1. EXT. CANYON TOWER - DAY
Wide establishing shot. A flash of rainbow light pulses around a large burnt stone. Torm materializes from within its layers. Energy dissolves back into the stone.
2. Medium shot
Torm stands on the edge of the canyon tower. A long, precarious rope bridge stretches into the misty Giant Forest ahead.
3. Close-up
Torm pulls out her compass. The compass glows and projects a holographic image of the bridge in front of her.
4. Close-up
Torm’s determined face as she puts the compass away and tightens her pack.
5. Medium shot
Torm tests the bridge with a strong kick. Dust explodes off the planks and drifts into the wind.
6. Extreme wide shot (high angle)
Torm throws a rock into the middle of the bridge. It smashes through the planks and falls 1,500 feet into the canyon below.
7. Close-up
Torm’s eyes wide with shock, frozen, unable to blink.
8. Medium shot
Torm (voice-over):
“No more tests… or I’ll never want to cross that bridge.”
9. Tracking shot
Torm steps onto the bridge with cautious, measured footsteps. The bridge sways gently.
10. Point-of-view shot
Looking down through the broken gaps of the bridge to the terrifying drop below.
11. Close-up on Torm’s face
She breathes deeply, fighting rising acrophobia. She begins mentally distracting herself.
12. Montage - Quick cuts (3 shots)
Torm walking while imagining pages of the book “Speculations on the Origins of Giants” with colorful illustrations of strange creatures and giant trees.
13. Medium tracking shot
Torm continues across the long bridge, keeping strict rhythm in her steps.
14. Close-up
Torm’s face as internal dialogue begins:
“If I were to fall, would I black out before impact… or feel everything?”
15. Quick insert shots
Imagined falling POV + body hitting ground far below (nightmare flash).
16. Close-up
Torm’s stomach growls loudly. Hunger interrupts her panic.
17. Wide shot
Torm finally reaches the other side of the bridge. She steps onto solid forest ground.
18. Sweeping aerial shot
Revealing the immense scale of the Giant Forest — massive trees, rope bridges, carved tunnels, hanging pathways, and elevator systems woven like a vertical maze.
19. Medium shot
Torm tears a piece of bark from a tree. Rainbow-colored sap glistens.
20. Close-up
Torm bites the bark and drinks the sweet sap, eyes closing in relief from thirst.
21. Tracking shot
Torm walks along the hanging rope decks and tree tunnels, chewing bark.
22. Medium shot
Torm discovers the abandoned hanging vineyard and the lone berry bush.
23. Close-up
Torm carefully picks and tastes a berry, waiting for a reaction.
24. Close-up
Torm eats berries rapidly, reaching deeper into the vine.
25. Medium shot
Torm pulls the vine. A small blue furry Imifur tugs back, then scurries away.
26. Close-up
Torm’s surprised but gentle face as she recognizes the creature from her book.
27. Wide shot
Torm kneels and gently rolls a berry toward the nervous Imifur.
28. Tracking shot
Torm follows the Imifur respectfully through the vineyard to its hollow tree home.
29. Emotional close-up / two-shot
The male Imifur tries to feed his dying pink mate. Her soul lifts from her body.
30. Close-up
Male Imifur (tiny voice): “Noooo!” — desperately grabbing at the escaping soul.
31. Medium shot
Torm watches heartbroken, tears forming. She thinks of her sister.
32. Close-up
Torm helps a large Woodant across a broken railing by placing a sturdy twig.
33. Wide shot
A whole army of Woodants follows across the new bridge.
34. Close-up
Torm gently picks up the broken-winged Leaf Fly.
35. Extreme close-up
Torm applies rainbow sap to the wing, whispering: “Hold on little fly, almost done.”
36. Medium shot
Torm blows on the wing to harden the sap. The Leaf Fly tests its wings and flies.
37. Close-up
The Leaf Fly circles Torm’s head gratefully before flying off.
38. Magical shot
An Endglow steals a tear from Torm’s eye and returns to its swarm.
39. Close-up on Torm
She leans in, mesmerized by the Endglows’ deliberate patterns.
40. Dreamlike projection sequence (4-5 shots)
Endglow wings create a floating memory screen: Young Torm and Sister catching fireflies by the river tree in Dreamer Village. Sister’s clever nectar trick. Laughter. Then Sister’s scream and Shadow Fever attack.
41. Slow-motion / emotional close-up
Torm’s younger self desperately pulling her sick sister on the branch stretcher.
42. Wide dramatic shot
Torm leans on a railing — it breaks. She falls backward into the mossy swamp below.
43. Dynamic falling + impact shot
Torm falls into the soft moss. She sinks deeper while trying to escape.
44. Rescue montage (5 shots)
Whistle Sticks form a line and pull her out.
MudEater cleans her.
