[water flowing]
[suspenseful music]
-[Dida] The world we knew is gone.
Three hundred years ago,
the great flood swallowed the land,
leaving nothing but scattered islands
and an ocean without end.
[men chanting]
Above us the sky churns with a storm that never fades.
[men chanting continues]
Below, the Old World, its cities,
its knowledge, lost to time.
[ominous music]
But not all was lost.
From the ruins, Argos was built,
a city of towering walls,
shimmering lights and secrets buried deeper
than the sea itself.
Argos is ruled by the Founders, Titans,
believed to be as old as the world they built.
They rule from their citadel, preaching safety,
but their safety comes with a price.
To live in Argos, you must earn it.
Storm riding, a death race of speed and survival,
where only the most relentless can claim victory.
[eerie music]
You win and your people are granted entry.
You lose and your island is stripped bare,
its people cast into the open sea.
[eerie music continues]
That is the law of the Founders.
That is the price of survival.
[tense music]
For generations, the Islanders were told
that racing for Argos is the only way.
But some of them believe in more,
a legend that speaks of the one who will set them free,
the promised one.
But this isn't the story of the promised one.
This is a story of a promise, a promise of love.
A promise to fight. A promise to rise.
-[Race Announcer] Three, two, one.
[alarm honking]
[machine whirring]
[thunder rolls softly]
[tense music]
[insects chirping]
[church bell ringing]
-[Neb] Hammerhead.
-[Neb] The Founders declared him a criminal,
a wanted outlaw,
but to some of us, he was a path to follow.
-[Radio Announcer] Where will you be when the storm hits?
Are you afraid it will destroy your island?
Do not despair, Islanders.
You can secure your island's safety
behind the walls of Argos.
Simply put up your island as collateral,
and one of our generous Founders
may sponsor your selected riders to join the league,
to win a race and win a place
for those living on your island behind the walls of Argos.
Your safety is one race away.
-Neb. Give me a nine.
[object thuds]
-Neb, you gotta see this.
[grunts]
-[man in the background] Torpedo's on.
Come on, come on.
-Wicked, right?
-[man in the background] All systems are go.
-They call him Hammerhead.
Legend has it he was struck by lightning
and sacrificed himself to the storm.
[somber music]
They say he saved his whole island
and never lost a single ride.
Some believe he actually broke through the storm
and came out the other side.
Others believed that he still crashes the race
from time to time
so he can win a place for all Islanders.
That could be us one day.
-[indistinct]
-Who needs legends?
You don't have Hammerhead. You have me.
[soft tense music]
You kids watch.
If anyone's gonna catch lightning,
it's gonna be me.
[soft kiss] [engine starts]
Let's go, kids!
-[indistinct shouting]
-Come on, kids. Gotta go.
[machine whirring]
[kisses photo]
[palm smack]
[chain clinking]
[metal clangs]
-Come on.
[footsteps running]
[quick palm smack]
-Once you get to Neptune's Rock,
you'll have 10 seconds to break away.
-Okay.
I will go through it.
The Storm Horizon will fall.
-Just be aware of the bombheads, all right?
-Okay. Let's go.
-[Neb] The Legend Of Hammerhead was more than just a story.
It meant hope.
A reason to believe there was something beyond the storm.
-Stay with the truth, kids.
-[Neb] Among those who believed was Lazar, Ana's father.
While others raced for victory,
he didn't care about winning.
His mission was to breach the storm
and see what lies beyond.
[tense music]
-[Race Announcer] Broadcasting live
from the walls of Argos,
this is the final race of the season
as our contesting Storm Riders eagerly await the countdown.
This is a drag race from starting point
to Neptune's Rock and back again.
Winners win a place on Argos.
Losers are cast out to the open sea.
Here are the islands competing:
Avalon, Cios, Malia and this year's clear underdog,
Fig Island has come forth with their selected champion.
Who would have thought?
As always, the race will be policed
by the Argos riders,
or as some, including myself, like to call them,
the bombheads.
[tense music]
[machine whirring]
And they're off to the races.
[engine rumbling]
A great start for Avalon riders,
who jump out in front with Argos riders
right behind them,
and Fig Island, Cios and Malia fighting for position.
[suspenseful music]
-They should be coming around here soon.
[engine rumbling]
Wicked, right?
-[Race Announcer] Fig island's rider gets closer
and closer to Avalon riders,
who slows down, bumps into him and cuts him off.
[engine rumbling]
[lightning static]
And the rider from Cios catches lightning,
giving him a boost.
He takes over first position.
[intense music]
[ominous music]
[water splashes]
Another race full of mayhem and destruction.
-Steer back.
We gotta get back to the tunnel.
[intense music]
[water splashing]
[engine rumbling]
[boat explodes]
-[Race Announcer] Oh, and the second Cios rider
crashes on the rocks.
The island of Cios is now officially declared lost.
But the race for the winner continues.
Malia, Avalon, Argos riders circling Neptune's Rock.
The front runner from Avalon comes way out ahead.
If he crosses the finish line,
the island of Avalon will be heading to Argos.
[intense music]
I can't believe what I'm seeing right now.
[lightning crackles]
The Fig Island rider is breaking off.
It seems we have a rebel rider in our midst.
This is the fifth incident
this season of such suicidal behavior.
What are these people thinking?
