Silverwing_Script

Episode 1. Shade couldn't see the beetle with his eyes, but he could see it with his ears. Caught in his echo vision, the insect glowed in his mind. He swooped down, break sharply and scooped the beetle up with his tail membrane, flicked it into his left wing, and volleyed it straight into his open mouth. Cracking the hard shell with his teeth, he savored the delicious beetle meat as it squirted down his throat. Beetles were far and away the best food in the forest. Mealworms and midges weren't bad either. Mosquitoes didn't really taste like much, but they were the easiest to catch. He'd already eaten over six hundred this evening. They were so slow and clumsy all you had to do was keep your mouth open and swallow every once in a while. His mother had told him he had to get fat. Because winter was coming and there was a long journey ahead of him, south to Hibernaculum where the whole bats colony would spend the winter. Shade's ears pricked suddenly. It was the telltale drumming of a tiger moth in flight. He tilted his right wing and wheeled, locking onto his prey. Wings bellowing, he scooped his tail forward to catch his prize when another bat suddenly flashed in front of him, snapping the tiger moth into his mouth. "Hey!" cried Shade. "That was mine!" "You had your chance." said the other bat. Shade recognized his voice instantly. Chinook. One of the other newborns in the colony. Chinook smacked his lips. "Fabulous. Well, maybe you'll get lucky one of these nights, Runt." Shade heard laughter and saw other newborns fluttering down to roost on a nearby branch. Runt. He hated that name, even though he knew it was true. He was very small. All the others in the nursery colony were growing faster than him. Chinook was considered the most promising newborn, a skilled flyer and hunter. Shade would have given anything for Chinook's body. He certainly didn't want his brain, witch was about useful as a pebble. "Chinook, that was incredible!" said someone. "The way you just swooped down on that moth. Amazing!" "I'd have caught more if the hunting was better. It's better in the south. I can hardly wait to get there. My mother says we're leaving in three nights to Hiba- Hiber-" "Hibernaculum." murmured Shade. Shade didn't like to think about the coming migration. Hibernaculum was millions of wingbeats away, and he harbored a secret fear he wasn't strong enough to make it. "I can't wait to meet my father." said Chinook. "Me neither." agreed the other. And then everyone was talking about fathers, repeating stories from their mothers and sisters. Shade listened silenty, wishing they'd all just shut up. Just then, a few sharp notes of birdsong carried through the forest, and they all stiffened. "There's the dawn chorus." said someone. "We should head back." "Yeah, go ahead." said Shade. "I'm just going to take a peek at the sun." Their reaction was so satisfying, he had to wrinkle his nostrils to keep from smiling. They all stared at him in consternation. "What're you talking about?" said Chinook. "You can't look at the sun." It was the first and most important thing all newborns were told. You must never look at the sun. It'll blind you. It'll turn you to dust. "Well, I'd give it a try." said Shade. In the distance he could hear the mothers calling their children back to Tree Haven. And then unmistakable voice of his mother, Ariel. "Shade...Shade..." Shade glanced at the brightening sky. "Just a quick peek." he told the others. "Won't be long." "Huh, he can't see the sun." said Chinook. "He's just saying that." "Well...yeah, I'll...tell you about it when I get back to Tree Haven." said Shade. "Unless you want to come, Chinook." It was a delicious moment as the others looked expectantly at their hero. Chinook gouged one of his claws into the bark. "I'm coming with you." They flew through the forest, away from Tree Haven. "We'll go to the top of the hill." said Shade. "We'll see the sun quicker there. What do you think?" Chinook grunted. "What about the owls?" he said. "Just stick close to the trees, they won't even see us." They reached the summit and roosted at the tip of the highest tree. The dawn chorus was building now, rising up all around them. "Let's go back." said Chinook. "We can tell the others we saw it. We'll keep it secret, okay?" "You go ahead." said Shade. He wouldn't leave. He wanted his victory. The sky was very bright in the east now. Chinook shifted on the branch. "Shhh." hissed Shade. "Over there." An owl sat stone still in a nearby tree, half hidden behind a screen of leaves. Shade didn't think the owl had seen them. Even if it had, he knew it wasn't allowed to attack them until the sun had risen. It was the law. A dreadful hooting emenated from the owl's throat, then it rose from the branch and flew away, its wings pumping silently. Shade let out his breath. "I- I can't." said Chinook, and he dropped from the branch, pounding his way fast