Blacktalon (2023) s01e01 Episode Script
Reforged
What do you remember?
Pieces.
Fragments.
That is what happens when you die.
It will pass, Neave.
It always does.
There is something there, a
A shadow in the shards.
And you want to know what it means.
I want to know who I am.
You are yourself, Neave. You know that.
We are our past!
If I can't remember it, then who am I?
What do you remember about the hunt?
I remember how it ended.
You will all die here.
We will. But so will you!
Neave.
It is alright.
- Get away from me!
- Neave! Listen to me, look at me.
That's not me. That's not
Neave?
- Hendrick?
- Welcome home, Blacktalon.
What do you remember?
I remember
Neave! Teeth of the Dragon,
it's good to see you.
Oh.
So this time it's me
that Sigmar's fire has taken.
Maybe next time I pass
through the lightning,
I will forget who all of you are.
Thinking about it, maybe I already have.
Maybe, maybe you have all been playing
on my empty memory
and none of you are who you claim to be.
Maybe I'm not even called Rostus,
and was once
a svelte king from the Lost Kingdoms.
Tell me, wise old wolf,
has the Anvil
stolen my throne or expanded my girth?
Without doubt,
both.
What do you remember?
The Blightkings have set their sights
on an outpost fortress.
They plan to use the survivors
to make plague carriers.
The infected bear no sign of their curse,
but the contagions they carry are lethal.
Sigmar's light and tears.
They call them the Seeds of the Father.
From the outpost, they can spread
to the settlements to the north.
The precise intent of our hunt?
Slay Orimos as the
source and slay any infected.
And when will he reach the outpost?
He already has.
Suffering is a seed.
Be not afraid.
Let it take root
and soon there will be no pain.
Dreams?
Hmm.
Why does this feel like an ambush?
Because it is.
Your time might be better spent resting.
I find I need less rest as
as time goes on.
- As you die.
- As I am reforged.
But yes, that too.
You are trying to put it back together.
These memories, the images.
Each time we pass through the lightning
and wake on the Anvil, we lose something.
For you, it is the past.
I remember though, I remember you.
I remember the precepts
of the Blacktalons,
that we are Sigmar's hunters
charged with slaying the enemies of Order.
I remember the orruk that you cut in two
on the Nightspur in Shyish.
All of it clear.
How can I remember all of that
and not know who I was?
The celestial order
moves to a greater purpose.
We cannot always see the patterns.
But there's something there
on the edge of the dreams and memories.
A shadow, like a shadow just behind me.
I don't know if it was
something about the hunt.
We completed our hunt.
You slew Orimos.
There were no infected found.
These dreams shall pass.
It is happening again, isn't it?
Neave. Which bit of the past
are you caught in now?
- I was just
- How much did you lose this time?
I didn't come to talk about that, Shakana.
Oh, you didn't? Don't lie to me.
You've come here asking questions
about what happened in the last hunt.
Clearly it is about your memory.
I can remember. I'm fine.
But you can't remember
what happened three breaths ago.
You don't want to know
what I remember about the hunt.
You're trying
to put yourself back together.
Perhaps I am. I have to.
You always say that.
Every time you come back from the Anvil,
it's the same.
You're the Blacktalon Prime.
You decide how we execute the hunt.
You die and lose memories
because of the decisions you make.
And what would you do?
Sit on the top of a cliff for days,
waiting for the perfect shot
that never comes?
We are Stormcast.
Dead heroes chosen by Sigmar
to save the Mortal Realms.
We have no other purpose.
We do whatever it takes to win.
It's not just about
winning, Neave.
It's about how we win.
We don't have that luxury.
There are too many threats.
We strike with the tool
that will get the job done.
We get in and we get out.
Get out?
Just look at yourself.
Here you are in the same broken loop,
desperate to find a way back
and arguing
that any means justifies the end.
If you can't see how foolish that is,
what hope do we have?
Death is the price we pay.
And I pay it gladly.
Gladly?
Too gladly and without need.
You think there's another way?
I don't think it, I know it.
But that would mean
you couldn't die for your kills.
So we will never know.
- Will we?
- Why are you so angry?
I'm not angry.
I'm not angry.
I'm afraid.
Not of the enemy, not of death.
Because we don't die.
But we change.
I fear what we may become.
What did your reforging take from you?
I don't dream anymore.
