"King zed's wife." "Maax, high priest of the city of aruk." "The God ar has spoken." "The truth is known to us." "The truth is hungry!" "The truth is horrible!" "The prophecy dooms you." "I must know." "You will die at the hands of zed's unborn son." "Ha!" "Zed's unborn son will die!" "The truth cannot be changed." " He will die tonight!" " Rise for king zed!" "I have been told you are planning a child sacrifice." "Ar demands the life of an unborn." "I will not allow the sacrifice of an innocent." "You are banished for life." "In aruk, no one will remember your name." "Go practice your heathen religion in the outlands with the barbarian juns." "The unborn child is yours!" "Stand fast!" "It must be cut from its mother." "Branded with the sign of ar, and sacrificed." "I could have you put to death." "Fanatic." "Take him away." "God ar." "It must be cut from its mother." "Branded with the sign of ar, and sacrificed." "Your unborn child is ours now!" "Thirsty ar." "Holy ar." "Jealous ar." "Holy ar." "Come on." "Good." "Uh-huh!" "Ohhh!" "Good!" "Your kapa." "Show me." "Tiis!" "You old fool!" "Father!" "Father, run!" "Run!" "My leg!" "Dar?" "Run!" "Run!" "Dar!" "Ah, it'll be all right." "Tiis is dead." "What happened here today must never be known." "Never." "You have powers unlike anyone in the village." "To touch a beast up here..." "The gods have put their mark on you." "And someday..." "You'll find out why." "But till then, this mark... will be your guide." "Till then..." "You're my beloved." "Now, you run ahead." "Tell the village, poor tiis." "Go." "Todo!" "Todo!" "Dar?" "It's fixed." "Hyah!" "Father." "Juns." "Dar, the gods have put their mark on you." "And someday you will find out why." "Till then, this mark will be your guide." "My sword and my kapa will be your trusted companions." "Protect emir, your home." "And if anything should happen to me, look for our enemies, the juns." "And you may search for your destiny in the valley of aruk." "Hey!" "Come back here!" "Whoa!" "How about a little help?" "Come on!" "You two got me into this, now get me out." "Thanks." "Well!" "I'm gonna name you kodo." "You'll get a name too." "Podo." "Kodo..." "And podo." "My friends." "The juns." "We'll help him." "I have my eyes." "I have my cunning." "And now I have strength." "Ruh." "Your name is ruh." "Don't move." "The beast is fierce." "But if we show no fear, we might escape." "You've just gotta show them who's in command." "You owe me your life." "But..." "I'll accept this as payment." "Who are you?" "I'm dar." "I'm no threat to you." "Who sent you?" "I wasn't sent." "My village, emir, was destroyed by the jun horde." "I've sworn revenge..." "And I'm following." "You?" "Alone?" "Now... who are you?" "I am kiri." "Slave to the priests of the temple of ar." "They whip you like..." "A beast." "I am a slave!" "What would you have me do?" "Run away." "I'll protect you." "You don't understand." "I must go back." "If I don't, my family will be put to death." "Then let me go with you." "You would do well to forget me, and follow the juns." "With them, you can die like a man." "Not so with the priests of ar." "Good-bye, dar." "Be careful." "Come." "What do you think?" "Should we go after her?" "Kiri." "Where'd she go?" "Huh?" "Keep hidden." "Keeper of aruk, i, your high priest, demand your children..." "Obey my command, and ar will continue to protect you!" "May ar receive this child..." "As a gift from your devoted servant." "Ar is not yet satisfied." "Hold back from ar what is his, and you will all perish by his hand!" "Will you dare this fate?" "No!" "No, not her!" "No!" "Not her!" "No!" "Stop!" "No!" "No, don't harm my child!" "No!" "Please!" "Only the blood of this child..." "Will make ar look upon you with compassion again." "Only the blood of this child..." "Can make ar look upon you as his children again." "No!" "Ar, I offer this humble sacrifice to you..." "From your servant." "Ar!" "Ar!" "Ar!" "You see?" "Ar has spoken." "He wants your children." "I have something for you." "My little light is alive!" "Alive!" " Daddy!" " Oh, snatched from death by..." "Master?" "Master?" "I am sacco." "I will be forever in your debt." "What is mine, is yours." "Just ask me for anything." "There was a girl on the pyramid." "She's a friend." "Come." "Inside." "At least let me offer you a meal." "The jun horde slaughtered most of the young men in aruk." "Zed, our king, is imprisoned in the pyramid." "His son disappeared." "The juns put their demon high priest, maax, in power, along with the fiendish witchwomen." "Now he breeds