 305-00 PICTURE POST 23 $27,600 307-00 DELIVERABLES 23 $14,000 308-00 OTHER DELIVERABLES 23 $3,900 Sub-Total Below-The-Line Post-Production $516,780 400-00 PUBLICITY 25 $8,800 401-00 MARKETING 25 $2,500 402-00 INSURANCE 25 $31,500 403-00 FINANCE COSTS 25 $25,000
1 Acct# Category Description Page Total 404-00 LEGALS 26 $30,000 405-00 GENERAL EXPENSES 26 $14,720 Sub-Total Below-The-Line Other Costs $112,520 Contingency : 10.0% $253,165 Total Above-The-Line $844,122 Total Below-The-Line $1,687,525 Total Above and Below-The-Line $2,531,647 Grand Total $2,784,812 Title: Viking Destiny Cast Terence Stamp or approved by Film Mode
Director: David LG Hughes Producer: Andy Ryder Writer: David LG Hughes Territories HIGH MIN Sold Europe Benelux 125,000 50,000 France 300,000 200,000 Germany 500,000 350,000 Home Ent Sold Greece 30,000 15,000 Italy 250,000 150,000 Portugal 20,000 10,000 Scandinavia 100,00 50,000 Spain 200,000 75,000 Switzerland (w/Germ DVD) 40,000 20,000 Turkey 45,000 15,000 UK 400,000 225,000 Total Europe 1,810,000 1,160,000 Eastern Europe Bulgaria 10,000 5,000 Czech Republic 35,000 15,000 Ex-Yugoslavia 15,000 5,000 Hungary 30,000 15,000 Poland 50,000 20,000 Romania 20,000 10,000 Russia 150,000 75,000 Total Eastern Europe 310,000 145,000 Latin America Argentina/Par/Urg 50,000 10,000 Brazil 150,000 35,000 Colombia 10,000 5,000 Mexico 100,000 35,000 Peru/Bolivia/Ecuador 20,000 10,000 Venezuela 25,000 5,000 Latin America (Pay TV) 100,000 75,000 Total Latin America 455,000 150,000 Asia China 250,000 125,000 Hong Kong 40,000 15,000 India 50,000 15,000 Indonesia 45,000 20,000 Japan 150,000 35,000 Malaysia 20,000 15,000 Philippines 20,000 10,000 Singapore 40,000 10,000 South Korea 150,000 35,000 Taiwan 60,000 20,000 Thailand 25,000 15,000 Asia PTV (ex Japan/Korea) 75,000 25,000 Total Asia 925,000 340,000 North America Canada 250,000 50,000 United States 500,000 200,000 Total North America 750,000 250,000 Other Airlines 125,000 35,000 Australia 125,000 75,000 Sold Israel 30,000 15,000 Middle East 70,000 50,000 Sold South Africa 25,000 10,000 Total Other 375,000 185,000 Total MG Estimate 4,625,000 2,230,000
The foregoing projections are estimates only. No representation is being made that these estimates will be realized. Actual results may vary materially from the projections for numerous reasons including, but not limited to, prevailing market conditions, territorial and global economic climate, the final cast and creative elements of the Picture and U.S. theatrical release. Consequently, no guarantee is presented or implied as to the accuracy of specific projections or predictive statements contained herein. The foregoing projections are strictly confidential and, without the prior written consent may not be disclosed by the party to whom they are furnished to any other person or entity.
PROJECT COVERAGE FORM
TITLE: Viking Destiny AUTHOR: David LG Hughes SUB TO: – SUB BY: Andee Ryder / Elephant Gun Films FORM: Screenplay LENGTH: 103 pages BASED ON: – LANGUAGE: English BUDGET: £1,922,000 GENRE: Fantasy adventure LOCATION: Scandinavia PERIOD: Viking era READER: Lucy Barrick DATE: 13/6/16
ELEMENTS: DIRECTOR: David LG Hughes WRITER: David LG Hughes CAST: Terence Stamp (verbal confirmation) PRODUCER: Andee Ryder
LOGLINE: An exiled Viking princess but must return home to defeat a tyrant, save her people, and claim her rightful destiny
COMMENT SUMMARY: An epic Viking saga that mixes elements of Disney princess fantasy Brave, young adult smash hit The Hunger Games and TV phenomenon Game Of Thrones. The story is good, with a strong good vs evil central premise and a classic exile-and-triumphant-return narrative. Characters and dialogue are fair, and there is the potential for a few strong visual moments. However, the budget seems unrealistic for the scale of the project, and the tone falls between audience groups – too gory for YA, not enough sex and violence for adult fantasy fans.
Excellent (4) Good (3) Fair (2) Poor (1) PREMISE X STORYLINE X CHARACTERISATION X DIALOGUE X STRUCTURE X PACE X ORIGINALITY X AUDIENCE APPEAL X TOTAL 6 12
OVERALL SCORE: 18/32 = 56%
CHARACTERS: HELLE (21), a Viking princess PRINCE BARD, the ruthless pretender to the throne LORD SOINI, Helle’s protector VERN (20), a handsome Traveller
PREMISE: Widowed Viking king Asmund is persuaded by his devious half-brother Bard to let him raise his daughter, princess Helle, as his own. After 21 years the young woman, now a powerful warrior, learns the truth of her birth. But Bard has been plotting all this time, and uses the opportunity to murder the king and seize power. Helle goes into hiding, and learns the ways of peace, but must return to her kingdom to save her people.
SYNOPSIS: In a prologue, ODIN narrates the story of HELLE, the daughter of KING ASMUND and QUEEN ALVA of the Viking kingdom of Volsung. During Helle's birth, Asmund's devious half-brother PRINCE BARD, aided by LOKI, betrays him to his enemies, the Sickling Warriors. (Bard is half-Sickling – his father raped their mother while their father was at war.) Despite Bard’s plotting, Asmund and his loyal lieutenant LORD SOINI lead their men to victory. But Alva dies in childbirth. Bard says Asmund can't be weak with grief and have his only heir being female. So he offers to raise the girl, swapping her with his own son HAKON, who was born three days earlier. Asmund reluctantly accepts. Bard's WIFE kills herself.
21 years later. Helle is a skilled warrior, secretly trained by Soini. The King watches in despair as his "son" trains with VIKING LORDS. It's embarrassing for all concerned. He goes to find Helle, who Bard treats like a slave. He has also told her she's a curse, and responsible for her mother's death. Elsewhere, Loki tells Bard the time has come. Asmund tells Bard he made a mistake abandoning his daughter. Helle walks to the cliffs where she believes her "mother" died. Odin visits her, with a message of hope.
Bard cruelly manipulates Helle. He says she must prove herself to her "uncle" and kill the only thing that scares him, the Kraken in the Drowned Cave. She leaves immediately, but bumps into Hakon and takes him with her. Bard watches with Sickling leader KIRKWOOD. He tells Kirkwood to kill them both – then he will be the only remaining heir. Asmund has a nightmare, he knows something is wrong. In the cave, Haxon says he has no desire to be king, and thinks she should rule. A SICKLING WARRIOR enters the cave and attacks them. They are nearly defeated when Asmund appears. He kills the warrior and tells the children the truth. They are both happy. But their joy is short-lived, as Asmund is killed by Bard. 12 SICKLING WARRIORS attack. Hakon sacrifices himself, while Helle takes her father's sword and runs.
Helle falls through a pit, is knocked unconscious and drops to the bottom of the sea. Odin saves her. When she awakes, Bard is leading Asmund’s funeral procession, and tells the villagers he was killed by Helle! Now he will rule. Odin says Helle can put things right, but first she must survive.
Helle journeys far north through Scandinavia. She encounters VERN (20, handsome and strong), TAIT (mid-20s) and TARBURN (86). They are Travellers and they show her a different way, without violence. She is free to join them. Years pass, and Helle and Vern fall in love. She renounces her father's sword.
Back at Volsung, Bard has destroyed the community and the city. He is protected by Sickling bodyguard, STEINAR. Although she is presumed dead, he wants Helle's head and sends men to search for her. Meanwhile, Helle teaches the Travellers how to fish, and build a fleet of boats. The community is transformed. Tait and Vern, who were betrothed as children, marry – and Helle is heartbroken. A group of 50 VIKINGS with swords swarm the camp. But they drop their weapons and kneel before Helle. Soini takes off his helmet and says they’ve been searching for her. She must return and claim her rightful destiny. That night, Odin visits Helle. He says she has to take what she's learnt and give it back to her people. But then SICKLING WARRIORS attack. She kills them all. Vern And Tait say the Travellers will fight with them. Soini has a plan to surprise Bard from the coast. But they have no boats. Helle shows him the fleet they have built.
Helle finds her father’s sword. The fleet sails, with Helle at the prow and Odin next to her. She gives a rousing speech to the Warriors. In Volsung, Bard realises that his dreams of power have left him with nothing. Kirkwood tells him they have little food left for the winter so they will eat the women instead. He’s not joking. When they see the ships on the horizon, the Sicklings rush to board the boats. But they are empty – they’ve walked into a trap. The Vikings fire flaming arrows on board, and the ships are engulfed in flames. Bard watches, horrified, and is surprised by Helle.
A battle ensues. Bard runs to the castle. The Vikings have the upper hand. Vern is wounded, protecting Helle. Tait sees the love between them. Helle follows Bard. She defeats Steinar. Bard taunts her. They fight, and he appears to be winning. At the same time, the Sicklings are rallying against the Vikings. Soini fights Kirkwood. But Bard's weapon gets stuck and he knows he's doomed. Loki appears – he says he promised Bard that he’d rule, but not for how long. Helle chops his head off. Soini is just about to be killed by Kirkwood when Helle arrives and kills him. Without their leaders, the rest of the Sicklings run off. The people, victorious, cheer their new queen.
Helle's coronation. It's a beautiful ceremony, and she sees Odin and her mother and father looking on. But among the crowd, Loki appears to Tait and whispers to her that she shoudn’t cheer for the woman who lays claim to her husband...
COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS:
This is a very traditional story, that’s almost like an original Viking Saga. It’s a strange mix of fairy tale and Game Of Thrones.
The plot is decent. The epic nature of the tale – with gods, sinister plots, evil half-siblings, exile and glorious return – is certainly enjoyable, and could make for rousing watching. The contrast of the bloody, violent Viking way of life with the peaceful ways of the Travellers is nicely done, as illustrated by Tarburn telling Helle that, among his people, they are all kings and queens because they are all equal. However, despite this, the fundamental point of the story is that leadership is down to nature, not nurture, and that Helle is born to rule. It’s not a very progressive view.
Plotwise, Asmund’s death is shocking, and Hakon’s sacrifice is moving, but in general everything else is quite predictable. There are some good potential visuals, particularly the great Viking burial at sea, with the burning ship (although this is repeated later, as Helle and the Vikings attack). The structure is fine, although it could be clearer about how much time has passed while Helle is with the Travellers. Also, I can accept that Helle is a fearsomely skilled warrior but it’s not quite as believable that she knows how to construct an entire fleet of Viking longships.
Characters are OK. Helle is a strong and resourceful heroine, and Bard is a great villain. But other roles are thin and more archetypal than original – the pretty-boy love interest Vern, wise old Tarburn, loyal Soini etc.
Dialogue is mostly fine, but uninspired. The one exception is Bard, who has some great lines (that would be brilliant delivered by a villain like Tim Roth in Rob Roy or Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves). Of his rise to the throne, he says:
“I do not want to lead. I want to destroy.”
And he threatens Helle by saying he’s going to take a starving rat and then…
“I’m going to force it up your mother hole!”
POTENTIAL: This seems like someone has decided to take Disney’s Brave, with its flame-haired feisty princess heroine, and mix it with The Hunger Games (to appeal to young adult audiences), then thrown in Game Of Thrones’ heady fantasy elements. The result is something that feels like a box-ticking exercise, and that, in attempting to appeal to all demographics, actual fails to hit any target.
It’s clearly pitched to cash in on the global success of Game Of Thrones. But I wonder who the potential cinema/home entertainment audience would really be? There’s a fairly cynical attempt to appeal to young female audiences, but the subject matter is way too graphic (with rapes, beheadings and so on) to get a 12A certificate. Equally, it’s far too tame to appeal to the adult fantasy fans who have made Game Of Thrones such a phenomenon. This could provide a standout role for a young actress (like Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games or Shailene Woodley in Divergent). However, Emma Watson was attached to a similar project, Queen Of The Tearling, which has failed to get made, despite her international appeal. So this wouldn’t necessarily be an easy sell.
I feel the budget is a bit hopeful, too. This is not a low-budget prospect and, if it’s done on the cheap it’s going to look really cheap. The writer/director’s previous feature was a low-budget British gangster movie, so I’m not sure he’s got the experience or ability to helm an epic saga.
