Original subtitles

[ shouting ]

Yah! Yah!

Ha!

[ bellowing ]

Easy...Easy

You'll be free soon.

Hey...Come on!

You want the same?

Halt!

In an age when nature And magic rule the world...

There is An extraordinary legend:

The story of a warrior

Who communicates with animals,

Who fights sorcery And the unnatural.

His name is dar, Last of his tribe.

He's also called...

Beastmaster.

Still looking out

For your friends, I see.

What are you doing here?

Claiming back what's Rightfully mine.

I'm the one and only king.

Talk to the elephants.

Order them To stand still, will you?

They don't like To be tied.

Too bad. I need them.

What for?

To break down The walls of

Xinca, so I can Take my revenge on that

Insipid little runt Who tried to destroy me.

Your war with voden has nothing To do with these elephants.

That little peacock hides From us behind the walls

Of his city -- These beasts are going to

Help scatter The stones that protect him.

Now shut them up.

[ elephants trumpeting ]

You'd risk their lives In battle?

If they survive, I'll free them.

But if they don't cooperate

Right now, I'll Have them slaughtered.

Now!

That's better.

[ groaning ]

Can't you see It's wrong to

Force these animals Into your war?

I'll tell you what I see.

If I let you go, You're going to come back

And try to rescue them, Aren't you?

I'm afraid I can't allow That to happen.

-try and kill him. -spear carriers. Form ranks.

Archers, drop your swords.

Make ready. Archers ready?

You, after the beastmaster.

Ready your weapons.

Archers ready. Take aim.

Aim.

Tao.

Tao!

Beastmaster...

I know you can hear me.

I am going to crush voden.

And the elephants Are going to help me.

You try to free them,

And your friend dies.

Try to rescue him...

I'll kill the elephants.

Dar, don't worry About me. Arghhh!

Zad!

If anything happens to tao Or the elephants...

You'll answer to me.

Fire.

Dar!

Two men guarding The prisoner at all times.

And send some skirmishers To scout the

Approaches to xinca.

So...Where are you fellows from?

-where did you-- -come from?

I don't know enough about My craft to answer that yet.

Ah, a sorceress.

A very young sorceress.

Because I appear young, You do not fear me?

Oh, no, I respect All of your kind.

In fact, a sorceress who Could have been your sister,

Your older sister, Was very good to me.

-really? -yes.

Saved me from my worst enemy.

-voden. -that's right.

You've arrived at A very auspicious moment.

Would it be too much to ask

For your Favour as well?

What do you want?

You have a large army, and Now you've captured elephants.

I need every advantage I can devise.

And anything you Can do to help me.

There is danger in trying To turn the hand of fate.

One never knows What might happen.

But voden is Heartless and cruel.

Yes, a cold creature.

One who doesn't Have respect

For the powers Of the fantastic.

If he's allowed To continue,

What sort of World will he make?

And what sort of world Will you make?

Ha, ha, I'm not interested In empire building.

Fighting's not the way I prefer to spend my day.

Mmm...Yes, your conquests

Are legend.

Yes, but now I must also Stand as a warrior

In order to rid the world Of this despicable child.

Even at the cost Of the elephants?

It's a small price to pay To cleanse the land of his evil.

Tell me this at least.

What does the hand of fate Hold in store for me?

If I told you, wouldn't That take the fun out of it?

Whose army is this?

Zad? I should have killed him When I had the chance.

He'll kill him If I try freeing the elephants.

Then we'll rescue tao first.

No, he'll kill The elephants.

Zad's time in exile has Only made him worse.

Where is he?

Somewhere in there.

[ twig snapping ]

Arina.

Hjalmar. I was tracking zad.

He was just here.

Hjalmar...

Whatever Has passed between us,

You know how much I want him dead.

Imagine how much voden Would have rewarded me

For delivering His two worst enemies

In one day -- well...

A bird in the hand.

You're getting ahead Of yourself.

Who's the bird now?

I'd say, the one About to be put in a cage.

So when does your battle start?

You know that If your elephants can't break

Xinca's defences In the opening rush

That voden's archers Will cut you to shreds.

So now you're A philosopher

In the arts of war.

I know good generals don't Risk all on a single strategy.

You're a bright lad, tao.

You would have had a shining Future with someone like me.

I still don't understand Why you waste your time

Tramping through the forests With that gutless savage.

At least with him, There is a future.

Once they've helped us Take xinca, their hides will

Buy us a great victory feast.