That's what the lightning took.
Shakana.
I remember taking my shots.
I remember my kills, that's all.
By the time you reached the tower,
I was already dead.
In the end, you were on your own.
That's all I know, Neave.
You were on your own.
Accept what is.
Come back to us, Neave.
There's something I've forgotten,
but it's right there.
I can almost see its shadow.
I can almost get it back.
You must let it go.
Only you can do that.
If you don't accept what remains,
then you will never be whole.
The past is gone.
The present is everything.
I saw something in my dreams.
I need you to open my memories.
My purpose is to cloud the pools
of our enemies' senses,
so look into the waters of far places
so that you may find your quarries.
I am not here to reassemble
the fragments of your mind
Even if I could.
Lorai, I know what you're capable of.
Deep waters run slow,
dark as winter seas, cold as sorrow.
I cannot return what is lost to the storm.
I don't need you to.
I just need you to help me see
the memories I still have.
The waters churn.
The past scatters before the storm wave.
The pieces of your broken soul
are fighting to stay above the surface.
Soon they will sink
and drown and be silent.
Wait and your dreams will be calm again.
That is why I must do this now,
before they are lost.
This isn't about healing.
It's about truth.
Such things are not my concern.
Unless
You will see nothing!
Stay out of this, Hendrick.
The past is lost.
You must accept the present
or risk losing
what remains to you and I am worried.
I am worried that
we are going to lose you.
Your fears are groundless.
This isn't about me.
There's something in my memory,
something I can't see, but it's important.
I know it is.
The lightning takes its toll,
and if you fight it,
it will only get worse.
You will lose more and more of yourself.
I have seen it before.
What do you want?
What's your price to do this?
- Lorai. Don't.
- She doesn't answer to you.
You aren't one of us.
You're a mercenary.
So I ask again, what's your price?
A sea of night,
with every light a soul.
Ah To glide through them,
to touch the warmth of hope
and the salt of fear.
To feed
But the anticipation
The promise.
Is that worth more than the taking?
The price will make itself known.
Neave
Do it.
There was someone else in the tower.
You're the one who crossed the plateau.
You look like you need some water.
Fear not, it's clean.
We need every sword out here.
I have somewhere I need to be.
Thank you.
Hey! Hey!
You'll die out there without water.
Hey!
Who is this?
We do not know.
One of the soldiers from the outpost.
Where are they now?
To scry a vision
from the sea of dreams is difficult.
To hunt the location of a soul
using only whispers, shadows, echoes
That demands even greater artistry.
Thankfully, I am graced with such skill.
The infected seed is here,
on the Flamescar Plateau,
within sight of this city
And all the souls that call it home.
- No mercy then.
- No, not for you.
Not now.
I didn't want to hurt anyone.
I fought to keep people alive.
I fought for so long.
Do you know how many of us have died
trying to reclaim this land?
If the tribes don't get you,
hunger and disease will.
We're supposed to be reclaiming this land,
making it our own
But all it does is kill us
and take our tears.
No one ever promised it would be easy.
Only that it was necessary.
He said it would end.
All I needed to do was eat the fruit.
No more hunger. No more thirst.
No more suffering.
You became the suffering!
I just wanted to go home.
But that can't happen now, can it?
And end every life within those walls?
You're a seed of death.
Lost and damned
Strange how you go from one to the other.
Not strange.
We are what we choose to be.
Isn't that true.
Before you There's something he said.
When I told him
I was going back to Hammerhal.
He laughed.
He said it didn't matter what I did,
because the Horned Shadow comes.
Good lu
Wait!
You are keeping it?
I wish to see deeper.
I wish to understand what this threat is.
It's dealt with,
no need to risk taking such a trophy.
Much lies
beneath the surface of certainty.
Take it.
Alright. What and where now?
Home.
You were right.
I should have trusted you.
I am sorry.
No need.
I likely wouldn't have trusted me either.
And the nightmares?
Gone.
You do not need to know
who you were to know who you are.
I have accepted that.
I would have liked to be able
to remember what I lost, though.
To sleep in peace, by Sigmar's grace.
May he grant all your prayers.
Blacktalon Prime
This one bears your seal
and says she brings a message.
I have found a piece of what you seek.
What I seek
Did I charge you to find something?
Something, someone, somewhen.
I could not find where she died.