VIKING DESTINY
Written by
David LG Hughes
June 2016
Manager: Eric Williams, Zero Gravity [email protected] +1 310 656 9440 US Agent: David Boxerbaum, Paradigm [email protected] +1 310 288 8000 UK Agent: Matthew Dench, Dench Arnold [email protected] +44 207 437 4551 PROLOGUE -- AS MONTAGE: Note: This montage will pay homage to the prologues of the classic Disney Princess films from SNOW WHITE to FROZEN. But by it's very modern execution, it will also revolutionise the classic fairy tale opening. It will play like an extended Movie Trailer or Sales Promo in terms of pacing and editing style. Visually, the montage will be highly stylised. Mixing live action with a graphic treatment to create something fresh and exciting. A new interpretation of a classic opening...
BEGIN MONTAGE WITH DARKNESS Out of the darkness comes a voice: ODIN, the Viking God of War and Wisdom... ODIN (V.O.) It is written in the heavens that a life shall be mirrored in its birth. Like a reflection in water: fleeting but true. Odin peers into water. He has no reflection, for he is a God. ODIN (V.O.) And so it was for Helle, daughter of Asmund, the one and only true heir to the Kingdom of Volsung... FLASH CUTS of a Viking Battle, all EXTREME CLOSE UP: SWORDS smash into each other. AXES fly. BODIES fall. Then, a WOMAN SCREAMS. QUEEN ALVA -- inside the castle of Volsung, and in the final stages of childbirth. Helle’s birth. At her side is her husband, KING ASMUND. ODIN (V.O.) Her father, the King. A warrior whose knew the true cost of battle, and who’s people loved him for it. (MORE) 2. ODIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Her mother -- like too many wives, too many mothers -- braver than any man need be... ALVA Arggh! Asmund is visibly shaken by his Queen’s pain. ASMUND I am here, my love. ALVA And you should not be, my beloved. The Kingdom needs you in battle. ASMUND But it is a bad omen for a child to be born with an absent father. ALVA It would be worse luck if our child was born into slavery. Asmund and Alva exchange a look -- it is love and respect. Then Asmund rises from his wife’s side. Determined. LORD SOINI -- the King’s trusted Lieutenant -- hands Asmund his sword. They leaves for battle... ODIN (V.O.) Asmund had a brother. As fingers have 5 brothers -- but none are equals... PRINCE BARD of Volsung. Small, sly. Bard watches the battle that rages from a safe distance -- hiding in the woods outside Volsung. At his side is LOKI -- the God of mayhem and mischief. ODIN (V.O.) For Bard was no equal, not even in blood. A half brother, he grew up twisted, with Loki in his ear. The half Prince -- as he was known -- made a secret pact with the enemy of the East -- the Sickling Warriors -- to attack when the King was distracted. And what greater distraction than the birth of Asmund’s first child...? Bard looks down at the Kingdom of Volsung. Longingly. Loki sees this longing... 3.
LOKI She will be yours to rule, Prince Bard. And then the fun we will have... BARD grins. But that joy is short lived... METAL! SCREAMING! BLOOD! DEATH! Asmund and his Warriors fight the enemy. More than that, they defeat them. Asmund, Lord Soini and the King’s Warriors SLICE! STAB! And BUTCHER! Many enemy are dead. Many more flee. Tasting victory, Asmund lets out a rebel yell... ASMUND Arggh! It spreads -- all of his men cry out too: VOLSUNG ARRGGH! Asmund turns to Lord Soini... ASMUND A pity my brother was not here to share in our glory. SOINI They say a coward has no scar. And I have never seen a man with such beautiful skin as your brother. ASMUND Careful. We are brothers in battle, Lord Soini. But he is by blood. Some choices belong to the Gods, and we cannot question their judgement. Lord Soini has more to say, but holds his tongue... In the woods -- hiding as the enemy flee -- Bard and Loki watch, distraught that their plan has failed... LOKI At least the fool will never suspect you. BARD But now I have a brother and his heir in my way. 4.
LOKI Fear not. A snake cannot fly, but it has feasted on many a bird. Loki laughs. A laugh that trails off into the darkness... ODIN (V.O.) But the Queen had spoken the truth. It is a curse for a child to be born with an absent father... A victorious -- and joyful -- Asmund returns to his Queen. There is a new born baby in Alva’s arms. It should be a beautiful sight. But instead it is tragic: Alva is not breathing -- she has died in child birth... Asmund falls to his knees in agony. ASMUND NO!!!!! ODIN (V.O.) When one man’s beard is on fire, another may warm his hands on it... Bard is at Asmund’s side then... BARD Oh, my dear brother. Bard’s compassion is an act. ODIN (V.O.) With his brother’s mind filled with grief and with no room for thought, Bard took advantage. Planting a seed that would take 20 years and 1 to ripen. Knowing that patience is bitter, but it has the sweetest fruit... BARD (to Asmund) Do you trust me? ASMUND You are my brother, my blood. BARD So let me be the brother you need. We have just survived our enemy. If they hear you are weak -- that you are mourning -- they might strike again. (MORE) 5. BARD (CONT'D) If they hear that your heir is a girl, that weakness will seem greater still. And then they will certainly attack. ASMUND Maybe so. But I cannot change the sex of my child, brother. BARD No, you cannot. But I can. My own son was born just 3 days ago. You shall take him as your own. And I will raise your daughter as mine. Bard enters his own quarters, carrying baby Helle. Inside the room we find Bard’s WIFE, breast-feeding their son. Bard pulls the boy off his wife’s nipple and thrusts Helle into her hands as a replacement. The Wife tries to fight Bard for the boy, but Bard strikes with the back of his hand. She falls in tears. Over this we hear: ASMUND (to Bard) I can’t. BARD You can. And you must. Think of your sanity, brother. Every time you look at this woman child you will see the true cause of Alva’s death. How can you be expected to love such a curse? A broken hand can work. But a broken heart cannot. Asmund weakens. ASMUND You will love her as your own? BARD I will. As my word is my oath. Now Bard’s wife is at the edge of a majestic Fjord -- cliffs that rise majestically out of the water. She takes a step forward... DROP! And plunges off the cliff. Bard’s wife plunges the hundreds of metres to her death. But -- thankfully -- she has not taken baby Helle with her. 6.
Helle -- wrapped in a blanket -- has been left on the cliff’s edge. DARKNESS ODIN (V.O.) Yes, a life is mirrored in its birth. Like a reflection in water: fleeting but true... END OF PROLOGUE MONTAGE.
21 YEARS LATER
EXT. THE WOODS OUTSIDE THE KINGDOM OF VOLSUNG. DAY. Helle is now a grown woman. And she’s in trouble... RUN! She’s running for her life -- from what? BOOTS! A man’s boots -- he’s chasing Helle. Helle looks behind her and sees... HELMET! Her assailant is wearing a metal helmet - it’s impossible to see who it is. DANGER! We might not see Helmet’s face, but we see his size, and his sword -- he’s a beast. TRIP! Looking behind her as she runs, Helle looses her footing and falls to the ground... CRASH! Helmet is on her, bringing his sword down hard. But Helle’s fast.. ROLL! She moves out of the way. More than that: FIGHT BACK! 7.
Helle uses her momentum to get behind Helmet and.. KICK! She kicks the back of his legs, causing Helmet to THUD! Fall to his knees. SWIPE! Down, but not out, Helmet swings his sword at Helle, who: JUMPS! Over the blade and: LANDS! Hard on Helmet’s hand. DROP! He loses his sword.. HELMET! ARRGH! Helmet -- unarmed now -- throws himself at Helle. But she’s: FAST! She not only spins away from Helmet, she also manages to reclaim his sword: WHOOSH! In a blur of light and movement she spins with the sword, going right for Helmet. FREEZE! Just as it seems she will decapitate Helmet, she stops. THE BLADE! It’s millimeters from Helmet’s throat. ADAM’S APPLE! Helmet gulps nervously, and his Adam’s apple brushes the blade. BLOOD! 8.
The blade is sharp -- this slightest touch draws a trickle of blood. Then Helmet: SMILES! He removes his helmet, and we see it’s: LORD SOINI. 21 years older, but still a mighty Warrior. A mighty Warrior who has just been humbled by Helle... SOINI It seems you have learnt all I have to teach you, Princess. Helle smiles, and lowers the blade. And we get it then -- this was no attack, it was a training session. HELLE How I wish that one day I will see real battle, But I never will. SOINI No wishes can come true that can’t be kept secret. HELLE And why do you keep our training secret? SOINI If I told you, then what hope would my wish have of coming true? Helle hands back the sword. HELLE I thank you for the favour. SOINI And one day I may ask you for a favour in return. Helle face tells us she can’t wait to be asked. And off they walk...
EXT. THE VOLSUNG RING CASTLE -- COURTYARD. DAY. Asmund sits. The years -- and grief -- have not been kind to him. 9.
Asmund is watching combat training. And it is his “son”, HAKON -- now 21 -- who is being trained... 5 VIKING LORDS -- all as old as Asmund himself -- have made a ring around Hakon. But the ring around Hakon is not complete -- there is space for one more in the circle... Lord Soini runs in, obviously late (from training Helle). He takes his place in the circle around Hakon. All eyes fall on Asmund, who nods. And training begins... Even though the Viking Lords are in full armor and have their swords drawn, they are anything but intimidating. They move slowly, occasionally waving their weapons -- gently -- at Hakon. There’s no threat here. But as feeble as the Viking Lords’ threat is, Hakon is more feeble still... He holds his sword as if it were a dead fish, flopping lifelessly in his hands. Soini and the Viking Lords look to their King. They are embarrassed for Asmund -- this is not the way a King’s son should be. Hakon is embarrassed too - he knows he is a failure in everyone’s eyes. Asmund ends the misery for everyone... ASMUND (kindly) That’s enough for today. Soini and the Viking Lords turn and bow to Asmund. Then leave the King and his “son” alone... HAKON I’m sorry, father. I will train harder. Longer. ASMUND I fear there are some things we cannot train. It is in your blood. Or it is not. 10.
HAKON If it’s in your blood, it will be in your child’s, Father. And we will find it. Asmund thinks on Hakon’s words. The King knows the boy is right. ASMUND Find it, yes. And I know where it hides. HAKON (excited) You do? Asmund is excited too: ASMUND A good year is determined by its spring. Asmund is off then, leaving the boy alone. Alone and confused...
INT. THE VOLSUNG RING CASTLE -- BARD’S QUARTERS. NIGHT. Helle is on her knees -- scrubbing the floor with a rag. Her fiery red hair bobs as she works hard -- so hard that she doesn’t hear the arrival of... King Asmund -- he steps behind her. And Asmund clearly doesn’t recognise her... ASMUND Maid, where is Princess Helle? Helle jumps to her feet, and bows. Asmund is shocked: ASMUND (CONT’D) Helle...? What in the name of the Gods are you doing? HELLE As my father commands, my King. ASMUND My brother has you do the labour of a slave? HELLE He wishes to teach me humility. 11.
ASMUND It surprises me to hear humility is a trait he values. Asmund’s tone is stern. Helle is instinctively protective of her “father”... HELLE Do not judge my father too harshly, dear Uncle. Try to remember the burden he has lived with all these year. ASMUND Burden? HELLE I am a curse. ASMUND You? A curse? HELLE My father could not be present at my birth, for he was fighting heroically against our enemies at your very side... Asmund bites his tongue and plays along with Bard’s revisionist version of history...... if only to hear the depth of his brother’s lies... HELLE (CONT’D) And we know the Gods curse a child born with an absent father. My mother’s death, that is my fault alone. Every time my father sees me is a reminder that I took his beloved’s life. This is the curse he lives with, the curse I am... ASMUND He tells you all this? HELLE Honesty is another lesson my father teaches rigorously. ASMUND Humility. Heroism. Honesty. I’m seeing my brother in a whole new light today. Asmund smiles, sadly. Then: 12.
ASMUND (CONT’D) Enough with the cleaning. Tell me, Helle -- have you ever held a sword?
EXT. THE BEACH OUTSIDE THE KINGDOM OF VOLSUNG. NIGHT. Amongst the sand dunes... SEX. Bard -- his trousers at his ankles -- is having his way with a young, NAKED GIRL. He’s not anyone’s idea of a selfless lover, and it’s all over quickly. Finished, Bard pushes the Naked Girl away and pulls up his trousers. Naked Girl -- with no sign of her own clothing -- smiles like it was the time of her life. And convinces no one. Bard isn’t interested, anyway. His mind has moved on... BARD Do you know why they call me the half brother? NAKED GIRL I know they shouldn’t... BARD We had the same mother, Asmund and I. But my true father was a Sickling. When Asmund’s father -- the King -- was off fighting some war, my blood father attacked Volsung, and raped our mother. NAKED GIRL I never knew. BARD No one does. Or at least no one dare talk of it. You see, Asmund’s father was truly a great King. Rather than abandon his wife -- or easier still, abandon me -- he embraced us both. Raising me as his blood. Giving me the same love as Asmund. Maybe even more. But if you take a nettle -- if you sow a nettle -- then the nettle will sting you. 13.