toward Tree Haven. Across the valley a band of white light spread from the tree line. Shade blinked, turned away, and found himself staring straight at a wall of dense feathers. He looked up into the huge hooded eyes of an owl, perched at the end of his branch. The owl's eyes held on him, and then the massive horned head swiveled eerily to the bright horizon, checking for the sun. Suddenly there was a rush of air behind Shade and there was his mother. "Fly!" she hissed. "Now!" Down the hill they plunged, hugging the tree line. At a distance followed the owl, its gigantic wings swinging. Then shade felt a sudden warmth on his wings. The sun had broken the horizon. "Into the trees!" cried Ariel. "Don't look back!" He looked. A tiny sliver of the sun had cleared the horizon, spilling dazzling light into the valley. Then He locked onto his mother with his echo vision, and followed her as she plunged below the tree line. * * * Tree Haven was a vast, ancient oak. Hundreds of years ago it had been struck by lightning. The Silverwings had hollowed out the great trunk and used it as a nursery colony ever since. It was perfect. There were only a handful well-hidden knotholes, through which the bats flew every dawn and dusk. No birds or beasts could work their way inside. Shade burst through one of the knotholes with his mother. Outside, the owl screamed in fury as it battered the tree with its claws, then it flew off, hooting balefully. Ariel was very angry. "It was a childish thing to do. Dangerous. It was foolishness like this that got your father killed." "He wanted to see the sun?" asked Shade. She'd never told him this. All he knew is that last spring his father was out one night, too far from the roost, and an owl hunted him down in the dawn's light and killed him. His father's name was Cassiel. Ariel nodded. "He was always talking about it. That's not going to happen to you. I won't lose both my mate and my son in one year." At that moment, Mercury, the messenger for the colony elders, made a slow spiral down the trunk toward them. "The elders are anxious to speak with you. Both." Up the trunk they flew, and at the peak of the topmost branch hung the four colony elders. Aurora, Bathsheba, Lucretia, and Frieda. According to Shade's mother, Frieda was still a fierce hunter. The most mysterious thing about her was the small metal band around her left forearm. No other bat in the colony had one. "What happend, Ariel?" Said Frieda. "I went looking for Shade. He made a foolish dare with Chinook. They were waiting for the sun to rise. Chinook had the sense to return to Tree Haven before it did." Frieda stared intently at Shade. "Yet your son stayed." "Yes, and I found him just in time. An owl was waiting to take him." "But the sun rose before you reached Tree Haven." said Bathsheba. "You should've left your son for the owl." "I know." Shade looked at her in horror. "It's the law." said Bathsheba. "Now the owls will want justice. You've put the whole roosts in terrible danger." "You saw the sun?" Said Frieda. Shade nodded. "Long time ago, I saw it. When I was younger, a lot ot us wanted to." "How come we're not allowed?" said Shade. "We're banished creatures, Shade, and have been for millions of years." "Why? What did we do?" "It's easier," said Frieda. "if you hear for yourself. Come with me." Episode 2. Frieda led Shade to the very depths of Tree Haven, down into a large cave. There he heard what he thought it was the wind. But as he listened it, he realized it was voices. Bat voices, mumbling over one another, like a ghostly breeze. Frieda led him deeper still, down to the bottom of the cave. In a small niche Shade saw a panel of mulched-up leaves. He pushed through the soft center, and he found himself in a small, completely round, and totally deserted cave. All around him, like currents of warm air, were voices, moaning at his ears. After a moment he realized they were echoes, bouncing off the walls of the cave, again and again. "See how smooth the walls are." whispered Frieda. "It took years to polish them. Generations. But they had to be smooth for here the echoes can bounce for centuries." "What's it for?" asked Shade. "This is the history of the Silverwing colony. Every year an elder sings the year's stories to the walls, and here they stay." Shade watched as the old bat swiveled her ears. "Yes, here's the oldest story of all. Concentrate!" Shade moved his head up against Frieda's, eyes closed, ears pricked high, and suddenly there was a voice inside his head. "Millions, millions of years ago, the world was an empty place. There was only Nocturna, the Winged Spirit, whose wings were the night sky, and contained the stars and the moon and the wind. One by one Nocturna fashioned creatures..." The words faded away, and without warning, his mind was filled with pictures. He was there, at the beginning of the world. He saw bats, lifting from trees, beating their way through