Propeller Heads return her bag.
Glow Ertels and Lava Stems warm and dry her in a glowing circle.
Torm exhausted, passes out safely in their care.
45. Beautiful wide finale shot
Torm wakes, refreshed. The forest lights up with Endglows, Glow Ertels, and luminous plants guiding her path. She follows the living light show toward the broken bridge and cave entrance as Whistlesticks create a musical living bridge for her to cross.
Wide establishing shot. A flash of rainbow light pulses around a large burnt stone. Torm materializes from within its layers. Energy dissolves back into the stone.
2. Medium shot
Torm stands on the edge of the canyon tower. A long, precarious rope bridge stretches into the misty Giant Forest ahead.
3. Close-up
Torm pulls out her compass. The compass glows and projects a holographic image of the bridge in front of her.
4. Close-up
Torm’s determined face as she puts the compass away and tightens her pack.
5. Medium shot
Torm tests the bridge with a strong kick. Dust explodes off the planks and drifts into the wind.
6. Extreme wide shot (high angle)
Torm throws a rock into the middle of the bridge. It smashes through the planks and falls 1,500 feet into the canyon below.
7. Close-up
Torm’s eyes wide with shock, frozen, unable to blink.
8. Medium shot
Torm (voice-over):
“No more tests… or I’ll never want to cross that bridge.”
9. Tracking shot
Torm steps onto the bridge with cautious, measured footsteps. The bridge sways gently.
10. Point-of-view shot
Looking down through the broken gaps of the bridge to the terrifying drop below.
11. Close-up on Torm’s face
She breathes deeply, fighting rising acrophobia. She begins mentally distracting herself.
12. Montage - Quick cuts (3 shots)
Torm walking while imagining pages of the book “Speculations on the Origins of Giants” with colorful illustrations of strange creatures and giant trees.
13. Medium tracking shot
Torm continues across the long bridge, keeping strict rhythm in her steps.
14. Close-up
Torm’s face as internal dialogue begins:
“If I were to fall, would I black out before impact… or feel everything?”
15. Quick insert shots
Imagined falling POV + body hitting ground far below (nightmare flash).
16. Close-up
Torm’s stomach growls loudly. Hunger interrupts her panic.
17. Wide shot
Torm finally reaches the other side of the bridge. She steps onto solid forest ground.
18. Sweeping aerial shot
Revealing the immense scale of the Giant Forest — massive trees, rope bridges, carved tunnels, hanging pathways, and elevator systems woven like a vertical maze.
19. Medium shot
Torm tears a piece of bark from a tree. Rainbow-colored sap glistens.
20. Close-up
Torm bites the bark and drinks the sweet sap, eyes closing in relief from thirst.
21. Tracking shot
Torm walks along the hanging rope decks and tree tunnels, chewing bark.
22. Medium shot
Torm discovers the abandoned hanging vineyard and the lone berry bush.
23. Close-up
Torm carefully picks and tastes a berry, waiting for a reaction.
24. Close-up
Torm eats berries rapidly, reaching deeper into the vine.
25. Medium shot
Torm pulls the vine. A small blue furry Imifur tugs back, then scurries away.
26. Close-up
Torm’s surprised but gentle face as she recognizes the creature from her book.
27. Wide shot
Torm kneels and gently rolls a berry toward the nervous Imifur.
28. Tracking shot
Torm follows the Imifur respectfully through the vineyard to its hollow tree home.
29. Emotional close-up / two-shot
The male Imifur tries to feed his dying pink mate. Her soul lifts from her body.
30. Close-up
Male Imifur (tiny voice): “Noooo!” — desperately grabbing at the escaping soul.
31. Medium shot
Torm watches heartbroken, tears forming. She thinks of her sister.
32. Close-up
Torm helps a large Woodant across a broken railing by placing a sturdy twig.
33. Wide shot
A whole army of Woodants follows across the new bridge.
34. Close-up
Torm gently picks up the broken-winged Leaf Fly.
35. Extreme close-up
Torm applies rainbow sap to the wing, whispering: “Hold on little fly, almost done.”
36. Medium shot
Torm blows on the wing to harden the sap. The Leaf Fly tests its wings and flies.
37. Close-up
The Leaf Fly circles Torm’s head gratefully before flying off.
38. Magical shot
An Endglow steals a tear from Torm’s eye and returns to its swarm.
39. Close-up on Torm
She leans in, mesmerized by the Endglows’ deliberate patterns.
40. Dreamlike projection sequence (4-5 shots)
Endglow wings create a floating memory screen: Young Torm and Sister catching fireflies by the river tree in Dreamer Village. Sister’s clever nectar trick. Laughter. Then Sister’s scream and Shadow Fever attack.
41. Slow-motion / emotional close-up
Torm’s younger self desperately pulling her sick sister on the branch stretcher.