But I found this.
The question yet remains.
Who was she?
Pieces.
Fragments.
That is what happens when you die.
It will pass, Neave.
It always does.
There is something there, a
A shadow in the shards.
And you want to know what it means.
I want to know who I am.
You are yourself, Neave. You know that.
We are our past!
If I can't remember it, then who am I?
What do you remember about the hunt?
I remember how it ended.
You will all die here.
We will. But so will you!
Neave.
It is alright.
- Get away from me!
- Neave! Listen to me, look at me.
That's not me. That's not
Neave?
- Hendrick?
- Welcome home, Blacktalon.
What do you remember?
I remember
Neave! Teeth of the Dragon,
it's good to see you.
Oh.
So this time it's me
that Sigmar's fire has taken.
Maybe next time I pass
through the lightning,
I will forget who all of you are.
Thinking about it, maybe I already have.
Maybe, maybe you have all been playing
on my empty memory
and none of you are who you claim to be.
Maybe I'm not even called Rostus,
and was once
a svelte king from the Lost Kingdoms.
Tell me, wise old wolf,
has the Anvil
stolen my throne or expanded my girth?
Without doubt,
both.
What do you remember?
The Blightkings have set their sights
on an outpost fortress.
They plan to use the survivors
to make plague carriers.
The infected bear no sign of their curse,
but the contagions they carry are lethal.
Sigmar's light and tears.
They call them the Seeds of the Father.
From the outpost, they can spread
to the settlements to the north.
The precise intent of our hunt?
Slay Orimos as the
source and slay any infected.
And when will he reach the outpost?
He already has.
Suffering is a seed.
Be not afraid.
Let it take root
and soon there will be no pain.
Dreams?
Hmm.
Why does this feel like an ambush?
Because it is.
Your time might be better spent resting.
I find I need less rest as
as time goes on.
- As you die.
- As I am reforged.
But yes, that too.
You are trying to put it back together.
These memories, the images.
Each time we pass through the lightning
and wake on the Anvil, we lose something.
For you, it is the past.
I remember though, I remember you.
I remember the precepts
of the Blacktalons,
that we are Sigmar's hunters
charged with slaying the enemies of Order.
I remember the orruk that you cut in two
on the Nightspur in Shyish.
All of it clear.
How can I remember all of that
and not know who I was?
The celestial order
moves to a greater purpose.
We cannot always see the patterns.
But there's something there
on the edge of the dreams and memories.
A shadow, like a shadow just behind me.
I don't know if it was
something about the hunt.
We completed our hunt.
You slew Orimos.
There were no infected found.
These dreams shall pass.
It is happening again, isn't it?
Neave. Which bit of the past
are you caught in now?
- I was just
- How much did you lose this time?
I didn't come to talk about that, Shakana.
Oh, you didn't? Don't lie to me.
You've come here asking questions
about what happened in the last hunt.
Clearly it is about your memory.
I can remember. I'm fine.
But you can't remember
what happened three breaths ago.
You don't want to know
what I remember about the hunt.
You're trying
to put yourself back together.
Perhaps I am. I have to.
You always say that.
Every time you come back from the Anvil,
it's the same.
You're the Blacktalon Prime.
You decide how we execute the hunt.
You die and lose memories
because of the decisions you make.
And what would you do?
Sit on the top of a cliff for days,
waiting for the perfect shot
that never comes?
We are Stormcast.
Dead heroes chosen by Sigmar
to save the Mortal Realms.
We have no other purpose.
We do whatever it takes to win.
It's not just about
winning, Neave.
It's about how we win.
We don't have that luxury.
There are too many threats.
We strike with the tool
that will get the job done.
We get in and we get out.
Get out?
Just look at yourself.
Here you are in the same broken loop,
desperate to find a way back
and arguing
that any means justifies the end.
If you can't see how foolish that is,
what hope do we have?
Death is the price we pay.
And I pay it gladly.
Gladly?
Too gladly and without need.
You think there's another way?
I don't think it, I know it.
But that would mean
you couldn't die for your kills.
So we will never know.
- Will we?
- Why are you so angry?
I'm not angry.
I'm not angry.
I'm afraid.
Not of the enemy, not of death.
Because we don't die.
But we change.
I fear what we may become.
What did your reforging take from you?
I don't dream anymore.
That's what the lightning took.