[engine humming]
[water splashing]
[thunder rumbling]
Lazar from Fig Island
seems to be heading for the storm.
[intense music]
[accelerator clicks]
[lightning static]
[machine whirring]
[intense music continues]
[lightning static]
[thunder rumbling]
[lightning static]
[boat explodes]
When will these pagans learn, no one survives the storm.
[distant cheering and applauding]
Four riders dead on the water today.
The island of Cios has come in last place.
Their people will be evacuated and the stones from their island
will become forever part of our wall.
May the mercy of the deep be upon them.
As far as Fig Island,
they will be banned from racing for the next ten years
because of their treachery.
-[Neb] After her father died, Ana locked her pain inside.
But she swore that one day, she would avenge him.
[school bell rings]
[footsteps running]
[somber music]
-Here. An island with Titans.
[chuckles]
-There are no islands past the Storm Horizon, Neb.
-Blastheads.
-Shut up, you little punk!
-Ana! please.
Class, what do we know about the Storm Horizon?
[stick thumps]
-We're lucky to be protected by the Storm Horizon.
-Very good, Tom.
-The storm is a lie created by the Founders.
[laughs]
-Quiet!
[groans]
-He has quite the imagination.
But we simply cannot accept him disrespecting our Founders,
our benefactors.
He's talking about mythical islands,
rebel riders...
-[Neb] Legend has it he was struck by lightning
and sacrificed himself to the storm.
[men chanting]
[thunder rumbling]
[lightning static]
[ominous music]
-Neb, you have to get down!
Come down!
Neb, come on!
[lightning static]
Neb, you have to get down!
Neb!
Argh!
[lightning static explodes]
[heart pounding]
[men chanting]
[wind blowing]
-[Neb] Legend says that the Hammerhead
was struck by lightning.
So I figured it was my turn to stand for Ana,
to face the storm, to be tested.
Because only those who survived the storm
gained the power to break through it.
[ominous music fades]
-[Radio Announcer] The rider from Fig Island was killed
while attempting to breach the storm.
As a consequence of this criminal behavior,
Fig Island will face a ten year suspension
from any future racing.
But the real tragedy befalls the people of Cios,
whose two selected riders crashed mid-race,
never making it to the finish line,
resulting in their island facing eviction.
May the mercy of the deep be upon them.
[church bell ringing]
-Pagans of Cios,
your attempt to join Argos has failed.
The rider you chose has failed you.
Your worship of Gaya has failed you.
[distant arguments]
[suspenseful music]
Cios is now property of Lord Tarus.
Open sea is your new home.
May the mercy of the traitor--
[man grunts]
-That's enough.
[distant shouting]
[man grunts] [man groans]
-[woman] Stop resisting!
[intense music]
-[Neb] The Founders aren't just taking islands,
they're tearing them apart
while searching for something ancient.
The nucleus of life itself,
nature's final bid for rebirth.
A substance very few know about,
whispered to defy death itself: the element.
[intense music fades]
I felt death crawling through my veins,
my eyes ablaze with fire.
But then my grandfather did something
he swore he would never do again.
[birds chirping]
[suspenseful music]
[ax clinks]
[ax thuds]
[liquid flowing]
[suspenseful music continues]
Then the visions came.
A flash of lightning, a tear in time.
And there he was, the Hammerhead.
[tense music]
[distant conversation]
[horn blowing]
[suspenseful music]
[footsteps approaching]
-Our excavations revealed no new source.
Nothing.
-How many islands remain?
-For plundering?
-How many?
-Just over 2,000.
-How much element do we have left, Tarus?
-A decade in reserve, maybe less.
-Then we take the islands by force.
-You cross that line and you remind the islanders
that even with our combined forces,
they outnumber us, a thousand to one.
You'll die before that well runs dry.
It's time for us to accept our fate.
-I make my fate, Baroness.
-Amor fati.
-I've heard those words before.
-It's just a saying from the old world, Tarus.
[scoffs]
No, that was his saying.
The traitor, the thief, Sykeus.
We cannot take the islands by force.
So instead, the heathens will give them to us.
We'll increase the races.
The more pagans bleed out in the water,
the closer we'll be to finding a new source of the element.
Besides, those suicidal riders
are getting too frequent to ignore.
Oh, and Baroness...
Do not say his words to me again.
[ominous music]
[footsteps departing]
[birds chirping]
[wind blowing]
-[Radio Announcer] The island of Cios
has been evacuated by decree of Argos,
its inhabitants...
-Maybe one day, you'll be able to make fig jam
as good as your old grandfather.
Just maybe. [chuckles]
-[Radio Announcer] As far as the recent conduct
by the Fig Island's rider,
our lord Founders have shown leniency.
-No, it's [indistinct].
-[radio announcer continues] a temporary ban for a chance
of winning a place on Argos.
-Look at this, huh? [chuckles]
-[Radio Announcer] ... that any future attempts
to breach the storm will result in permanent disqualification,
as such actions pose a great risk to our...
[somber music]
-[Neb] Visions come suddenly.
Unexpectedly.
[suspenseful music]
Like the flash of lightning that made me see.
There he was again, haunting me,
staring back at me.
-[Radio Announcer] By decree of Argos, its inhabitants
now join the growing number of displaced people
taking refuge at deep sea.
Islanders are urged to halt this reckless behavior
for the safety of all.
[suspenseful music continues]
[water splashing]
-Is this the one the legends speak of?
