"This, it was given me to know:" "That many worlds have been enslaved by the Beast and his army, the Slayers." "And this, too, was given me to know:" "That the Beast would come to our world, the world of Krull... and his Black Fortress would be seen in the land... that the smoke of burning villages would darken the sky... and the cries of the dying echo through deserted valleys." "But one thing I cannot know:" "Whether the prophecy be true... that a girl of ancient name shall become queen... that she shall choose a king, and that together they shall rule our world... and that their son shall rule the galaxy." "Father!" "Colwyn should have been here by now." "He may be forced to travel through the forests and the stone country." "All the passes and the roads are held by the Slayers." "Colwyn may not get through." "That would please you?" "I sent men to help." "But I see no reason for an alliance with our ancient enemies." "Father, the invaders are destroying our world." "We must have the alliance." "Only if we're united, do we stand a chance against them." "Then, I'll make a treaty with King Turold." "It's not necessary for you to marry his son." "It's the only way to guarantee the alliance." "The marriage is my choice." "If it were anyone but Turold's son." "Colwyn is a great fighter." "Good fighters make bad husbands." "Perhaps." "Horsemen approaching!" "Open the gate!" "We sent to you for help." "None came." "Twenty men were despatched to you." "We've lost 300 getting here." "I didn't choose this marriage, Turold." "Nor did I, Eirig." "I chose it!" "Your daughter chose it." "It'll be done." "And you'll lead this army with mine against the Slayers?" "Whatever army I have, I'll lead against them... until I've won or I'm dead." "I have chosen well." "So have I." "Your journey was hard?" "But necessary." " It may already be too late." " It's not too late." "Is this where the ceremony will be?" "Tonight at moonrise." "My father says that good fighters make bad husbands." " That depends." " On what?" "On whether you expect a husband to follow you around... jump every time you clap your hands." "Wouldn't you jump for me?" "No, of course not." "You're a warrior." "From this day, my kingdom is no more." "Nor mine." "A single kingdom under our children." "Agreed." "I give fire to water." "It will not return, except from the hand of the woman I choose as my wife." "I take fire from water." "I give it only to the man whom I choose as my husband." "Take the fire from my hand." "Call the roll, guards!" " Slayers!" " Arm yourselves!" " We'll fight together." " No." "Is there a safe way out?" " An underground passage." " Come on!" "My place is with you." " Do you love me?" " Of course I love you." "Then go." "Colwyn, hurry back to me." "Everyone in the centre of the room, get back!" "Take it!" "Here!" "Colwyn!" "Lyssa!" "Colwyn!" "Colwyn!" "Father!" "Lyssa!" "She's alive." "Where?" "Stay still!" "Where?" "For now, beyond your reach." "Who are you?" "I am Ynyr." "The old one." "Well, not as old as all that." "You've come down from the Granite Mountains." "Yes." "I am needed now." "Father!" "There's no time now for grief." "You haven't lost a father and a bride on the same day." "Nor have I become king on that day." "I have no kingdom." "Your kingdom may be greater than you know." "I give it to you, old man, and welcome to it." "I came to find a king... and I find a boy instead." "Lyssa?" "They will hold her in the Black Fortress." "Can you lead me to it?" "You must have help." "I'll find men on the way." "In the Fortress, you will face more than the Slayers." "You will face the Beast, who is their leader." "He can be killed." "Perhaps." "But no man has ever seen him and lived." "You will need more than men and swords." "You will need the power of the Glaive." "The Glaive is nothing but an ancient symbol." "It doesn't really exist." "It exists, up there." "In a cave on the highest peak." "Without the Glaive, you will never be able to reach Lyssa." "I need weapons, not symbols." "Once, the Glaive was a very powerful weapon." "It can be so again." "But only in the hands of the right man." "For only the right man can retrieve the Glaive." "Am I that man?" "I wish I knew." "I cannot go with you." "Don't worry." "If it's there, I'll come back with it." "If you do not come back with it... you'll not come back at all." "You have been brought here for a marriage." "I am the king you will choose." "Do not use it until you need it." " How will I know