Shakana.
I remember taking my shots.
I remember my kills, that's all.
By the time you reached the tower,
I was already dead.
In the end, you were on your own.
That's all I know, Neave.
You were on your own.
Accept what is.
Come back to us, Neave.
There's something I've forgotten,
but it's right there.
I can almost see its shadow.
I can almost get it back.
You must let it go.
Only you can do that.
If you don't accept what remains,
then you will never be whole.
The past is gone.
The present is everything.
I saw something in my dreams.
I need you to open my memories.
My purpose is to cloud the pools
of our enemies' senses,
so look into the waters of far places
so that you may find your quarries.
I am not here to reassemble
the fragments of your mind
Even if I could.
Lorai, I know what you're capable of.
Deep waters run slow,
dark as winter seas, cold as sorrow.
I cannot return what is lost to the storm.
I don't need you to.
I just need you to help me see
the memories I still have.
The waters churn.
The past scatters before the storm wave.
The pieces of your broken soul
are fighting to stay above the surface.
Soon they will sink
and drown and be silent.
Wait and your dreams will be calm again.
That is why I must do this now,
before they are lost.
This isn't about healing.
It's about truth.
Such things are not my concern.
Unless
You will see nothing!
Stay out of this, Hendrick.
The past is lost.
You must accept the present
or risk losing
what remains to you and I am worried.
I am worried that
we are going to lose you.
Your fears are groundless.
This isn't about me.
There's something in my memory,
something I can't see, but it's important.
I know it is.
The lightning takes its toll,
and if you fight it,
it will only get worse.
You will lose more and more of yourself.
I have seen it before.
What do you want?
What's your price to do this?
- Lorai. Don't.
- She doesn't answer to you.
You aren't one of us.
You're a mercenary.
So I ask again, what's your price?
A sea of night,
with every light a soul.
Ah To glide through them,
to touch the warmth of hope
and the salt of fear.
To feed
But the anticipation
The promise.
Is that worth more than the taking?
The price will make itself known.
Neave
Do it.
There was someone else in the tower.
You're the one who crossed the plateau.
You look like you need some water.
Fear not, it's clean.
We need every sword out here.
I have somewhere I need to be.
Thank you.
Hey! Hey!
You'll die out there without water.
Hey!
Who is this?
We do not know.
One of the soldiers from the outpost.
Where are they now?
To scry a vision
from the sea of dreams is difficult.
To hunt the location of a soul
using only whispers, shadows, echoes
That demands even greater artistry.
Thankfully, I am graced with such skill.
The infected seed is here,
on the Flamescar Plateau,
within sight of this city
And all the souls that call it home.
- No mercy then.
- No, not for you.
Not now.
I didn't want to hurt anyone.
I fought to keep people alive.
I fought for so long.
Do you know how many of us have died
trying to reclaim this land?
If the tribes don't get you,
hunger and disease will.
We're supposed to be reclaiming this land,
making it our own
But all it does is kill us
and take our tears.
No one ever promised it would be easy.
Only that it was necessary.
He said it would end.
All I needed to do was eat the fruit.
No more hunger. No more thirst.
No more suffering.
You became the suffering!
I just wanted to go home.
But that can't happen now, can it?
And end every life within those walls?
You're a seed of death.
Lost and damned
Strange how you go from one to the other.
Not strange.
We are what we choose to be.
Isn't that true.
Before you There's something he said.
When I told him
I was going back to Hammerhal.
He laughed.
He said it didn't matter what I did,
because the Horned Shadow comes.
Good lu
Wait!
You are keeping it?
I wish to see deeper.
I wish to understand what this threat is.
It's dealt with,
no need to risk taking such a trophy.
Much lies
beneath the surface of certainty.
Take it.
Alright. What and where now?
Home.
You were right.
I should have trusted you.
I am sorry.
No need.
I likely wouldn't have trusted me either.
And the nightmares?
Gone.
You do not need to know
who you were to know who you are.
I have accepted that.
I would have liked to be able
to remember what I lost, though.
To sleep in peace, by Sigmar's grace.
May he grant all your prayers.
Blacktalon Prime
This one bears your seal
and says she brings a message.
I have found a piece of what you seek.
What I seek
Did I charge you to find something?
Something, someone, somewhen.
I could not find where she died.
But I found this.
The question yet remains.
Who was she?