-Thought he was still seeing storm riding.
[birds chirping]
-Still no sign of Sykeus, my lord.
But we have found his wreckage.
-Where?
-The Bay of Gaya, my lord.
As the Islanders call it.
-So Sykeus is near.
Send every spy to each and every island
around the wreckage.
-That's hundreds of islands.
-So take the Baroness and her troops and find him!
[suspenseful music fades]
[gentle music]
[seagulls squawking]
[insects chirping]
-I have seen her flag on the coast.
[thunder rumbles softly]
She is coming for him.
[suspenseful music]
-[Neb] Argos wants Hammerhead found,
so word of his hideout spread fast.
Ana was taking me to see
where his legendary boat sank long ago,
but I had a feeling we were rowing into a trap.
-Grandfather said never go past the shoulder of Gaya.
[bell ringing]
-I wonder why.
[bell rings]
[thunder rumbling]
[woman humming]
-Whoa.
-What is this place?
[bell rings]
-Hey, you gotta see this.
[suspenseful music]
[gasps]
You saw it, right?
-Yeah.
-What do you think they were doing?
-I don't know. You think that was his boat?
-Someone's here.
Quick, grab the paddles.
[ominous music]
[water splashing]
-What are you doing in my bay?
-Our boat ran dry.
-We'll leave. Come on.
-Is this torpedo yours?
It's a hydrocat.
-What do you know about hydrocats?
-My dad was in the league.
-Mm.
Who's his sponsor?
-Can you help us get home?
-Where's home?
-We shouldn't take a ride from her.
-Why not? What's wrong with me?
-I know who you are.
My grandfather warned me about you.
-[sniffs] Fig.
-Fig Island.
The island of rebel riders
who tried to break through the storm.
-What are you doing out here?
-I'm looking for a boy who's been touched by the storm.
[suspenseful music]
-What's it like inside the walls?
-I wish I could say life on the islands was no different,
but I wouldn't lie to you.
There's a reason why Argos is under population control,
a reason why every place must be won.
Storm Horizon will not hold back the wave forever.
-Well, the storm isn't real, ma'am.
-Is that what your grandfather told you?
[box clicks]
-They say those touched by the storm
can see through the cracks of time
and the destinies are revealed to them.
[screams]
-He's just scared of the storm.
-Yes, well, his fear...
...is too beautiful for you to understand,
too powerful to tame.
But if he confronts it, it will make all the difference.
[thunder rumbles]
[men chanting]
[ominous music]
[footsteps approaching]
-Still nothing.
In the Bay of Gaya,
all the Baroness found there was a couple of kids.
-Do you trust her?
[sighs]
-From now on, my spies follow her too.
[suspenseful music]
-She said, when the day comes
and we need a sponsor, she can help.
[suspenseful music continues]
-He's a Storm Rider, not a farm boy.
-Is it true?
That the Founders came from beyond the storm?
-Is that what she told you?
-That's what Neb said.
-I wonder where he got that from.
-So you don't believe that Hammerhead will save us?
-Um-hmm. Well, I choose my myths wisely.
-Then what is beyond the Storm Horizon?
[gentle music]
-The truth.
The Founders' greatest trick was to convince the Islanders,
their land was worthless.
-What good is your land if its days are numbered?
-[scoffs] Well, it's like saying,
"What good is your life if your days are numbered?"
[birds chirping]
-Neb keeps saying there's a Titan
living in this tree.
-Yes. The last Titan, Sykeus.
[laughs]
I planted this tree the day Neb was born.
So they have a special bond.
-Its soul healed my eyes.
-You mean it made you see things.
[ominous music]
[water splashing]
[church bell ringing]
-Have you finished replicating the key?
-Yes, Lord Tarus.
[object clicks]
-They want the storm?
I will bring the storm to them.
-[Automated voice] Remote connection activated.
[machine beeping]
[machine whirring]
[machine buzzing]
-[Automated voice] Remote connection lost.
[object clicks]
[object clanks]
-I'm sorry, my lord.
Please.
-You said it would work, but it didn't.
So you lied to me.
[ominous music]
[tense music]
-Throw yourself from the wall.
[screaming]
[metal thumps]
[suspenseful music]
-[The Baroness] I have seen a rider enter the storm.
[voice echoing]
[ominous music]
[box clicks open]
-Is it true?
-Is what true?
-That you can see into the future?
[bird and insects chirping]
-I don't really know what I see.
[seagull squawking]
Sometimes I wake up in a different place.
-[Neb] Over the years, I watched the girl from my island
break and rise again.
My pain for her became something else.
Love,
the kind worth fighting for, the kind worth dying for.
[sentimental music]
[stone thumps softly]
-Did you see that coming?
-No.
-What can you really see?
-Images.
Fragments, really.
Like pieces in a puzzle.
-Am I one of those pieces?
-Yeah. You are.
I saw you standing
on the shoulder of Gaya wearing this beautiful red dress.
-Now I know you're crazy.
Like I'd ever wear a dress.
Look.
When we're out there,
you have to ride the storm not for me.
For you.
-I know.
I just want us to be together.
Here, there.
I don't care.
-I have to tell you something.
-You promise?
-I promise.
[engine starts]
[machine whirring]
[engine humming]
[wind blowing
-She's gonna do it.
-Do what?
-Win a place.
-So?