NAKED GIRL My Prince? BARD The more he tried to make me his son, the more he showed his true feelings. Pity. And the more he pitied me, the more I knew I was but his nettle, not his son. Bard’s words have become a rant, a monologue -- the girl need not be there...... as she has noticed... Her playful -- sexy -- tone is dropped. She’s serious now: NAKED GIRL Why are you telling me this, my Prince? BARD I’m not -- not really. It’s just sometimes I do rather love the sound of my own voice. The Naked Woman smiles...... but Bard isn’t kidding. NAKED GIRL I’ll take this knowledge to the grave, my Prince. Bard smiles then... BARD Yes. You will. Bard pulls out his dagger. The Naked Woman starts to scream...... but... SLICE! Bard is so fast there isn’t time. He slits her throat, and watches her drown in her own blood... Suddenly we see Loki. He’s sitting down -- having enjoyed the entertainment as much as Bard did... 14.
LOKI Our pleasures are shallow... BARD ...our sorrows deep. LOKI Alas, yes. BARD Ten years and five I have waited for greater pleasures. LOKI It is easy to cut the tail of a dead wolf. And our wolf is finally ready to die. BARD He is? You promise? Loki nods. LOKI Indeed, the end has already begun. And now you must play your final part and claim the Kingdom... Bard and Loki grin. BARD At last. LOKI At long last...
EXT. THE VOLSUNG RING CASTLE -- COURTYARD. DAY. Lord Soini and the 5 other Viking Warriors are here again -- in full armor, with swords drawn. They’ve made a circle around Hakon, as before. But this time Hakon is not alone -- he is joined in the circle by Helle. She -- like the rest -- is dressed in armor and carries a sword. She is nervous. Soini sees this. He gives her a reassuring nod. It relaxes her. The Viking Warriors move closer. Hakon eyes them with fear. 15.
Helle eyes them with relish. From his seat -- watching everything -- Asmund speaks: ASMUND On my command... But Helle doesn’t wait. She launches: WHOOSH! SWIPE! THUD! WHACK! With speed, agility and power, Helle attacks -- forcing the Viking Warriors into retreat. Hakon is stunned. Asmund delighted -- he: ROARS! With laughter! Suddenly, Prince Bard appears. He’s running -- and looking anything but happy... But he knows his place: BARD (catching his breath) My brother -- what happens here? The fighting stops instantly. Helle looks terrified. But Asmund waves them on. ASMUND Fight -- I command you! The Viking Warriors reluctantly raise their weapons. But Helle is still frozen in fear. Asmund sees her fear, and follows her gaze to its source -- Bard. Asmund GLARES at Bard. Bard sees his brother’s anger and -- with a cockroach's instinct for survival -- nods at Helle to fight: 16.
BARD As your King commands, child. And at once. Helle draws on her fear -- and frustration -- and launches a furious attack on the Viking Warriors: CLANG! WHACK! THUD! They have no answer to her onslaught -- they can only defend. As the fight continues, Bard goes over to Asmund’s side... BARD (CONT’D) Why is she here, brother? ASMUND My heir is a coward, Bard. BARD Hakon? ASMUND I fear it is in his blood. Bard swallows the insult. But it is bitter, still... BARD Listen to me, Asmund. ASMUND King Asmund. Putting the naughty Prince in his place. ASMUND (CONT’D) The right answer to a fool is silence. I did listen to you. Once. A beat. A beat that makes it clear to Bard that his brother will never listen to him again... ASMUND (CONT’D) Did you know the Gods stopped appearing to me the night of Alva’s death? All these years I’ve feared they abandoned me as I abandoned my Queen to go and fight. That they were punishing me... 17.
BARD You had to fight. You had no choice. ASMUND Yes. I did. So maybe I have been mistaken all this time. Maybe the Gods didn’t abandon me as I abandoned my wife. Maybe they abandoned me as I abandoned my child... Asmund is lost in his thoughts -- his guilt -- then. Bard leaves him there, retreating into the shadows. Bard smiles -- as if this is all part of his plan... While in front of the King: Helle smashes the elderly Viking Warriors into submission. Her breathtaking display builds to a ferocious crescendo: WHOOSH! SWIPE! THUD! WHACK! SMACK! One by one -- like falling dominoes -- Helle knocks the swords out the hands of all her opponents' hands. In essence defeating them all. This pulls Asmund out of his introspection and back into the present. He claps enthusiastically. Helle bows -- happy. ASMUND (CONT’D) My dear Lord Soini, it is almost as if someone had spent years training the girl. Soini smiles -- the secret is out, the credit his. Hakon -- forgotten -- is crest-fallen.
EXT. THE COAST. DAY. Helle walks along the cliffs which tower over the sea -- with the waves crashing below. 18.
The wind is strong - her red hair blows behind her like fire from a torch. She reaches the location where Bard’s Wife -- the woman she believes to have been her mother -- committed suicide. Slowly -- respectfully -- she creeps over to the cliff edge from which Bard’s Wife jumped. She breathes deeply -- a thousand emotions swirling in her mind. And then Helle speaks out to the sea, to her dead Mother... HELLE Mother... Then -- out of nowhere -- Odin appears behind Helle. And -- of course -- he looks the same as ever. He’s so silent in his arrival -- so magical -- that Helle doesn’t know he’s there. Until he speaks: ODIN A day of grief lasts longer than a year of joy...
Helle turns to Odin. She’s shocked -- where did he come from? ODIN (CONT’D) Your mother. I knew her well. HELLE Who are you? Odin doesn’t answer. SHING! She draws her sword... HELLE (CONT’D) I demand your name, old man. The sword doesn’t scare Odin, of course. He simply smiles... ODIN Such passion. Such bravery. My, how you remind me of her. She would be so very proud of what you have become, child. 19.
Helle instinctively looks back out to sea...... to where she’s convinced her mother’s final resting place is... ODIN (CONT’D) As proud as your father is. HELLE My father could not care less. ODIN Remember, however dark the forest, there is always a path through it... Helle turns back to Odin. But he’s gone -- vanished into thin air. She doesn’t know if what she just experienced actually happened. Confused, Helle gets back on her horse and rides away...
INT. THE VOLSUNG RING CASTLE -- BARD’S QUARTERS. NIGHT. Helle returns home. It’s late, so she creeps in -- not wanting to disturb her “father”, Bard. The room is dark. So dark she doesn’t see Bard hiding in the shadows, watching her like a bird of prey... When Bard finally speaks, it startles Helle: BARD An ungrateful child is a wart on the father's face; to leave it is a blemish, to cut it off is pain. Helle swallows a shriek -- she doesn’t want to show any weakness... HELLE Father. BARD Hello, my curse. HELLE I thought you asleep. 20.
BARD How can I sleep when all I do is worry about you. HELLE Worry? BARD Of course. For I know what is in your heart. You wish the King was your father, not I. Helle doesn’t respond: her silence a “yes”. BARD (CONT’D) And so you play at being a warrior to please him. To win his affection. But just as you are my curse, so I am yours. I raised you, not he. Yet still you play this game. Hoping that if you play for long enough that his love for you will become real... Helle is crushed by Bard’s words. BARD (CONT’D) Do you know why you were invited there to train? Truly? Helle is too distraught to respond. And Bard keeps piling on the misery... HELLE You are an opportunity, nothing more. An opportunity to lower the standard of Warrior around the true heir and hopefully raise the boy’s confidence. HELLE (CONT’D) That can’t be true. BARD Can it not? Sadly, Helle isn’t sure... BARD (CONT’D) But just as you are an opportunity, so it is one for you. If you could only see it. HELLE See it? 21.
BARD If you could truly prove your bravery, maybe he would see you as more than just a prop for his son... HELLE How? Bard thinks. Or pretends to think. Of course this is all part of a plan hatched long, long ago... BARD (fake) No. HELLE What? BARD No. It’s too much. HELLE It isn’t. Whatever it is it is not too much for me. BARD It is. It was too much even for him. HELLE For the King? Bard nods. Too much even for Asmund? Now she has to know: HELLE (CONT’D) If you ever felt anything in your heart for me, father, then please: tell me. BARD Only one thing scared my brother when we were boys. And it still scares him today -- the Kraken monster of the Drowned Cave. HELLE Kraken don’t exist. And we must never speak of such foolish things - our King decrees it. 22.
BARD An octopus the size of 100 bears. That can pull a ship to the sea bed with a single tentacle. That can swallow 50 men alive, so they die drowning in the bubbling bile in the belly of the beast. Are you sure it does exist? Are you sure talk of it was not banned by your beloved King? HELLE Why would he do such a thing? BARD Because truly it is the one thing that scares him. And because some men believe if you forget a thing long enough, it will disappear. But it never does. It just grows stronger and stronger in the shadows -- feeding on the denials and the lies... until it becomes more dangerous than ever before... Is Bard talking of the Kraken monster? Or himself? BARD (CONT’D) He went to slay it once, you know. But he turned back in fear. So the Kraken lives on, alone in that dark pit. And we are forbidden to go there because we are told we will drown -- for it is the Drowned Cave. But those of us old enough to remember a time before Asmund’s rule know the truth. And keep his secret out of loyalty. Out of fear. But if we do not pay attention to whispers, eventually we will be deafened by screams. HELLE I don’t believe you. The King is not scared of anything. At least she doesn’t want to believe Bard. But there’s doubt in her voice... BARD Of course you don’t believe. What coward would? 23.
HELLE I’m not a coward. I am a warrior. A trained warrior. Finally some fight back from Helle. Just what Bard wants... BARD Skill is but a rumor, until it reaches the muscle, child. A real warrior would find out for certain. And then slay the beast were it true -- bringing the severed tentacles as a gift to her King as proof of her bravery. Helle’s eyes are tempted by Bard’s challenge. He keeps pushing... BARD (CONT’D) And if you killed the one thing the King feared, then he might truly love you... Helle walks over to a window. She looks out...... out to coastline and sea...... out to the Drowned Cave. Bard’s seed is sown. He retreats into the shadows... Where Loki waits: LOKI (whisper) Well played, my Prince. Well played. Oh, how goodness shouts. And evil whispers... Bard smiles.
INT. THE VOLSUNG RING CASTLE -- STAIRWELL. NIGHT. Helle speeds down the stairs in the darkness. And bumps into...... Hakon, coming the other way. HAKON Cousin, can we talk? 24.
HELLE Not now. HAKON But it must be now. HELLE Then you’ll have to join me. HAKON Where are you going? HELLE On an adventure. Join me! And Helle’s off -- charging down the stairs. Hakon follows -- reluctantly.
EXT. EPIC COASTLINE. NIGHT. Helle and Hakon -- in full armor, with swords at their sides - - move along the coast. Both carry a FLAMING TORCH to light their progress. Helle moves quickly -- excited. Hakon -- nervous -- struggles to keep up... HAKON Where are we going? HELLE You’ll see... They think they’re alone. But they’re being watched...
EXT. EPIC COASTLINE - THE WOODS BEHIND. NIGHT. Under the cover of darkness and trees, Bard watches as Helle and Hakon move towards the Drowned Cave. Next to him is Loki, smiling. From behind comes a rustling. Bard doesn’t turn -- he already knows who is coming: It’s the Sickling leader, Kirkwood. Behind him a dozen SICKLING WARRIORS. Kirkwood eyes Helle and Hakon: 25.
KIRKWOOD You said it would be just the girl. LOKI (whispering to BARD) Rain does not fall on one roof alone. BARD An unexpected treat, then. KIRKWOOD So there is no anger later, exactly what are your expectations, brother Bard. BARD (to Kirkwood) I expect that neither the girl nor the boy will leave the cave alive. Is that explanation enough? LOKI And how Asmund will regret letting his sacks shrivel up in grief. For you then will be his only heir, Price Bard... Bard smiles. Then gestures to the 12 Sickling Warriors. BARD Do you need them all? KIRKWOOD Just one. An especially nasty looking SICKLING WARRIOR steps forward -- this will be his mission... KIRKWOOD (CONT’D) My Warrior takes great pride in his work. And with a girl like that, he should also like to take great pleasure. But if your heart desires mercy... BARD Mercy is for the weak. Do you see me as such? Kirkwood turns to the Sickling Warrior, and hisses: KIRKWOOD Do you not hear your orders? 26.
The Sickling Warrior grins -- a toothless grin -- and starts running...... after Helle and Hakon...
EXT. THE DROWNED CAVE - ENTRANCE. NIGHT. Helle and Hakon have arrived...... where the ocean and the cliff meet: The entrance to a dark, damp cave, leading to heaven -- or hell -- knows where... Hakon -- wisely -- does not think this is a good idea... HAKON Helle... HELLE I’m going in. HAKON But. Helle starts walking into the cave... HELLE If you don’t want to come with me, you can walk back alone. In the dark. And pray a pack of wild wolves does not catch you and tear your flesh from your bones. Hakon shivers. And then follows after Helle -- the better of two terrible options...