42. Wide dramatic shot
Torm leans on a railing — it breaks. She falls backward into the mossy swamp below.
43. Dynamic falling + impact shot
Torm falls into the soft moss. She sinks deeper while trying to escape.
44. Rescue montage (5 shots)
Whistle Sticks form a line and pull her out.
MudEater cleans her.
Propeller Heads return her bag.
Glow Ertels and Lava Stems warm and dry her in a glowing circle.
Torm exhausted, passes out safely in their care.
45. Beautiful wide finale shot
Torm wakes, refreshed. The forest lights up with Endglows, Glow Ertels, and luminous plants guiding her path. She follows the living light show toward the broken bridge and cave entrance as Whistlesticks create a musical living bridge for her to cross.
SHOT LIST 1-56
21.EXT. GIANT FORREST ( GIANT FORREST )
A flash of light collects around a large rainbow-burnt stone and Torm emerges from its system of layers. The energy dissolves into the stone and she finds herself on a canyon tower where a long rope bridge leads into a vast forest. Her compass calls out and Torm is shown a picture of the bridge that hangs before her. She puts the compass away and tightens up her belongings, but she wasn't just going to step out onto that bridge and have faith that it was a well meaning stranger. She tested the bridge with a kick. Years of its dust skin find relief in the wind. She then takes a rock and launches it into the middle of the wooden planks. It breaks straight though, falling to its death 1,500 feet below. She stands silent with eyes wide open, unable to blink out of shock.
TORM
No more tests, or I'll never want to cross that bridge.
she tells herself. This would have been a walk of pure trust and zero common sense. Torm had never been afraid of heights, but she had also never been so high on a questionable bridge holding hands with a stranger and found herself developing a new talent for acrophobia. She would need 500 yards of distraction, since that was the distance of the bridge.
She put her mind on a book she had read about the mysteries of the Giant Forrest called "Speculations on the Origins of Giants." A large work documenting mostly the myths and tales about the creatures that supposedly live in the Giant Forest, the reported behaviors that happen there and the folklore of how the trees got so oversized. And though the book was without a real scientific method, she found the colorful illustrations depicting strange animals and wildlife excellent and the folklore entertaining and sometimes creepy. Officially the forest had been long off limits due to concern about the wildlife preserves, but everyone knew it was because of the high amount of suicides that occurred there daily by people either seeking a doorway out from their pain, or a doorway in from the curiosity. A problem so bad that steps were made to distribute fake maps leading people away from the forest. But Torm was there trying to save her sister. She kept a strict tempo and dynamic to her footsteps as she crossed the bridge. She managed to keep her mind busy for a while but then suddenly and without warning, her reason started a conversation with her anxiety:
TORM
If I were to fall, I would feel no pain since the force would be so great I would be unconscious before the pain could ever register to my brain, or perhaps a safety blackout would occur and my consciousness would be absent when my body hit the ground. But, on the other hand, I could remain wide awake during the deathly fall and somehow survive the distance and be in great pain, but be unable to move and...
before her panic could take flight, her stomach tapped her on the shoulder and hunger overtook the voices of reason and anxiety. A hundred belly growls later, she finally makes it across the bridge and she is greeted by a fresh, comforting pine perfume in the air. The forest is larger than the imagination and deeper than thought. Where the shadow and light from one branch could keep its own seasons. A series of rope bridges hug the trees with pathways running through carved out tree tunnels. She finds a row of tree pots hanging on a wall of bark. She sees dry colorful residues ringing around their plates.
( ADD A BRIDET AND ELEVATORS SYSERMS LIKE MAZE AND PUZZLE WITH ELEVATORS AND SWITHES )
Torm tears a piece of bark from the tree face and discovers a sweet-smelling, rainbow-colored sap. She immediately recalled a citation that she had read mentioning a sweet flavored bark used to hydrate climbers on long journeys in places with little water. She took a dangerous chance on her belief that it was the same gum mentioned in the citation, biting off a piece of the bark and letting her teeth, tongue, and cheeks harvest the water from its sap. This did wonders to fight off her thirst, but only teased her hunger. She continued down the tree-held lanes while chewing on the bark pieces and soon came to a bush of berries growing in a small abandoned forest vineyard. The high-hanging farm was built on long rows of hanging rope decks anchored from tree to tree. The small bush was the only thing left of the vineyard vegetation. Based on the deliberate way in which they were grown, Torm concluded there was a good chance they were edible, so she picks a few. Not wanting to let herself foolishly ingest something that might be deadly, she took a small bite from one and then waited.