-I'm afraid to lose her.
[insects chirping]
[groans]
What did you see?
Go on.
[wind blowing]
Neb.
Neb, what else did you see?
[suspenseful music]
What did you see?
[thunder rumbling]
[ominous music]
[dramatic music]
[water splashing]
[lightning static]
[ominous music]
-[Neb] I saw Ana in the race, chasing the storm,
trying to fulfill her pledge and avenge her father.
-Neb!
Neb! What are you doing?
[thunder rumbles]
Come on, boy!
-[Neb] But in the end, she fell.
-Get inside. Come on!
-[Neb] The Baroness came back like she said she would,
trying to settle their old score.
She hides a dark secret behind those glasses.
Grandfather doesn't trust her.
-A quiet life on a quiet little island.
[spits]
-And you still have an attitude problem.
-People have a problem with my attitude.
[suspenseful music]
-The Founders are searching for what you have.
But I can see you're not using it.
-The boy doesn't want to ride.
-But his friend does.
And she took me up on it.
-The wolf has a right to the sheep.
-I can't change the past.
-And neither can he.
Because what you ask cannot be done, Baroness.
-Then let's give a chance for fate to intervene.
-Is this what you want?
To ride for the Founders? They are not who they seem.
They have been picking off island after island,
devouring the land,
because they are getting older faster than they wish.
-My dear old man, you're missing the point.
It's about the boy who wants to follow the girl.
I'm just here to help.
Besides, you had your chance ages ago, old friend.
My sponsorship is good for a year.
The good people of Fig Island need a champion.
But I expect much more from you.
[wind blowing]
-[Neb] The Landless Sea,
the Founders' death race
has left countless Islanders without homes.
[women chanting]
Condemned to the mercy of the deep sea,
no land, no shelter.
Generations born on boats, raised by the waves.
Never knowing the feel of solid ground.
Their only hope, Hammerhead.
-What are those green on those rocks?
[bomb explodes]
-Islanders call them trees.
[bombs exploding]
-Why are they doing this?
-Only the Founders know why.
[indistinct distant conversation]
[exploding continues]
-Lady.
They ask tough questions.
My son is waterborne too.
-[Radio Announcer] Let's also note
that the island of [indistinct] had a close encounter
with a storm earlier this month,
and that their residents put all faith
in their selected champions
to represent their hope for their safety
in the upcoming cycle.
In racing news, we are excited to announce that three islands
have been selected for the next cycle.
Congratulations to the island of Crater, [indistinct] Rose
and making a comeback...
-Give me a 10.
-[Radio Announcer] ...after a ten-year ban,
the tiny Fig Island.
From weather-related news...
-You'll have to watch for this right flank.
It's not as straight as it should be,
but don't compromise your back too much.
Use your knees.
-[Radio Announcer] It's been ten years since Fig Island
last had competitors in the race.
One must hope they've learned their lesson
and that no treachery
will be displayed this time around.
-The storm took your mother.
It took my father.
How many Islanders does it take?
[somber music]
I have to find out the truth, Neb.
I have to.
[tense music]
-[Neb] I know Ana wants to break through the storm,
but I also know it's a suicidal mission.
I'll stay by her side, protect her,
and take her place in death.
[church bell rings]
[suspenseful music]
[suspenseful music fades]
-You all know the rules.
Two riders per island, two legs in the cycle.
The team with the most points wins the place inside the walls
for their home island.
You finish last, and the people from your island
will be cast out to open sea.
The start and finish line are between the ancient statues
just outside the city gates.
The course runs through the natural canal
all the way out to the edge of the Storm Horizon
by Neptune's Rock.
That is your midpoint.
Beyond this point, your compass will be useless
and you'll be fighting inertia unlike any you ever felt.
So the last thing you want is to be dragged into the storm
because no one, listen carefully,
no one survives the storm.
-You saw that, right?
-It's not about winning,
it's about surviving.
[footsteps approaching]
-Kneel.
-What human do you bring?
-He is the most ruthless rider I ever trained.
-Where are you from, servant?
-Speak.
-The island of Bacchus, my lord.
-The pagans there still hold faith in Gaya, do they not?
-The pagan chief promised she would save us.
But still, the storm came and--
-Tell me.
-The storm, the wrath of Gaya,
dragged their souls to the bottom of the sea.
-Now you know Gaya never saves.
She only punishes.
-I shall drown the pagan believers
like that storm did to my family.
[ominous music]
-[Neb] Bombheads, Tarus's watchdogs and assassins.
[men chanting]
-Rise.
You will start with Baroness's riders
on Fig Island.
And everyone who serves me above all must always...
-Always protect the storm.
[tense music]
-No, I'm not listening, Ana.
-Look, we do this now.
We--we break through the storm
and no Islander will ever have to race again.
-You...
I can't protect you out there.
-I don't need your protection.
The visions that plague you...
do not guarantee an outcome.
-That's what I hope.
-So, will you come with me or are you gonna be no fun?
-[scoffs] Like I'd have a chance.
-Promise?
-I promise.
-There are no guarantees.
Not in life, not in love.
And I wouldn't want it any other way.
[somber music]
-[Neb] Promises were made. Promises must be kept.
[audience cheering]
[engine whirring]
[engine humming]
-[Race Announcer] Five, four, three, two, one.
[speed accelerator clanks]
And they're off.
