- Is this... - Yes, this is Kragenmoor
and yes, this is the house of Ulrich,
and no, he won't see you.
- But... - I know, you've come a long way,
your business is urgent. It doesn't matter. He sees no one.
- Please. - Please yourself.
Go home.
Well, what do we do now, boy?
You who know so much, answer me that?
Hear me, you who dwell in Kragenmoor.
Ulrich, we will stay here until we are heard.
- What is it? - We have visitors.
I know.
- I will see them. - You will?
Yes. There's a great task needing to be done.
I have been witness to something.
Something of consequence to you.
- To me? - Yes.
My own death.
I knew it. Thieves.
Looks forbidding enough, don't you think?
Yes.
Master?
No, they'd think me infirm.
Belisarius wore this before he died.
You know, I actually saw him change lead into gold.
I could never do that. Too bad.
You'd have stood to inherit some real wealth.
Magister, please don't talk like that.
- You're not going to die. - But I look forward to it.
All this magic, what has it accomplished?
Tell me, how are your studies going?
Fine. They're going well.
- Do you still wish to be a sorcerer? - Yes, more than anything.
Well, then, adeptus minor.
Get us a handful of that sulphurous ash over there.
Welcome to Kragenmoor. I am Ulrich.
Which of you men calls himself Valerian?
- We are here on behalf... - I know why you're here.
You're a delegation from Urland, which is beyond Dalvatia.
Let's see the artefacts.
Scales.
- How did you come by these? - I found them, at the mouth of the lair.
What else?
- A claw. - That's no claw, by the gods.
It's a tooth.
You want me to do battle with that?
- Who else can we turn to? - Did you try the Meredydd sisters?
What about Rinbod? I heard tell he killed a dragon once.
They're all dead. You're the only one left.
It's a long way to Urland.
Twice each year, at the spring and autumn equinox,
the king selects a new victim - virgins.
A lottery.
Barbaric.
And in return, this dragon,
he leaves your villages and crops unburnt.
Your king has made a pact with a monster.
- Master, don't you think... - Silence.
Are you afraid of dragons?
No. In fact, if it weren't for sorcerers, there wouldn't be any dragons.
Once the skies were dotted with them.
Magnificent horned backs, leather wings soaring
and their hot-breath wind.
I know this creature of yours.
Look at these scales, these ridges.
When a dragon gets this old, it knows nothing but pain, constant pain.
It grows decrepit, crippled,
pitiful,
spiteful.
Will you help us?
There. Good.
Now let me go.
No.
No, not a bit too heavy.
I'll conquer the highest mountain.
What say you, Galen?
Speak up, boy.
- Hodge? - If you say so, sir.
When I've gone, see you keep your nose in your books
and your hands out of my reagents.
How far can you get? A league or two?
I'm not worried about the road.
Tyrian.
Good morrow.
What do you want?
No, young Master Valerian.
Question is, what do you want so far from home?
We're not afraid of you. Give us the road.
Why, the road is yours, all the way to Urland.
It's a long journey, isn't it?
But when you're in search of a sorcerer, I suppose no distance is too great.
Say nothing.
And here we have the mystical presence himself.
You best keep your distance and your manners.
If he's ready to lay a dragon in its grave, he has nothing to fear from me.
I've no more love for that creature than you lot, nor has the king.
But, before you stir things up,
don't you think it would be a good idea to find out if you've the right man for the job?
So it's a test you're looking for? We don't do tests.
I'm sure you don't.
They never do tests, not many real deeds either.
Conversation with your grandmother's shade in a darkened room,
the odd love potion or two,
but comes a doubter, why, then it's the wrong day, the planets are not in line,
the entrails are not favourable, "We don't do tests".
We've got no doubts, we require no tests.
- And you're not going to get one. - Enough.
Here, put this in the conjuring room.
Go to the iron box, bring me the dagger within.
The dagger. Be quick.
You shall have your test.
Where are you, boy? I'm waiting.
- It's not this one, is it? - The very one.
Let it fall.
- No. - Go on.