Feeling no ill effects, she starts eating them as fast as she can pick them. She quickly picked nearly the whole bunch. Looking deeper, she saw a cluster of them in the back. She reached her hand in and started pulling on the vine, but found something tugging back. She re-positioned and pulled harder, snapping the vine. Fruit falls to her feet and a little furry creature runs down the vines to the floor, hiding behind a branch railing. It pokes its big eyes out and looks at her. Torm sees it stuck between being afraid of her and wanting the fruit. She recognizes the creature from one of the illustrations from her book. It's an "Imifur". Torm kneels softly and rolls a berry over to the little furry creature. It nervously takes the fruit and runs off. Torm chases the little Imifur from a respectful distance through the forest vineyard. Torm reached the little animal’s home: a hollow tree knot with a little room made in it. She sees the little blue Imifur try to feed his mate the berry, but she is at death’s door and too weak to eat. Soon she closes her eyes and her soul escapes her pink ornate body.
MALE IMIFUR
Noooo!
her blue mate pleads with a tiny, but sad voice as he tries to grab the soul with both hands, but it only slips through his fingers and floats away. Heartbroken and unable to say goodbye, the little guy runs after his mate’s soul. Torm is moved to tears from what she just witnessed and immediately her thoughts go to her sister. She tries to imagine things going right, not realizing that things are actually worse for her sister: The crack in her sister’s vapor machine had grown larger and was releasing vapor in large amounts and soon the entire supply would be gone. But Torm knew none of this and convinces herself that everything is going well. Torm notices a rather large "Woodant" trying to get across a railing where the branch had broken. Torm replaces the broken branch with a large sturdy twig. The Woodant crosses it and is soon followed by a whole army of Woodants. This small act of aid, in proxy, gave some relief to the feeling of helplessness that Torm felt by not being able to tend to her sister. Seconds later, she gets another chance to play nurse: A broken-winged "Leaf Fly" on the ground, struggling to fly. Torm softly picks it up with two fingers and puts some tree sap on its broken wing. It starts to struggle in her fingers.
TORM
Hold on little fly, almost done.
she whispers. It settles down as Torm blows on its wings which hardens the mend. Torm softly returns the Leaf Fly to the ground. It gives a few test flaps to its wings then is able to take off in flight. It circles Torm’s head once as a way of saying "thank you", then flies off. An “Endglow” steals a tear from Torm’s eye. Torm itches it away and watches it return to a small swarm of Endglows. She observes a deliberate pattern in their flight. She stepped a little closer to get a better view when she hears the sound of her sister’s voice tuning in through the buzz of their flight. And in the mist of their fast flapping wings, Torm sees a memory of her sweet sister play like a projector floating on a smoky screen:
……………………
Fireflies
……………………
In the forest by Dreamer Village, Torm holds out a "jarstick", carefully trying to catch a firefly, hovering by the exposed roots of a large river tree. She pulls the lid rope but the firefly gets away. She tries a few times and fails to catch one. Her sister approaches.
SISTER
How many have you caught so far?
Torm holds up her jar with a disappointed look on her face.
TORM
It's tricky. They are shy little critters. How many have you caught?
Sister grins as she holds up a jar full with fireflies in each hand.
TORM
What's your secret?
Her sister holds up a small bottle of nectar.
SISTER
I put a little flower nectar in the jar. They just fly right in and don't want to leave. They come to me instead of me going to them!
TORM
You cheater!
Torm declares while marching over to her sister and taking the bottle out of her hands.
SISTER
Cheater? I didn't know it was a contest. I thought the idea was to catch as many as possible. Are you jealous?
TORM
Of course I'm jealous! That was extremely clever! It's so simple I should have thought of that.
SISTER
Well how fair would it be if you were always the clever one, and since you made it a game, then points go to me. HA!
Torm pours nectar into her own jar and gives the bottle back.
TORM
Here, go find more. And quickly, we don't have much time left. We have to get back soon.
SISTER
What are all these for?
TORM
I'll show you when we get home.
SISTER
Not even a hint?
TORM
Nope, hurry.
Torm responds impatiently.
SISTER
Ouch, don't be so crabby.
her sister goes off to catch more fireflies singing happily down the trail:
SISTER
Off I go, to catch more flippy flappy things that fly and glow.
Torm tries the nectar in her jar but still has bad luck.
TORM
This nectar must be broken.
she comments to herself. Torm hears her sister scream:
SISTER
"TORM!!!!"
Torm drops her jar stick and runs into the forest looking for her sister. She finds her sister laying on the ground in pain with an overture of black veins of Shadow Fever covering her body.
SISTER
It burns! It hurts! It burns!
Torm pulls out a water container and pours water on the spots.
TORM
Does that help at all?
SISTER
Yes! It burns, Torm!
TORM
We need to get you out of here.
Torm comments to her sister. She helps her sister onto her feet but the burn-pain is too much and her sister drops back to the ground.
SISTER
AHHHHH!