It is an aggressive start for Fig Island riders
as they immediately take the lead.
They seem quite aware that this is their last chance
to control their future and make amends
for their island's controversial past.
[machine whirring]
[tense music]
From the outside, Viking [indistinct] riders
picks up speed to overtake the position.
[audience applauding]
[water splashing]
[tense music continues]
[engine humming]
[water splashing]
[intense music]
[machine whirring]
[tense music]
[machine whirring]
[water splashes]
[engine humming]
[machine whirring]
[tense music]
The rider from Crater cuts in from the outside,
fighting inertia as they approach the Neptune's Rock
and prepare to the final stretch
with Fig Island still in the lead.
She's on tail!
[suspenseful music]
[engine humming]
[water splashes]
The power of lightning slashes Crater rider in half,
blowing pieces of the shot [indistinct]
barely missed the riders from Fig.
[audience applauding]
[tense music]
[engine humming]
[tense music continues]
[thunder rumbling]
Oh, no, the front runner from Fig Island breaks off.
She is on the loose.
As we witness history repeating,
the Fig Island rider is heading towards certain death.
Argos rider is hot on her tail.
This behavior will not be tolerated.
All rebel riders must be stopped.
These insolent provocations must be punished!
[engine humming]
[machine whirring]
[water splashing]
[tense music]
[thunder rumbles]
[suspenseful music]
[thunder rumbles]
[men chanting]
[tense music]
[lightning static]
[thunder rumbling]
[somber music]
[engine humming]
[machine whirring]
[tense music]
[thunder rumbling]
[boat crashes]
[water splashes]
Swift punishment for the rebel rider of Fig,
by the protectors of the storm.
Per decree of Argos, no one survives the storm.
[thunder rumbling]
[water splashes]
[engine humming]
[tense music fades]
[somber music]
[water splashes]
[gasps]
[panting]
The second Storm Rider from Crater wins this one
for his home island,
raising hopes for their Argos residents
in the second leg of the cycle.
[thunder rumbles]
[ominous music]
But the real story of the day is Fig Island,
who will most likely in a week's time,
be heading for the open sea.
[ominous music fades]
-[Neb] Guilt.
An internal prison cell.
[thunder rumbles]
Visions blur with memories.
Nothing feels real anymore.
-[Radio Announcer] Per decree of Argos,
no one survives the storm.
[water splashing softly]
[door opens]
[door shuts]
[footsteps approaching]
-I knew a boy like you once.
An islander who'd do anything to save his land.
Push himself to win, no matter what the cost,
even if that meant that no one else would ever win.
[ominous music]
I wore that helmet, kid.
I rode for Tarus once.
-What about all the people from the island?
The people you saved.
-They never needed saving.
[door opens]
The Baroness wants to see you.
[suspenseful music]
-How is your back?
-It'll get better.
-Yes, it will.
-I won't let you take our island.
You still think this is about your island?
Well, let me save you the suspense;
it's not.
You see, Neb, many years ago,
after our world was drowned,
the members of Operation Titan
voyaged to this anomaly that we call our world.
Our mission was to explore the oceans
and find hope for life.
[somber music]
We discovered an archipelago with hundreds of islands
that had somehow escaped that global destruction.
[church bell rings]
[woman humming]
The Islanders we found there believed they were protected
by the goddess they called Gaya.
And the Islanders had protected
what they believed to be Gaya's own blood.
We called it the element.
None of us could resist the call of eternal life.
And so we founded Argos.
Tarus took the technology
designed to protect an endangered environment,
but instead turned it to entrap one so pure.
As our campaign of terror raged on,
the islands were getting crushed and drained of their element
until one of us finally had the strength
to walk away.
We knew him as Sykeus.
[box clicks open]
He tried to put an end to it.
But alas, he failed.
Exiled himself where no one could find him
and began to age again.
Now, your grandfather, he knew all that.
His impulse to protect you was correct.
[chain clinking]
Go home, put the past behind you,
and accept your destiny.
You have a promise to fulfill.
-[Radio Announcer] Bolts of lightning
have demolished the hilltop households
of the island of Kazan
with the exact number of casualties still unknown.
In racing news, we've received confirmation
that the surviving rider from Fig Island
is on the path to a complete recovery,
and is expected to return
for the upcoming second and final race of the cycle
with the destiny of his island
now resting squarely on his shoulders.
[insects chirping]
-It was just a story, wasn't it?
The Baroness told me who you are, Sykeus.
You taught me everything about this world.
And you lied.
[soft tense music]
-For protection.
-Protect me from what?
-The Founders.
-Why didn't you just tell me the truth instead?
-It doesn't matter where we come from.
In the end, we are Islanders,
forged by the sea.
That is all we ever need to know.
Till the end of the world and back.
-[Neb] Dida tried to stand in my way,
but his eyes weren't stern.
They were afraid.
But it wasn't just fear, it was something more.
Something he wouldn't say, something he knew.
Yet I couldn't turn back.
Not now.
Not when the storm was calling my name.
[somber music]
-Neb keeps saying there's a Titan
living in this tree.
-Yes, the last Titan.
Sykeus.
I planted this tree the day Neb was born.
So they have a special bond.
[tense music]
[wind blowing]
[tense music fades]
-I'm sorry, son. I know how much you loved her.
The day your mother died, part of me died.
-Did you know about Dida's stories?
-Which one?