- Somebody stop him. - Don't worry, you can't hurt me.
Magical powers, indeed. Look at you now - magical ashes.
Hodge.
The kindest lord a man could ever wish for.
Now he's gone. Ye gods.
You'd think he could boil his own eggs at the snap of a finger, but no,
had old Hodge to do it.
Up at five every morning, clearing out the cages,
emptying the slops.
Never once a thank-you or a pat on the back.
- I shall miss him. - I do already.
No, you don't. All you think about is your tricks and your knavery.
But you don't pull any wool over these old eyes.
You'll have to walk a long way before you fill his shoes,
you mark my words.
What's the matter, Hodge, pack too heavy?
No. Don't. Stop that. I need that.
Give it back to me. This way.
I think you're too warm.
Stop it. Out of respect for the master.
I have as much respect for the master as anyone, old man.
But then again, I'm master now.
I left my farm, and for what?
For a cremation, that's what.
All because someone said "Find a magician."
Not a local fellow, an import some hundred leagues from home.
An all-powerful necromancer.
That's some necromancer.
Hold your tongue, Greil. Eat.
I'll not eat. I'm not hungry.
He's right. I brought us here for nothing.
What is it? Who's there?
Good morrow. Good morrow. Peace be with you.
What do you want?
My Lord Ulrich is no longer.
All that you asked of him, you may now expect of me.
The dangers he would face, I will now conquer.
The task he would undertake, I will now fulfil.
I'm Galen Bradwardyn, inheritor of Ulrich's craft and knowledge.
And I am the sorcerer you seek.
Close enough.
Bring her up.
Shall be it known throughout the kingdom that this maiden,
having lawfully been chosen by a deed of fortune and destiny,
shall hereby give up her life for the greater good of Urland.
By this act shall be satisfied the powers that dwell underground
and the spirits that attend thereto.
In gratitude for this sacrifice, His Majesty declares the family Plowman
to be free of obligations for a period not to exceed five years.
Duly ordained.
- What have you got there, Hodge? - None of your business.
A little gold? What do you say I change it into lead?
Save your jokes for someone else. For me, I do not care for braggarts or frauds.
I'm no fraud.
Fool, then. Upstart. Whatever pleases you.
Look, Hodge, nobody forced you to come along.
No, I came of my own free will, all right.
We each do the master's bidding in our own way.
What are you doing? Don't come in.
How's the water?
It's cold.
I prefer to swim alone, if you don't mind.
Stay away.
- Look, sire, isn't that... - Yes, the old retainer from Kragenmoor.
- What's he doing here? - Filling in for his chief, I reckon.
Are you going to allow that, sir?
Bring me my bow.
No, I'm not going to say anything.
I don't blame you. I was careless.
Silly woman.
Well, I knew the moment I saw you. I've known the whole time.
You never knew a thing. No one's known.
Not since I was born.
The lottery.
- Daughters are chosen, sons are not. - That's right.
Unless you happen to be the daughter of the king.
What do you mean?
If you're rich enough, your name never goes in.
My father is poor.
So are a lot of fathers.
No.
Hodge.
- Galen, can you hear me? - I hear you.
You know, somebody shot me, but I can still talk.
- There's something that needs to be done. - I know.
No, not the dragon. The master's ashes.
Here.
I'm sorry, you'll have to peel it loose.
- Burning water. - What?
Find the lake, throw it in.
Hodge, what are you doing with this?
Burning water.
Hodge, don't die.
Listen to me, you're not going to die.
Urland.
Come on, don't slow down here.
- Is the whole kingdom like this? - No, we're near the lair.
The lair?
- Where is it? - Doesn't matter.
Show me where.
We're in no danger if we just pass through quickly.
I want to see it.
Greil.
Malkin. Malkin.
Are there other entrances?
No, one's enough.
Don't be a fool, you'll provoke it.
How do you know it's in there?
Go on then, get yourself burned alive.
What a fine trick that will be.
Vermithrax?
No.
Come back now.
No.
That's strange.
He's done it.