Torm’s sister cries in deep pain. Torm quickly draws an idea in her mind of a branch stretcher.
TORM
I'll get you out of here, be strong, sister.
SISTER
Please hurry, Torm!
Torm quickly builds the stretcher and carefully helps her sister on. She pulls her sister through the forest like an ox pulling a plow. The projection frame rate slows down as the flapping wings of the Endglow slow down. Torm sees the rest in slow motion.
……………………
The projections dim away and the swarm of Endglows disperse. Torm knew that compounds existed in certain animals that allowed "neurological derivement" to occur, but she never imagined that an animal as small as an Endglow could create the effects, she had just been witness to, so consciously and with what could only be observed as purpose. Relaxing her position to ponder, Torm leans against a railing but it breaks away and she falls backwards over the side. Her mind goes blank and with more preparation than fear, she anticipates the impact. But she is saved by the arms of a soft, mossy swamp. It takes a few seconds for Torm’s mind to clear itself and for her to realize what had just occurred. She sobers up and discovers a scary dimension about herself: she doesn't pass out or close her eyes while falling, exactly like she hypothesized might happen earlier on the bridge. And if it wasn't for the friendly cradle of a soggy swamp, she could have been killed. Or worse, crippled and suffering. Not wanting to inconvenience the swamp and its moss any further, she tries to crawl out but her efforts only sink her more. She is forced to hold still while her eyes search around for a solution. She sees the tiniest little set of critter feet struggling to get out of the moss. She pulls the legs and places the little "Upbloom" on her shoulder to keep it safe. The little Upbloom cleans itself off then suddenly launches up into the air, blooming into a flower parachute. It tries its best to clear the mire, but falls back into the same situation. Torm comes to the rescue a second time and the Upbloom manages to clear the swamp.
TORM
At least one of us made it.
Torm thinks to herself. Not a minute later, and before Torm can find a solution out of the moss, she is rescued by a line of “Whistle Sticks” that form together and pull her out like a loaf of bread on a conveyer belt. They deliver her to a dry bank at the edge of the swamp where she is met by a collection of helpful creatures. A “MudEater” cleans her up like a dog licking a treat. Her bag is fished out of the moss and brought to her by a small group of “Propeller Heads”. She is warmed up by a circle of “Glow Ertels” and "Lava Stems", glowing turtle-like creatures and the others are small, heat-producing mushrooms that walk around on their hands. A ring of Propeller Heads hold Lava Stems in the air and form a heater fan that dries Torm off. Torm had made new friends. The illustrations from the book are strangely accurate and so far she has been able to identify most of her new friends:
1. Imifurs 2. Whistlesticks 3. Endglows 4. Propeller Heads 5. Lava Stems 6. Upblooms 7. MudEaters 8. Glow Ertls 9. Forest Ant 10. Leaf Fly
Torm is exhausted from the adrenaline and passes out in the caring arms of her new friends. A few hours later, she wakes up to the sound of her compass. She has been returned to the path in the trees and finds all of her things cleaned and placed in an orderly fashion next to her. Her compass is brought to her on the backs of Woodants. She carefully takes possession of her direction-finder and stands up to receive its instructions. She puts a hand out to the railing but quickly moves back, remembering the fall. Her sudden anxiety calms down when she notices it has been repaired. The compass shows a picture of a cave entrance. She gathers it would be out of the forest, but the paths are so numerous that she feels a bit "overchoiced" and struggles to choose an educated direction. Her broken-winged friend returns and Torm feels glad to see it.
TORM
Do you know where this is?
Torm asks rhetorically not expecting an answer. But she soon finds out how wrong she is: The forest fly disappears in the dark distance and seconds later the forest lights up in patterns too deliberate to be natural.
TORM
I guess you do know where it is.
Torm states surprised and thankful. Long lines of Endglows fill the forest air and Glow Ertels walk in choreographed paths on the forest floor. Countless wild plants luminate the direction of the path. She lets the show of lights guide her for hours, trusting their beautiful and complex patterns. They lead her to a large broken bridge that protects the way to a cave entrance. She compares the image in the compass and it is the same. But the span from her to the entrance is a sightless depth with no way across. She sees some "Whistlesticks", strange critters with tube-like exoskeletons attempting to play a tune, but one of them fails to play a note in the sequence. Torm helps complete the piece’s performance by whistling the missing tone. They flitter and bloom in excitement. They fly away and join a group of hundreds in the air and make beautiful music. She whistles her mother and father’s wedding song and their dance creates a bridge to the other side. Torm keeps whistling and singing to keep them dancing until she reaches the other side.
