EPISODE 1 – "Where Veins Begin"
COLD OPEN – A Memory That Isn't
Black screen. Echoes of distant screaming. A soft child's voice whispers:
YOUNG SKAT (V.O.):
"I used to believe the world was fair. That if I closed my eyes long enough, someone would fix it while I was dreaming."
FLASH OF LIGHT. A slow-motion vision: a snow-covered city square engulfed in flames. Masked soldiers dragging bodies. A man and woman — Skat's parents — chained, bleeding. The masked executioner raises a blade.
The boy — Skat — maybe 9, watches, trembling, hiding in the shadows. His breath fogs in the cold air. His hazel eyes shimmer with the faintest glow.
The screen cracks like glass.
TITLE SEQUENCE – "THE PALE REIGN"
A haunting choir sings in a lost language. The camera pans over a fractured world map — seven Sovereigns, each pulsing with a different colored current (blue, green, crimson, obsidian, violet, amber, white).
ACT 1 – "The Quiet Town of Serros"
16-year-old Skat Atreides walks through a market. The city of Serros is calm, rustic, disconnected from the rest of the Sovereigns. The Vein Wars have never touched here.
He's quiet. Friendly. He nods to vendors. Wears a silver chain, has white hair that falls just above his eyes, hiding them. He's a little awkward but intelligent — observant. Has an almost photographic memory. Keeps a notebook filled with quotes, dreams, and theories about the world's hidden systems.
His braces sparkle when he smiles, but it's rare.
At home, his parents — gentle, humble farmers — seem out of place. They speak several languages. His mother teaches him combat forms in secret, claiming it's "for health." His father trains his mind through logic puzzles and philosophy debates.
"We all have monsters," his father once said. "Some of us were born to lead them."
Skat's best friend, Nohr, is a deaf swordsman who communicates through sign language. Their friendship is deep, quiet, and honest.
ACT 2 – "The Festival of Veins"
Serros celebrates a local holiday: the day Veins awakened across the world. Music, lights, mock tournaments. Skat doesn't join the fun — he walks the outskirts of town, drawn to an old ruined temple where no one dares go.
A mysterious old man, cloaked in gray, sits atop the ruin. Calls Skat by his full name. Offers him a wooden puzzle box:
"When the box opens, you'll lose everything — but you'll finally see."
Skat touches the box. A pulse of red light flows from his fingertips.
He collapses, screaming. His Vein awakens violently.
ACT 3 – "When Fire Finds the Innocent"
He wakes up trembling. That night, masked mercenaries descend upon Serros. Led by a mysterious man in black with silver markings — a voice warped by a voicebox device.
They burn the city. Execute his parents in front of him, whispering, "Long live the House of Masks."
Skat screams. His Vein fractures time in a six-second loop. We see him relive the death of his parents over and over and over until he collapses from exhaustion. His eyes bleed.
He tries to fight — but he's too weak. A fire consumes him.
ACT 4 – "The Room With No Windows"
He wakes up in a steel room. His hair is damp. His arms restrained.
A woman enters — Lady Anora, headmistress of the Academy of Veins.
"You survived a Class-C rupture. Impressive. Your power's unstable. You'll need to be reprogrammed — or trained."
She explains that Serros was a controlled zone, a false peace. A test site. His parents were royal fugitives hiding under new identities. She tells him he's not normal — he's one of the few with a Root Vein, linked to the Nexian Source.
Skat doesn't believe her. He doesn't speak.
"What you want doesn't matter," she says coldly. "The Pale Reign is already beginning."
ACT 5 – "The Academy of Veins"
Skat is transported to the hidden mountain fortress, the Academy of Veins, where children of war, orphans, and powerful young elites train to control their abilities.
The school is divided into Houses, each built around different philosophies of power:
House Obsidian: Power through pain
House Lumen: Power through memory
House Sorrow: Power through loss
House Vanta: Power through silence
Skat is unassigned. A "Null Child." He's treated as a curiosity.
He meets:
Delana Firse, hot-headed pyrokinetic who hates royalty
Yume Sirell, cryptic dreamwalker who always stares too long
Thorne, a boy who looks almost identical to him — but colder
ACT 6 – "The Spiral Vein"
Skat is placed in an awakening chamber, where students test their Veins under stress. He relives the death loop of his parents for 2 hours, nearly killing a classmate in the process.
Lady Anora watches. She whispers:
"He's remembering too fast. If he unlocks the Spiral, the world won't be ready."
ACT 7 – "The Boy With the Pale Name"
In the final 15 minutes, Skat wanders the Academy halls at night and finds a locked wing. The walls speak to him. He hears a child's voice — his younger self — calling his name.
He opens a door.
Inside is a shrine — filled with portraits of Atreides royalty. His mother. His father. And himself, as a baby, in robes.
Caption reads:
"SKAT ATREIDES — FIRSTBORN OF THE PALE LINE."
He collapses. Screams. His power erupts in a red spiral, destroying part of the wing.
Lady Anora enters. Calm. Cold.
"He's starting to remember."
"Should we suppress him?" an aide asks.
"No," she says. "Let the Reign begin."
EPILOGUE – "The World That Waits"
Cut to a distant land — Sovereign I, a palace wrapped in darkness. A boy sits in the throne room, drawing pictures in blood.
He looks identical to Skat.
Advisor whispers:
"Your brother is alive."
The boy turns. Smiles.
"Good."
FADE TO BLACK.
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
"The world doesn't need heroes. It needs someone who remembers why it fell."
— Skat Atreides