Put that away.
What if you were seen?
Musicians...
Damnedest thing is, she was twice the man of anyone else in the village
and now she's twice the woman.
Would that I was as clever as her father.
Come now, Greil, don't begrudge a life spared.
I begrudge nothing.
But I wonder at what we have seen and how it was done.
- You were there. - Aye, but isn't it strange
that the very moment that the beast was put down
there should be a holy man in the village? Now, isn't that strange?
Could the Christian god bring down a whole mountain? Is it possible, Father?
Of course it is, my son. And why not?
A celebration.
Well, don't stop on my account.
Musicians. More music.
A toast. To the deed of the day.
What would you have of us?
With you, not a thing.
It's this one.
The king would meet our new-found benefactor
and offer his gratitude to the one man
who has succeeded where so many have failed.
What sort of gratitude?
A knife in the belly, arrow in the chest?
My young friend, I would as soon dispatch you as I did the rest,
and for the same reason.
But His Majesty would have a cosy, little chat, and commands otherwise.
Behold. Eggs fit for a king.
Right. How many of you have ever seen a table fly?
None of you. None of you have ever seen a table fly.
Stand back.
- Sorry, sorry, sorry... - Enough, that'll do.
- I really can do this. - Don't bother, it's not necessary.
Tell me, the landslide, it was accomplished the same way?
Yes.
Did you ever hear of King Gaiseric?
No, of course not, you weren't even born.
He was my brother. A great king and a valiant man-at-arms.
When he ascended the thrown, the dragon was unbridled.
No one knew where it might strike next,
so he brought forth his broad sword and his spear,
assembled his best company of fighters and went out to do battle.
He was never seen again, but his attack provoked the most terrible reprisals -
whole villages incinerated,
entire crops burnt,
death, famine.
Horrible.
How did you arrogate to yourself the role of saviour?
- I was invited. - Not by me.
I think you're nothing but a boy.
An apprentice.
Have you ever considered the consequences of failure?
What failure? What are you saying, you want the dragon back?
You came here and toyed with a monster.
Who are you to risk our people, our villages?
- But your children were dying. - Only a few. Does that sound cruel?
It is better that they should die that others might live.
I created the lottery. Me.
And from the moment it began, the dragon was tamed.
- The kingdom has prospered. - At what price?
You...
You can't make a shameful peace with dragons.
You must kill them as I have done.
Then the beast is dead?
Yes, it's dead.
We shall see.
Open up I say.
I studied Latin. Greek, too.
You're his daughter.
Please don't think ill of us.
Father is a wise and even-handed man.
He's...
What happened to you?
Nothing, just some of the king's "even-handedness."
It's better for everyone this way.
- A king must protect his people. - Naturally.
Just as he protects his daughter.
What do you mean by that?
Are you referring to the lottery?
You know about the lottery?
I have participated in every choosing since I came of age.
The whole kingdom knows that.
You don't have to pretend.
Not to me, not down here.
Everyone knows how this choosing works.
The families with money, royal connections.
You've participated in a lie. You know it.
- I have to go now. - You know I'm right.
Horsrik, remove all but one bar. We'll try it one at a time.
- I, Casiodorus Rex, do hereby... - Father, did you know
that some families have paid bribes to stay out of the lottery?
Nonsense.
By the power of this amulet, justly wielded by my hand
in accordance with the laws of Urland, now, lead, be thou gold.
I'm burnt.
Have you ever kept my name off the lottery list?
Lottery list? What are you suggesting?
Am I not exposed to the same risk as every other man's daughter?
There's been a loose tongue here somewhere, sire.
- Who fills your head with such ideas? - Answer my question.
Please, don't think of such things, I beg you.
- Answer me. - The answer is no.
I mean, yes, yes. You are a participant of the choosing.
We have seen to that, of course. How could we not?
Yes. The answer is yes.
- You're lying to me. - Elspeth.
Stay calm.
Go on.
You little meddler.
Stop him.
Close the gate.
What are you waiting for, you idiots?
Stop him.
