Echoes of the Drowned

**Logline:** Guided by the compass to the treacherous Shattered Cliffs, Kael and Lyra face sentient echoes that prey on memories, a corrupted Font of magic, and Brask’s relentless hunters. When Kael’s unstable power erupts to save Lyra, it awakens an ancient terror beneath the waves.

**EXT. SHATTERED CLIFFS - DAY**

Wind howls through jagged sea stacks. Waves CRASH violently into caverns below, creating eerie, resonant BOOMS. Kael holds the compass, its needle pointing toward a massive sea cave.

**LYRA**

>(Shouting over the wind)

>Elara wasn’t kidding about "frayed ley-lines"! This place feels... *wrong*. Like the air itself is screaming.

**KAEL**

>(Eyes haunted, gripping his temples)

>It’s not just the wind... It’s *echoes*. Memories trapped in the stone. Pain. Fear. Drowning...

**LYRA**

>(Notices his pallor)

>Hey. Focus on *my* voice. Not the rocks. What’s the compass say?

**KAEL**

>(Shows her the steady needle)

>Straight into the Maw. That cave’s breathing shadow.

**LYRA**

>Of course it is. Stay close. Watch for crumbling edges and... whatever the Gloom’s cooked up here.

They pick their way down a perilous path. Strange whispers seem to emanate from the cliffs – fragmented voices pleading, laughing, sobbing. Kael flinches as a particularly loud wail hits him.

**KAEL**

>(Staggering)

>"*Don’t leave me here!*"... It’s so loud...

**LYRA**

>(Grabs his arm, steadying him)

>Ground yourself, sparky! Breathe. It’s just noise. Annoying, creepy noise.

**INT. SEA CAVE - THE MAW - CONTINUOUS**

The cave glows faintly with bioluminescent algae, revealing walls covered in swirling, ancient carvings depicting Wardens battling sea monsters. The air thrums with unstable magic. The compass needle GLOWS fiercely, pointing deeper in.

**LYRA**

>(Tracing a carving)

>Look. Wardens. And that symbol Elara drew – the Heart knotwork. We’re close.

Suddenly, the whispers coalesce. Phantom figures – translucent sailors, weeping children – manifest around them, repeating fragmented moments of terror.

**ECHO OF DROWNED SAILOR**

>*"...mast snapped... cold... so cold..."*

**KAEL**

>(Clutching his head)

>They’re not just noise, Lyra! They’re *hungry*. They feed on feeling...

A cluster of echoes swirls around Lyra, replaying the sound of Brask’s thugs attacking her. She grits her teeth, trying to ignore them.

**LYRA**

>Just keep moving! Don’t let them—

A larger echo, a twisted mockery of a Warden made of water and shadow (**A DROWNED ECHO**), rises from a tidal pool. Its wail is a physical force, SLAMMING them against the wall.

**DROWNED ECHO**

>*"...FAILURE... DROWN... ALL..."*

**KAEL**

>(Painfully pushing back)

>Lyra! Sunsteel! It’s solid enough!

Lyra rolls, drawing her daggers. The sunsteel light repels the smaller echoes but only ANNOYS the Drowned Echo. It lashes out with watery tendrils.

**INT. INNER SANCTUM - CONTINUOUS**

They stumble into a vast chamber. In the center, a **FONT** – a pool of pure, liquid light pulsating in time with the ley-lines – is corrupted. Thick veins of black Gloom snake through it, choking its radiance. The compass needle points directly at it, vibrating wildly.

**LYRA**

>(Horrified)

>No... The Font itself is infected?

**KAEL**

>(Staring in despair)

>This is what we need to mend... but it’s *dying*. The Gloom’s suffocating it.

**THE VOICE (V.O.)**

>*The First Font weakens. Its light dims. Heal it, Echo, or its death will ripple through the Heart.*

Kael steps toward the Font, drawn by its fading light. As he nears, the Gloom veins PULSE angrily. The Drowned Echo surges into the chamber, drawn by the conflict.

**LYRA**

>Kael, look out!

The Drowned Echo attacks Kael. He tries to summon his power defensively, but fear of the prophecy and the suffocating Gloom make it sputter. He’s thrown back, hitting the cavern wall hard.

**LYRA**

>(Charging the Echo)

>Leave him alone!

She fights fiercely, but the Echo is relentless, feeding on her frustration and the Font’s corrupted energy. Kael sees Lyra being driven back toward a deep chasm filled with churning, dark water.

**LYRA**

>(Slipping on wet rock)

>Whoa—!

She teeters on the edge. The Drowned Echo rears up for a final strike.

**KAEL**

>(Pure terror cutting through his restraint)

>LYRA! NO!