I don't think we'll Get much for your hide.

A loyal subject returns.

We found her with zad while We were out scouting.

Unfortunately, He escaped.

-I was trying to kill him. -so she says.

What did you learn Of zad's army?

They're outcasts and rabble From a dozen defeated tribes.

Many or few.

We've nothing to fear from men Who've never tasted victory.

Don't underestimate An army of men clinging

To their last hope, hjalmar.

I can tell you what you Need to know about zad's army.

Why would I

Listen to you?

I don't even know you any more.

I once knew a warrior like you, Who fought by our side to avenge

The murderous cruelties Done to her people

By the terrons.

But she's no more.

She rejected everything I offered.

She could have stood beside me Astride the world.

One of the few destined For greatness.

But now, in my eyes, She is dead.

You've only to say the word.

A quick blow with a sword.

I don't think so.

Voden, I can tell you what you Need to fear from king zad.

I fear nothing

From zad.

He has new weapons.

His army grows daily, With battle-hardened warriors.

And he has elelphants.

Elephants?

And you saw none of this?

I saw only she and zad.

And couldn't get Close enough to see

A little thing like elephants.

You do me wrong, sire.

I have no reason To deceive you.

She does.

Take her to the fighting pit.

You will die screaming And those screams

Will be music to my ears.

The nords have taken her.

-taken where? -to xinca.

Voden intends to make An example of her.

You can go after her.

Tao will be safe for now.

-can you help him? -I've learned the cost

Of interference -- Without my teacher here,

I can't afford To create consequences

I can't overturn.

[ screeching ]

-I haven't forgot about him? -I think he already knows.

Just for you.

You're paying A high price for revenge.

Is that so?

If I were free, I could help you fight zad.

You are going to Help me fight zad.

You helped me Bring metal to this land.

And now metal

Is going to take you from it.

Why don't we just kill her?

Beastmaster will try And rescue her.

We'll have to battle him As well as zad.

You fear the beastmaster?

Our army must be concentrated On defending the city.

Understand this.

I want the beastmaster to come.

And when he does, he'll Help us defeat zad.

Arina's the bait To get him here.

I prefer to think Of her as the sacrifice.

Very clever.

We found that trap door Some time ago.

We knew you'd be clever Enough to use it.

Almost as clever as what I have in store for arina.

Dar.

I'd like to bring Your attention to

The swords above your friend And the rope which holds them.

It's a sturdy rope -- The flame might take all day

To consume it -- who knows?

Why are you doing this?

And because I finally have A way of making you

Use your powers to my advantage.

As quick and as brave As you are,

All of us before Someone severs that rope.

They have explicit Orders to cut it

As soon as they feel threatened.

What do you want?

An ally.

Turn zad's elephants around.

I don't control the elephants.

Persuade them, beg them, cajole.

It really makes no difference To me how you do it.

Dar, forget about me.

Save tao. Maybe this is my fate.

Now I can join Orpheo with honour,

Taking something With me that's his.

If she dies, I'll hold you responsible.

You got here faster Than I expected.

You'd want to be quicker Getting back to the elephants.

See to it that

No one stands in his way.

Hmm, so you joined

The warriors When your family's crops

Were burnt and you had to eat.

And you...You were trained As a child to fight

Against the terrons, And now you fight with zad.

That's interesting.

You both have Interesting stories.

Would you mind just dropping These spears a bit

So that I can breathe?

You're relieved.

Well, looks like your

Maybe, or maybe he'll appear When you least expect it.

We'll see -- In the meantime, I have

Other scores to settle.

Be prepared to move out.

We march on xinca at my command.

So, how about you fellows?

Where are you from?

Bring that to me.

I've confined the civilians To their homes.

If the ropes don't let loose Soon, she'll die of thirst.

Either way, She won't last the day.

That will be Long enough.

Today is the Day of reckoning.

Our scouts say Zad is coming.

You think the beastmaster Will stop the elephants?

Two rules of war: Assume nothing

And leave nothing To chance.

But our men have never Fought elephants before.

Our archers will Take care of that.

Elephant skin can't Be any tougher

Tries today, we're stronger And we're smarter, hjalmar.

We'll rid ourselves Of many enemies today.

To your towers And keep your eyes open.

Yes, milord.

Still no beastmaster.

Looks like our victory Will soon be here.

Don't be so sure. The day is long.

Not for you.

Once we've got the city, We'll sound the horns.

Yes, king zad.

Kill your prisoner.