when?" " You'll know." "If you lead me to the Black Fortress, I'll use it soon enough." "That will not be so easy." "At each sunrise, the Black Fortress moves." "Sometimes it is in the mountains, sometimes in the desert..." ""sometimes in the sea."" "Never the same place twice." "But you told me you knew where to find it!" "There are kingly virtues other than bravery." "Courtesy is one of them." "I'm sorry." "It's the thought of Lyssa there." "I, too, was young... once." "I, too, loved as you do." "But your love will be... luckier than mine." "What I told you is that I knew how to find the Fortress... and that is by seeking the vision of the blind Emerald Seer." "But his place isn't known either." "It is known to me." "It is a day's journey from here." "Come." "Help!" "Help!" "I'm drowning!" "This might have been quicksand!" "I might have been sucked to my death while you stood there gawking!" "Where is this place?" "The forest near the Granite Mountains." "Blast!" "1,000 miles off course." "I was rushed." "There was a difference of opinion concerning a gooseberry pie." "The man left it sitting on his windowsill." " What did he expect?" " Perhaps he expected to eat it." "For that rudeness, lout, I think I'll turn you into a bat." "Might teach you some manners to hang upside down for an hour or two." "The Hill People lack the power to do harm." "We shall see about that, old man." "We'll see about that!" "No, that's a recipe for hot fudge sauce." "It'll have to be a goose." "Fat and ugly." "Very fat." "Very ugly." "From that, you see what I could've done to you if I were a vengeful man." "You may leave me now." "Dear, dear." "Let me see now..." "The forest is not safe." "You'd best travel with us!" "Me, travel with you?" "Do you know who I am?" "No." "I am Ergo the Magnificent." "Short in stature, tall in power... narrow of purpose and wide of vision." "And I do not travel with peasants and beggars." "Goodbye." "Wait!" "Wait for me!" "I've just remembered I have urgent business in this direction." "What business?" "Staying alive." "I will allow you to go wherever you please within these walls." "For this is the palace from which you will rule this world and countless others." "You cannot escape me." "You will be my queen." "You're no great chooser of roads, old man." "This way will save us half a day's travel." "Robbers." "They're men, we don't know yet whether they're robbers." "Faces that ugly could only belong to robbers." "Don't worry." "I'll turn them all into pigs." "You're surrounded by 100 men!" "100 is not enough!" "What have we here?" "A fighter!" "Besides, you're short about 90 men." "Let's just kill them and be done with it." "Soft, Rhun!" "I don't kill men without good reason." "Nor do I. And be thankful for it." "You're escaped prisoners." "Every one." "Slaves, bandits, fighters and brawlers." "Desperate men." " As desperate as you'll ever see." " Good." "Those are the kind of men I need." "You need?" "Well, see, these men follow no man but me... and I follow no man at all." " Would you follow a king?" " A king?" "There are many lunatics wandering through the country claiming to be kings." "Would you follow a king to the Black Fortress?" "Now I know you're a lunatic." "I wouldn't follow my own father to the Black Fortress." " If he could find it!" " He wouldn't be so foolish." "Is it foolish to defend your world?" "To fight for your homes and families?" "If the invaders conquer, you'll be slaves with the rest of us." "Noble sentiments, but we fight for profit." " You know what I mean?" " The profit's freedom." "And fame." "Freedom?" "But we have it." "And fame, it's an empty purse." "Count it, go broke... eat it, go hungry... seek it and go mad." "That is true." "But this fame and this freedom you could leave to your sons." "How did you know I had sons?" "If the Slayers conquer Krull, your sons will be enslaved forever." "I have no sons, but I will go with you." "The boy shames you all." "Only the king and the lord marshal have the keys to these manacles." " You don't look like a lord marshal." " No." "You look about the right age to be Turold's son." "The exact age." "Torquil, you're growing old." "Your brain's softening." "Nine men like you are worth an army." "If we succeed, unlock them." "Otherwise, I'll die with them." "Well, you heard him!" "We're now an army!" "An unpaid army." "You got a problem, Rhun?" "Can't a man even talk to himself without being interrupted?" "Let's go!" " Come