Your grandfather has many stories,
and it's all about the man
who's unable to let go of his past.
-So you don't believe him?
-I never wanted to be part of his war.
When I was young, when storms came,
he used to disappear into the night.
I never knew why.
When I got older,
he taught me how to embrace lightning,
how to become part of the storm.
-Part of the storm?
-Yes.
Dida used to say that the storm itself
could transport you to the other side.
[thunder rumbles]
In the center of the storm
is what you kids call the dancing bolt.
He trained me to catch it, but I could never do it.
-[sighs] Hammerhead did.
And it dragged him through the storm.
I saw him, Dad.
-Radio never mentioned he was in the race.
-There's a lot of things about the race
that the radio doesn't mention.
That war Dida talked about, it was never his war.
This is our war.
[suspenseful music]
-It's time.
He's ready.
-We have to let go of the life you planned
in order to accept the life that awaits.
[box opens]
In the old world, they had a saying,
"Amor fati."
If your destiny lays beyond the storm,
you will need a certain equipment
to help you break through.
It is kept hidden in the Temple of Founders,
and so is the truth of who you are.
[dramatic music]
-[Neb] For years, Dida carried the key,
hid it, feared it.
Now, he passed it on to me.
Not as a burden, not as a curse. As a choice.
He's done hiding, and so am I.
[dramatic music fades]
[church bell ringing]
[somber music]
[suspenseful music]
-What were you doing on the island of Rosehips?
-Congratulations, Lord Tarus.
I had no idea your spies reached that far.
Crop production on the Red Island
has been declining three years in a row.
Your spies didn't tell you that?
It's my duty to ensure our subjects are well fed.
Hunger incites revolution.
-We wouldn't want that.
What actions were taken?
-I told them either they increase production
or they become part of our wall.
-Do not take me for a fool.
Every whispered word always finds its way back to me.
[ominous music]
[compass beeping]
[somber music]
-[Neb] This isn't just a key, it's a compass.
A relic from the Old world guiding me to the one place
the Founders never wanted anyone to find.
The answer is hidden in their temple.
Heavily guarded, sealed away.
But now the path is clear, and I'm going in.
[compass beeping]
[compass beeping faster]
[compass beeps slowly]
[footsteps]
[compass beeping fast]
[uplifting music]
[thunder rumbles]
[ominous music]
[thunder rumbles]
[compass beeping fast]
[tense music]
[wave shushing]
[footsteps approaching]
[ominous music]
-He hath made everything beautiful in this world.
He hath set eternity in the hearts of men,
yet they cannot fathom
what God has done from beginning to end.
[slams book]
[footsteps approaching]
Are you afraid of me?
-I...
I... I do not fear you, lord.
-Good.
You have nothing to fear here.
I knew your father well.
He served me loyally for decades,
hunting down my greatest enemy.
-So it was out there that my father died for you.
-Oh, no, no, no.
He sacrificed himself for you...
to bring you to Argos, to a better life.
To me.
[church bell rings]
Are you ready to prove your loyalty?
Keep a close eye on that Fig rider.
[door opens]
[footsteps]
-I need to go through the Storm Horizon.
-You should be resting, kid.
-Hammerhead did it, I can too.
-He's not who you think he is.
-I saw him, Larry.
I saw the Hammerhead go through the storm.
-Nobody goes through the storm.
-He did.
Who is he, huh?
-He's a ghost from a time long past.
A seed planted in people's minds.
Now, I don't know who you think you saw.
What I do know is you need to learn to catch lightning.
Come on.
[footsteps departing]
[thunder rumbles]
[ominous music]
-You're holding back too much.
More speed!
[engine humming]
[tense music]
-You're circling too wide!
Speed!
More speed!
Speed!
[eerie music]
More speed!
[machine whirring]
[boats explode]
[machine clicks]
[eerie music fades]
[water splashes]
[panting]
-Your mind races too much.
That's just fear playing tricks on you.
You have to tame your fear.
You have to trust it, to let it take you.
And the only brake you have to pull
is the one in your imagination.
We're done for the day. Now, get your back fixed.
You look rough, kid.
[liquid squelching]
[pestle thumps]
-[Ana] Is it true that you can see destinies?
[gasps]
Relax.
You can express your pain honestly.
So you ride for the Founders?
-I ride for my island, and to find out the truth.
-What truth?
-The truth that I promised someone.
-[chuckles] A woman?
-Um-hmm.
-You want to win her place and bring her here?
-Well, she's already here.
She's in a fake tree in my room.
-Excuse me.
I'll take you to a specialist who might be able to help.
[ominous music]
[suspenseful music]
-What brings you to the sanctum of Tarus?
-Neb's a Storm Rider.
He's badly injured and needs your help.
-He doesn't need our help.
He is the one I warned Lord Tarus about.
He is the one that will breach the storm.
-Who do you ride for, boy?
-Baroness.
-Does she know that you are here?
-This was a mistake. Come on, let's go.
[tense music]
-Let them go.
[indistinct whisper]
[suspenseful music]
-[Neb] Bombheads never roam.
Hey.
They stay in the temple. Someone sent him.
It was you.
-Could have just as easily been you in her place.
-Why?!
-Do you want vengeance?
Do it out there on the water.
Not here. Not like this.
She brought her death upon herself.
[tense music]
-Hey!
