EXT. A MARKETPLACE - AFTERNOON A GIRL, about 12, dressed in a light blue traditional desert robe, meanders through a marketplace, carelessly swinging a basket as she ducks, giggling, through the crowd. The cloth covering of her basket jostles open as she bumps through a bundle of patrons, revealing glimpses of dark purple crystals within. AERIAL SHOT, a sea of canvas awnings stave off the searing Third Season sun. Innumerable stalls line choked alleys between buildings with roofs coated in brilliant silver mirrors. Larger thoroughfares cut through the city at twisting angles, bustling with robed figures and the occasional hulking silver automata. EXT. THE MERCHANT'S STALL CUT TO an unusually tall, thin WOMAN in a bright red hood embroidered with a gold eagle. She tightly clutches a large bundle of dried herbs, which gives off little puffs of dust and dried leaves each time she waves it for emphasis (which is often). She is loudly berating a MERCHANT, who stands exasperatedly behind his counter, the stall packed thickly with similar bundles of herbs. PERSPECTIVE SHOT from the stall, looking out: WOMAN (Angrily) I had my office send down a messenger boy just this morning, and you assured him that you had plenty of Melefth Flowers in stock Meanwhile, at a crossing behind her, the girl darts precariously between a pair of massive guard automata, barely pulling her basket between their stomping, armoured legs. She pulls herself to a stop several paces behind the woman, makes a large show to no one of brushing herself off (although she is not dusty). She does not check her basket, the cover of which has now come completely off. It’s contents, six fist sized purple crystals, clink melodically against each other as she straightens and notices the woman for the first time. WOMAN (CONT’D) Everyone knows that a night summoning requires AT MINIMUM two bundles of melefth flowers ... The woman’s continuous shaking has begun to properly dislodge the bundle by this point, and her increasingly animated gestures begin to fling larger pieces of dried herb, which sizzle and smoke away to nothing as they land in the sun of the street. The merchant makes a halting motion and looks as if he might speak, but cuts himself off, making a resigned face at the disintegrating bundle. WOMAN (CONT’D) I arrive, ask for all the malefth flowers you have, and THIS is what you hand me? The woman gestures at the now quite sad looking bundle, but doesn’t seem to notice it’s condition as she continues her tirade. The girl, coming back into our focus barely a pace behind the woman, begins to imitate the woman, gesturing wildly with her basket and mouthing gibberish. The crystals clink and bounce about, but they remain in the basket as her subtle control reveals a practiced hand behind her seemingly careless antics. CUT TO the butcher, who stifles a laugh and raises a hand to interrupt the woman. MERCHANT (Gruffly) Look, maam, you know as well as I that it’s the middle of the Third Season and melefth flowers have to be kept cool... He pauses, raising an eyebrow and turning a hand to draw her attention to the ruined bundle. MERCHANT (CONT’D) They’re hard enough to get at all, which makes them twice as the normal price. (PAUSES POINTEDLY) The woman stares at the bundle, now just more than half it’s original size, then looks at the merchant for a beat. His implacable face is all the argument she needs, as she slams a fistful of coins onto his counter and stalks away, wrapping what remains of her purchase in a bright green handkerchief. The girl skips twice to bring herself to the counter, leaning back to eye the tall, bearded man. MERCHANT (Warmly) Ah, little saiha , what can I do for you today? His friendly, booming voice starkly contrasts the mask of stern immovability he had taken with the woman. SAIHA (Business Like) Momma sent me down to trade these seven crystals for as many bundles of sodagrass as they will buy. The man raises his eyebrows, reaching down to accept the basket. He grasps a bundle of fiery pink blossoms and places it on one of the many hooks which coat the roof of his stall. Nestling the basket into the precious free counter space, he pulls a crystal and lifts it to the light. MERCHANT (Friendly) So many today, did your mother finally manage to crack that deep vein she’s been working on? CLOSE UP, the crystal is much less opaque than it appeared in the dark shadows of the basket. The afternoon sun flickers through it in bright streaks, revealing electric green veins bursting from a deeper green core at the center of the crystal. The central mass fluoresces with a sleeping rhythm, a beating heart of living stone. SAIHA (Excited) Yup! She says there’s enough there for more than a year of work still though. She trails off, as if the reminder dampened her mood a bit. The merchant reaches below his counter and pulls forward an ornate wooden box, mounted on rails just below waist level. Within the box are a purse, a pile of thick leather squares, and a small book. The walls of the box are padded with soft velvet. The purse clinks weightily as he deposits the coins. MERCHANT How are you doing while she is in the mines? Are you staying out of trouble? The merchant returns to examining the crystals. He holds each one up to the light, examining their glittering surfaces for cracks and the cores for any dark spots which might indicate contamination. He carefully wraps each crystal in leather as he finishes with it, placing them side by side within the box. He places the last crystal into the box and closes the lid, making a quick “Q” gesture with the fingers of his left hand. The box clicks loudly and he slides it back into its place. SAIHA (Dejected) Momma says if I bring home any more pet grothka she’s going to teach me how to cook them He laughs loudly, leaning down to the girl with an exaggerated aire of wisdom. MERCHANT (Wisely) Well, you’ll have to keep them better hidden, won’t you? ... He straightens, and begins gathering bundles of herbs. MERCHANT (CONT’d) So, then, your mother sent you down to get as much sodagrass as you could buy to celebrate? Are you having a party? The girl’s face briefly betrays worry, recovering with an innocent face which only the stupidest would trust. SAIHA (Stammering, at first) Umm, yes, yes, she said I could have a treat because my, err, grades have been so good recently. He nods knowingly, gathering a few final sprigs of herb and wrapping the collection with bright yellow fabric. He hands the bundle to the girl and looks seriously at her to make sure she is paying attention MERCHANT Tell your mother that my shipment of lion’s mane has been delayed, but I included some fae blossoms which might work instead. I’ll drop her a ‘gram when the shipment comes in and she can send you back down to get them. The girl makes a pouting face at the man as she realizes her ruse has failed, but she grins widely as he continues MERCHANT (CONT'D) You’ll want to take out the sodagrass before your mother sees it... and I won’t bother her about that seventh crystal. The girl spins around as she realizes she has lost one of her precious charges, her eyes scraping the road for any sign of the now surely destroyed cargo. Simultaneously, in the distance, loud shouts and clanging can be heard, as alarm bells begin to ring throughout the city. The merchant is halfway out of his stall, in motion to grab the little girl, when a RED SMOKE billows around a nearby corner. It seems to almost hesitate for an instant before it sweeps and slices its way through the stalls toward our view, obliterating the camera into a solid blood red which fades to black as a roar of wind and shredding metal and raging fire deafens any sound of the chaos we’ve just left behind.