along!" " Nennog!" "Move!" "Gooseberries!" "Ergo!" "Ynyr, help!" "Horrible!" "There was a terrible creature over there." "And over there, a creature with only one eye." "One eye?" "'A cyclops." "He was aiming a spear straight at me." "Had it been so, you would now be dead." "He was aiming at a Slayer... for they have ancient hatred between them." "Long ago, his ancestors lived in a world far from Krull." "And had... two eyes like other men." "Then they made a bargain with the Beast who is the leader of the Slayers." "They gave up one of their eyes in exchange for the power... to see into the future." "But they were cheated." "For the only future they are permitted to see... is the time of their own death." "They're sad, solitary creatures, born to know... the day they will die." "Today would have been my day, if it hadn't been for him." "Up you go" "We three will go on." "The rest will remain here." "We four will go on." "I'm not staying behind with these criminals!" "We four will go." "He marches us towards a solid face of rock." "The man has raisins in his braincase." "I recognise an old friend." "Mad." "They're all mad!" "We seek the Black Fortress." "Such a vision will be opposed." "Who seeks it?" "The new king." "With an old voice?" "You know the voice?" "Yes, my friend." "We're trying to find the..." "I will seek the Fortress for you." " Got any sugarballs?" " No." " Gumdrops?" " No." "What kind of boy are you?" "Boys always have candy." "I have a cinnamon bar." "Share and share alike." "I am Ergo the Magnificent." "Short in stature, tall in power, narrow of purpose and wide of vision." "That is very impressive." "I should hope so." "I'm Titch." "That's not impressive, but adequate." "The Black Fortress." "Where is it?" "Are you all right?" "Yes." "The Beast does not like curious Seers poking into his affairs." "His power is too great for you to overcome?" "Yes." "Here." "But there is one place where his power cannot reach." "The Emerald Temple." "Yes." "In that place, he cannot oppose my vision." "Will you travel there with us?" "It is in the Great Swamp:" "A treacherous place." "Our need is great." "The Temple is at the centre of the Swamp, where three trees grow as one." "How can anything grow in that place?" "It smells of death." "Death and power are close cousins." "Don't think I like your relatives, old man." "Have a look." "The profit of this journey." "They're worth a fortune." "Maybe." "To someone who's very nearsighted." "What?" "But they were emeralds." "Hey, Rhun, emeralds." "I swear it!" "They were emeralds!" "Rocks in our pockets and gravestones above our heads is all we'll get from this." "Slayers!" " From the lake!" " Take cover!" " Over here!" " Get down." "Get down there!" "Quick, over there!" "Colwyn!" "Over here!" "That's the second time you've saved my life." " I am Ergo." " The Magnificent." "Hasn't he got a name?" "His name is Rell." "He visits the Seer sometimes." "He doesn't speak much." "So I've noticed." "Except to be sarcastic to people who wish to be friends." "Or jest with those who already are his friends." "My name is no jest, beanpole." "It's nice to have a short name if you're 20 feet tall... but small people need large names to give them weight." "Your actions give you weight, my friend." "I saw you save the boy from a spear." "That's what friends are supposed to do for each other." "Quite so." "You've been with us for a long way now." "Since the beginning." "When I learned that the Old One had come down..." "I knew that the time had come." "Join us, then." "All men need company." "Yes." "All men." "That way." "If I had my wish, I'd be out of this gloomy place right away." "If I really had my wish, I'd be sitting on top of a gooseberry pie... as big as a mountain." "No, that's a bit greedy." "I'll settle for one as big as a house." "I'd wish for a puppy." "Only one puppy?" "If you're wishing, why not wish for 100.7" "I only want one." "That's a foolish wish." "And you, Rell, what would you wish for?" "Ignorance." "No!" ".Nennog!" " Help!" "Help him!" "The ground." "It's sinking!" "It is the power of the Beast." " Link up!" "Make a chain!" " Help!" "Get me out!" "Rhun, get hold of him!" "Hurry!" " Hang on!" " Pull!" "Give me the axe!" "Here!" "Pull!" "Pull!" "I'm slipping!" "Pull it!" "Menno!" "Help me!" "Get me out!" "Help me!" "Menno!" "Keep still!" "Don't struggle!" "Hold on!" "Reach!" "Keep still, Menno!" "Don't struggle!" "Pull!" "Menno!" "Is that you, Titch?" " How far to the Temple?" " Not far now." "Stay here, make