A flash of light collects around a large rainbow-burnt stone and Torm emerges from its system of layers. The energy dissolves into the stone and she finds herself on a canyon tower where a long rope bridge leads into a vast forest. Her compass calls out and Torm is shown a picture of the bridge that hangs before her. She puts the compass away and tightens up her belongings, but she wasn't just going to step out onto that bridge and have faith that it was a well meaning stranger. She tested the bridge with a kick. Years of its dust skin find relief in the wind. She then takes a rock and launches it into the middle of the wooden planks. It breaks straight though, falling to its death 1,500 feet below. She stands silent with eyes wide open, unable to blink out of shock.
TORM
No more tests, or I'll never want to cross that bridge.
she tells herself. This would have been a walk of pure trust and zero common sense. Torm had never been afraid of heights, but she had also never been so high on a questionable bridge holding hands with a stranger and found herself developing a new talent for acrophobia. She would need 500 yards of distraction, since that was the distance of the bridge.
She put her mind on a book she had read about the mysteries of the Giant Forrest called "Speculations on the Origins of Giants." A large work documenting mostly the myths and tales about the creatures that supposedly live in the Giant Forest, the reported behaviors that happen there and the folklore of how the trees got so oversized. And though the book was without a real scientific method, she found the colorful illustrations depicting strange animals and wildlife excellent and the folklore entertaining and sometimes creepy. Officially the forest had been long off limits due to concern about the wildlife preserves, but everyone knew it was because of the high amount of suicides that occurred there daily by people either seeking a doorway out from their pain, or a doorway in from the curiosity. A problem so bad that steps were made to distribute fake maps leading people away from the forest. But Torm was there trying to save her sister. She kept a strict tempo and dynamic to her footsteps as she crossed the bridge. She managed to keep her mind busy for a while but then suddenly and without warning, her reason started a conversation with her anxiety:
TORM
If I were to fall, I would feel no pain since the force would be so great I would be unconscious before the pain could ever register to my brain, or perhaps a safety blackout would occur and my consciousness would be absent when my body hit the ground. But, on the other hand, I could remain wide awake during the deathly fall and somehow survive the distance and be in great pain, but be unable to move and...
before her panic could take flight, her stomach tapped her on the shoulder and hunger overtook the voices of reason and anxiety. A hundred belly growls later, she finally makes it across the bridge and she is greeted by a fresh, comforting pine perfume in the air. The forest is larger than the imagination and deeper than thought. Where the shadow and light from one branch could keep its own seasons. A series of rope bridges hug the trees with pathways running through carved out tree tunnels. She finds a row of tree pots hanging on a wall of bark. She sees dry colorful residues ringing around their plates.
( ADD A BRIDET AND ELEVATORS SYSERMS LIKE MAZE AND PUZZLE WITH ELEVATORS AND SWITHES )
Torm tears a piece of bark from the tree face and discovers a sweet-smelling, rainbow-colored sap. She immediately recalled a citation that she had read mentioning a sweet flavored bark used to hydrate climbers on long journeys in places with little water. She took a dangerous chance on her belief that it was the same gum mentioned in the citation, biting off a piece of the bark and letting her teeth, tongue, and cheeks harvest the water from its sap. This did wonders to fight off her thirst, but only teased her hunger. She continued down the tree-held lanes while chewing on the bark pieces and soon came to a bush of berries growing in a small abandoned forest vineyard. The high-hanging farm was built on long rows of hanging rope decks anchored from tree to tree. The small bush was the only thing left of the vineyard vegetation. Based on the deliberate way in which they were grown, Torm concluded there was a good chance they were edible, so she picks a few. Not wanting to let herself foolishly ingest something that might be deadly, she took a small bite from one and then waited.
Feeling no ill effects, she starts eating them as fast as she can pick them. She quickly picked nearly the whole bunch. Looking deeper, she saw a cluster of them in the back. She reached her hand in and started pulling on the vine, but found something tugging back. She re-positioned and pulled harder, snapping the vine. Fruit falls to her feet and a little furry creature runs down the vines to the floor, hiding behind a branch railing. It pokes its big eyes out and looks at her. Torm sees it stuck between being afraid of her and wanting the fruit. She recognizes the creature from one of the illustrations from her book. It's an "Imifur". Torm kneels softly and rolls a berry over to the little furry creature. It nervously takes the fruit and runs off. Torm chases the little Imifur from a respectful distance through the forest vineyard. Torm reached the little animal’s home: a hollow tree knot with a little room made in it. She sees the little blue Imifur try to feed his mate the berry, but she is at death’s door and too weak to eat. Soon she closes her eyes and her soul escapes her pink ornate body.
