Visions of War (Script)
This is assuming that an advertisement is on page one and the official page one really begins on page two.
Page 1:
PANEL ONE: A fiery ablaze is burning in the cool night air. Amidst the dusk, two silhouettes surround the blaze burning on firewood. It seems to be a campfire, but make it obscure. Sitting around the flames holding mugs, they watch as it dance. (I was thinking an abstract drawing, but whatever drawing style you’re more comfortable with or think will do here will be fine.)
Silhouette 1: So, it is true. You’re cursed, huh?
PANEL TWO: One of them (Silhouette 2) places their mug down.
PANEL THREE: Slowly, but surely, that same figure that placed the mug down, stretches a hand towards the fiery abyss.
PANEL FOUR: Sparks leap up, and it attacks the offending limb, the silhouette remains untouched, but the fire dances around the hand like a turbulent butterfly.
Silhouette 2: Yeah, and so is the whole damn world.
PANEL FIVE: Drawn into the fire, suddenly, the page is seemingly burning enthusiastically.
(Page 2 and Page 3) DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD: The campfire begins painting the picture of an enflamed forest, and then, an enflamed warrior on horseback emerges through it. The horse is galloping through an opening and the warrior has his spear drawn. This panel gives the effect that the warrior and stead are chasing the reader (or towards the reader).
Page 4
PANEL ONE: We now see an enflamed arrow, which, despite under the illusion of burning, retains a delicate and refined point. It is as if the reader is looking, no, examining every single feature before…
PANEL TWO: From this panel we can see a reflection, the warrior.
PANEL THREE: The arrow launches from whoevers hands, but it seems like the reader is firing it, and it flies out.
PANEL FOUR: We see the arrow flying in mid-air. The flame is still burning, but the focus is shifted towards the image of the warrior (Or maybe, it’s a reflection from the arrow).
Caption: If you shoot the man, you will end a life.
PANEL FIVE: The focus shifts to the horse.
Caption: But if you shoot the horse, you will kill an innocent, but misguided being.
PANEL SIX: The flames begin to die out. As it blackens, we see a quick flash of one of the silhouettes from before.
Silhouette 2: I don’t care what royal ideology you have. I cannot protect you every moment or even every second now. You cannot continue to put another life over your own. Because If you do--
(Page 5) Splash PAGE: This page divided in sections of impending darkness, complete darkness, and light. It evicts the emotion of consuming to darkness, but an unexpected light still waiver.
TOP: The flame begins to die, and in the blackness, five words remain to burn.
Caption (Op): You will die, Prince Ramos.
MIDDLE: The flames have disappeared, and we are in complete darkness in the middle.
BOTTOM: Like a dim light shining through the darkness, some text accompanied by light ignites the bottom.
Silhouette 2: Sadly, that’s the way of war.
Page 6:
PANEL ONE: As if eyes were opening, we see a slanted vision of a young man dressed in regal attire, Prince Ramos.
PANEL TWO: We zoom closer, narrowing onto his facial features, and if noticing through the other silhouette’s eyes, we see that Prince Ramos has his adverted away.
Prince Ramos: But how many more innocent people will have to die?
PANEL THREE: We return to focusing into the fire. We see homes burning, people running, but we do not know why or what is causing the fire. Words cut through the flames.
Silhouette 2 (Op): There is a simple answer.
Page 7: Two panels divide the page diagonally.
PANEL ONE: The flames collapse and it appears something is disturbing the fire and putting it out.
Silhouette 2: I don’t know...
PANEL TWO: One more flame sparks as if something thrown into the fire, slowly restoring its power.
Silhouette 2: I just don’t know…
Page 8: PANEL 1 begins taking up the entire top of the page. Lowering under the left is PANEL 2 and beside it is PANEL 3. PANEL FIVE is underneath and we see that it is partially inside the Panels above it. (I am not too sure about this panel arrangement, but let us try it out first and see if it works.) Panel 6 covers the rest of the bottom.
PANEL ONE: Smoke arises from the east. It is tomorrow, sometime around dawn.
PANEL TWO: A nose scrunches up. We can smell burning pine scent.
PANEL THREE: We see a pair of feet standing on wet sleek grass.
PANEL FOUR: We see the same feet, but now we also can see Prince Ramos’s head as he sleeps. The direction of the motion is focusing on Prince Ramos and it seems like the feet are moving towards him.
PANEL FIVE: A hand reaches towards Prince Ramos. We can see scars, indents, and light red marks on the hand.
PANEL SIX: We close in onto Prince Ramos’ eyes. They are wide open and alarmed, but seemed to have recently shot open. His eyes cover the entire panel. Nevertheless, the hands in PANEL 5 should give the feeling of something loaming over him.
