A script for an Interactive Narrative Storytelling Experience
The Knight Ablaze
Date
29 August 2024
Role
Lead Writer, Performer, Facilitator
Client/Collaborator
Random Kingdom
The story behind this piece
First performed in an earlier draft as part of a wider workshop on character creation, roleplay, and fictional storytelling as healing modalities; directed at colleagues within the Random Kingdom Art and Game Design collective, during the residency – Queering Nature: the Quest.
Through the process of five days of game jams and workshops, this story was refined through peer feedback after the draft performance, further brainstorming with colleagues including my performance partner, sound designer Amedeo Cappelletti (who created and managed live sound cues, musical interludes, and audio set pieces for the performance), and of course inspiration gained from participating in other workshops.
“The night outside was ablaze. The once serene sky filled with smoke and falling ash. Through the window, she could see the castle in the distance, engulfed in a torrent of hungry flames. The city walls were littered with burning soldiers, the watchtowers of the outer wall collapsing under the weight of an inferno that roared with a life of its own. The scent of burned flesh brought her to reality like a punch to her stomach.”
“Her heart pounded in her chest as she stumbled to her feet, her head spinning. She grabbed her sword and rushed outside, only to be met with utter chaos. The cathedral bell tolled loudly, warning of the inferno, then was silenced by a ferocious jet of flame. People were fleeing in every direction, buffeting passed her as she struggled to muscle her way forward through them. The air trembled with a heavy beat: woof, woof, woof. For the first time, she beheld it. An enormous, silver dragon, eyes of bright glistening green, its scales glinting in the firelight as wings sent shockwaves through the air. It descended once more on the city with a screech that shattered the glass around her.
Percival’s horse was nearby, rearing up in terror as the dragon unleashed another stream of fire, She fumbled to mount up, her vision swimming, but managed to spur the beast forward towards the castle. (…)”