MALE IMIFUR
Noooo!
her blue mate pleads with a tiny, but sad voice as he tries to grab the soul with both hands, but it only slips through his fingers and floats away. Heartbroken and unable to say goodbye, the little guy runs after his mate’s soul. Torm is moved to tears from what she just witnessed and immediately her thoughts go to her sister. She tries to imagine things going right, not realizing that things are actually worse for her sister: The crack in her sister’s vapor machine had grown larger and was releasing vapor in large amounts and soon the entire supply would be gone. But Torm knew none of this and convinces herself that everything is going well. Torm notices a rather large "Woodant" trying to get across a railing where the branch had broken. Torm replaces the broken branch with a large sturdy twig. The Woodant crosses it and is soon followed by a whole army of Woodants. This small act of aid, in proxy, gave some relief to the feeling of helplessness that Torm felt by not being able to tend to her sister. Seconds later, she gets another chance to play nurse: A broken-winged "Leaf Fly" on the ground, struggling to fly. Torm softly picks it up with two fingers and puts some tree sap on its broken wing. It starts to struggle in her fingers.
TORM
Hold on little fly, almost done.
she whispers. It settles down as Torm blows on its wings which hardens the mend. Torm softly returns the Leaf Fly to the ground. It gives a few test flaps to its wings then is able to take off in flight. It circles Torm’s head once as a way of saying "thank you", then flies off. An “Endglow” steals a tear from Torm’s eye. Torm itches it away and watches it return to a small swarm of Endglows. She observes a deliberate pattern in their flight. She stepped a little closer to get a better view when she hears the sound of her sister’s voice tuning in through the buzz of their flight. And in the mist of their fast flapping wings, Torm sees a memory of her sweet sister play like a projector floating on a smoky screen:
……………………
Fireflies
……………………
In the forest by Dreamer Village, Torm holds out a "jarstick", carefully trying to catch a firefly, hovering by the exposed roots of a large river tree. She pulls the lid rope but the firefly gets away. She tries a few times and fails to catch one. Her sister approaches.
SISTER
How many have you caught so far?
Torm holds up her jar with a disappointed look on her face.
TORM
It's tricky. They are shy little critters. How many have you caught?
Sister grins as she holds up a jar full with fireflies in each hand.
TORM
What's your secret?
Her sister holds up a small bottle of nectar.
SISTER
I put a little flower nectar in the jar. They just fly right in and don't want to leave. They come to me instead of me going to them!
TORM
You cheater!
Torm declares while marching over to her sister and taking the bottle out of her hands.
SISTER
Cheater? I didn't know it was a contest. I thought the idea was to catch as many as possible. Are you jealous?
TORM
Of course I'm jealous! That was extremely clever! It's so simple I should have thought of that.
SISTER
Well how fair would it be if you were always the clever one, and since you made it a game, then points go to me. HA!
Torm pours nectar into her own jar and gives the bottle back.
TORM
Here, go find more. And quickly, we don't have much time left. We have to get back soon.
SISTER
What are all these for?
TORM
I'll show you when we get home.
SISTER
Not even a hint?
TORM
Nope, hurry.
Torm responds impatiently.
SISTER
Ouch, don't be so crabby.
her sister goes off to catch more fireflies singing happily down the trail:
SISTER
Off I go, to catch more flippy flappy things that fly and glow.
Torm tries the nectar in her jar but still has bad luck.
TORM
This nectar must be broken.
she comments to herself. Torm hears her sister scream:
SISTER
"TORM!!!!"
Torm drops her jar stick and runs into the forest looking for her sister. She finds her sister laying on the ground in pain with an overture of black veins of Shadow Fever covering her body.
SISTER
It burns! It hurts! It burns!
Torm pulls out a water container and pours water on the spots.
TORM
Does that help at all?
SISTER
Yes! It burns, Torm!
TORM
We need to get you out of here.
Torm comments to her sister. She helps her sister onto her feet but the burn-pain is too much and her sister drops back to the ground.
SISTER
AHHHHH!
Torm’s sister cries in deep pain. Torm quickly draws an idea in her mind of a branch stretcher.
TORM
I'll get you out of here, be strong, sister.
SISTER
Please hurry, Torm!
Torm quickly builds the stretcher and carefully helps her sister on. She pulls her sister through the forest like an ox pulling a plow. The projection frame rate slows down as the flapping wings of the Endglow slow down. Torm sees the rest in slow motion.
……………………
The projections dim away and the swarm of Endglows disperse. Torm knew that compounds existed in certain animals that allowed "neurological derivement" to occur, but she never imagined that an animal as small as an Endglow could create the effects, she had just been witness to, so consciously and with what could only be observed as purpose. Relaxing her position to ponder, Torm leans against a railing but it breaks away and she falls backwards over the side. Her mind goes blank and with more preparation than fear, she anticipates the impact. But she is saved by the arms of a soft, mossy swamp. It takes a few seconds for Torm’s mind to clear itself and for her to realize what had just occurred. She sobers up and discovers a scary dimension about herself: she doesn't pass out or close her eyes while falling, exactly like she hypothesized might happen earlier on the bridge. And if it wasn't for the friendly cradle of a soggy swamp, she could have been killed. Or worse, crippled and suffering. Not wanting to inconvenience the swamp and its moss any further, she tries to crawl out but her efforts only sink her more. She is forced to hold still while her eyes search around for a solution. She sees the tiniest little set of critter feet struggling to get out of the moss. She pulls the legs and places the little "Upbloom" on her shoulder to keep it safe. The little Upbloom cleans itself off then suddenly launches up into the air, blooming into a flower parachute. It tries its best to clear the mire, but falls back into the same situation. Torm comes to the rescue a second time and the Upbloom manages to clear the swamp.