EXT. THE COAST. NIGHT. The Sickling Warrior stands at the edge of the cliff. A dagger in each hand -- the sharp blades catch the moonlight. He... DIVES Off the edge of the cliff... WHOOSH! Flies down... 27.
SPLASH! Hits the water... SWISH! Starts swimming down and down... Finally the Sickling Warrior comes to the bottom of the ocean. He swims over to a cluster of rocks... SHOVE! He sticks his right arms into a gap between the rocks... SHOVE! He sticks his left arm into another gap... PULL! Something starts pulling on his right arm... PULL! Something is pulling on his left arm... TENSE! The Sickling Warrior summons all his strength... KNEES: He pulls his knees up to his chest, making himself into a ball... FEET: He puts his feet on the rocks... PULL! PULL! He’s pulled tight towards the rock by whatever has his arms... Then: PUSH! With all his strength -- and it takes everything he has -- the Sickling Warrior pushes off from the rocks... RELEASE! His arms come away from the rocks... 28.
...but they’re not totally free: OCTOPUSES! Wrapped around each arm are two of the largest Octopuses you have ever seen. TENTACLES! The Octopuses tentacles wrap themselves around the Sickling Warrior’s arms...... and keep wrapping...... until it looks like the Sickling Warrior has Octopuses for arms... KICK! He kicks his legs as hard as he can and heads for the surface...... keeping the Octopuses arms outstretched so the tentacles don’t suck on to his face...
INT. THE DROWNED CAVE. NIGHT. Helle strides into the depths of the cave - the light from her torch dancing on the walls as she moves... Hakon tries to keep up... SQUELCH! He feels something under his feet. Hakon stops, and: SHINES His torch downwards and sees what he’s stepped in... HAKON Urggh! Hakon has stepped into the BLOATED STOMACH of a DROWNED MAN. PLOP! The drowned man’s mouth drops open SCURRY! Dozens of crabs spill out. PULL! 29.
Hakon gets his foot out of the gut and hurries after: HAKON (CONT’D) Helle! Who’s oblivious to his ordeal. HELLE! HELLE! HELLE! Hakon’s words echo through the cave. Helle turns to him and: HELLE Shush! Hakon holds up his hand as an apology. Then... HAKON (whispering) But you said we could speak. Before Helle can answer we hear a: GROAN! It’s guttural. Animal like. SCARY! And it echoes: GROAN! GROAN! GROAN! Through the cave... HAKON (CONT’D) (scared) What are you looking for, Helle? HELLE That’s what I’m looking for. Hakon wishes he’d never asked... 30.
INT. THE VOLSUNG RING CASTLE -- ROYAL CHAMBER. NIGHT. Alone in his bed, King Asmund sleeps. It’s a restless sleep -- he tosses and turns. DREAMS...... that we see flashes of... CROSS CUT AS NECESSARY Between the King tossing in his bed... And... ASMUND’S DREAM: Asmund is with Alva -- his Dead Queen. But here, she’s alive. She’s beautiful and naked. They kiss. They make love... BACK IN THE REAL WORLD: Asmund settles in his sleep -- the dream is soothing him. ASMUND’S DREAM: Queen Alva’s hair changes colour. It turns FIRE RED. Just like Helle’s... BACK IN THE REAL WORLD: Still asleep, starts to toss and turn again... ASMUND’S DREAM: Queen Alva’s face starts to change...... just as her hair colour did...... she is turning into Helle. Horrified, Asmund pushes away from her. BACK IN THE REAL WORLD: Asmund thrashes frantically in his sleep now... 31.
ASMUND’S DREAM: From the darkness... OCTOPUS TENTACLES! Reach around Helle and... DRAG! Pull her away from Asmund: FAST! She totally disappears into darkness with a... SCREAM! HELLE Argggggggh! ASMUND HELLE!!!! On that JOLT... BACK IN THE REAL WORLD: Asmund awakes from his nightmare...... and he knows in his gut something is wrong... ASMUND (CONT’D) Helle...
INT. THE DROWNED CAVE. NIGHT. Helle and Hakon creep deeper and deeper into this abyss... HAKON (whispering) Helle, please. I must tell you something. HELLE (whispering) What? HAKON I really don’t want to be King. Helle stops in her tracks. She’s utterly stunned... HELLE Have you lost your senses? 32.
HAKON My Father has lost his senses if he considers me a King in waiting. I would be terrible. Terrible. Try and tell me that I am wrong without laughter. Helle doesn’t know what to say. But she can’t tell him he’s wrong -- not without lying... HELLE Hakon... HAKON It’s true. We both know it. The Lords know it. And the King knows it too. HELLE You can learn. HAKON I have proven that I cannot. I have proved it every day -- and the longer it goes on, the longer I will keep on proving it. I am not brave. I am not bold. I am not strong. But I am smart. I have a brain -- at least I can use that. And it is telling me who should be our next King... HELLE Who? HAKON You, my dear cousin. Helle shakes her head in disbelief -- the thought would never have crossed her mind... HELLE No. HAKON There is no greater mirror than a true friend. Please let me show you who you really are, Helle: one and only true heir to the Kingdom of Volsung. Helle is moved. But before this conversation can go any further... SWOOSH! A shadow flies across the wall 33.
HAKON (CONT’D) What was that? HELLE My prize. Helle starts chasing the shadow... SWOOSH! We see a little more of it then. SWOOSH! And again...... is that a.... HAKON Tentacle? It certainly looks like the shadow of a giant tentacle. HELLE The Kraken lives! SWOOSH! Another tentacle shadow dances away. HAKON Kraken...? Hakon is beyond terrified. SHING! Helle draws her sword... CROSS CUT AS NECESSARY Between... HELLE AND HAKON As they chase the TENTACLE SHADOWS...... and... THE SICKLING WARRIOR Whose OCTOPUS ARMS are creating the TENTACLE SHADOWS... HELLE AND HAKON Helle speeds after the shadow... THUD! 34.
Hakon -- trying to keep up -- slips... SPLASH! He falls in a shallow pool of water... PUFF! It may be shallow, but it’s deep enough to extinguish Hakon’s flaming torch... DARKNESS Hakon looks up...... no sign of Helle...... no sign of anything...... it’s too dark! HAKON (CONT’D) (terrified) Helle...? Hakon pulls himself to his feet and starts stumbling forward - - like a blind man... THE SICKLING WARRIOR Has found a little COVE He hides in it...... and watches as... RUN! Helle shoots past him, unaware he’s hiding... BLACK INK Octopus blood starts to trickle down the Sickling Warrior’s tentacle arms. We see why... OOZE! Gently -- slowly -- the Sickling Warrior is pushing the blades of his knives through the heads of the Octopuses... His TENTACLE ARMS now have BLADES at their TIPS...... blades dripping with BLACK BLOOD! With the blades exposed, the Sickling Warrior steps out of his cove... 35.
...and heads away from Helle...... back towards Hakon... HELLE She stops running...... because there’s no sign of any more tentacle shadows. And that’s when she realizes there’s also no sign of... HELLE Hakon? HAKON Fumbling in the dark. He’s found the wall of the cave. He’s moving forward. Slowly... Then he hears Helle’s words echo through the cave: HAKON! HAKON! HAKON! Relieved he starts to move faster towards the sound of Helle’s voice... FASTER! He starts running as his confidence grows...... until... WHOAH! His front foot is suddenly in mid air...... and dropping... BUCKLE! His other leg buckles... PULL BACK! Hakon manages -- just -- to pull back and stop himself falling into a... DEEP PIT! 36.
On the floor again -- but safe... DEEP BREATHS Hakon tries -- and fails -- to compose himself... HYPERVENTILATING Panicking, Hakon edges backwards until he feels something firm against his back...... against the back of his head... HELLE Is running to find Hakon. HAKON His eyes closed... IN FEAR His back against something solid. And then... SQUELCH! That something solid starts to move... EYES OPEN! Terrified, Hakon looks and sees... TENTACLES! Moving across his face... SCREAM! Hakon opens his mouth to unleash his terror...... but the tentacles fill his mouth, suffocating his sound... THE SICKLING WARRIOR Is behind Hakon -- the tentacles come from his arms... HAKON Doesn’t realise this. He assumes it’s the Kraken...... and looks like he might faint... LIGHT! 37.
Helle is with them then... TENTACLE SHADOWS! Her torch creates massive tentacle shadows out of the Sickling Warrior’s arms. Hakon only sees the shadows at first... THE HUGE TENTACLE SHADOWS! And is then convinced he’s about to be eaten by... THE KRAKEN! But Helle sees the truth -- she sees the Sickling Warrior... AND HIS BLADES! One is moving towards Hakon’s throat... HELLE (CONT’D) NO!!! Helle lunges towards the Sickling Warrior... SWOOSH! Thrusting her sword towards him. PUSH! The Sickling Warrior pushes Hakon away. Hakon falls... CLUMSILY! And... CRACK! Breaks a bone in his leg as he falls: HAKON ARRGGGHH! Just as... DODGE! The Sickling Warrior manages to avoid Helle’s blade... SWIPE! Helle goes for him again... MISS! 38.
The Sickling Warrior -- so fast -- spins away from her sword. FLAMES! Helle waves her torch at the Sickling Warrior... DODGE! He avoids that too... SLICE! And this time lands a blow of his own... CUT! He slices into the skin of Helle’s hand, and she... DROPS! The torch. FLAMING it ROLLS... To Hakon. Who is still... FROZEN IN FEAR! HELLE Pick it up! Hakon stumbles towards it. Using the distraction... MOVE! The Sickling Warrior gets closer to Helle...... she... SWIPES! With all her might, she attacks with her sword, and... THUD! Her blade hits the Sickling Warrior in the arm. But it’s not a clean hit -- the flat of the blade makes contact with his arm... STUCK! Helle tries to pull her sword back but... 39.
TENTACLES The Octopus has latched on to her sword... PULL! The Sickling Warrior -- with the help of the Octopus -- pulls the sword out of Helle’s hands... FLY! Helle’s blade flies through the sky... AWAY FROM HER! And... CRASH! Lands -- out of sight -- lost in the darkness... Helle knows they’re in trouble... Hakon knows they’re in trouble... HAKON Run. Run, Helle -- save yourself. HELLE Never! The Sickling Warrior smiles and... RAISES HIS BLADES! The shadows that dance off the walls from his tentacle arms are truly terrifying...... they look like they could only belong to a Kraken monster...... Hakon screams: HAKON Argggghhh! Just as... PIERCE! A sword is thrust through the Sickling Warrior’s chest from behind. SPLUTTER! The Sickling Warrior spits out blood and... THUD! 40.
Falls to his feet: DEAD To reveal: Asmund -- it was his sword that saved Helle and Hakon. RELIEF! Helle is delighted to see the King. Even Hakon -- through the pain of his broken leg -- manages to grin. Asmund smiles, and locks eyes with Helle: ASMUND Fear not, my child. No matter how fast moonlight runs, daylight always catches up. We see it in Helle’s eyes, the importance of Asmund’s words. Of “my child”. It’s a joyous moment. ASMUND (CONT’D) Sleep is the cousin of death. And oh, how I have slept all these years, Helle. I’m sorry. To look at you, is to see your mother. A great woman. Better than I... and I have been a coward and hidden from that too long. Forgive me. More than that -- let me make amends. HELLE Amends? ASMUND Hakon, to you too I owe you an apology. HAKON Father? ASMUND No, I am not. Nor should I have ever put that burden on your shoulders. And the penny drops. Hakon is shocked. And relieved. Helle is shocked. And overjoyed. 41.
HELLE Father...? Asmund smiles. It’s a joyous moment. But it does not last: PIERCE! A sword stabs through Asmund’s chest -- straight through his heart. The sword stab comes out of the darkness -- Helle and Hakon do not see who does this. CLANG! Asmund drops his sword -- it lands at Helle’s feet. THUD! Asmund falls to his knees. CRASH! Asmund collapses completely: DEAD! HELLE (CONT’D) No! WHOOSH! Behind them a dozen torches burst into life. Helle and Hakon spin to the lights and see... TWELVE SICKLING WARRIORS! Including Kirkwood. All hold torches in their left hands. In their right hands are... AXES! Hakon -- in unbelievable pain -- staggers to his feet. HAKON (to Helle) Run. HELLE I’m not leaving you, Hakon. 42.