Page 9:
PANEL ONE: In an instant, Prince Ramos’s body staggers upward in a ferocious blur. In the moment, he is pulling out a dagger from a small dragon shaped sheath. His hair is tousled, and his eyes are piercing like the blade.
PANEL TWO: His blade meets a sword.
SFX: CLING!!
PANEL THREE: We see Prince Ramos leaning forward, and then we see Gastro, his cursed bodyguard who was the other Silhouette from before, holding the sword. His knees bent in a defensive stance, and we can tell that Ramos is shocked and slightly relieved.
Gastro: Settle down, kid. It’s just me.
PANEL FOUR: We see Gastro picking stuff up, and putting their gear in pouches or large bags.
Page 10: The first two panels are side to side. On the bottom, the THIRD PANEL fills the bottom. FOURTH PANEL is located inside the THIRD near the bottom right corner (leave some space away from the corner, if you can).
PANEL ONE: We see him walking towards a horse. The animal is whining and it lightly jumps on its front hooves.
SFX: Neigh
PANEL TWO: He is leaping.
PANEL THREE: Gastro on horseback holds his hand outward to Prince Ramos.
PANEL FOUR: We close onto his outstretched hand. (Essentially, it looks like he is holding his hand out to the reader).
Gastro: C’mon, kid. We got to go.
Page 11: PANEL 1 occupies the top. PANEL TWO is intersecting ONE and THREE in the left corner (leave some space again from the corner, please. However, not too much in the middle so the reader does get confused and they know to see PANEL 2 first.) PANEL THREE divided in half, but essentially the same picture (Maybe use it to give the sense that the smoke is moving or coming closer.) For now, let us just say the second part of PANEL 3, on the right is PANEL 4.
PANEL ONE: Together, riding on horseback, the two travel through the forest.
PANEL TWO: We see an opening in front of them.
Prince Ramos: Gastro, what’s going on?
PANEL THREE: We see the two traveling. A wave of smoke floats in the approximate area. This should give the illusion that they can smell the fumes, indicating something is approaching. However, let us leave that for the readers to assume.
Prince Ramos: Wait, what is that smell?
PANEL FOUR: Pretty much the same image as PANEL 3, but the smoke has moved. (You can pick how you want to make the smoke seem like its moving. Maybe it is closer to the two traveling on horseback.)
Prince Ramos: It is as if something is burning.
Page 12: PANEL ONE fills the majority of the page. But PANEL TWO cuts diagonally into it but leave some space for PANEL ONE to continue somewhat in the middle.
PANEL ONE: Greeted with an opening, bright and blinding scenery ignite an enormous pavilion of blue and gold swirls of light, illuminating a surge of peace and tranquility.
PANEL TWO: Prince Ramos’s head flips backwards in a sideways motion. Focus on his eyes, face, and his hair flapping around like a bird. (It is like an action shoot of an actor.)
Page 13: PANEL 1 takes up almost the entire page, but PANEL 2 cuts in through the bottom middle. ONE should be on the sides surrounding TWO. (Leave some space on the bottom, giving more details of the burning forest.) We want them to feel a sense of emerging.
PANEL ONE: Then everything (the forest behind them) burned…
PANEL TWO: We continue looking at the burning forest, but we hear something rattling through the wind. (Maybe put the Cling on the top left corner and the Clang onto the bottom right corner.) However, this time, a silhouette is coming.
SFX: Cling… Clang…
(Page 14 and 15) DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD: We see the same warrior from the fiery image before. We want to make the readers think. This is displaying part of Gastro’s curse; looking through flames, he can see visions of the immediate future. Unlike before, the warrior and stead are not on fire. Nevertheless, the ablaze behind them gives a sense of burning.
Page 16: Four panels divide the page vertically. It gives the presence of a chase scene and quick motions.
PANEL ONE: We close in onto Prince Ramos who reaches a hand towards his left shoulder, a quiver.
PANEL TWO: He pulls out an arrow, and he places it near his wrist.
PANEL THREE: Suddenly, a blue light surrounds his wrist, and we see the outline of a bow attached to his wrist.
PANEL FOUR: The blue light is pulled backwards mimicking him arming the bow, and then…
Page 17: Four panels divide the page horizontally. It gives the sense that the arrow is flying downward.
PANEL ONE: The arrow is unleashed.
PANEL TWO: The arrow begins humming like a bird. (It’s still moving downward though.)
SFX/ Caption: …shrill wings whistling…
PANEL THREE: The arrow is half-way to the target.
PANEL FOUR: The arrow cuts into the bottom of the page, and we do not know what it has hit. (However, show that half the arrow is gone, while the bottom is still there. Alternatively, you can decide the best way we should place it.)
Author Notes: I’m thinking about replacing panel TWO, on Page 13 and instead put Page 14 and 15, the DOUBLE PAGE THREAD or somehow combining them together.