You promised dar That you would

Set me free if he Did not interfere.

He'll hunt you For the rest

Of your Life for this.

Ho, ho, ho, you forget, tao.

He's a man who doesn't kill.

Up till now, he's been A constant torment.

But once I have xinca and these Warriors guard the walls,

He'll be no more than a minor Nuisance to be ignored.

The horns.

Voden's ready for you.

He has weapons to defeat The elephants.

Nothing can stop my elephants.

Powerful arrows That will pierce their hides.

They have only To breach the walls.

Once we're inside,

I have another Surprise in store.

I've grown very fond Of these beasts.

It would displease me To see them hurt.

I haven't come all this way To be denied voden.

I want to feel my sword

Sink deep Into that white maggot.

Voden lives inside his own head.

For him, The spirits don't exist.

Even you don't exist.

Now we can't allow that, can we?

So, you see?

You must help me.

[ shouting ]

[ shouting ]

I told you not to Come back for me.

I'd never forgive myself.

Let's get out of here.

Tao and the elephants Need our help.

Kill them. Don't let them Escape. After them!

Yes, milord.

Close the gates.

Close the gates.

Archers to their posts.

Prepare for battle.

Prepare For battle.

Archers on the ready!

-where does this fog come from? -they're coming.

Where are the elephants? I can't see anything.

Archers, fire their arrows!

There's too much fog!

We need to reinforce the gate. Come on. Come on!

Brace it there.

Come on, more reinforcements.

Come on.

[ shouting ]

Kill them all!

Fall back, fall back!

Fall back!

Come on, this way.

We got to Get to tao.

Elephants first -- Zad won't harm tao

Until he's sure He's taken the city.

-you all right? -better now.

They know where tao is.

Get on.

[ shouting ]

[ trumpeting ]

Thank you.

What are you doing?

Regroup. Mount a counterattack.

There'll be no counterattack.

It seems I've overlooked The first rule of war.

Don't underestimate your enemy.

If he broke through the walls of Xinca, I'd deliver him the city.

And I'd deliver you as well.

You did this when Scouting his army?

Arina almost ruined our meeting.

You'd rather serve A murdering savage

Who only thinks with his gut And his groin than me?

At least he's an evil I can understand...

And not a complete madman.

You worthless traitor.

Get him out of my sight.

After him.

Go, go.

Find the brat's Tent -- hjalmar's

Not having the sole pleasure Of skinning him alive.

Help me...

Sound the victory signal.

Xinca's ours.

[ cheering ]

[ horn blaring ]

That can't be The victory signal.

I expected more than that, With elephants

And trumpets and fanfare The whole...Every--

Are you sure we Can't talk about this?

This is a shame because We're becoming

Such good friends And everything and...

We'll each have to take two At exactly the same time.

Is that all?

If I could have Just a moment.

Before an eiron dies, an eiron Would like to take a moment--

[ elephants trumpeting ]

Hey!

Yeah, fine. I can't say The same about the shirt.

Zad won?

I don't mean to complain, But weren't you

Cutting that a little bit close?

He would have Been here sooner,

But I held him up.

Had to help the elephants.

Thought you'd understand.

Yeah, in a funny way, I do.

[ trumpeting ]

Good. I knew you would.

It's all about The elephants now.

Where is he?

We can't find him.

You can't find him?

I've men searching Every corner of the city.

We had a deal.

You were to deliver

Voden to me -- we had a deal!

He'll be found.

The city belongs to you.

All those loyal to voden

Are dead.

Hail king zad!

Hail king zad!

We were pleased to help you

In your victory.

And how do I reward such

Faithful service?

I'd be grateful for whatever Honour you saw fit to bestow.

You ask for nothing.

I believe a leader should be Strong and unquestioned.

Voden had us all Doubting the future.

I saw you

Had the strength To be a greater king.

Very perceptive.

What happens

If another leader Should come along.

Our loyalty is to you.

[ chuckling ]

How can I be sure?

How can I be sure?

I swear.

Oh, no, don't swear.

Find me voden or follow Your general to your deaths.

Take that with you.

Check there.

Now zad rules in xinca.

One despot Follows another.

And this one's as Bad, if not worse,

Than the one before.

No, the elephants Are free, and the

Land suffers from One less tyrant.

It's a change For the better.

There's still a mad king Somewhere out there

Waiting to make Our lives miserable.

As long as there's Change for the better, all of us

Still have a fighting chance.

[ elephants trumpeting ]

Captions performed by The national captioning centre