Get out.
Tyrian.
So much for your magic, so much for your sorcery.
Feel that? It's alive.
Listen to me, my brethren.
The moment of our fear is the hour of our triumph.
This is a sign from God.
Horns, tail, wings and clawed feet.
This is no dragon. This is Lucifer.
Dear Father, we beseech thee,
show us thy goodness in this evil place.
Show us thy power...
Cursed worm, a devil flung from heaven will now arise from hell.
Stay and fear the word of God.
You call yourselves Christians?
Fear not, my brethren. There is no dragon.
Run.
Unclean beast.
Get thee down.
Be thou consumed by the fires that made thee.
Don't touch it. Leave it with the others.
- Where is he? - Not here. Can't help you.
As the proud new father of an eligible daughter
who has somehow been overlooked all these years,
it may interest you to know, the king has called for a new lottery.
But it's months till the solstice.
In view of what's happened, we all know what is required.
I've never taken part in your cursed lottery.
I'll have nothing to do with it now.
You were very clever, but she will take part like all the rest.
No exceptions.
- I want to be in it. - Silence, child.
I'm no different from any other girl, and no better.
- My name will go in. - Nothing.
If he was here, he's gone now.
Blacksmith, have you ever forged a weapon?
This is Secarius draconum - Dragonslayer.
- The best I ever made. - It's beautiful.
But I never had the nerve to use it.
That won't make any difference. What you want to kill isn't flesh and blood.
- It'll bleed all right. - How do you know?
- No one's so much as even scratched it. - She's right. I'll need the amulet.
Stir the tiles. Stir the tiles.
- Yes, stir the tiles. - Stir the tiles.
Draw the name.
Now, my countrymen, hear me.
Behold, for I am chosen.
I shall die, that many may live.
I shall lay down my life for family and fellows.
I shall go to my grave for the love of our king and his wise policy.
And my name is...
- Read the name. - Read the name.
Read the name.
The name is Princess Elspeth Ulfilas
filia Regis.
That is not the name. It has been misread.
There's no mistake. The name's been drawn, let it stand.
No. The good Horsrik has misspoke himself.
In fairness to this individual, whose name I can't make out, we will destroy this tile.
- No. - No.
What better name than your own kin? At last, we see justice done.
Silence.
We will have a new choosing.
- I will draw the name myself. - Let it stand.
Let it stand.
The name is as Horsrik read it.
Elspeth.
This one... This one... Another... Another... Another...
And another. What treachery is this?
The lottery is invalid.
- Hear me, good people. - What?
It is true that my name appears on all the lots.
This does not invalidate the lottery. It certifies it.
It redresses an injustice.
I have learnt my name has been kept from jeopardy in all the drawings in the past,
therefore, I have substituted my name for yours,
for the risk, that over the years, you have taken and I have not.
You, Tyrian. Surely you'll do something.
If not for me, out of loyalty to the kingdom.
But that's just it, Your Majesty. My first duty is loyalty to the kingdom.
Don't go to all that trouble.
I'm unarmed. You want a fight, at least give me a weapon.
- I think not. - Stop.
Don't harm him.
And... You, please...
I've always had the greatest admiration for the black arts.
You chaps with your mysterious spells.
I didn't think it would be necessary.
Vermithrax is an old dragon and that, I thought, was the beauty of my plan - time.
We'd wait it out, I'd live to see the end of it...
I will see the end of it.
Sire, I beg you, consider what you are doing.
Give him that, he'll destroy everything you've built.
He shall have it.
It's my daughter.
Save her, I beg you.
That princess - what's her name? - she surprised me.
Elspeth. Her name's Elspeth.
There, good and hot.
That's not the kind of fire we need.
Good. Now turn it over.
An edge like no other on this earth.
I'll say goodbye to her for you. Sorry she's not here.
You know how she is.
I understand.
Fare thee well.
It's a shield.
I made it.
It might keep the fire off you. It might not.
You know, you're an idiot.
You're going to die tonight.
You'll be ripped limb from limb.