Page 1:
PANEL ONE: A fiery ablaze is burning in the cool night air. Amidst the dusk, two silhouettes surround the blaze burning on firewood. It seems to be a campfire, but make it obscure. Sitting around the flames holding mugs, they watch as it dance. (I was thinking an abstract drawing, but whatever drawing style you’re more comfortable with or think will do here will be fine.)
Silhouette 1: So, it is true. You’re cursed, huh?
PANEL TWO: One of them (Silhouette 2) places their mug down.
PANEL THREE: Slowly, but surely, that same figure that placed the mug down, stretches a hand towards the fiery abyss.
PANEL FOUR: Sparks leap up, and it attacks the offending limb, the silhouette remains untouched, but the fire dances around the hand like a turbulent butterfly.
Silhouette 2: Yeah, and so is the whole damn world.
PANEL FIVE: Drawn into the fire, suddenly, the page is seemingly burning enthusiastically.
(Page 2 and Page 3) DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD: The campfire begins painting the picture of an enflamed forest, and then, an enflamed warrior on horseback emerges through it. The horse is galloping through an opening and the warrior has his spear drawn. This panel gives the effect that the warrior and stead are chasing the reader (or towards the reader).
Page 4
PANEL ONE: We now see an enflamed arrow, which, despite under the illusion of burning, retains a delicate and refined point. It is as if the reader is looking, no, examining every single feature before…
PANEL TWO: From this panel we can see a reflection, the warrior.
PANEL THREE: The arrow launches from whoevers hands, but it seems like the reader is firing it, and it flies out.
PANEL FOUR: We see the arrow flying in mid-air. The flame is still burning, but the focus is shifted towards the image of the warrior (Or maybe, it’s a reflection from the arrow).
Caption: If you shoot the man, you will end a life.
PANEL FIVE: The focus shifts to the horse.
Caption: But if you shoot the horse, you will kill an innocent, but misguided being.
PANEL SIX: The flames begin to die out. As it blackens, we see a quick flash of one of the silhouettes from before.
Silhouette 2: I don’t care what royal ideology you have. I cannot protect you every moment or even every second now. You cannot continue to put another life over your own. Because If you do--
(Page 5) Splash PAGE: This page divided in sections of impending darkness, complete darkness, and light. It evicts the emotion of consuming to darkness, but an unexpected light still waiver.
TOP: The flame begins to die, and in the blackness, five words remain to burn.
Caption (Op): You will die, Prince Ramos.
MIDDLE: The flames have disappeared, and we are in complete darkness in the middle.
BOTTOM: Like a dim light shining through the darkness, some text accompanied by light ignites the bottom.
Silhouette 2: Sadly, that’s the way of war.
Page 6:
PANEL ONE: As if eyes were opening, we see a slanted vision of a young man dressed in regal attire, Prince Ramos.
PANEL TWO: We zoom closer, narrowing onto his facial features, and if noticing through the other silhouette’s eyes, we see that Prince Ramos has his adverted away.
Prince Ramos: But how many more innocent people will have to die?
PANEL THREE: We return to focusing into the fire. We see homes burning, people running, but we do not know why or what is causing the fire. Words cut through the flames.
Silhouette 2 (Op): There is a simple answer.
Page 7: Two panels divide the page diagonally.
PANEL ONE: The flames collapse and it appears something is disturbing the fire and putting it out.
Silhouette 2: I don’t know...
PANEL TWO: One more flame sparks as if something thrown into the fire, slowly restoring its power.
Silhouette 2: I just don’t know…
Page 8: PANEL 1 begins taking up the entire top of the page. Lowering under the left is PANEL 2 and beside it is PANEL 3. PANEL FIVE is underneath and we see that it is partially inside the Panels above it. (I am not too sure about this panel arrangement, but let us try it out first and see if it works.) Panel 6 covers the rest of the bottom.
PANEL ONE: Smoke arises from the east. It is tomorrow, sometime around dawn.
PANEL TWO: A nose scrunches up. We can smell burning pine scent.
PANEL THREE: We see a pair of feet standing on wet sleek grass.
PANEL FOUR: We see the same feet, but now we also can see Prince Ramos’s head as he sleeps. The direction of the motion is focusing on Prince Ramos and it seems like the feet are moving towards him.
PANEL FIVE: A hand reaches towards Prince Ramos. We can see scars, indents, and light red marks on the hand.
PANEL SIX: We close in onto Prince Ramos’ eyes. They are wide open and alarmed, but seemed to have recently shot open. His eyes cover the entire panel. Nevertheless, the hands in PANEL 5 should give the feeling of something loaming over him.