**UNLEASHED POWER:** Raw, golden energy EXPLODES from Kael – not a focused blast, but a wave of pure force. It **SHATTERS** the Drowned Echo into mist, **SEVERS** the thickest Gloom veins in the Font, and **COLLAPSES** part of the cavern ceiling. Rocks rain down, sealing the entrance tunnel.

**INT. COLLAPSED SANCTUM - CONTINUOUS**

Dust fills the air. The Font flickers weakly, its light slightly brighter without the major Gloom veins, but still corrupted. Kael scrambles to Lyra, pulling her from the chasm’s edge.

**LYRA**

>(Coughing, staring at Kael in shock)

>You... you brought the whole cave down! What *was* that?!

**KAEL**

>(Trembling, energy fading)

>I... I lost control. I couldn’t let it—

**LYRA**

>(Grabbing his shoulders, fierce but not angry)

>You saved my life. But Kael... that power isn't just unstable. It’s *volcanic*. And it’s getting stronger. What aren’t you telling me?

Kael looks at her, the words choking him. The pressure builds behind his eyes. He *wants* to tell her. Suddenly, the ground trembles violently – not from his power, but from **DEEP BELOW**. A guttural, inhuman ROAR echoes through the stone, shaking dust from the ceiling.

**KAEL**

>(Eyes wide with primal terror)

>It heard me... It *felt* me...

**LYRA**

>What did?

**KAEL**

>(Shaking his head violently, clutching his skull)

>Can’t... speak...

The compass vibrates wildly, its needle spinning before pointing **DOWN**, into the chasm’s dark water. The roar comes again, closer.

**LYRA**

>(Pragmatism overriding shock)

>Right. Big, angry, underwater *thing*. Collapsed entrance. We need another way out. Now!

She scans the carvings frantically. Her eyes land on a Warden symbol – a spiral leading upwards.

**LYRA**

>Here! A tunnel! Probably flooded, but—

**BRASK (O.S.)**

>Thought you could hide in a rat hole?

Brask and three hunters (including **MURK**, now covered in Gloom-barnacles, eyes glowing sickly green) emerge from a hidden side tunnel. Murk snarls, shadowy tendrils writhing around his hands.

**BRASK**

>You cost me good men collapsing that tunnel, spark. Now you pay. Take them!

**INT. ESCAPE TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS**

Kael and Lyra sprint up a steep, water-slicked tunnel carved into the cliff. Brash and Gloom-corrupted Murk pursue.

**LYRA**

>(Firing a sunsteel-tipped bolt backward)

>Move, Kael!

**KAEL**

>(Glancing back)

>Murk’s faster... the Gloom’s changing him!

Murk lunges, tendrils lashing. Kael instinctively throws up a weak kinetic shield. It shatters, but slows Murk enough for Lyra to kick him into the wall. Brask fires a crossbow – the bolt grazes Kael’s leg. He stumbles.

**LYRA**

>Kael!

**KAEL**

>Go! I’m right behind!

They burst out onto a windswept ledge high on the cliffs. Below, the sea churns violently. The compass needle points accusingly down into the abyss.

**BRASK**

>(Emerging, aiming crossbow)

>End of the line, gutter-spark!

Suddenly, the ledge SHAKES. A colossal, shadowy **TENTACLE** thicker than a tree trunk erupts from the sea, slamming down near Brask. A second tentacle follows. An eye the size of a wagon wheel, glowing with corrupted light, breaks the surface.

**THE LEVIATHAN** has awakened.

**LYRA**

>(Grabbing Kael)

>Time to leave! NOW!

They scramble upwards as the Leviathan’s tentacles smash the ledge where Brask and Murk stand. Brask’s scream is cut short. Murk is dragged into the depths, his Gloom-corruption flaring briefly before vanishing.

Kael and Lyra collapse on a higher cliff, watching the Leviathan submerge. The compass needle still points down. Kael’s leg bleeds, his hands shake. Lyra stares at him, no longer just wary – deeply concerned.

**LYRA**

>(Quietly)

>It came because of your blast... didn’t it?

Kael nods mutely, unable to meet her eyes. The weight of his secret is crushing.

**LYRA**

>(Sighs, tears a strip from her cloak)

>Alright. First, we stop the bleeding. Then... we find you that teacher. Elara mentioned a name... **Thelron the Storm-Singer**. He’s our next stop.

She binds his wound. Her hand lingers on his shoulder – a silent promise of solidarity. Kael looks at the raging sea, then at Lyra. He doesn’t speak, but his eyes say everything: *Thank you. I’m scared. I need your help.*

**FADE TO BLACK.**

**Next Episode Preview Snippet:** Kael struggles with guilt over awakening the Leviathan. Lyra pushes him toward Storm-Singer’s mountain sanctuary. A Gloom-tainted storm pursues them. Thelron’s first test nearly breaks Kael. The Leviathan’s shadow moves beneath coastal towns...

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