HAKON The Kingdom needs you. Now more than ever, my Queen. “Queen” -- Helle takes in the importance of her title. HAKON (CONT’D) Run. For Volsung, RUN! Then Hakon -- summoning up the very last of his strength -- throws himself towards the Sickling. Helle is staggered by Hakon’s bravery -- she watches in awe as... WHOOSH! Kirkwood throws his axe... SPLAT! It lands in Hakon’s head, killing him instantly. But Hakon’s heroics has bought Helle a spilt second... ASMUND’S SWORD! She grabs her father’s weapon from the ground and: RUNS! Helle charges away from the Sickling Warriors and into the darkness. FAST! She can’t see where she’s going...... but that doesn’t stop her. OUT OF THE SHADOWS From behind Asmund’s corpse steps Bard...... for it is he who has killed Asmund. Bard GLARES at the Sickling Warriors. Kirkwood shouts: KIRKWOOD Kill! The Sickling Warriors charge after Helle. Bard pulls his sword out of his dead brother’s chest. Behind him is Loki... 43.
...smiling.... LOKI And when the old moon disappears completely, the new moon can come out... Loki even does a little bow for Bard. All this as... HELLE Is running for her life. Running blind. KILL! KILL! KILL! The yells of the chasing pack of Sickling echo towards her... And... DROP! The ground beneath her feet disappears... WHOOSH! She’s falling down a hole in the cave... SLIDE! She hits a slope and starts sliding... BANG! Her head hits a rock and knocks her out cold... UNCONSCIOUS! She slides left.. She slides right... WATER! Flows downwards, pulling her with it. FAST! DANGEROUS! Above her... 44.
THE SICKLING WARRIORS Charge past the hole Helle fell down. They miss it in the darkness, and so miss her escape route... HELLE Unconscious, and sliding until... SPLASH! She’s thrown out of the cave and into the... SEA! The blow to her head was heavy, and the water doesn’t wake her. She starts to... SINK! The armor she’s wearing makes her heavy, and she starts to descend... DEEPER! Into the sea... AND DEEPER! She keeps sinking, her whole body... BUBBLES Leak out of her nose -- she’s still unconscious, she’s not going to wake... THUD! Helle hits the sea bed... DUST Her body kicks up a huge cloud of sand. It engulfs her -- like a storm cloud. It quickly settles around her. She’s still out cold. But still she grips her father’s sword tightly. BUBBLE! 45.
The last bubble -- her last breath -- leaks out of her nose and floats UP UP UP... Towards the surface. Is this the end...?
EXT. THE DROWNED CAVE. NIGHT. The Sickling Warriors have reached the edge of the cave. The exit only leads into the sea -- not on to land. Bard is with them then... BARD Where is she? KIRKWOOD She is with Rán, the sea Goddess now. But Bard doesn’t look happy. Loki is in his ear -- comforting... LOKI Fear not, King Bard. The Sea Goddess does not collect followers, she collects bones. Bard’s anger drains. BARD Come. We must bury my brother. And unite our Kingdoms! The Sickling: SICKLING CHEER! And everyone heads back into the cave, and away...
EXT. SEABED. NIGHT. DOWN DOWN 46.
DOWN...... at the bottom of the ocean... And it really could be the end. Helle’s flame red hair dances as it floats in the water. But there is no other movement. No more bubbles of air. Nothing. Then -- suddenly: A HAND Grabs Helle by the scruff of the neck, and... PULLS! Her up. The hand is Odin’s. This God is not finished with her yet...
EXT. SEA SHORE. NIGHT. The waves break majestically around the rocks and the cliffs. There’s a narrow stretch of beach between the two. Odin surfaces from the water, rising powerfully from the surf. In his arms he carries Helle. She’s still unconscious. But at least she won’t drown. Odin carries Helle away from the water towards...
INT. CAVE. NIGHT. A dark cave off the beach -- Odin carries Helle inside. He lays her down gently. ODIN A knot tied by a wise man must not be undone by a fool. You must finish what your father could not... 47.
Odin -- tender - strokes Helle’s hair from her eyes. Then he leaves her to recover. Safely.
INT. CAVE. NIGHT. Hours later... And things are not as safe as we assumed... Helle wakes -- from outside the cave she hears: VOICES. Still in her hand -- still tightly gripped -- is her father’s sword. Helle slides the sword into the sheaf in her belt, and carefully moves to the entrance of the cave.. She hugs the side of the cave, hiding in the darkness... She sees: THOUSANDS OF TORCHES. On the cliffs in the distance. All held by Volsung Vikings. They look solemn. Some are openly weeping. Then she sees: BARD He’s in the centre of the mourning Volsung. And he speaks: BARD That Helle would take our King from us -- that she would kill my brother... HELLE’S FACE What? Bard is accusing her of killing the King? 48.
BARD (CONT’D) How I wish this were a bad dream. But we will not wake from this nightmare. We must face it. I must face it as my brother would. With courage. With honour. With nobility. As the bloodline dictates -- as the Gods demand -- I will be your new King. But first... Bard hurls his flaming touch... WHOOSH! Bard’s torch flies off the cliff and through the sky. It falls and falls as it heads towards a huge ship -- King Asmund’s ship -- which had been hidden by the darkness. But as Bard’s torch lands on the ships deck, the flames illuminate it. Helle sees the ship. More than that, she sees -- by the light of the torch -- exactly what is on this ship: ASMUND’S BODY It is laid out on deck in full armor. The ship is being set on fire and sent out into the sea to burn up. A TRADITIONAL VIKING FUNERAL BARD (CONT’D) Goodbye my brother. Onwards to Valhalla... HELLE No... Odin is at her side then: ODIN Until the bear tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always belong to the hunter. Helle and Odin watch as... ON THE CLIFF The rest of the Volsung throw their flaming torches: WHOOSH! 49.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! Thousands of torches fall from the sky like flaming snow flakes... THUD! THUD! THUD! They land on the deck of the ship. WHOOSH! The ship catches fire and starts to... BURN! Quickly -- Asmund’s body is soon surrounded by flames. HELLE My father... ODIN Your mother was the bravest woman I have ever known. She happily gave own life to save her people. I carried her into Valhalla myself. And in that moment, as I brought her to the next world -- your father made a mistake. A mistake only you can rectify now... HELLE How? ODIN Truth has but one colour, a lie many. Show your true colour, and the world will believe. But first: survive. I will take your father with me tonight. But not you. Survive, and we will meet again, Helle -- the one true heir to the Kingdom of Volsung... Odin disappears into the darkness. WHOOSH! The ship is a blaze now. Helle can see Asmund -- her father -- laid out on the deck of the ship, the flames consuming him. 50.
SINK! The sea starts to claim the ship -- the water engulfs it... FLAMING! Still on fire, the ship sinks into the sea. Helle watches the flaming mass disappear into the darkness of the water -- its flames so hot that the water doesn’t extinguish them instantly. Were it not so tragic, it would be truly beautiful... In the distance, the Volsung -- led by Bard -- start to leave. Helle fixes her eyes on Bard -- pure determination. Then she flies into the night...
EXT. SCANDINAVIA. D/N MONTAGE Which shows Helle travelling far, far away from her home of Volsung... Note: these will principally be helicopter shots of Helle alone in the epic Scandinavian nature. THE FJORDS Helle sprints along the high coast as the sea crashes against the cliffs below... FOREST Helle -- her energy still high -- runs through forests as deep and as thick as the eye can see... LAKES Helle strips off, ties her belongings to her back -- including Asmund’s sword -- and swims across the water... MOUNTAINS Helle -- her energy finally starting to drain -- starts to jog along the mountain tops We sense she’s heading North -- for she’s heading towards snow... 51.
EXT. FOREST. DAY. Way, way up North... Deep, deep in the bush. Harsh, but beautiful, this is Mother Nature at her most epic. At a fire, Helle roasts wild boar. She rips a piece of meat off the bone and eats hungrily. Clearly this is the first meal she’s eaten in a while, and it tastes good. So good she doesn’t notice the... MOVEMENT In the woods around her... EYES Three sets, spying on Helle from the depths of the forest... RUSTLE One of the eyes moves a little too much... And that’s enough to alert Helle. She drops her food... SHING! Helle jumps to her feet and draws Asmund’s sword... BATTLE STANCE Ready for anything, she scans her surroundings...... but the eyes stay hidden... HELLE Show yourself, cowards. Come out and fight, or be damned by Odin himself. VERN -- 20 -- steps into view. Vern is the perfect specimen of a man. Handsome. Athletic. The kindest of eyes. He is simply beautiful. His beauty disarms Helle, and her grip loosens on the sword. Vern is clearly taken by Helle’s beauty too. They stare deep into each other’s eyes: both lost to the magic of attraction. 52.
It is love at first sight. Then, from behind Helle comes: WOMAN (O.S.) Why would we want to fight you? This voice breaks the “spell” that had enchanted Helle and Vern. Vern breaks eye contact -- he’s suddenly embarrassed. Helle re-tightens her grip on the sword and turns to see who the voice belongs to: TAIT -- mid twenties -- a woman. A handsome woman. Attractive and strong. Helle takes in Tait. Then she scans back to Vern... She’s puzzled -- they don’t seem to be armed... HELLE Show me your weapons. From behind comes TARBURN. 80 if he’s a day. TARBURN If a man is as wise as a snake, he can afford to be as harmless as a mouse. We need no weapons, Shield Maiden. Helle spins to Tarburn. He’s not carrying a weapon either. Helle is not prepared for this... TARBURN (CONT’D) And if we don’t need weapons, neither do you. You can put the sword down. Instinctively Helle RAISES her sword... HELLE Never. TARBURN Suit yourself. Let’s be off, you two. Tarburn turns to leave. 53.
HELLE Halt! Or I will kill you! Tarburn stops. TARBURN Why? Why would you kill us? Why would you kill anything -- man or beast? Tarburn indicates the roasting animal. HELLE And why do you lie? TARBURN Lie? About what? HELLE At the very least you lie about your weapons. Where are they? TARBURN We don’t have weapons. Sorry to disappoint you, Shield Maiden. HELLE Liar. How do you hunt? TARBURN Simple. We don’t. Helle finds this too weird for words: HELLE You don’t hunt? How do you eat? How do you live? TARBURN Quite happily, thank you very much. The forest provides. And no bloodshed is needed, either. Tarburn shows the mushrooms he has in his pockets -- they’ve been foraging. HELLE You cannot survive without meat. TARBURN And yet here I am. A man of 86. How many Vikings have you known of that age, Shield Maiden? Helle is silent -- the answer is clearly “not many”. TARBURN (CONT’D) As I thought. 54.
Vern sniffs the air -- the roasting meat... VERN Mind you, it does smell good. TAIT We don’t eat the murdered. VERN But it’s already dead. TARBURN And when I’m dead, will you eat me too? VERN Not likely. I’ve smelt the things that come out of your backside. TAIT Vern’s right. A lifetime of ‘shrooms might be good for the soul, but there are consequences... VERN Stinking consequences. Vern and Tait laugh. Helle can’t believe this -- after all she is holding a sword. HELLE Silence! The laughter dies. VERN Sorry. TAIT Sorry. TARBURN Yes, where are our manners? Would you like to join us for turnips, Shield Maiden? HELLE I have enough food. TARBURN Don’t worry, we’ll not be eating the turnips. Helle’s face is utter confusion. 55.
EXT. SETTLEMENT OF TRAVELLERS. NIGHT. Imagine the world’s first ever hippy commune -- that’s where Helle is taken by Vern, Tait and Tarburn. Dozens of happy people -- men, woman and children -- live in a clearing in the woods. All drinking around the biggest bonfire you’ve ever seen. They are TRAVELLERS, nomads, gypsies -- call them what you will... They have tents. They have laughter. Lots of laughter. Because they’re all drunk on turnip vodka. Helle sits with her new friends around the huge bonfire. She’s not exactly relaxed, but the turnip vodka is helping. GLUG! She and Vern keep exchanging glances. Loving glances. They think they are under the radar, but wise old Tarburn hasn’t missed them -- he doesn’t miss a thing. HELLE I’ve never seen such a fire. TARBURN Resin. It will turn even the dampest wood in the coldest of winters into a fire. HELLE Where did you get it? TARBURN Where we get everything -- the forest. HELLE How long have you been here? TARBURN A few months. HELLE But where do you come from? TARBURN Everywhere. We follow the harvest. Wherever it grows, we go. South in summer. North in winter. (MORE) 56. TARBURN (CONT'D) Taking what we need, leaving enough that it can grow back for next year. We are the Travellers. HELLE And Travellers carry no weapons? She still can’t believe it. TARBURN Travellers need no weapons. Helle takes it all in. Another way of life. A good way... HELLE Who is your King? Tarburn points to Vern. Helle’s face -- really? TARBURN And him. Tarburn points to another man. TARBURN (CONT’D) Him too. Tarburn points at another man. TARBURN (CONT’D) And she’s a Queen... Tarburn points at Tait... TARBURN (CONT’D) And her... Tarburn points at another woman... TARBURN (CONT’D) You see, we’re all Kings and Queens here. We’re all equal. Helle shakes her head -- wow. She smiles and takes another slug of turnip vodka. HELLE Why haven’t you asked me anything? 57.