Page 9:
PANEL ONE: In an instant, Prince Ramos’s body staggers upward in a ferocious blur. In the moment, he is pulling out a dagger from a small dragon shaped sheath. His hair is tousled, and his eyes are piercing like the blade.
PANEL TWO: His blade meets a sword.
SFX: CLING!!
PANEL THREE: We see Prince Ramos leaning forward, and then we see Gastro, his cursed bodyguard who was the other Silhouette from before, holding the sword. His knees bent in a defensive stance, and we can tell that Ramos is shocked and slightly relieved.
Gastro: Settle down, kid. It’s just me.
PANEL FOUR: We see Gastro picking stuff up, and putting their gear in pouches or large bags.
Page 10: The first two panels are side to side. On the bottom, the THIRD PANEL fills the bottom. FOURTH PANEL is located inside the THIRD near the bottom right corner (leave some space away from the corner, if you can).
PANEL ONE: We see him walking towards a horse. The animal is whining and it lightly jumps on its front hooves.
SFX: Neigh
PANEL TWO: He is leaping.
PANEL THREE: Gastro on horseback holds his hand outward to Prince Ramos.
PANEL FOUR: We close onto his outstretched hand. (Essentially, it looks like he is holding his hand out to the reader).
Gastro: C’mon, kid. We got to go.
Page 11: PANEL 1 occupies the top. PANEL TWO is intersecting ONE and THREE in the left corner (leave some space again from the corner, please. However, not too much in the middle so the reader does get confused and they know to see PANEL 2 first.) PANEL THREE divided in half, but essentially the same picture (Maybe use it to give the sense that the smoke is moving or coming closer.) For now, let us just say the second part of PANEL 3, on the right is PANEL 4.
PANEL ONE: Together, riding on horseback, the two travel through the forest.
PANEL TWO: We see an opening in front of them.
Prince Ramos: Gastro, what’s going on?
PANEL THREE: We see the two traveling. A wave of smoke floats in the approximate area. This should give the illusion that they can smell the fumes, indicating something is approaching. However, let us leave that for the readers to assume.
Prince Ramos: Wait, what is that smell?
PANEL FOUR: Pretty much the same image as PANEL 3, but the smoke has moved. (You can pick how you want to make the smoke seem like its moving. Maybe it is closer to the two traveling on horseback.)
Prince Ramos: It is as if something is burning.
Page 12: PANEL ONE fills the majority of the page. But PANEL TWO cuts diagonally into it but leave some space for PANEL ONE to continue somewhat in the middle.
PANEL ONE: Greeted with an opening, bright and blinding scenery ignite an enormous pavilion of blue and gold swirls of light, illuminating a surge of peace and tranquility.
PANEL TWO: Prince Ramos’s head flips backwards in a sideways motion. Focus on his eyes, face, and his hair flapping around like a bird. (It is like an action shoot of an actor.)
Page 13: PANEL 1 takes up almost the entire page, but PANEL 2 cuts in through the bottom middle. ONE should be on the sides surrounding TWO. (Leave some space on the bottom, giving more details of the burning forest.) We want them to feel a sense of emerging.
PANEL ONE: Then everything (the forest behind them) burned…
PANEL TWO: We continue looking at the burning forest, but we hear something rattling through the wind. (Maybe put the Cling on the top left corner and the Clang onto the bottom right corner.) However, this time, a silhouette is coming.
SFX: Cling… Clang…
(Page 14 and 15) DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD: We see the same warrior from the fiery image before. We want to make the readers think. This is displaying part of Gastro’s curse; looking through flames, he can see visions of the immediate future. Unlike before, the warrior and stead are not on fire. Nevertheless, the ablaze behind them gives a sense of burning.
Page 16: Four panels divide the page vertically. It gives the presence of a chase scene and quick motions.
PANEL ONE: We close in onto Prince Ramos who reaches a hand towards his left shoulder, a quiver.
PANEL TWO: He pulls out an arrow, and he places it near his wrist.
PANEL THREE: Suddenly, a blue light surrounds his wrist, and we see the outline of a bow attached to his wrist.
PANEL FOUR: The blue light is pulled backwards mimicking him arming the bow, and then…
Page 17: Four panels divide the page horizontally. It gives the sense that the arrow is flying downward.
PANEL ONE: The arrow is unleashed.
PANEL TWO: The arrow begins humming like a bird. (It’s still moving downward though.)
SFX/ Caption: …shrill wings whistling…
PANEL THREE: The arrow is half-way to the target.
PANEL FOUR: The arrow cuts into the bottom of the page, and we do not know what it has hit. (However, show that half the arrow is gone, while the bottom is still there. Alternatively, you can decide the best way we should place it.)
Author Notes: I’m thinking about replacing panel TWO, on Page 13 and instead put Page 14 and 15, the DOUBLE PAGE THREAD or somehow combining them together.