Shadow Skill TV Anime Series Episode 14 – Synopsis Cast of Characters: Elle Ragu - 59th sevalle of Kuruda Feiss – a researcher A young valle Folstis Low – Holy Knight of Juliannes The Regent of Juliannes Teaser: A wall mural. The narration explains: “The Holy Force that all things in the universe possess. The ancients of the Holy Kingdom of Ashlianna said this about this holy possession: ‘It is to be the force of Souma.’ Souma dwells in all things in this world, and furthermore, it is handed down throughout the generations, continuing to waver as time goes by, as it continues to offer great gifts to all the people all over Ashlianna.” A forest. The camera focuses through the trees, sighting on a huge dried trunk, worn away by time and the elements. The narration: “However, now, the Force of Souma is starting to decline, and people consider it to be a misfortune on its arising, which has increased their fear.” (Opening Credits) Act 1 The forest. A young girl is commenting on the lateness of someone, and concludes, “The other valle will not appear.” A very young valle leaning against a stone wall declares that she will take care of the job alone, and turning, promptly sinks her foot into a mud puddle. The young girl – later we find out she is a researcher – comments that the area once used to be a lake is therefore muddy in certain areas. They disappear into the trees. Juliannes. Folstis is standing guard outside the door of Princess Lilivelt’s room when her father the Regent approaches. He inquires about the Princess, and Folstis reports, “She is…not doing well. Princess Lilivelt is one of those people who can receive the gift of the Force of Souma, that is filled underground, more than anybody else. That is why she is worshiped as a symbol of Juliannes. However…” “Is it because the Force of Souma is declining, and upsetting the equilibrium of the natural world?” “Princess Lilivelt’s falling ill proves it more than anything else.” “All I can do is hope that Lunalis Umbra will return as soon as possible. Act 2 The young researcher – Feiss (sp?) -- and the valle are working their way down the stone passageway of an ancient ruin. They pause at one point, and the valle mentions a treasure to be shared. The researcher is startled. The valle goes on to say that when she signed up for the job at the Center, a treasure was mentioned, and it could be divided among the three participants in this expedition. However, since one of the three didn’t show up, the share to come should be that much larger. The valle is shocked when Feiss enlightens her that her services are expected to be those of a bodyguard and not a treasure-hunter. That even if they did find treasure, it would be sent back to the Society Research Institute. This disappoints the young valle immensely, and she immediately begins to grumble that she is not being paid enough for the job. As the valle angrily stalks down the passageway, ignoring the warnings from Feiss, she suddenly trips and falls down a hole, quickly followed by the researcher. The stone that they land on suddenly slides upwards and deposits them on the floor of a hidden hallway. With the valle sticking close behind Feiss, they walk a few paces into the central chamber of the ruin – the Shrine of Moonlight. Researcher’s instincts alive, Feiss quickly begins taking notes of this wonderful new discovery, in the hope that the Research Institute will be the first to announce it before anyone else. She gets the valle to light up the walls so that they can examine the murals, and Feiss hints at the story of Lunalis Umbra that appears in Ashlianna folklore. The tinkling of a little bell startles the pair, and then a gust of wind extinguishes their lantern. The valle goes into a panic, and Feiss while remaining fairly calm, is startled as the apparition of a little girl appears in the center of the room. The valle dissolves into abject terror, and then the apparition fades away. The lantern suddenly re-lights, and the valle is opting for a quick exit when Feiss pleads that she can’t investigate the strange happenings alone. The valle exclaims, “Investigate! You saw it, didn’t you?” “Yes! It appears to be a ghost living in this ruin!” When asked if she isn’t scared, Feiss says that she isn’t – ghosts are common enough sights on archaeological digs. If the valle hadn’t screamed, Feiss would have been able to listen to some good stories. The valle angrily proclaims that she is not scared, and then asks what Feiss would do if they got cursed. Feiss replies that there are sacrifices to be made in archaeology – an outlook the valle does not agree with at all. Regretfully Feiss is willing to let the valle go, when the little bell starts its chiming again. A hallway intersecting with the passageway they are in, begins to shine with reflected light, and this time, the pair see a small