DARK CLOUDS HOVER Written by Daniel Tanure A HAND BURSTING OUT of a hillside, reaches out for the night, caked in blood and grime. THUNDER GROWLS overhead. The hand is coming out of a - EXT. HILLSIDE - NIGHT And it starts writhing around, clearing space. It makes room enough for the other hand to squeeze through - This one holding a sheathed sword, pommel first - and, following that, their owner: A KID. He struggles hard to pull himself out, and as soon as he does, he starts to tumble down the hill. He stops rolling when he reaches the foot of the hill and quickly gets up, gasping for air. CLOSE ON THE KID’S FACE, Covered in dirt and blood, recent gashes and cuts crisscross all over his skin, seeping blood. He has light-blonde hair and his terrified blue eyes are screaming murder. This is YOUNG DANOTALO(10) and the long sword is more than half his size. CUT TO: OVER BLACK SUPER: ARMORICA - NORTHWESTERN FRANCE - 1st CENTURY BC. BACK TO: BACK TO SCENE Danotalo looks around, desperate, scared. His muddied clothes are ancient Gaulish: Breccae (breeches), leather shoes, a knee-long shirt, belt, a tartan cape, a Torc (bronze neck ring). He starts to run away from where he came, hugging the sword. DARK CLOUDS HOVER 2. EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAWN Young Danotalo runs across a dim grassy plain. He’s heaving and tripping with exhaustion. It’s late autumn, the trees are withering and the sky is white with clouds. He bites his lip to hold back his tears as he runs. EXT. CREEK - LATER Young Dano, wobbly with exhaustion, stops by a shallow creek and collapses on his knees to scoop up some water. He drinks the water. He washes his face and hair. He takes a couple of breaths. He stares down at his rippling reflection: Scared, half-dead eyes. CUT TO: INT. DARK PLACE - RUFENA’S FACE [FLASHBACK] Young, red-headed, beautiful, RUFENA(29) lies dead with her eyes open on the floor of a dark place, a single beam of light coming from above. She’s being shaken by something O.S. VOICE (O.S.) MOM! MOM! WAKE UP! MOM! YOUNG DANO’S FACE Same age, same clothes. He’s the one shaking her. YOUNG DANOTALO MOM! COME ON!!! STOP IT! WAKE UP!!! BACK TO: EXT. CREEK - DAY Tears are flowing from Young Dano’s eyes into the water but his daunted expression doesn’t change. Realization dawns upon him that he’s completely alone and he starts getting more and more desperate, frantically looking around, chewing on his shirtsleeve. DARK CLOUDS HOVER 3. He tries to say something, to scream, but all he can muster is a MUFFLED WHIMPER. He lies down and curls up in fetal position, still clutching the sword. He doesn’t mind that he’s lying on water. The baleful sky is death gray, saddling the far away mountain ridge like a heavy burden. FADE OUT: EXT. ROCKY VALLEY - LATER Young Dano shuffles forth across the gravel. His wounds are just now starting to scab. He stops to take a breath, leaning on the sword. He sits down on a large stone by his side and starts chewing on his shirtsleeve, weary. He looks up, stretching the sleeve. The sky is even grayer now, and flashes of lighting flicker about, followed by ROARING THUNDER. He keeps looking up for a long time. Then he slowly UNSHEATHES the sword, wistfully examining it as he does so: The blood-soaked blade is covered in beautiful swirling patterns, and an engraving in Roman script near the hilt spells “RUFENA”. CUT TO: EXT. MEADOW - SUNSET [FLASHBACK] Young dano and Rufena hike through a grassy meadow. They both hold wooden swords. Rufena limps a bit as she walks: Under her skirt we see she has a peg-leg. She has a tattoo on her wrist of a Triskellion (three interlocked spirals) inside a wheel. He looks at her: Dangling at her side, strapped to a baldric (shoulder belt) is that same sword he’s unsheathing at present, in the same scabbard. YOUNG DANO Mom, when can I have a real sword? This wooden thing is so weak! DARK CLOUDS HOVER 4. RUFENA (smiling) We don’t need real swords for training. BACK TO: EXT. ROCKY VALLEY - DAY Danotalo is still pulling out the sword and staring at it. His reflection is muddled by all the blood. RUFENA (V.O.) When you’re old enough to battle, you can have this one. DANO (V.O.) But what about the inscription? RUFENA (V.O.) You don’t want my name on your sword? DANO (V.O.) No! I want one that says my name! “Danotalo”! RUFENA Danotalo Rufeno, remember? He finishes unsheathing, drops the