TARBURN A song can only be heard when it’s sung. We can wait, Shield Maiden. HELLE Can I stay the night? TARBURN The first night you are a friend; the next, a sister. HELLE Thank you. TARBURN This is yours as much as it is ours. Stay as long as you like. But if you want to join us -- truly join us -- you must give up your sword. Helle instinctively touches the sword in her belt. TARBURN (CONT’D) Not today. You choose the time. Here we all choose our own destiny. Tarburn winks at her. Helle smiles. Vern is on his feet then... VERN Dance! He thrusts his hand towards Helle... HELLE Oh, no. VERN Yes, dance! Vern does a little wiggle for her. HELLE I don’t... He pulls her to her feet and drags her into the melee of drunken revellers. She resists it at first. But soon she’s having the time of her life. 58.
MONTAGE: HELLE JOINS THE TRAVELLERS A series of mini-scenes follow to illustrate Helle’s acceptance into the community of the Travellers -- she becomes one of them. FOOD She is taught to scavenge and pick food... SHELTER She learns to build a tent of her own... TRAVEL She follows as they walk together from location to location -- following the harvest, the sun... FISH She is taught to fish -- the travellers are not pure vegetarians, they will happily eat what the sea offers (they fish only from the shore)... PARTY The travellers sing, and drink and dance -- they’re here to enjoy life, and Helle embraces this... And through all this we see: HELLE AND VERN Their romance blossoms. It’s all safe, and VERY secret. They steal glances at each other. Their skin touches as they work. They long for each other... ASMUND’S SWORD Finally there comes the time for Helle to give up the sword. Vern, Tait and Tarburn are with her. They stand around a huge hole in the ground. The hole disappears into darkness -- it is too deep to see where the hole ends. Helle holds the sword above the hole and... 59.
HELLE (whisper) Goodbye, my King, my father... Helle drops Asmund’s sword. It falls into the darkness, lost forever.
EXT. KINGDOM OF VOLSUNG. NIGHT. Hundreds of miles away... Bard walks through the streets of his Kingdom. And the years have not been kind to Volsung: DIRT AND FILTH CHILDREN BEGGING FIGHTS BREAKING OUT WOMEN BEING RAPED DEAD BODIES ROTTING The nine circles of Dante’s hell come to life in front of our very eyes. Oh, how things have fallen apart under Bard...... and how little he seems to care... Bard strolls through the chaos, oblivious. Behind him falls Kirkwood and 3 other Sickling Warriors -- Bard’s entourage. One of the entourage sticks closer to Bard than the others. He is STEINAR -- a man-mountain of muscle and armor -- Bard’s personal bodyguard. Bard comes to a door, and ducks in...
INT. KINGDOM OF VOLSUNG -- BLACKSMITH’S QUARTERS. NIGHT. Bard walks in to... FIRE! METAL! HAMMERING! A traditional BLACKSMITH at work in his shop. 60.
Note: We don’t see what the Blacksmith is working on. There are just glimpses of... SOMETHING ROUND WITH LOCKS AND SPIKES! The Blacksmith stops working as soon as he sees Bard...... and bows. As he does, Kirkwood and the rest of the Sickling entourage enter... BARD Is it ready? BLACKSMITH Not quite, my King. BARD Then get to it. CLANG! The Blacksmith brings down his hammer -- he gets back to work. Bard wanders through the shop -- staring at the various weapons hanging from the walls. The Sicklings just stare at him -- they’re sycophants with swords. The Blacksmith’s work is impressive... BARD (CONT’D) My brother did love a sword... but then imagination was never really his thing. BANG! The Blacksmith keeps working -- he wants no part of this conversation...... which suits Bard just fine... BARD (CONT’D) My Noble brother. Carrying on my Nobel father’s noble legacy. BLACKSMITH Great leaders, my King. As you are too, of course. 61.
Bard LAUGHS. The Sicklings LAUGH too. All except Steinar, the bodyguard. He never laughs. He never speaks. He just waits for violence. BARD I do not want to lead. I want to destroy. The Blacksmith doesn’t know how to respond... BARD (CONT’D) My dear man, you need to get out of this dark room more often. Then you’d see what’s really going on out there. In just a few short years I have destroyed everything my brother held so dear to his beloved heart. BLACKSMITH As you desire. BARD And I do desire. I will strip away every sense of pride, every sense of family, every sense of belonging. Then my brother’s people will feel the loss and pain that I have suffered all my life. That will be my legacy. The Blacksmith drops what he’s working on into water... HISS Steam rises from the water as the metal cools. BARD (CONT’D) It is ready? As an answer, the Blacksmith lifts his creation from the water... There’s a METAL CHAIN. On one end there is a HANDLE. At the other is a ROUND METAL CAGE -- just bigger than a human head. At the bottom of the cage is an OPENING. All over the cage are SPIKES. 62.
BARD (CONT’D) Does it fit? BLACKSMITH Fits me, my King. BARD Put it on. The Blacksmith pulls the metal cage over his head. It becomes in essence A HELMET WITH SPIKES. Bard loves it... BARD (CONT’D) Beautiful. Just beautiful. Exquisite... BLACKSMITH If it pleases my King, I can make more. BARD Oh, you shall never make another. This one is just for me. BLACKSMITH I understand, my King. BARD No, I don’t think you do -- not properly. Bard nods to Steiner and... GRAB! Steinar grab the Blacksmith... KICK! Steinar kicks out his legs... PULL! Steinar -- showcasing incredible brute strength -- drags the Blacksmith, and holds his neck down on to an Anvil... BLACKSMITH Please, please... Steinar... SHING! Pulls out his sword... 63.
BARD If you see my brother, do say hello. SLICE! Steinar brings the sword down hard on the Blacksmith’s neck... THUD! The Blacksmith’s severed head -- inside the spike cage -- falls to the ground. Bard picks up the chain by its handle -- so lifting the severed head at the end. He looks down at his new weapon: The world’s first BALL-ON-CHAIN...... is a HEAD-WITH-SPIKES! BARD (CONT’D) This head fits well enough. But there is another that will fit better still. KIRKWOOD Just give me the name, Sir. BARD Her. And we know he means Helle. KIRKWOOD She’s already dead. BARD Are you certain? KIRKWOOD My King... BARD Send men. Search the Kingdoms. If she be dead, bring me her scull. If she breathes... Bard raises the Head-With-Spikes -- in his mind’s eye he can see Helle decapitated and inside it... Kirkwood gives his men the nod and they leave double quick: in search of Helle... 64.
EXT. TRAVELLERS SETTLEMENT. D/N. In montage... TIME PASSES The seasons change. Helle grows beyond learning the way of the Traveller -- she brings her own knowledge and experience to their way of life...... and what she brings improves their lives immensely... SHIPS Helle introduces the Travellers to the potential of the ship. The Travellers have always moved and scavenged for food by foot. Helle changes this by building a boat. She takes her axe and... CHOP! TREES ARE CHOPPED DOWN THE WOOD IS SHAPED As she works, Tarburn, Tait, Vern and the other Travellers watch. The Travellers stare like an audience at the theatre -- transfixed. Helle works hard, fast -- with determination, with purpose. The Travellers are amazed at her commitment. And soon they want to stop watching and get involved. IT STARTS WITH FOOD AND WATER Vern and Tait bring Helle water to quench her thirst, and food to give her energy. And from there it grows... WOOD IS FETCHED The travellers start helping by doing the simple things -- carrying wood. CARVING Then the Travellers are shaping the wood with Helle. BUILDING 65.
Then -- together -- Helle and the Travellers are building the ships. It’s an incredibly positive and bonding experience. Soon a fleet of ships is launched... SAILING With the ships built, Helle has the Travellers conquer the sea... FISHING Suddenly they can fish further from shore, and catch in greater volume... VOYAGE Under Helle’s command they no longer need to travel by foot -- they can move faster and further thanks to their boats. They build enough to carry the whole tribe...... the whole happy tribe. And we see one is happier than all the others: Tait. She more than admires Helle, she worships her. HELLE AND VERN Finally consummate their love. In the most beautiful -- and private -- of settings: A WATERFALL. They kiss -- hungrily. Their clothes fall away. Naked, they make love in the water. Helle couldn’t be happier.
EXT. TRAVELLERS’ WEDDING - FOREST. DAY We start TIGHT on Helle’s eyes. We hear Tarburn’s voice -- he’s conducting a wedding ceremony: TARBURN (O.S.) We ask the forest for her blessing, that these two children... 66.
We then cut TIGHT to Vern’s eyes: TARBURN (O.S.) (CONT’D) ...should be granted the joy and peace to live their lives -- from this day until the end -- as one... Back to Helle’s eyes. She must be marrying Vern -- hurrah! But then... A single tear rolls down Helle’s face... And finally the camera pulls back to reveal that Helle is a guest at Vern’s wedding, not the bride. Vern is marrying Tait...
EXT. DEEPER IN THE FOREST. DAY. Helle has left the wedding. She’s in tears -- heartbroken. Tarburn has followed Helle. TARBURN They made a promise to each other as children. A promise he would have kept happily had he not met you. Helle tries to hide her tears... HELLE It’s not fair. TARBURN And breaking her heart would be? Helle can’t argue with that... TARBURN (CONT’D) Some of us are doomed to love those who cannot love us back. Helle listens to Tarburn. And neither of them notice: EYES Spying on them from the forest. SCARY EYES... 67.
TARBURN (CONT’D) If we can survive that, then we can survive anything. When the heart breaks, the soul is strengthened -- if we are brave enough to let it. MORE EYES They’re everywhere. Slowly -- carefully -- surrounding Helle and Tarburn under the cover of the forest...... it must the Sickling -- they’ve found Helle. Still oblivious, Tarburn continues: TARBURN (CONT’D) And you are brave, Helle. This won’t kill you. It will make you stronger. And that strength will not come from another man. It will come from within you. Helle has stopped listening. She knows something’s wrong. TARBURN (CONT’D) Did you hear me? Helle raises her finger to her lips -- be quiet -- as she scans the forest. She grabs a: TREE BRANCH HELLE Show yourselves! RISE! Vikings -- at least 50 -- stand. They appear -- as if out of nowhere -- from their hiding places in the forest. They have completely surrounded Helle and Tarburn. The Vikings are wearing helmets and carrying swords -- Helle’s tree branch is pointless. Tarburn looks terrified. Helle looks defiant in the face of certain death. But... 68.
The Vikings look at Helle, and: DROP THEIR WEAPONS! Then the VIKINGS fall to their knees and: KNEEL Before Helle. Helle is confused -- what is going on here? Then one of the Vikings removes his helmet to reveal himself: It’s Lord Soini. SOINI Helle. Daughter of Asmund. One and only true heir to the Kingdom of Volsung -- we kneel before you, and offer our lives in service. As we did your father, and his father before him. Helle can’t believe her ears.
EXT. TRAVELLERS’ SETTLEMENT -- AROUND A CAMP FIRE. DAY. The Travellers feed the Vikings, as Soini and Helle talk... HELLE You knew he was my father? SOINI Always. I kept his promise, as was my duty. But I can keep it no longer. Nor would my King want me to. HELLE And Bard? SOINI It is as if he is possessed by Loki himself. Whatever Volsung blood lived in his veins, it was surely killed by the Sickling within. HELLE Sickling? SOINI He has joined forces with them. To massacre our men. To rape and imprison our women. What you see before you... 69.
He gestures to the 50 Vikings with him... SOINI (CONT’D) ...is all that is free of Volsung. We fled with one hope in our hearts -- that we could find our Queen, and together take back what is yours. HELLE I... Helle’s not sure she’s ready for this... HELLE (CONT’D) My Lord Soini. You flatter me. SOINI Do you remember I said I would one day ask a favour of you? Helle nods. SOINI (CONT’D) This is that favour. I’m not here to flatter, my Queen. I’m here to fulfil your destiny. Soini smiles. But Helle is not so confident...
EXT. THE WOODS BEYOND THE TRAVELLERS’ SETTLEMENT. NIGHT. Later... Helle is restless, unable to sleep. She walks alone through the forest, looking for the answers to the questions in her head. Odin steps out of the darkness... ODIN The fool is awake all night Thinking only of problems; When the morning comes the fool is worn out And the trouble is just as it was. Helle stops walking. ODIN (CONT’D) If you try to run from your destiny, you will find only death. 70.
HELLE And if I take this battle -- with so few against so many -- will I not find death too? And not just my own, but all of theirs. ODIN To give up. To not try -- that will kill these proud men of yours. HELLE But it’s good here. It’s another way. ODIN It is. But you cannot keep it to yourself. You are a leader. Leaders give, not take. So you must take what you have learnt back to your people. Share that wisdom so their lives can be better. That is your destiny, daughter of Asmund. One true heir to the Kingdom of Volsung. Odin starts to walk away... ODIN (CONT’D) Grain by grain, a loaf; stone by stone, a castle. Warrior by warrior, a Kingdom... And he’s gone -- Odin has disappeared into the night... Helle is alone. Or so she thinks...... from behind comes a voice.. TAIT Who were you talking to? Helle turns to Tait and explains... HELLE They say the Viking Gods talk to their people. VERN You were talking to a God? Helle shrugs. TAIT How do you turn your back on that? 71.