us..." "For the blood of our children." "What about the girl?" "Hmm." "The slave girls." "They've been taken back to the temple..." "To prepare them for their deaths." "I must find her." "Wait!" "The bridge is the only way out." "We are surrounded by that damnable tar sludge." "Which way did the jun horde go?" "To the north." "But maax promises they shall return." "Then so shall I." "Thank you for the meal, my friend." "You'll see me again." "Ar wants this stranger." "Bring him to me, this master of the beasts." "This ring will lead you to him." "Ahead." "That's him!" "See the brand?" "That's him, zed's son." "Kill him!" "Kill him now." "Kill him!" "Kill him now!" "Face the animal on his own terms, you will find you are not so very strong." "Seth, look." "I'm indebted to you." "Ruh." "Is he yours?" "We fight together sometimes." "I hope someday to be able to repay your kindness." "Life is a circle." "I'm sure we'll see each other again." "Friend!" "Who are you?" "I'm dar..." "Of the emirites." "There are no more emirites." "Thanks to the juns," "I'm the last." "Juns." "Who are you, friend?" "And where do you come from?" "I am called Seth." "This is tal." "We are... pilgrims on our way to worship at the temple of ar." "I've never see a... pilgrim..." "Who could use a staff the way you did." "But, sir, all pilgrims share a deep love of life." "Especially their own." "I, too, am on my way to worship at the temple of ar." "There is safety in numbers." "Perhaps we should travel together." "For three years since we fled aruk, we have been everywhere trying to raise an army..." "To fight the juns." "Tal has now come of age." "It is now time for him to free his father..." "The king." "I have just come from aruk." "Maax has total power." "It will be difficult to defeat him." "He will not stop me from freeing my father." "As long as zed lives, he remains a symbol of our strength." "With him to lead us, we'll crush maax!" "How is it that you've come to travel with these animals?" "They are my friends." "I'd always been told that my ability with animals was uncommon." "I see through their eyes." "They see through mine." "They know my thoughts." "I know theirs." "We depend on each other." " Where'd you find these two?" " Ah, those are my thieves." "This is podo..." "And kodo." "They steal just about anything they can get their hands on, as you can see..." "Rings, trinkets, stones." "If you like that ring, keep it." "Nothing's too good for kodo and podo." "Seth, look." "Explain this." "I met a slave girl near a temple." "No!" "No, this comes from no slave girl." "I said a slave girl." "Podo must have stolen it." "That's why I'm following them..." "To rescue her before she's..." "Put to death." "We leave at dawn." "Who is this girl?" "My cousin... kiri." "They've left the temple." "To where?" "This way." "How are they dressed?" "Five women in white, surrounded by priests in red." "You're right." "They're to be sacrificed." " We must save her." " But we're outnumbered." "Hmm." "My friends, the journey to aruk is a treacherous one." "Come." "We have much planning to do." "Be quiet." "This beast is fierce." "Tie them." "Come on!" "Pull!" "Pull!" "We're not gonna make it." "Lighten the load!" "Will you help us to free my father?" "Send your cousin over to ask me." "What can I do to convince you to help us?" "I'm very busy." "The rescue will take some time." "I..." "I think he's gonna help us." "I have a feeling he might." "You will come with us?" "You're going to have a hard time getting rid of me." "We will meet in the taran valley in two nights' time." "Does he have any chance of finding rebels to help us?" "If they're out there, he'll find them." "Oh, no, not you." "Why me?" "I'm a coward." "Couldn't you just fly back and tell him you couldn't find me?" "Oh, all right." "I'm coming." "Sacco, where are we?" "Quiet." "We're about to enter the city." "So they both still live." "But they won't escape me this time." "We shall welcome them." "Come on." "Hurry." "I shall wait for you on the north side." "No!" "Come on." "Death guards." "This way." "Now I know why there were no guards out front." "This is the one." "That's how a death guard is made." "Extreme torture transforms the man into a wild beast." "We have to steal those keys." "Stealing is best left up to thieves." "Here we go." "Watch." "The jun priests will encase his body in deadly armor." "Now they will drain his blood and damage his brain..." "With mysterious green liquid..." "And leeches." "It'll kill anything it meets." "They have no fear whatsoever." "Follow