scabbard, gets up, closes his eyes and levels the sword to his neck. He grits his teeth and, just as he’s about to slice his own throat, he hears TINY FOOTSTEPS coming close. He opens his eyes. It’s a small, shaggy grey PUPPY, approaching, tongue out. She sits a couple yards in front of him and tilts her head, panting. Dano is mystified by that strange presence. He lowers the sword. The dog has a broken chain around her neck, and some scars across her body. THUNDER RUMBLES above and rain starts to pour. The puppy scurries close to Danotalo and leans on his leg. DARK CLOUDS HOVER 5. Danotalo looks down at her and decides to sit down on the ground. He then covers the puppy with his cape. Protected from the rain, the puppy starts to sleep. The two stay there. Danotalo has a confused look on his face - He doesn’t understand what happened but apparently that’s the way it’s going to be. He sheathes back the sword. CUT TO BLACK. DANO’S FACE - DAY Dirty, filling the whole screen. DANOTALO, now nineteen years old, looks intently AT US. His wounds have settled into thick scars, ridged across his face like worms. Dano blinks his eyes and CUT TO: OVER BLACK SUPER: 9 YEARS LATER BACK TO: DANO’S FACE And opens them again. He starts chewing on his shirtsleeve. PULL OUT to reveal he’s in a - EXT. GROVE - SAME And he’s crouched on the floor. He’s dirty and tattered, but the sword he carries on a baldric is in pristine condition - His mother’s sword. His arms are also marked with scars, and he carries a wicker basket full of mushrooms on one of them. As we keep PULLING OUT, what he is looking at comes INTO VIEW: LUGA, the grey puppy from before, who has grown into something like a small wolf, diligently sniffing the ground, scanning for something. Her whole body is pocked with sores and warts which are visible through the fur. DARK CLOUDS HOVER 6. She stops near a tree and starts digging with her front paws. Dano rushes over. DANO You found something, Luga? He starts digging too, until he reaches a BROWN MUSHROOM. He carves the mushroom out of the ground and examines it. DANO (CONT’D) That’s it! Good girl, Luga! Good girl! He drops the mushroom on the basket and gives her a kiss. She wags her tail and licks him. EXT. ROMAN CAMPSITE #1 - LATER TRACK Dano and Luga as they walk through the bustling military barracks. Roman soldiers move around, doing their business - Washing their clothes, peeling turnips, etc. Dano shoves his basket in the faces of passersby, aggressively hustling his mushrooms, like he’s desperate to sell them. He’s not the most skilled salesman. DANO You want some mushrooms? Picked them myself! He repeats that line at anyone he comes across. He spots a fat SOLDIER sitting by a tent, polishing his helmet, and runs over. DANO (CONT’D) (shuffling through the basket) Sir! Sir! You want to buy some mushrooms??? I’ve got the ones you like, and I’ve got these ones too, look, you should try them- SOLDIER No, not today, Gaul. Listen, when are you going to put that dog down, huh? It’s starting to look really ugly. (pleading) It makes everyone depressed... It’s bad for morale. DARK CLOUDS HOVER 7. Dano just stares at him, expressionless, and swallows dry, not knowing what to respond. DANO Thank you, sir. Maybe tomorrow you will want some, huh? Just as Dano gets up and turns to go, he violently BUMPS against a passing soldier (SOLDIER #2) falling on his ass while the basket flies forward, scattering mushrooms on its path. The soldier just trips back a little. SOLDIER #2 What the hell, Gaul, look at where you’re going! DANO (sotto) Sorry, sir. SOLDIER #2 (kicking Dano) Is there something wrong with your eyes??? Dano doesn’t do anything, Luga starts to BARK at the soldier. SOLDIER #2 (CONT’D) And you keep that thing away from me or I’m going to kill it! The soldier finishes his kicking, spits on him and goes away. Dano closes his eyes in resignation. The soldiers around LAUGH loudly while Dano slowly picks up his mushrooms, gets up and goes away. EXT. BEHIND A TENT - LATER Dano is squatting beside Luga in a secluded place from the rest of the camp, near the forest that surrounds it. He fetches a purse from his belt and drops the contents on the ground: Several billon (silver-copper alloy) coins. He counts them one by one, while chewing on his shirtsleeve. EXT. ROMAN CAMPSITE - FARTHER AWAY - LATER Dano buys a bag of small smoked fish from a vendor.