HELLE What? TAIT Gods and swords and adventures? HELLE It’s... TAIT Amazing. Here everything is so safe. Boring. I want to do things -- see things -- more than just the next crop of turnips. I want to fight in battles. I want adventure... HELLE Tait... TAIT Helle, you’re a Viking Queen who talks to Gods. And you want to give all that up to sleep in a tent and eat carrot stew for the rest of your life? Helle laughs - when you put it like that... ARRGGGHH! From behind comes a mighty scream... RUN! Helle and Tait charge towards the screaming...
EXT. TRAVELLERS SETTLEMENT. DAY. The Travellers are... SCARED! Because they’re being attacked by... SICKLINGS! They’ve found the Travellers camp in their search for Helle. 10 Sicklings in full Armor: ATTACK! Killing Travellers as they rampage through the settlement. FLEE! 72.
The Travellers not killed start to run -- disappearing into the woods. Helle turns to Tait. HELLE Run. TAIT Never. HELLE RUN! Tait bows to the power in Helle’s voice, and flees. Helle grabs her... AXE And charges at the Sicklings... HELLE (CONT’D) ARRRGGGHH! The Sicklings take one look at Helle and... SMILE! They’ve found their prize. RUN! They charge at Helle. DODGE! Helle’s training comes back to her -- she manages to avoid the Sickings attack... SWIPE! SLASH! And even land a few blows of her own. HACKED ARM! SLICED FACE! CHOPPED LEG! Helle does real some damage, reducing the 10 Sicking to 7. But the remaining Sicklings are not easily put off... CIRCLE! 73.
They surround her. POKE! They taunt her - jerking their swords at her. HELLE (CONT’D) ARRGGH! All aggression and movement, Helle spins in the circle... WHOOSH! Her axe swirls through the air, a blur of motion! WHACK! A Sickling sword hits Helle’s axe and... CHOP! Cuts the axe end clean off. Helle looks at her axe - now just a wooden club. The Sickling -- with their swords -- look and laugh. Then they move in for the kill. But... FLY! Through the sky -- as if out of nowhere -- comes a sword. GRAB! Helle pulls the sword out of thin air. She looks up, and sees who had thrown her the sword: SOINI He is there with his warriors. SHING! The Warriors draw their swords and move to help Helle. But... HALT! Soini stops his men in their tracks. SOINI Our Queen has all she needs to defeat these sons of Loki. Soini nods at Helle. Who... 74.
SWING! ..in one continuous movement.. STAB! HACK! KILL! KILL! KILL! Takes out the seven remaining Sicking. THUD! THUD! THUD! Their dead bodies hit the ground around Helle’s feet. Soini’s Warriors couldn’t be more impressed. Tait, Vern, Tarburn and the Travellers have arrived. They have all watched in awe as Helle fought. Soini is all pride. And then that pride grows further: HELLE Lord Soini, tell your men their prayers have been answered. We will fight these Sickling animals. Soini beams -- elated. SOINI They are your men, my Queen. As am I. Loyal to the death. HELLE I fear I may have to hold you to that. SOINI We are outnumbered, it is true. But every Volsung is worth a dozen Sickling. And as we fight for you, we fight for Volsung, and the freedom of our wives and children -- and we grow stronger thus. TAIT And we will fight with you. HELLE No. VERN Today your enemy attacked us. We will not be safe until they are defeated. We fight with you, Helle. Helle turns to Soini: 75.
HELLE Tell me you have a plan. SOINI If we had some ships. Then we could attack from the coast. They would never expect it this late in the year. HELLE Surprise. SOINI Indeed. But we have no ships. Helle smiles. HELLE We have ships.
EXT. COASTLINE. NIGHT. The Vikings and the Travellers look out to the ships. The Vikings are impressed. SOINI It seems Bard has played with a Lynx, and thought it a kitten. Helle smiles. The Travellers are proud. All except one -- Tarburn, who is concerned. Tarburn turns and leaves. Helle hands Soini his sword back. SOINI (CONT’D) But you shall need a sword. HELLE I shall. This is a Lord’s sword. I need one fit for royalty...
EXT. THE HOLE OF THE BURIED SWORD. NIGHT. Helle -- a burning torch in hand -- is here to retrieve Asmund’s sword. She drops a long rope deep into the hole. It disappears into the darkness of the hole. 76.
She climbs the rope: DOWN: Into...
INT. THE HOLE OF THE BURIED SWORDS. NIGHT. Helle climbs down into the darkness. It’s hard work -- with the torch she only has one free hand. WOBBLE! She looses her grip slightly. TIGHT! She grabs the rope and steadies, but: DROPS! Her torch. It falls deeper and deeper until... THUD! It hits the ground. And: ILLUMINATES! The bottom of the hole. Helle sees it: ASMUND’S SWORD. But the sword is not alone: SWORDS! SPEARS! SHIELDS! 100s of weapons have been dropped into this pit. Helle is on the ground then, she picks up her father’s sword. She takes in all the abandoned weapons -- it truly is an amazing sight. Then: WHOOSH! 77.
Another torch is lit behind her -- Helle is not here alone. She spins and sees: Tarburn... TARBURN Though a woman cannot make a wise man out of a fool, she can a fool out of a wise man. HELLE A real fool would do nothing. If I could find you, if Soini could find us, then Bard will too. We have to take the battle to him, not wait to be destroyed. TARBURN But you can’t protect us alone. You wish to take my people into battle. HELLE To fight side by side, yes. You have shown me great kindness, Tarburn. You gave me food, shelter. TARBURN I fought before. Many of us did. Before the forest became our home. My sword is down here. All our swords are. Our children have not seen war, but we elders have. I know what awaits on a battlefield. I have seen those sights, they cannot be unseen. HELLE They love you, but they won’t say it. And neither will you. TARBURN Say what? HELLE The forest is not a home, Tarburn. In your heart you know that. They want one. Every man, every woman needs a home. To wander forever -- lost -- it is not right. I can give you a home. Together -- with my lands and your ways -- we can build a new and great Kingdom. The greatest the World has ever known. TARBURN It is what they want? 78.
HELLE You know the answer, you need not ask me. Tarburn nods -- he does indeed. TARBURN We have been free. We are free. Because we are one... Tarburn picks up a sword. HIS sword. TARBURN (CONT’D) And if this is what we as one want, then I will fight for it. To my dying breath. Helle and Tarburn lock eyes. TARBURN (CONT’D) Take us home, Shield Maiden. HELLE I will. But may I impose on you for one more favour? TARBURN Name it. HELLE Load our ships with your resin. Tarburn smiles. TARBURN Oh, you know how I do love a good fire.
EXT. COASTLINE. NIGHT. The ARMADA OF VIKING SHIPS from the very first scene sails at last. The ships are filled with Volsung and Travellers. It’s cold -- snow is falling. Winter has truly arrived. On the deck of the leading ship -- right at the front -- are Helle and Odin. To the rest of the crew it appears that Helle is alone -- of course they cannot see Odin. HELLE Will we surprise them? 79.
ODIN For sure. It is winter. Their defenses will be trained on the forest surrounding Volsung -- not the sea. But as they see the ships, the value of your surprise will shrink -- and quickly. Helle thinks on this. And has an idea... HELLE Then we must arrive before the ships. Behind Helle (and the unseen Odin): TAIT AND SOINI Stand on deck watching Helle: TAIT Is it true she speaks to the Gods? SOINI Let us hope so. For all our sakes. Helle turns, and addresses her warriors: HELLE We will not all live to see tomorrow, my friends. But know this: if you die, you will be spoken of as those in the sky, like stars. From this day forward, and into eternity. Helle - with Odin at her side - raises her sword to the sky... HELLE (CONT’D) The battle will be hard, as the night is long. But even the longest night cannot outrun the sun's rise. And we are the light, my brothers and sisters. Helle lets out a rebel yell: HELLE (CONT’D) ARRGGGH! It’s contagious. All the other Vikings and Travellers on all the other ships raise their weapons and scream: VIKINGS ARRGGHH!!!!!! 80.
It’s exactly what we saw at the beginning of the film...
INT. THE VOLSUNG RING CASTLE -- COURTYARD. DAY. Dozens of Sickling Warriors -- including Kirkwood and Bard’s bodgyguard, Steinar -- are watching as Bard and a Sickling THRALL (slave) fight. It’s not a fair fight... Bard is in full armor. And he’s swinging about the severed- head-with-spikes. The Thrall -- by contrast -- is naked but for a loincloth. The Thrall is also totally unarmed. Worse still, the Thrall’s arms are tied behind his back. This is what passes for sport under Bard’s reign... The Sickling Warriors cheer and snigger -- enjoying the entertainment. Bard poses and prances -- like a bull fighter -- milking the moment. SWISH! Bard spins his head-with-spikes. FEAR! The terrified Thrall keeps moving, hoping to be too fast to hit.... WHOOSH! Bard unleashes the head-with-spikes towards the Thrall... DODGE! The Thrall manages -- just -- to get out of the way. CHEER! The Sickling Warriors acknowledge the Thrall’s success...... much to Bard’s disgust. WHOOSH! Bard launches again -- but only half hearted... DODGE! The Thrall misses the blow with ease... 81.
SMILE Bard has tricked him with the weak blow... SMACK! And having wrong-footed the Thrall, is able to hit him -- full force... IN THE TESTICLES! It’s a low blow, which leads to... THRALL Oooooh! The Thrall moans in pain and... THUD! Falls to his knees. LAUGHTER! The Sickling burst into laughter -- a spike to the testicles is slapstick humour to them. PULL! Bard pulls the head-with-spikes free, as the laughing continues... BARD Strange how a blow to the love sacks is funny... Bard unleashes another blow of the head-with-spikes... SMACK! ...this one hits the Thrall’s head, killing him.. CRASH! He lands on the floor in a heap. The laughter instantly stops.... BARD (CONT’D) ...and yet a blow to the head is not. CHEERS! The Sickling applaud the death. Bard acknowledges the applause. 82.
But his heart is not in it... BARD (CONT’D) Now you shall entertain me... He points to two random SICKLING WARRIORS. BARD (CONT’D) Fight. And fight hard. Bard takes a seat -- and some wine -- and watches the Warriors fight. Next to him is Kirkwood. Standing behind -- guarding -- is Steinar. BARD (CONT’D) You know supplies are running low. There’s very little food left. KIRKWOOD I do. BARD Then shouldn’t you be off raping and pillaging until supplies are overflowing once more? KIRKWOOD No. Winter is all but here. Only a fool would take to the sea now. The waters could freeze at any moment. We wait. BARD Until winter has passed? KIRKWOOD Yes. Until winter has passed. BARD But what will we eat until then? KIRKWOOD We have livestock, do we not? BARD The pigs are all gone. Surely you don’t expect us to eat the horses? Kirkwood and the near by Sickling... BURST INTO LAUGHTER! Like it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever heard. 83.
Bard chuckles -- weakly -- along. Rather that than let it appear that the joke is on him... KIRKWOOD King, of course we wouldn’t eat our horses. What kind of monsters do you take us for? Bard -- relieved -- takes a sip of wine. Then... KIRKWOOD (CONT’D) We will eat your women. Bard spits out the wine. KIRKWOOD (CONT’D) You have enough. We start with those too old to still flower, and work backwards. Bard’s face is sheer horror... And at that moment the true severity of his actions finally sinks in...... as Kirkwood and the others turn their attention back to the fight. BARD (in a whisper) You dream of all you will do when you achieve true power. But that dream is a nightmare. Because to achieve power you have already done all that which you dreamed of. So what is left but emptiness? Suddenly Loki is at his side... LOKI What exactly did you expect? BARD A little... more... STAB! In front of them, one of the Sickling Warriors stabs the other. THUD! A dead body drops. This fight is over. Quickly. 84.
LOKI It is more you crave? Then more you shall have... SICKLING WARRIORS Suddenly there is a buzz amongst the Warriors. They start running to the walls to look out...... to sea. BARD Runs over to see what all the fuss is about... THE SEA On the water -- heading straight at them -- Bard spots them: VIKING SHIPS. Helle’s ships. KIRKWOOD What fool of a man would attack by the sea in winter? BARD It’s not a man. It’s her. Unleash the Archers -- let’s kill them before they land. KIRKWOOD Our Archers are all trained on the woods. By the time we move them, the ships will have landed. BARD Then who is truly the fool? Kirkwood -- angry -- lets out a war cry: KIRKWOOD TO BATTLE! The Sickling Warriors run towards...
EXT. COASTLINE. DAY. Helle’s ships sail towards the coast. They’re almost there. But... 85.