me." "Come on." " Why is she dressed like that?" " What about kodo and podo?" "Don't worry about them." "They'll catch up." "Come." "Around here." "She's a trov warrior, an ancient sect." "This pyramid used to be their home." "Trail?" "Kiri will find my father." "He's there." "We need those keys." "It's open." "Ruh?" "Ruh?" "Uncle zed." "It's me." "It's kiri." "Yes, that is he, the one of whom prophecy spoke." "They'll be sacrificed come dawn." "Kill him!" "You blinded my father!" "I'll kill you!" "Tal." "I'll send him to his death." "Dar." " Son." " Can you walk?" "Yes." "Wait." "Protect them." "Dar." " This is our only way out of the city." " Go." "I'll cover your escape." "Please, you must come with us." "I can't leave without my little ones." "Go on." "I'll catch up." "A little late." "Come on." "We can try to escape through the air shaft." "Down, now!" "Down!" "Yah!" "Hah!" "Oh, no!" "The gate's closed." "We have to get out of here now." "Does the gate have a counterweight?" "Yes." "You two are going to open that gate for us." "Come on." "Come on, come on." "Now we are dead." "Forget it." "Start for the gate." "They'll get it open." "Even though I cannot see," "I reject your pity." "Thirty-five warriors, strong and good, are more than enough to crush maax." "He and his monsters must die." "We will take aruk, and give them the death..." "They so richly deserve." "No!" "Taking back your city is not the answer." "If you succeed in killing maax and the priests, you will only bring down the wrath of the jun horde." "I've seen what they can do." "You need an army." "Who is this man?" "He is a friend." "He is the beastmaster." "Please, you must listen to him." "He has already saved your life." "No, he is a freak." "A freak who speaks to animals." "But, father..." "I need no coward by my side!" "Go crawl down a hole with your animals." "My friends." " Will you go with me now?" " I cannot leave." "Then I'll stay with you." "Even that's impossible now." "He's ordered you out." "No one will challenge him." "You will die." "It is my duty." "I..." "I have no choice." "Yes, we are outnumbered, but our blood is boiling for revenge." "But..." "We will end our humiliation." "King zed..." "Seth, my loyal warrior, we will attack the city before dawn." "Tal will go with me and be my eyes." "But tal..." "Tal is man enough to take his rightful place with his father." "Seth, you will take 15 warriors and attack the main gate." "While you have their attention and are at the gate, we will attack." "We will storm the north wall." "Victory... will be ours." "Maax will pay for what he has done." "Lord zed, we must run." "Maax knows our plan." "Many years ago, maax killed my queen and took my unborn son." "Now he will pay." "We shall conquer him, and aruk will be mine again." "Maax shall die." "We are doomed." "Sacco!" "Beastmaster, follow me home." "We need your help." "The attempt failed." " Maax lives." " What happened to kiri?" "She was captured, as was zed and Seth and the boy." "They're to be sacrificed at sunset." "You must save them." " Make way!" "Your king zed..." "Has denied the God ar!" "Now he will die, as will his kin." "Aah!" "Aah!" "You are doomed." "The unborn has arrived." "Maax!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Zed, your unborn son..." "Has returned to fulfill the prophecy." "My son?" "I defy this false prophecy." "Zed, join your lost son." "Fight to the top!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Kodo!" "Seth." "Juns." "Juns!" "We must fight!" "No, we must flee!" "It's your decision now." "We will fight." "To the ropes!" "Cover the moat!" "Hook the horses up!" "Pull!" "Put your hearts into it!" "Pull!" "Pull!" "Pull for your freedom!" "Pull!" "Everybody to the moat!" "Faster!" "Faster!" "Cover the moat!" "Everybody to the moat!" "Start covering the moat!" "Hurry, men!" "Hurry!" "Make it look like dry ground." "Hide it." "Cover it well." "In my village of emir, the tar was a rite of manhood and a test of strength." "If we're lucky, the juns will fail this test." "It almost worked." "Let's get out of here." "Raise the gate!" "Beastmaster." "How is he?" "He won't have the use of his left hand for a while, but he's well." "Then I shall be leaving." "Oh." "For the new king." "It was you who was firstborn." "And it is you who should be king." "You trained tal well, and he will make a fine king." "Besides, he already has the strongest right hand..." "That any leader of men could want." "Well... our new king has risen from the dead." "He left this for you." "He's gone."