procession of people dressed in the same way as the little girl. Presumably these are the ancient people of Ashlianna. The valle is prepared to make a run for it, while Feiss refuses to flee. She calls out to the ghosts, and as they turn to see, the valle snatches up Feiss and takes off running down the opposite direction. Once in safety, the valle tries to explain that they will both be cursed if they have any contact with the ghosts, but Feiss says that it is the valle’s duty to be a bodyguard, and protect them. The valle wails that her would-be opponents aren’t even from this world – and then the bell rings again. The valle snatches up Feiss and takes off running again, saying there’s nothing in the valle manual that says anything about fighting ghosts. Feiss objects and says that these are wandering spirits, not ghosts (which is apparently a different thing altogether). Their dash down the corridor brings them back into the central chamber. Now the bell rings again, and the valle’s terror is complete as the little girl’s apparition comes up from out of the floor in front of them. Gradually the room fills with ghostly forms, and it can be seen that the little girl’s face is incredibly sad and full of tears. Feiss touches the valle on her shoulder, and piercing shrieks echo throughout the entire ruin, setting birds to flight. Feiss has to subdue the panicked valle by muffling her screams with one hand. The valle’s struggles stop upon hearing the sound of a drop of water falling into a puddle. The pair turn to see the little spirit girl’s face overflowing with tears. Feiss takes a tentative step forward, asking, “Are you actually crying now?” when suddenly the floor beneath them cracks and they are plunged into deep dark watery depths… Act 3 The pair find themselves once again on the floor of the circular chamber. Although they have sunk through water, neither of them are wet, and both are definitely alive. In vain does the valle try to persuade Feiss to run away from the place; the little researcher is fascinated by the wall murals and their connection to the mystery at hand. She begins to research the story as it is known up to that point. The valle pulls urgently at Feiss, who asks that if the spirit was out to do them harm, would it be crying like that? The valle is ready to believe anything is possible at this point, but Feiss is adamant in her belief that the spirits are trying to tell them something. And the key is somewhere in the wall mural…Feiss wants to compare the painting with the references that she has brought, sure that they will find the answer somehow. As they begin their examination, the valle acidly remarks that they should hurry, because she’s not being paid enough to risk her life…Feiss reads aloud as they decipher the heiroglyphs on the murals, “We give worship to the holy water…and live relying on the influence of the great power of Souma…and also, we worship the god of the ground as well…the god of the sky…and enshrine the god, however, though, in this year…” A section of the mural is missing, and then, “…because of that, this is what happened as a result of it…people weep in sorrow and all things, including the ground and the sky…everything is about to be put to an end…” Feiss gasps, realizing that the mural is talking about events not mentioned in her reference. Events pointing to the end of a civilization. Feiss explains that a great archaeological mystery may just have been solved, since all their known documents concerning the ruin and the civilization are incomplete. “Extinct!” exclaims the valle. “Is that why that girl was crying?” Feiss goes down on her knees to pore through her reference book, muttering the word “water” over and over. When asked why, Feiss explains that there are a lot of references to “water” and there must be a connection to them all. Suddenly, the little researcher takes off at a run to another section of the shrine, to the central altar. Water is flowing out from beneath the symbol of Souma inscribed on the altar’s side. The symbol is surrounded with heiroglyphs of praying people. In her reference, Feiss reads: “In the Lunil period, their clear guideline was the cult of Souma, and the submergent style that embodies it…” Feiss dashes off again, to the place where they first tumbled into the shrine, noting the absence of stairs; then darts off to inspect the other corridors. Feiss realizes that the lack of stairs anywhere points out that the ruin was not meant to have anyone in residence, but to be used only for rituals. The ruin was buried underwater for the purpose of the ritual, that’s why it didn’t have any stairs. The valle remarks that the ancients wasted so much time and effort in building such a place; but Feiss thinks it’s because the people had no choice but to do so. Touching the eroded portion of the wall, she claims that the