There’s no one on the ships -- Helle and her Warriors have already disembarked. The ships float through the mist -- earily, like ghost ships. THE SICKLING WARRIORS: The vast majority of the Sickling Warriors -- 200+ -- hit the beach as the Armada gets close. They easily outnumber Helle and her Warriors. The Sickling charge into the water, running at the ships. BARD, KIRKWOOD, STEINAR AND 100 SICKLING WARRIORS: Watch all this from the safety of the castle... ON THE SHIPS The Sickling Warriors all climb on board the ships. They’re looking for a fight -- but there’s no one there to fight with. Just eerie silence. BARD: Watching from the safe distance... He’s as confused as the Sickling on the ships. Looking for an explanation, he turns to... BARD Loki...? But Loki has deserted him. Only Steinar is behind him. ON THE SHIPS: The Sickling Warriors are look at each other -- total confusion. Then... SNIFF! One of the Sicklings smells something. WIPE! Another -- noticing some kind fluid on the deck of the ship -- rubs his finger along the wood of the ship and licks it... 86.
SICKLING (explaining the taste) Resin. Before this news has time to sink in: WHOOSH! Dozens of arrows fly through the sky FIRE! They are burning arrows. PIERCE! They land in some Sickling Warriors, who DROP! Dead. And as they hit the deck, the flaming arrows make contact with the resin and: WHOOSH! The ships -- and all the Sickling Warriors -- explode into giant balls of flame! BARD: Watches in horror as his Army literally goes up in smoke. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOSH! The ships are floating fireballs. Then: HELLE (O.S.) Bard! Bard, Kirkwood, Steinar and the remaining Sicklings turn. Standing behind them -- weapons drawn and ready for battle -- are Helle and her Warriors. Bard and Helle lock eyes. Decades of hatred sealed one exchanged look. And it’s on! HELLE (CONT’D) ARRGGHH!!!!!! BATTLE! 87.
The Sicklings -- led by Kirkwood -- charge. Helle and her Warriors charge too! CRASH! Both sides smash into each other, and the fighting begins. As Bard -- protected by Steinar -- uses the commotion to slip away into the safety of the castle. HELLE: In the belly of the fight... STAB! WHACK! KILL! She and her troops surround the Sickling Warriors...... her tactics are working! SOINI: Right by Helle’s side... STAB! KILL! The Sicklings are thrown by the sheer ferocity of their opponents. VERN: Attacks with... AN AXE! The boat building served as good training... WHACK! SLICE! Many Sicklings fall under his blade. TAIT: Also attacks with: AN AXE! TARBURN: 88.
Attacks with: HIS SWORD! SLICE! WHACK! BLOOD! DEATH! BARD: Makes it to the castle, and disappears inside. HELLE: In the battle -- sees Bard fleeing... DISTRACTED She doesn’t see... SPEAR! A Sickling aims his point straight at Helle’s heart... VERN: Sees the attack on Helle... PUSH! He shoves her out of the way and... PIERCE! Takes the spear in his arm... VERN ARRGGGH! HELLE: Refocused... SLICE! Chops off the Sickling’s head. Vern drops. TAIT: Sees her husband fall and: 89.
TAIT No!!! Helle is at Vern’s side then. In their eyes is love -- a love that cannot be. Tait sees this... VERN (to Helle) Go kill him. Or this is for nothing... Helle nods. And... RUNS! Towards the castle, towards Bard... SLICE! STAB! HACK! Cutting her way through Sicklings as she moves... Vern and Tait look at each other -- the secret is well and truly out. TAIT Livid -- she throws herself into the battle, taking out her anger on the Sickling.
INT. THE VOLSUNG RING CASTLE. DAY. Helle makes it to the Ring Castle. As she enters, it feels deserted. EERILY DESERTED The silence here is such a contrast to the volume of the battle outside. Helle treads carefully, her sword at the ready. WHOOSH! From behind comes Steinar, his sword hoping to connect with Helle’s head. QUICK! 90.
Helle’s fast -- too fast for Steinar’s attack. She spins out of the way. CLANG! WHACK! SMASH! Helle and Steinar exchange blows. SPEED! They’re fighting at 100 miles an hour -- it’s impossible to see who’s attacking and who’s defending. BRUTE! Steinar is clearly bigger and stronger -- his blows knock Helle backwards. PRECISION! But Helle’s lightness is an asset. As fast as Steinar, fights, she can fight faster still -- landing two blows to one. SWEAT! The speed and intensity is starting to show on Steinar -- sweat flows from his body. POWER! Steinar puts everything into 3 big hits and: DOWN! He knocks Helle to the ground. BREATHE! But it’s taking everything from him. Steinar breathes hard, trying to catch his breath. TOO SLOW! It’s a tiny window, but it’s all Helle needs: ROLL! She moves away from Steinar. More than that, Helle uses her momentum to get behind him and.. KICK! She kicks the back of his legs, causing Steinar to... 91.
THUD! Fall to his knees. SWIPE! Down, but not out, Steinar swings his sword at Helle, who: JUMPS! Over the blade and: LANDS! Hard on Steinar’s hand. DROP! Steinar loses his sword.. STEINAR! ARRGH! Steinar -- unarmed now -- throws himself at Helle. But she’s: SO FAST! She not only spins away from Steinar, she also manages to grab his sword: WHOOSH! In a blur of light and movement she spins two swords PIERCE! Stabs both into Steinar. BLOOD! Blood pours from the wounds. Steinar opens his mouth to speak, but only more blood comes out... DROP! Steinar hits the floor, dead. PULL! Helle pulls Asmund’s sword out of the body. Then -- from the darkness behind her -- comes Bard’s voice: 92.
BARD (O.S.) That was fun. Well played, child. But do you really think you can kill the man who raised you as his own? Do you have that within you, child? HELLE You stole me from my true father. You slaughtered him like the coward you are. Now fear the reckoning of those you have wronged. BARD (O.S.) Oh, the anger inside you. It fuels you. If you kill me, will not the fire go out? And then how will you rule? HELLE I do not rule with anger, with fear. As my father ruled, so will I. With respect. BARD (O.S.) Respect. I respect you too. So much that I will not kill you. Not at first, anyway... Helle spins, trying to pinpoint Bard’s location. She doesn’t succeed... BARD (O.S.) (CONT’D) Before I do -- before I take off your head -- I’m going to find the largest rat in all of Volsung. I’m going to starve that rat for a week. Until it’s so hungry it starts to eat its own tail. Then I’m going to force it up your mother hole! WHOOSH! Bard pounces out of the shadows with his head-with-spikes. But Helle manages to... DIVE! And avoid the blow. Helle and Bard stand off against each other, finally. Their weapons out -- only one will leave here alive... 93.
HELLE A week? You foolish man -- don’t you know you’ll be dead long before then. Helle... CHARGES! At Bard. He... SWINGS! The head-with-spikes at her... Helle... BLOCKS! But cannot land her own blow... SWING! She’s forced to block again... SWING! And again! Bard is gaining the upper hand... CROSS CUT AS NECESSARY Between HELLE AND BARD Fighting in the castle. And... THE BATTLE Between Helle’s troops and the Sickling Warriors...... where the Sicklings are starting to get a foot hold in the battle... STAB! A Traveller is killed.. HACK! Another Traveller... 94.
AXE! A Volsung Warrior is chopped down.... Soini sees they are losing the initiative, and tries to regain the upper hand... HACK! SLICE! THUD! At the same time... HELLE AND BARD Fight on. And Bard still has control... SWING! His head-with-spikes flies through the air and... SLICE! Cuts through Helle’s arm BLOOD Flows from the wound. Bard grins... BARD You can’t rule, child. You follow, you’ve always followed. And you will follow Asmund to your death... THE BATTLE Just as Bard is winning against Helle...... so the Sicklings are now winning against Helle’s troops. Through the carnage Kirkwood and Soini lock eyes...... and they know in each other they have met their match... SLICE! WHACK! KILL! They battle towards each other. 95.
Just as... HELLE AND BARD Back in the castle... CLANG! Bard lands a blow that knocks Helle’s sword clean out of her hand... FLY! The sword gets away from her. Helle moves backwards... STUMBLES! She falls to the floor. Bard moves in for the kill... THE BATTLE On the beach... There are more bodies than fighters now... Everyone is tired... WHACK! CLANG! THUD! Soini and Kirkwood -- two evenly talented warriors -- fight it out in the middle of the mayhem. As... HELLE AND BARD Bard hovers over Helle now. BARD (CONT’D) Silly child. Did you dare dream you would defeat me? And then what? You would rule as Queen. You? A woman? The Gods would never allow it. Bard... SWINGS! His head-with-spikes... 96.
UP! Behind his head. He’s going to bring it down with his full weight. But... STUCK! It gets caught in something. WORRIED! He looks behind to see what is holding him... Helle seizes the moment and... SPIN! She rolls away from Bard towards... HER SWORD! HELLE Maybe the Gods can stop me. But no man will! Bard’s head-in-spikes is stuck in the wall behind him. He tries to pull it free... Loki appears then, smiling as Bard starts to panic. BARD (to Loki) But you promised me the Kingdom. LOKI I did. Yet for how long? Bard knows then his fate is sealed. Helle is on her feet then. Helle’s sword -- her father’s sword -- is raised high: WHOOSH! Helle attacks with the sword and... SLICE! Chops off Bard’s head -- killing him instantly!
EXT. BATTLE. DAY The battle rages in the streets of Volsung. 97.
And in the middle, Soini and Kirkwood give it everything they have... WHACK! THUD! SHING! Their defending swords bring their faces close together. EYES! They glare into each other’s eyes... HEAD BUTT! Kirkwood head butts Soini -- breaking his nose. Soini stumbles... FALLS! All around there is a pause...... the battle on the beach will be won or lost here... Soini... HITS THE GROUND Kirkwood... RAISES HIS SWORD FOR THE KILL Soini PREPARES FOR DEATH When -- from behind -- HELLE Arggh! She is carrying Bard’s head-on-spike...... only the head inside the spike cage is now Bard’s LAUNCH! Helle throws the head-on-spike at Kirkwood... IMPACT! It lands full in his head...... the last thing Kirkwood sees -- eye to eye -- is Bard’s severed head staring back at him. 98.
Staring back, and sticking out of him. Kirkwood falls -- dead. The remaining Sicklings see this and... RUN! From the battle -- with no Bard and no Kirkwood, the Sickling are cowards. They run and keep running until they disappear into the forests -- from where they first came... CHEER! Helle and her troops cheer! Soini, Vern, Tait, Tarburn -- all the faces we recognise -- celebrate their great victory! Soini kneels in front of Helle... SOINI Our Queen. Tait kneels before Helle... TAIT Our Queen. Tarburn, and Vern bow down in front of Helle... TARBURN & VERN (together) Our Queen. Everyone kneels before Helle, the victorious... EVERYONE OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! Helle takes it all in -- the death, the victory, the Kingdom... EVERYONE (CONT’D) (chanting) OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! Full of pride, Helle accepts the acclaim... EVERYONE (CONT’D) (chanting) OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! Helle looks up to the cliff... 99.
EVERYONE (CONT’D) (chanting) OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! Up above her, she sees... Odin... And Odin is not alone.. Her father, Asmund, is there too... And her mother, Alva. They couldn’t be more proud... EVERYONE (CONT’D) (chanting) OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! Helle raises Asmund’s sword to her God, her family, her people... EVERYONE (CONT’D) (chanting) OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! We’re close on her face -- her blood splattered face -- when we... QUICK CUT TO:
EXT. CORONATION CEREMONY - ALES STENNAR. DAY. We jump forward in time to see Helle’s coronation. And we’re still close on Helle’s face. Now clean -- the signs of battle long washed away. The camera pulls back as... Lord Soini lowers the crown on to Helle’s head. The camera keeps pulling back. Thousands are here. At this most beautiful of settings -- the Viking Stonehenge. Volsung and Travellers together as one to celebrate their new Queen...... and the birth of their new united Kingdom. We see many faces we recognise: 100.
The Old Viking Warriors who trained with Helle. Tarburn. Vern -- with his arm in a sling after battle. Tait -- looking on in awe at Helle. Helle raises her sword to the Gods. Everyone else does the same. Thousands... CHEER! It’s a joyous moment! All is well with the world. Helle’s destiny is fulfilled. Then... Just behind Tait comes a voice, whispering in her ear... It’s Loki. And only Tait can hear him... LOKI A worm should find no joy in a bird’s song. Tait turns to Loki. LOKI (CONT’D) Tell me, sister: how do you love a Queen who lays down with your husband? Tait takes in Loki’s words. She looks at Helle -- sees how everyone cheers and admires the Queen. She sees how Vern cheers. How he loves the Queen. The joy drains from Tait’s face. Loki smiles -- his seed is sown. And so it begins. Again... HARD CUT TO BLACK. 101.
THE END