sure we're not being followed." " I will stay." " Be careful." "Thank you." "I'll lead the Seer." "Titch, you go ahead." "Thank you, brother." "I'll lead the Seer." "You go ahead with Titch." " This way?" " No." "You sure?" "I recognise this tree." "I recognise the place now." "We're in sight of the trees, brother." "He who seeks the knowledge must lead me." "No one else may approach." "Here is the knowledge you seek." "The Beast has many weapons." "This was one of them." "The Changeling." "How did you know?" "I found the Seer's body in the quicksand." "He gave his life for us." "He was my only family." "We're your family now." "Now we have no way to find the Black Fortress." "There is one who might help." "Who?" "The Widow of the Web." "That creature helps no one." "And none who go there return." " She has great powers." " Yeah, to kill." "She may not kill me, for I know her name." "Her name is Death." "She had another name once." "An ancient and powerful name." "We all risk our lives on this journey." "My risk is no greater than yours." "I must try." "Where are my papers?" "Blast, I really must get organised one of these days." "Puppy!" "Where's Ergo?" "He'll be back soon." "From here, I go on alone." " I'm going with you." " No." "If two approach, she would certainly kill both." "Alone, I may have a chance." "Each to his fate, Colwyn." "Yeah." "Yes, each to his fate." "If I'm not back by morning... you'll know mine." "We stay here." "I still say it was a foolish wish." "We have no food, and the men are too tired to hunt." " Hey, Kegan." " Hello." "Doesn't one of your wives live in a village near here?" "Lona." "No, she moved down to the river." "How many wives does he have?" "About seven or eight, at the last count." "He's a travelling man, you see." "He covers a lot of ground." "Merith." "She lives in a village at the edge of the giant trees." "Can she cook?" "It's not her strongest point, but hear, I tell you." "Just have her bring provisions." "Magnificence there reckons he can cook." "We'll soon see." "Plenty more if you're still hungry." "Out of my way." "Let me get at it." " Well?" " Well, what?" "Who's the girl then?" "Her village was burned." "She'd nowhere to go, so I took her in." "Look at her one more time, and I'll throw her out!" "Merith!" "Oh, my sweet." "She doesn't hold a candle to you." " She's not even pretty." " Yeah?" "Now, look, petal, "faithful" is my middle name." "You must eat something." "I'm not hungry." "Please, for me." "Thank you." "What troubles you?" "You have chosen a paltry kingdom on an insignificant planet." "And love." "Love is ﬂeeting." "Power is eternal." "Such is my power." "It can be yours." "I don't want your power." "Do not let my form frighten you." "Lyssa." "I can assume any form I wish." "Any form you wish." "There's no love in that form." "And you think there's love in your boy king?" "I've not held a man in my arms since my lover left." "This is a lie!" "I know how painful it is to be far from your lover." "He will betray you." "Comfort me for one night." "He will not." "I can't betray my bride." "Then he will die." "Let me comfort you." "I can't accept comfort when she has none." "You will not then?" "I cannot." "My master said:" ""Make him betray her." "If not, kill him."" "Yes, he is my master." "These talons were a heartbeat away from your throat." "I could have killed you in an instant." "But, in the hour I knew you, I loved you." "It is you who are betrayed." "Power is fleeting." "Love is eternal." "Remember me." "Consider this power." "If you consent to be my queen..." "I will halt the attacks of the Slayers." "It is in your power to stop the killing and burning." "Each hour you delay, more innocent people will be killed." "Think on it." "Hurry, Colwyn." "I seek the Widow!" "Enter here and die." "Lyssa!" "Lyssa!" "Who speaks that name?" "It is I, Ynyr!" "I give you this time." "Lyssa." "I was young when I last heard that name." "I was young when I last spoke it to you." "And my face was as beautiful as my name." "And I loved you, Lyssa, with all my heart." "But you would not stay with me." " There were responsibilities, duty..." " Ambition." "You had a son." "We had a son." "But you said nothing." "Where is he?" "I killed him when he was born." "And this is my punishment." "My son?" "Since I could not kill you, my rage needed a victim." "I know you can never forgive me." "I cannot forgive myself." "I have already forgiven you." "You can never forgive a woman who has killed your