This is the last time I'll ever speak to you.
- Thank you. - Another thing...
I've been up there.
That thing isn't alone.
It's got little ones. Young, I think.
- I don't know how many. - They'll have to be killed, too.
Anything else?
You're in love, aren't you?
Yes.
It's all right. I understand.
She's very beautiful, very brave.
Who is? What do you mean?
Your princess.
But I don't care.
Listen to me, Galen Bradwardyn,
sorcerer's apprentice.
You're going to be dead,
the dragon will be worse than ever,
there will be more lotteries and I'm not a boy any more.
- And you'll be eligible because... - Because I'm still a virgin.
I am in love.
But not with the princess.
Your Highness.
Now be it known throughout the kingdom that the Princess Elspeth,
having lawfully been chosen by a deed of fortune and destiny...
No more smoke. I beg you.
Be gone.
I declare these proceedings
duly ordained.
I knew I'd find you here.
Well, I'm not as sentimental as His Majesty.
The kingdom - every one of us - needs this sacrifice.
If you intend to interfere,
you'll have to kill me.
I've plenty of reasons to kill you that have nothing to do with this sacrifice.
Most impressive.
- Can you use it? - No.
Stop. Tyrian is right.
This is our only hope.
Tyrian.
This is no warrior.
Run.
Where you going?
You failed, my friend.
But I thank the gods for it.
Now, prepare yourself.
Elspeth.
It's still alive.
You know what we have to do?
We have to leave.
You said you loved me.
Is it true?
If it is,
that's the only good we've done.
Let's not lose that, too.
Galen?
She's right. What kind of life could you have here?
You know what I think?
Magic, magicians - it's all fading from the world, dying out.
That makes me happy. That means the dragon will be dying, too.
Valerian...
Something from your father.
- You want me to wear this? - What harm could it do?
What is it?
What's the matter?
What is that?
Look.
- At what? - There.
That old trickster. The burning water.
Lake of fire.
He had it planned from the beginning.
- He knew this was going to happen. - Who did? What happened?
We've got to go back. I have to talk to him.
Where are you going?
We can slay this dragon with song and prayer.
If we but join together in faith,
we shall live and the beast shall die.
Galen, stop. I won't let you kill yourself.
He couldn't walk. He knew he couldn't make the journey,
so he had us make it for him.
Don't you see?
- All right. I'm coming, too. - No, you're not. This is for me to do.
I'm not afraid. After all,
I was a man, remember?
Stay close.
- What's that? - Nothing. Come on.
- I want to see. - No, you don't.
All right. Wait here.
Galen?
Galen.
Where are you?
You're back.
I thank the powers that made me.
Glad to see you, too.
You didn't bring along anything to eat, by any chance?
- Food? - Come along. There's much to do.
No, please.
I thought I was a sorcerer. I'm not.
I thought I had power. I don't.
You said to be strong. I wasn't.
But you were, my boy, you were.
And you'll be stronger yet.
You're baptised in the named of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost.
And may the Lord lead us from darkness and demons.
Look.
Galen.
- This is Valerian. - I know. I remember.
The girl who came to us as a boy.
There's something you must do.
Anything.
I want you to destroy the amulet
and me along with it.
You brought me from the flames. You must send me back.
You'll know the time.
You must act while life is still in me.
There.
Here, Galen, do what he said. Destroy the amulet. Smash it.
No. He said I'd know the time.
- He told you to do it. - Not yet.
Galen.
Let us pray.
We thank thee, Lord, for this divine deliverance.
Verily is thy presence amongst us fully manifest in this, thy great work.
Arise, children of the Lord.
Forsake forever more the pagan mysteries, defy superstitions of the past.
Rejoice in the true power of the Christian...
All hail Casiodorus Rex, Dragonslayer.
- You miss Ulrich? - Yes.
- And the amulet? - That, too.
I don't. I'm glad it's gone.
You may not be a sorcerer, Galen Bradwardyn,
but that doesn't matter, not to me.
I know. I just wish...
- What? ...we had a horse.