the air. And it was full daylight. The sun burned high in the sky. "We were allowed to see the sun." he muttered. Thne the picture chaged, and he saw a great battle raging between the beasts and the birds. Then suddenly, it was night again. "What happend?" said Shade. "We bats didn't take sides." said Frieda. "The beasts blamed us for losing the battle, the birds branded us cowards. So they both banished us. Listen." The voice came back into Shade's head. "For millions of years we have lived in the dark. The sunlight hurts our eyes now. The Winged Spirit, Nocturna, was angry with the other creatures for banishing us. So she gave us the echo vision, so that we could hunt in the dark. But the greatest gift she gave us was the Promise." Shade turned to Frieda. "What's the Promise?" Frieda tilted her head around the echo chamber. "Let's see if we can find it." Together, they sifted through the eddies of sound, and Shade soon latched onto the correct echo. "This is the Promise. One day your banishment will end. You will no more have to fear the claws of the owls or the jaws of the beasts. And you will be free to return to the light of day once again." "Will there be another war?" asked Shade. "I don't know. If it happens, it'll be because of this." Frieda unfolded her wing, revealing the silver band on her forearm. "How did you get it?" "The Humans gave it to me when I was young. There were a couple of us in the forest one night, and they took hold of us and fastened the bands, and let us go. I believe it's a sign, Shade. A sign of the Promise to come. I believe the Humans will help us in some way." Just then there was a fluttering of wings ouside the echo chamber. "Frieda!" It was Mecury, the messeger. "The owls are coming. And they have fire!" * * * Shade circled anxiously over the peak of Tree Haven with Frieda and Mercury, watching maybe forty owls soared toward them. Clutched in their claws were long thin sticks, the ends glittering like dangerous stars. Fire. Shade stared in horror. "Mercury." said Frieda. "Tell everyone to take cover. Shade, go back inside and make sure everyone is out of the roost." Shade dived back inside Tree Haven, crying out the warning. "Clear the roost! Everyone out!" Luckly, almost everyone was out hunting. The bats still inside were old and frail, and he helped them toward the exits, explaining hurriedly. His fur was beaded with sweat when he flew back outside to join Frieda. "Everyone's out." he panted. The owls were directly overhead now, circling. One owl detached himself from the group, and began a slow descent. "Brutus." said Frieda with a respectful nod. "You've brought soldiers and fire. Why?" "You know why, Frieda Silverwing." came the owl's response. "We're here for justice. Give us the boy who saw the sun." Shade felt his insides liquify. "The boy is only a newborn, and he didn't know any better. Surely you can overlook his foolishness this once." "The law makes no exceptions." "You will not take the boy. This is my final reply to you." The owl lefted from Tree Haven, shouting back at Frieda. "You've made your reply. Here is ours." With a terrible shriek, forty owls plunged down. They hurled their sticks at the tree, flames leaping as they struck bark. Sparks caught along the branches up the trunk. Before his mother could hold him back, Shade plunged toward a growing patch of flame, battering it with his wings, again and again, until it sputtered out. He looked aound frantically, and launched himself at another fire. From the corner of his eyes he saw his mother and dozens of other bats surge from their hiding places in the forest. "Put out the flames!" came the cry. "Stop the fire!" But the owls were waiting for them, and beat them back af if they were drops of rain. Meanwhile the flames grew larger, hungrier, spitting sparks. When Tree Haven was a pillar of fire burning inside and out, the owls flew away. "Silverwings!" called Frieda, flying above them. "We've suffered a terrible loss tonight. We've lost Tree Haven, our nursery roost for hundreds of years. But no one was killed. We haven't lost a single menber of our colony. So I say this to you. We must strike out to Stone Hold to join with the males, and then on to Hibernaculum." With grim determination, every bat of the Silverwing colony rose into the air. They found a deserted barn before sunrise. Hanging from the high rotting beams, exhausted, most of the bats plunged immediately into a deep sleep. Shade pressed close against his mother. "It's not your fault." she said. "Everyone saw how brave you were. You tried to save the roost. I'm very proud of you." Shade glowed silently with her praise. "Frieda took me to the echo chamber. And I heard all about the Great Battle and the Promise. She showed me her band." "Your father was banded, just like Frieda ---. Afterward he thought the Promise was about to come true." "What was he looking for when he got killed?" asked Shade. "He