[footsteps running]
[groans]
[tense music continues]
[grunts]
[water splashes]
[panting]
[grunts]
What did you tell her?!
[water splashes]
[tense music]
-Lord Tarus. I made a vow to Lord Tarus
to always protect the storm.
Always protect the storm.
-I'll see you out on the water.
[water splashes]
[tense music fades]
[ominous music]
[machine beeping]
-What did you find out?
Tell me about him.
-He's just...
...a Gaya-worshiping heathen.
-Insolent girl.
You know that word is forbidden here.
-She speaks the truth
even if we don't want to hear it.
Tell me what the Storm Rider said about Gaya.
-He spoke of an ancient ritual.
He's badly injured.
-Ancient ritual.
What sort of ancient ritual?
-Well, these pagans plant trees when someone is born
or when someone dies.
He's no threat to you, Lord Tarus.
He believes his lost love lives in a tree,
and that a Titan hides on the island.
-A Titan?
-He makes no sense when he speaks.
-What Titan?
Tell me.
-Sykeus.
-[sighs]
Your father would be so, so proud.
-[sighs in relief]
[panting]
[ominous music fades]
[wind blowing]
[ominous music]
-[Ana] Is it true?
[voice echoing]
That you can see destinies?
[voice echoing]
-[Neb] If what the Baroness told me is true,
then I must make good on my promise.
Amor fati.
[suspenseful music]
-Larry.
[suspenseful music]
I've got a plan, and I need your help.
[distant audience cheering]
-[Race Announcer] Broadcasting live
from the walls of Argos,
this is the second and final race of the cycle.
The first one went tragically bad
for one of the Baroness' riders,
making Fig Island [indistinct] last hope for Argos residents
on their remaining Storm Rider.
Choppy seas as the surface wind blows
around Neptune's Rock currently at 15 miles per hour
as the Storm Riders align in close proximity,
awaiting for the countdown.
This is a drag race from starting point
to Neptune's Rock and back again.
Winners win a place on Argos.
Losers are cast out to the open sea.
[tense music]
Five, four, three, two, one.
And they're off.
[machine accelerating]
[water splashing]
[machine whirring]
[engine humming]
Bombhead bumps into Fig Island's rider
almost taunting him, sending a clear message
and one that seems to be personal.
[engine humming]
[metal clinks]
The Storm Riders are approaching Neptune's Rock.
Fig Island rider, in second place,
cuts in on the inside,
hugging the rail right behind him
as the rider from [indistinct] Rose fighting for position
while Argos' rider remains in the lead
as he powers through toward the finish line.
[audience cheering and applauding]
We all know the rules, folks.
If Argos' rider wins, then all other islands lose.
[engine humming]
[engine accelerating]
[water splashing]
[suspenseful music]
[thunder rumbles]
[engine accelerating]
[lightning static]
And the Fig Island's rider catches the lightning bolt,
giving him the boost.
He passes the Argos rider and gets in the lead.
What a move!
[lightning buzzing]
The Fig Island's rider advances toward the finish line.
He rides with the power of thunder.
[lightning buzzing]
And he wins, the Fig win.
Oh my goodness. Who would have thought?
[audience cheering]
Argos' rider comes in second.
What an amazing finish for the rider of Fig
as his home island rejoices in redemption.
[engine humming]
But the Fig rider doesn't seem to be stopping.
He appears to be turning around.
[machine whirring]
What is the Storm Rider up to?
[engine accelerates, whirring]
[engine humming]
He's getting on the collision course
with the Argos rider.
Folks, I've never seen anything like this.
This will not sit well with our lord Founders.
[engines humming]
This blood feud is about to get settled.
[engines accelerating]
[water splashes]
[boats explode]
An awful explosion signals the end of Fig Island's rider
and his pagan island's hope for Argos residence.
[oxygen tank hisses underwater]
[indistinct distant shouting]
In all my years reporting for the wall,
I've never seen such reckless behavior
displayed by a Storm Rider.
[indistinct distant shouting]
The gates of Argos will remain closed
to the Island of Fig, as they should.
-Baroness, when were you last on Fig Island?
-About six months ago.
-And who did you see?
-The Storm Riders I selected for the last cycle.
[distant audience chanting]
-Who else?
[tense music]
To think I've been looking for Sykeus this whole time,
when my general, the face of Argos,
knew exactly where he was all this time.
My searchers will arrive on Fig Island,
and they will find the source and see how deep it runs,
and then they will find Sykeus
and bring him back to the city he helped build,
and hang him in the square.
-You'll have to kill me first.
-Do you remember taking the element?
What it felt like to taste immortality?
Because now, you will go back to where it all began
and be faced with a choice.
Starve to death or once again, take the element
and choke on your own hypocrisy!
Take her to the well!
[tense music continues]
-[Radio Announcer] After 50 years,
the wanted criminal Sykeus,
known by the pagans as Hammerhead
has been located on Fig Island.
All Argos' forces have been deployed.
[tense music continues]
[fire crackling]
[water splashing]
[suspenseful music]
-[Larry] At this point in the race,
you'll be by the walls.
You'll have to swim to the shore from there.
[chain clinking]
[suspenseful music continues]
You can enter the Temple of Founders
through the passage under the water.
But once you reach this point, the rest is up to you.
[compass beeping]
[compass beeping fast]
[compass beeping slows down]
You will not be alone, the sharks will swim with you.
