PRINCE
offscreen
: Most people think time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction, but I have seen the face of time, and I can tell you: they are wrong. Time is an ocean in a storm. You may wonder who I am and why I say this? Sit down, and I will tell you a tale like none that you have ever heard. Know first that I am the son of Shah Rahman, a mighty King of Persia. On our way to Azad, with a small company of men, we passed through India with a promise of honour and glory that tempted my father into a grievous error.
[We're taking a deep dive into the memories of a young prince. The King's army is preparing to attack the city.]
KING SHAH RAHMAN: Now, my son!
[The young prince, who stands near his father, begins the attack. In the heat of battle, the king rises his sword on an elderly man who has turned out to be a traitor-vizier.]
VIZIER: Your majesty! I trust you remember your promise. The Maharaja's treasure vaults lie within.
[When the young prince hears that, he leaves.]
KING SHAH RAHMAN: See how he rides - ha! Ah! Like a warrior's son!
[Suddenly the wall behind him collapses and the young prince is cut off from the main army.]
PRINCE
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: Do you think I felt regret as I gazed upon the destruction we had brought? Or at least humility at the speed with which a world can be transformed from a good one into a hell? If you think so, you are mistaken. From that moment I thought of one thing only - the honor and glory I would bring my father by fighting like a warrior in my first battle.
[The prince climbs up the wall and climbs inside the building. He will fight with the soldiers of the enemy alone.]
PRINCE
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: Many men that day sought to win honor and glory on the battlefield that their king might say to them as Khosrau said to Rustam: “You are the noblest of my warriors.” From the moment my sword tasted blood, I knew this would not be my way. I would win my father's praise not by killing, but by being the first to find the Maharaja's treasure vault and the wonders within.
[He continues to explore the palace and finds the treasury.]
PRINCE
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: And there it lay, just out of reach. The dagger of time. There was a treasure I could carry with pride as a trophy of our victory. If I could only get there.
[He finds a way to get to the dagger.]
PRINCE: Sand.
[Examining the dagger he presses the button at the very moment when a piece of the dome falls on his head. Time is rewinded and the piece returns to its place.]
PRINCE
offscreen
: I had what I came for. It was time to get out, now.
[He's going back to his father.]
KING SHAH RAHMAN: Oh!
Prince: Father! I have brought us honor and glory.
VIZIR:
coughs
Your majesty! You promised me my choice of the Maharaja's treasures… that dagger!
KING SHAH RAHMAN: Surely, you won't deny the lad a souvenir for his first battle? You may have your choice of all the Maharaja's other treasures… except that hourglass.
[The Vizier quietly snarls with anger.]
KING SHAH RAHMAN: That will make a fine gift for the Sultan of Azad when we pass through his city. And some exotic animals for his menagerie… and two dozens slave girls.
[The Vizier coughs with blood. There's a girl in a red dress watching.]
KING SHAH RAHMAN: Yes! That should be enough. I want no animals or maidens harmed until I am chosen. Let it be known: King Shah Rahman is merciful in victory.
[One of the guards is grabbing the girl. Soon the king begins to take the looted treasures and slaves from the captured city - including the captured girl in a red dress.]