wouldn't tell me. Now, are you scared about the journey south?" "Little." "Do you want me to tell you about the route we'll take?" Shade nodded. "Close your eyes and concentrate." Ariel pressed her forehead against his, and a brilliant silvery landscape flared up from the darkness. He saw a huge Human tower, and at the top light flashing. Then he saw black water spreading out until it met the night sky in a flat, dreadful line. Following it, there came an upside-down constellation of stars. Then, a metal cross and a hollow clanging, and now one star in the sky, glowing more brightly than the others. Now, the ears of a giant white wolf, and ice everywhere. And a broad torrent of water, crashing, roaring, sending up a spray. Then his mind went dark. "You've seen the most important landmarks on the journey." said Ariel. "Now we should get some sleep. We'll reach Stone Hold tomorrow. You'll get to meet your brothers." Pressed close against his mother, Shade's mind was churning. Freeling sorry for what had happened wouldn't bring his father back or Tree Haven or stop the owls from hunting them. He'd have to do something. At Stone Hold he'd meet the banded bats who knew his father, Cassiel. He'd find out what the bands meant. He'd learn the secret of the Promise. And then he'd bring his colony the greatest gift of all. He'd bring them the sun. Episode 3. As the colony set out, the fog blanketed the valleys, sifting through the treetops. They flew above the tree line, and soon through the splinters of mist. A brisk pungent smell, unlike anything he knew, hit Shade's nostrils. Almost at the same moment, he heard a deep throbbing rhythm. He looked over at Ariel. "I'll show you." she said. She angled her wings and flew higher. Shade followed, and then gasped in wonder, as he remembered his mother's sound map. "That's all water?" he whispered. "The ocean." Closer to the land, the water heaved up in huge black and white paws, crashing against the rocks. As they flew back down to join the rest of the colony, there was a sudden flash up ahead. And his mother nodded toward the horizon. "Recognize that?" Shade nodded excitedly. It was the strange high tower from his mother's song. "What's the light?" "It flashed every few seconds." said Ariel. "It's very bright." "But what's it for?" "Frieda thinks Humans built it long ago to help their boats navigate. And that's how we use it too." The rain started suddenly. And as if on cue, wind tore at his body, buffeting him from side to side. "Down to the trees!" came Frieda's cry. "We'll wait out the storm!" The wind screamed around them, and Shade lurched. "Cling to me, Shade!" called his mother. "It's too rough." "No!" he snapped. Shade wouldn't sink his claws into his mother's fur and cling to her like he was a furless pup again, while she flew for both of them. He veered away from her, rocking crazily through the rain. As he angled his wings to descend, a savage gust knocked him onto his back, and tumbling, he was swallowed up in a bank of fog. The wind fell a little. Shade streamed out from the fog. He cried out in dismay. He was over the ocean. He wheeled, trying to catch sight of land. But it was lost in the rain and fog. Which way? Another treacherous gust of wind broadsided him, forcing him down. He saw the huge expanse of water below, churning white and black. Then a glimmer of light caught his eye, coming from something on the water. A boat, it must be a Human's boat. Huge white sails billowed from tall masts. He trimmed his wings and aimed himself at the boat. Closer, closer, wings tensed, he neared the tallest mast at breakneck speed, the wind at his tail. Ha braked sharply, claws outstretched, and sank them into the fabric of the sail. The sail snapped with the wind, nearly throwing him off. Inch by inch, Shade crawled toward the mast and into a tight fold. Sheltering from the wind and rain, he wrapped his wings around his shaking body. * * * Shade woke with a start. The boat's violent pitching had given way to a gentle rocking. Cautiously he pushed his head out from the sail. The sky was still dark, but with huge relief he saw land. A small bay with a few wooden buildings on the rocky slopes. Maybe his mother and the rest of the colony weren't far away. He flew from the mast, circling, trying to get his bearings. He soared high hoping for landmarks. Nothing, but unfamiliar forest stretched out around him. He landed on a branch, breathless. "What're you doing here?" Shade nearly jumped out of his fur. The voice came from the bright curled leaf next to him. He peered at it warily, ready to fly. He could see that this talking leaf was much fatter, certainly, than the other leaves, and it actually seemed to be furry in places. He looked for the stem and saw there were actually two, each with a set of five sharp claws. "You're a bat!" said Shade. "Of course I'm a bat." The bat slowly unwrapped herself. Long wings folded back agains