[water splashes softly]
[ominous music]
[sword unsheathes]
[ominous music fades]
[suspenseful music]
[ominous music]
[suspenseful music]
[slow footsteps]
[body thumps softly]
[guns click]
-Neb.
I've waited a long time for this moment.
The question you fear to ask holds the answer that you seek.
So go ahead, ask.
-Who's the Hammerhead?
-In the past or the future?
Your grandfather never told you?
I'm sure he did in his own way.
Myths and legends.
He told you about Gaya, right?
And the last Titan?
[sentimental music]
I have seen a rider enter the storm.
[voice echoes]
He was of your blood, Sykeus.
-Bring me the Baroness.
-You see, Neb, I too was told stories growing up.
And I too have seen the truth.
And I have seen a rider enter the storm.
[thunder rumbling]
But the thing with visions,
sometimes you see them and sometimes you live them.
Was there a question?
[suspenseful music]
-[Young Ana] Is it true?
-[Young Neb] Is what true ?
-[Young Ana] That you can see destinies.
[indistinct whispers]
-[Ana] What can you really see?
-[Neb] Images. Fragments.
Like pieces in a puzzle.
I saw the Hammerhead go through the storm.
-[Dida] Nobody goes through the storm.
[indistinct whispers]
-[Neb] Who is he, huh?
-What have you seen, Neb?
-[Nikola] He's a ghost with a long past.
- [Baronness] Sometimes you see them
and sometimes you live them.
[indistinct whispers]
-[Dida] What did you see? [voice echoes]
-[Neb] Who is he? [voice echoes]
-[Maia] Is it true?
That you can see destinies?
-[Neb] Who is the Hammerhead.
- [Baronness] In the past or the future?
[sentimental music]
-They call him Hammerhead.
Legend has it, he self-sacrificed to the storm.
And ever since, he became the Knight of Gaya,
the Son of Storm.
[uplifting music]
-Why do they call him Hammerhead?
-Some believe that hammerhead shark
can see things happen before they actually do.
[engine accelerates]
[engine whirring]
-He was named after a shark.
He has a thousand eyes that can see everywhere--
from the side and even in the back.
[uplifting music continues]
-It is believed that Hammerhead hides in the storm
and ventures where no others dare to go.
[engine humming]
And one day,
he will lead all of us to our new home.
[water splashing]
[uplifting music]
[water splashing]
[uplifting music fades]
[footsteps]
[distant thunder rumbling]
-How far must you go, Tarus?
-To the end of the world and back.
Just as we planned.
-[sighs]
No.
No, the plan was to save our world,
not to destroy another.
-I created this world because Gaya destroyed ours.
-They were your friends.
-We had a history, yes.
But not a future.
The question is, do you?
When you die, the past dies with you,
where it began.
The people we were, all of it just ends.
Like the man I used to be
usurped by the god that I am becoming.
-So what's stopping you?
[suspenseful music]
-[Neb] Time is a twisted illusion,
a force that dares us to chase it, to outrun it.
The past may cast its shadow reaching for the future,
but nothing can hold destiny when its time has come.
-What is that?
What is that?!
[compass beeping]
You, you are behind this.
-I am where I am fated to be.
[engine accelerates]
[water splashing]
[cheering]
[uplifting music]
-Hammerhead, Hammerhead. He's back! He's back!
-He'll never make it. He'll never make it.
Hunt him down!
[water splashing]
[tense music]
[water splashing]
[cheering]
-[Neb] That war Dida talked about,
was never his war.
This is our war.
[water splashing]
[tense music continues]
[engine whirring]
[engine humming]
[machine clicks] [engine whirring]
[engine humming]
[suspenseful music fades]
[suspenseful music]
[ominous music]
[thunder rumbles]
[lightning static]
[boats exploding]
[compass beeping]
[boat explodes]
[boats exploding]
[water splashes]
[boats exploding]
[exciting music]
[thunder rumbling]
[compass beeping]
[lightning static]
[suspenseful music]
[cannons firing]
[bombs exploding]
[lightning static]
[cannons firing]
-Amor fati.
[lightning static]
-[Nikola] Dida used to say that the storm itself
could transport you to the other side.
[lightning static]
[men chanting]
-He's gone.
Gone and forgotten by history.
And now, you shall follow.
[compass beeping]
-You're no god, Tarus.
[suspenseful music]
[lightning static]
[distant thunder rumbling]
[suspenseful music fades]
[somber music]
[lightning static]
[heavy metal thudding]
[machine whirring]
[helmet thumps]
[compass clicks]
[machine shuts off]
[static stops]
[lightning static stops]
[thunder rumbles fades]
[uplifting music]
[indistinct conversation]
[tense music]
[birds chirping]
-It wasn't Sykeus you should have worried about.
It was his grandson.
[somber music]
-Amor fati.
[somber music fades]
[sentimental music]
-[Ana] When the storm is down and the seas calm,
maybe I will wear that dress.
[woman singing]
[object shatters]
[uplifting music]
[church bell rings]
-We brought her back, Neb.
She's recovering on the island of Rosehips.
And she will be waiting for you on the shoulder of Gaya.
[sentimental music fades]
[suspenseful music]
[water splashing]
-[Neb] This wasn't the story of the promised one,
this was the story of a promise.
One promise kept in a destiny
till the end of the world and back.
[exciting music]