TORM
At least one of us made it.
Torm thinks to herself. Not a minute later, and before Torm can find a solution out of the moss, she is rescued by a line of “Whistle Sticks” that form together and pull her out like a loaf of bread on a conveyer belt. They deliver her to a dry bank at the edge of the swamp where she is met by a collection of helpful creatures. A “MudEater” cleans her up like a dog licking a treat. Her bag is fished out of the moss and brought to her by a small group of “Propeller Heads”. She is warmed up by a circle of “Glow Ertels” and "Lava Stems", glowing turtle-like creatures and the others are small, heat-producing mushrooms that walk around on their hands. A ring of Propeller Heads hold Lava Stems in the air and form a heater fan that dries Torm off. Torm had made new friends. The illustrations from the book are strangely accurate and so far she has been able to identify most of her new friends:
1. Imifurs 2. Whistlesticks 3. Endglows 4. Propeller Heads 5. Lava Stems 6. Upblooms 7. MudEaters 8. Glow Ertls 9. Forest Ant 10. Leaf Fly
Torm is exhausted from the adrenaline and passes out in the caring arms of her new friends. A few hours later, she wakes up to the sound of her compass. She has been returned to the path in the trees and finds all of her things cleaned and placed in an orderly fashion next to her. Her compass is brought to her on the backs of Woodants. She carefully takes possession of her direction-finder and stands up to receive its instructions. She puts a hand out to the railing but quickly moves back, remembering the fall. Her sudden anxiety calms down when she notices it has been repaired. The compass shows a picture of a cave entrance. She gathers it would be out of the forest, but the paths are so numerous that she feels a bit "overchoiced" and struggles to choose an educated direction. Her broken-winged friend returns and Torm feels glad to see it.
TORM
Do you know where this is?
Torm asks rhetorically not expecting an answer. But she soon finds out how wrong she is: The forest fly disappears in the dark distance and seconds later the forest lights up in patterns too deliberate to be natural.
TORM
I guess you do know where it is.
Torm states surprised and thankful. Long lines of Endglows fill the forest air and Glow Ertels walk in choreographed paths on the forest floor. Countless wild plants luminate the direction of the path. She lets the show of lights guide her for hours, trusting their beautiful and complex patterns. They lead her to a large broken bridge that protects the way to a cave entrance. She compares the image in the compass and it is the same. But the span from her to the entrance is a sightless depth with no way across. She sees some "Whistlesticks", strange critters with tube-like exoskeletons attempting to play a tune, but one of them fails to play a note in the sequence. Torm helps complete the piece’s performance by whistling the missing tone. They flitter and bloom in excitement. They fly away and join a group of hundreds in the air and make beautiful music. She whistles her mother and father’s wedding song and their dance creates a bridge to the other side. Torm keeps whistling and singing to keep them dancing until she reaches the other side.
SCENE SUMMARY
Torm arrives in the Giant Forest via a rainbow stone and must cross a 500-yard rope bridge so decrepit that a test rock breaks straight through the planks. She talks herself across by sheer distraction. Inside the forest, she forages for food and water using her knowledge of local flora, then witnesses a tiny creature called an Imifur lose his mate to illness — a moment that moves her to tears and turns her thoughts to her own sister. She tends to wounded creatures along the way, finding small comfort in being useful. A swarm of Endglows then trigger a vivid memory of the day her sister first contracted Shadow Fever — a bittersweet flashback of the two of them catching fireflies together that ends with her sister collapsing in pain. Snapping back to reality, Torm leans on a railing that breaks and she falls into a mossy swamp, only to be rescued by a community of strange forest creatures who clean her, dry her, and return her belongings before she passes out from exhaustion. When she wakes, her compass shows a cave entrance, and her repaired Leaf Fly friend leads the way — guiding her through the forest with a breathtaking living light show of Endglows and Glow Ertels. She reaches a broken bridge over a dark chasm and, by whistling a missing note to a group of Whistlestick creatures, inspires them to form a living musical bridge that carries her safely to the cave entrance.
10. HEART WALTZ
22. GIANT FOREST
SHOT LIST 1-35 APRX: 3:33
SHOT LIST 1-50 ( 2:11 min )