reason should have been found in that area, only…suddenly, the lantern is extinguished. A familiar bell sounds once again, heralding the re-appearance of the spirits. As the valle prepares to go into another panic attack, Feiss clamps the other girl’s jaw shut, saying that the spirits might flee if they hear screaming. The spirits, led by the little girl, are gathered about the altar, as if expectantly waiting for something. Feiss asks what it is the spirits want to tell them, and the little spirit girl lifts up her hands. The room fills with a rushing wind, and then the pair see themselves as part of a scene in ancient days, with a circle of people gathered in prayer around a huge green tree inscribed with the sign of Souma. The same tree that is now just a blasted trunk. The scene shifts and changes, showing the tree dried up by a terrible drought and the events that followed…Souma had been exhausted once in the ancient times. In an effort to restore the balance of Souma, which had been drying up daily, the people built the shrine, now a ruin. They tried to prevent Souma from exhausting itself by sinking the shrine underwater, to dedicate it to the god. The little girl was the shrine maiden/priestess. Act 4 Unfortunately, although the completed ruin was ready to sink, the people were too late. By that time, says a tearful Feiss, the river and lake of Souma were all dried up. “They were so close,” she says, in a quietly sad voice. The little spirit girl indicates the crystal at the top of the altar, and makes a downwards-pushing motion on top of it. Then she disappears, together with the rest of the spirit people. It is the valle who realizes the intent first. “She wants us to sink this. I think she meant that.” The pair climb up the altar steps, and Feiss murmurs, “This area was originally a lake. The underground water vein is still alive.” “So if we press this thing, the water will gush out of the vein, then. What’ll we do? Even if we sink this ruin now, the history of the people won’t change, but…but then…” “That’s true. But we just can’t leave the mortification of these people as it is presently.” “And how about you? Are you sure that you can sink this ruin? Aren’t you going to announce this at the Society? Isn’t this a great discovery that may never occur again in your life? Are you sure about this?” asks the valle, and Feiss replies, “I once learned in school that history is not supposed to go in the direction where people want it to go, but now…I just can’t ignore those people’s feelings.” “That’s right. I finally started understanding how you think. However…I think you may be too nice to be an archaeologist.” “Yes, I’d be disqualified,” laughs Feiss, placing her hand on the crystal. Then she looks at the valle. “You, too.” The valle wipes her hand and places it over the researcher’s, and after exchanging a long look, together they push down on the crystal. As soon as it is all the way in, the valle says, “We won’t see those monsters any longer now…oh! Wandering spirits…” Suddenly a torrent of water erupts from beneath the altar, filling the chamber with alarming rapidity. No place to escape except upwards, towards a break in the roof. The valle goes into martial language, and bursts upward, but her fist fails to make even a scratch in the stone ceiling. The valle falls back into the water, and as Feiss cries out “What is wrong with you!” the valle admits that she’s only started getting job offers a mere two months before. Suddenly, a powerful fist breaks through the ceiling and Elle’s wondering face peers through the hole she has just made. “What’s up you guys?” she asks, just before the flood sweeps her away. We see the torrent gush out and restore the lake to its former depth, burying the ruined shrine beneath calm blue water, the dead tree trunk the only thing rising up to show where the ruin now lies. The evening silence is broken by Elle’s apologies. “I was having some drinks on the way…that’s why I was late!” She is in a tree with the young valle and the researcher on the branch below her. “But why did you have to go and break the ceiling all of a sudden?” asks the valle, and Elle replies, “Well, I just heard the tinkling of a bell, and I just couldn’t help myself…it felt like someone was calling out to me to assist them.” The valle and the researcher exchange a long look, and Feiss murmurs, “They saved us, then…” “I just remembered!” cries Elle, hanging from her branch with a little laugh, “Did you save my share when you found the treasure? It wouldn’t be fair if you were going to split it just between the two of you! Come on, let’s all share it…!” Her two companions wear exasperated expressions, and as the camera focuses on a beautiful full moon, we hear Elle’s voice on the breeze, “Hey, did you find anything like really old alcohol, or vintage wine…?” (Closing Credits)