The Lost king

EXT. EDGE OF THE AYO FOREST – PRE-DAWN

Smoke lingers from burning brush. The warriors rest, wounded and shaken. The cursed beasts have retreated, for now. The air is heavy with dread.

Yemi stands alone near a stone altar ruined by time. His sword is stuck into the earth beside him.

He stares into the mist. Silent.

Then, a memory pulls him in.

---

FLASHBACK – ONDOLU PALACE GROUNDS – DAY – YEARS AGO

A young Yemi, no more than a boy, swings a wooden sword furiously, sweat on his brow.

Across from him, Chief Alade, laughing as he easily parries and taps Yemi's chest with the hilt.

CHIEF ALADE

You fight with fire, but fire burns uncontrolled.

Yemi, frustrated, growls and charges again—sloppy, emotional. He misses and falls flat.

CHIEF ALADE

(grinning)

Again. This time… don't fight to win. Fight to understand. Think. Where will your enemy move?

Yemi, groaning, nods.

---

FLASHBACK CONTINUES – LATER THAT SAME DAY

A slower, more focused spar. Young Yemi watches his father's feet. This time, he sidesteps, disarms him with a clean twist, and points his wooden sword to his father's chest.

CHIEF ALADE

(smiling with pride)

Yes. That's it, Yemi. Strike when it matters… and never where they expect.

Suddenly, a warm voice in the background:

MOTHER (O.S.)

Yemi! Supper is ready!

Chief Alade chuckles, ruffling his son's head.

---

BACK TO PRESENT – AYO FOREST

Yemi slowly opens his eyes. His face hardens—not with anger, but clarity.

He turns to his battered warriors.

YEMI

We don't fight them head-on. Not this time.

(points to the terrain)

We guide them. Draw them into the ravine by the cliff. Fire, elevation, bait and trap.

The warriors nod, confidence returning. They move with purpose, preparing.

---

INTERCUT TO:

EXT. IBADI FOREST – MOMENTS LATER

Bayo stands beside a blackened tree, clutching his bruised ribs. The survivors around him await a command.

He kneels, breathing deeply… then a memory floods in.

---

FLASHBACK – REBEL TRAINING GROUNDS – NIGHT – YEARS AGO

Bayo spars against a younger Yemi, both tired, bloodied from drills. A circle of rebels watch.

Yemi lands a final strike, knocking Bayo back.

Bayo, furious, punches the ground.

CHIEF ALADE steps in calmly.

CHIEF ALADE

Anger dulls your edge. You swing with rage, and rage is predictable.

Bayo looks up, eyes burning.

CHIEF ALADE

When you're calm… when the enemy doesn't know what you'll do next — that's when you win.

---

BACK TO PRESENT – IBADI FOREST

Bayo exhales.

He slowly stands, lifts his blade, and faces his waiting team.

BAYO

They expect us to panic. But we'll be the silence before the strike.

(looks to the trees)

We move quiet. Fast. Fire first, blades second. Draw them toward the rockfall.

He gives a nod. The warriors follow, silently fanning out like ghosts.

---

MONTAGE – STRATEGIC COUNTERATTACKS (YEMI & BAYO)

Yemi's team lures the beasts into a narrow stone gorge — where flame traps and archers await above. As the beasts charge, the ravine ignites, collapsing part of the cliff on them.

Bayo's group uses smoke and mirror shields, blinding the beasts, then strikes the rune marks while triggering oil bursts around the trees. The cursed creatures fall one after the other, screeching.

---

EXT. AYO & IBADI FORESTS – MORNING

Ashes float in the air. The survivors stand victorious, breathing hard, but alive. The cursed beasts retreat into the shadows.

Yemi, sword resting on his shoulder, looks ahead.

Bayo, bloodied but calm, wipes his blade and surveys the burnt trail behind him.

---

EXT. UNKNOWN LOCATION – DEEP FOREST SHRINE

Bankode, watching from a pool of enchanted water, narrows his eyes.

BANKODE

(low, irritated)

So… they remember.

He closes his hand. The water shatters like glass.

INT. CAVERN SHRINE – DURING THE DUEL

The room shakes from their magical collision. Ash falls from the ceiling. Morenike breathes heavily, her light momentarily dimmed.

Bankode steps forward slowly, his eyes now glowing with a strange calm — not rage, but manipulation.

BANKODE

(smoothly)

You fight so hard to forget. But the truth still sings in your blood.

He slams his staff into the ground. A wave of shadow magic crashes forward—not to harm, but to pull memories forward.

Morenike's body locks in place. Her mind is cast backward—helpless.

---

FLASHBACK – THE OLD VILLAGE – NIGHT

The flames of war crackle across a village shrouded in spiritual magic. People scream as Bankode—younger, more monstrous in aura—slaughters his own kin. His eyes are cold, distant, consumed by obsession.

Villagers try to run, but his magic corrupts the ground, turning earth into black tar. They sink screaming.

In the center of the chaos: a woman wrapped in golden energy — Morenike's mother.

She faces him, arms wide.

MOTHER

(voice trembling)

This isn't who you were. You were meant to protect them, not become a god over ashes.

BANKODE

(firm, emotionless)

They were weak. But she… she will be reborn in strength.

MOTHER

Then you'll have to go through me.

She unleashes a wave of radiant energy — pure, elegant, drawn from divine heritage.

Bankode staggers… but overcomes.

He raises both hands and releases a sphere of necrotic force. It pierces through her shield — and she falls, screaming.

Morenike, much younger, hides behind the ruins, watching the moment her entire world ends.

YOUNG MORENIKE

(screaming)

Mama!

She runs — tears in her eyes, the last of her mother's light encircling her, shielding her from the death that follows.

---

BACK TO PRESENT – CAVERN SHRINE

Morenike gasps, stumbling back, the memory still etched in her heart.

BANKODE

(coldly)

You were born in that fire. You saw her fall, and you still think light can protect you?

He steps forward, voice turning cruel.

BANKODE

I gave you power. I burned the weakness out of you. Without me—you're still that weeping girl.

---

Morenike trembles... then straightens. Her aura begins to glow.

MORENIKE

(slow, clear)

You're right. I was that girl.

But she raises her hand — the same gesture her mother used.

MORENIKE

And I carry the last of her light. You didn't burn it out.

A spectral image of her mother appears briefly behind her — arms outstretched, smiling.

MORENIKE

I escaped the curse once. Now I end it.

---

LIGHT EXPLODES from her chest — pushing Bankode back, his shadows faltering.

Now ready, she charges with fury and purpose, her hands glowing with her mother's magic — and her own.