son." "If I had not... could I see you now as I saw you then?" "And allow me to see through your eyes." "How could I have left you?" "Your vision is your gift to me." "And your vision could be your gift to me." " What can I see for you?" " The Black Fortress, where does it rise?" "Tomorrow... in the Iron Desert." "But the knowledge is useless, for you can't leave here." "No man has ever escaped the Web." "There is a young girl being held in the Fortress." "A young girl with your name." "A young man seeks her." "The age I was when... you and I met." "When you and I loved." "What you ask is beyond my power." "It can be turned only once." "That is the Law of the Web." "Then the second Lyssa will share your fate." "She will die, grow old and lonely." "She will die in a place of darkness." "This world will be a place of darkness." "These are the sands of my life." "Accept them and the spider will have no power to harm you." "But your own life runs out with the sand." "What about your life?" "I give it to the girl who bears my name." "I cannot stop the sand." "You cannot stop time." "Go now." "Save the other Lyssa." "At sunrise..." "At sunrise... the Black Fortress will appear... in the Iron Desert." "It will remain there until sunrise of the following day." "You must..." "You must reach it." "We'll reach it." "You'll be with us." "No." "No, my... race is run." "Use your power wisely." "Do not squander it." "I learned the power from you." "I won't forget." "We'll bury him here." "The Iron Desert's 1,000 leagues from here." "Fire mares." "Fire mares can travel 1,000 leagues in a day." "There's time if we move quickly." "That's it." "Drive them back!" "The grey is the leader!" "Hold him!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "I've got you." "Gentle as a baby!" " Saddle the others, quickly!" " Right!" "Come on." "Hold still!" "Stand still, you beast!" "Take good care of him." " Why doesn't he come?" " It's his time to die." "If he's going to die anyway, why doesn't he come with us?" "No." "He must stay here and accept his fate." "If he opposes it, he'll bring great pain on himself." "Steady!" "I must remain here." "Is it time?" "You've done enough, Rell." "Stay here." "Each to his fate." "Each to his fate." "Rell, I'll ride with you." "I have to stay here, my friend." "We had no time." "Hold on!" "There it is!" "Yes, and only madmen would want to get this close to it." "We're going to get a lot closer." "And quickly." "It's almost dawn." "We must get inside before the twin suns rise." "Rhun, get back!" "I was wrong." "The journey was worthwhile." "Finish it..." " We'll have to rush them." " No, wait!" "We'll be picked off as soon as we move." "Colwyn, look." "Follow him!" "Come on!" "Kegan!" "Mind the boy!" "Get your axe in the opening!" "It's no use." "This is my time." "Keep moving!" "Which way?" "Look out!" " My travelling days are over, my friend." " We'll get you out of here." "Here's where I stay." "Lead on." "I can't hold him!" "Throw us a rope!" "Slayers!" "I'm going down." "Go!" "Get back!" " Come out!" " No, wait!" "There is nothing we can do." "Get out!" "From here, I must go on alone." "Go where?" "There's no way in." "There is one way." "We must find the others, Ergo." "They've stopped." "Bardolph, let it go!" "Look out!" "'Lyssa!" ".Colwyn!" "Not here, Colwyn." "He's too powerful." "You must fight him away from the centre." "The Glaive is gone." "I have no way to fight him." "Colwyn, it's not the Glaive, it's you." "No, Lyssa, it's us." "It's us he can't defeat." "It won't return to me except from the hand of the woman I choose as my wife." "I give it only to the man whom I choose as my husband." "Take the fire from my hand." "We have to find the others." "Come on!" "I won't leave you, Ergo." " Bardolph?" " Look, over here!" "That's Ergo." "He may still be alive." "Let's get out of here." "He risked his life to save us." "We can't leave him here if there's even a chance he's alive." "Come on, let's get you out of here." "Stand back!" "Help them down!" "He'll be all right." " You are his queen?" " Yes." " Then we've won." " Yes." "Oh, boy!" "I should have stuck to puppies!" "I think... it's time we unlocked those manacles." "I thought I'd keep them as a memento of our journey." "The key's yours." "Only the king and his lord marshal carry this key." "That's right." "A girl of ancient name shall become queen." "She shall choose a king, and together they shall rule our world... and their son shall rule the galaxy."