SAGA - Curse of the Shadow 2013

On an alternate world in the Second Age, the Order—an uneasy alliance of men, elves, and dwarves guided by prophets—unites to end the war against the orcs and dark elves. As they scramble to restore civilization, an ancient evil smolders in the Western lands. A clandestine syndicate known as The Shadow Cabal emerges from the lawless borderlands, and the Order dispatches agents to uncover the Cabal’s origins and true aims.

Nemyt [Danielle C. Ryan], an elven bounty huntress, trails Fangtor Bloodmoon [Adam Abram], a ruthless orc shaman and dragon rider, across the wastelands. Nemyt fires a ballista to down the monster and its rider, but Fangtor survives the crash. After a brutal duel, Nemyt beheads the shaman, yet the moment of death leaves a curse: Fangtor’s mark, the black sigil of The Shadow Cabal, appears on Nemyt’s left forearm and binds her fate to the hidden conspiracy.

Keltus [Richard McWilliams], also known as Wanderer, an Order agent and envoy of the Prophetess of Arialia, follows the trail to the cave of Gyarmuck [James C. Morris], a dwarf who already serves the Shadow. The two clash; Gyarmuck boasts that the God of Death will awaken in a few days and that a mystic vessel will arrive with Kullimon’s raiders, a power the Gods themselves could not withstand. In a final gambit, Gyarmuck tries to kill Keltus with a homemade bomb, blowing off his arm and seemingly ending his mission.

Meanwhile, orc leader Kullimon The Black [Paul D. Hunt] learns that his horde has attacked a human friary against his orders. His deputy Mulgrut [Kyle Paul] has been steering the raid toward wealth for the Shadow, fracturing the orc line. Despairing, Kullimon and his loyal followers attempt an exit, but Mulgrut’s traitors strike. Kullimon survives and is captured, while Mulgrut assumes control of the horde and the mission continues under shadowy command.

Back at the Order outpost, Keltus wrestles with what to do next and prays to the prophetess for guidance. The prophetess warns that the gods are returning, but that Goth Azul, the death god, must not be unleashed. She directs Keltus to interrogate a Shadow agent kept in the outpost’s dungeon, a prisoner who might reveal the Cabal’s next move. Nemyt enters the same outpost in a bid to claim Fangtor’s head, but Drennon [Danny James] refuses to pay in full and confiscates Nemyt, branding her as a Shadow agent. She resists, fights, and ends up jailed beside Maggut Gulbrow [James C. Morris], a Shadow operative who has his own plans for Nemyt and her cursed mark.

Maggut, in a moment of uneasy camaraderie, squawks to Nemyt about a path to power: retrieve a box of gold and deliver it to Garret’s Crossing at a precise time, exchanging it for a sacred vessel the Shadow seeks. To Nemyt’s surprise, Maggut reveals that the key location is the Bleeding Stone, a ruin long tied to ancient magic. The plan would also require gathering the blood from the altar at dawn. When Nemyt asks where the bleeding stone lies, Maggut’s caution grows suspicious—after all, Nemyt is now a Shadow agent by law of the mark.

A veiled woman [Eve Mauro] with a handcart appears and warns Keltus that a hero’s heart must match his deeds, then vanishes. In their escape from the outpost, Nemyt and Keltus are forced to cooperate to infiltrate The Shadow, with Nemyt agreeing to help if a priestess can lift her sigil in due time. On the road, Keltus learns that Nemyt is a high-born GaruunDan elf, a fact that deepens his understanding of her enmity toward orcs and her complex loyalties.

The trio—Keltus, Nemyt, and Kullimon—unite their plans as they discover Mulgrut’s cross-accumulating power at Garret’s Crossing. They learn that Mulgrut intends to exchange the gold for the bone-vessel, a vessel containing the holy ashes of Amun-Khan. Keltus, wary of the Shadow’s deception, contemplates killing Nemyt should her usefulness wane, a plan the prophetess would not approve. Yet Nemyt’s resolve appears to grow stronger as they move toward the rendezvous, revealing her capacity to change, or at least resist the dark magic.

Across the wild, the trio face trials and ambushes, including a nightmarish encounter with undead and an Abomination that swallows their strength. Nemyt’s presence astonishes both friend and foe as she confronts not only Mulgrut’s deception but also the deeper bonds that form between uneasy allies. Kellums’ raiders press toward Garret’s Crossing, while Nemyt’s own blood demands its own reckoning.

At Garret’s Crossing the exchange begins, and Keltus intends to use the moment to sever Nemyt from the Shadow’s curse. He prays to the prophetess again and begs that Nemyt be spared; she refuses, even ordering him to kill Nemyt if she becomes useless. With the orc horde closing in, Mulgrut remains convinced that immortality awaits those loyal to the Shadow. The real Shadow agent arrives, cursing the horde and dragging Nemyt into a brutal struggle. In the chaos, the vessel is taken, and Mulgrut leads the orcs toward the Dimwood Pass with Nemyt a captive.

Keltus pursues the Shadow agent, hoping to reclaim the vessel and blood. The agent reveals that Goth Azul will claim a soul, and Keltus fights with all his faith, only to be overpowered and cursed anew. The agent escapes with the blood and vessel, leaving Keltus to die as an undead servant of Goth Azul. Desperate, he pleads with the prophetess, who rejects him and abandons him to his fate.

Meanwhile, Kullimon makes a perilous journey closer to Mulgrut’s camp and nearly dies at the hands of evil mermaids. He finally confronts Mulgrut’s forces and kills the treacherous captain, but Mulgrut proves to be immortal in Shadow form, returning to life and continuing to threaten Nemyt. Kullimon frees Nemyt and the pair flee, but Nemyt is gravely wounded and shot in the back as they escape.

Back at the verge of despair, Keltus lies near death until the veiled prophetess reappears, discards her cloak, and reveals herself as the goddess Tarsa—his oldest and only true friend. She explains Goth Azul’s power over the living is illusory and frees the knight’s heart, an enchantment that revives him and changes his fate. With renewed purpose, Keltus carries the others toward the Dimwood Pass.

As they travel, Gyarmuck reappears, having survived the explosion and re-entering the fight. Nemyt and Kullimon team up to fend him off while Keltus heals Nemyt’s wounds with magic granted by Tarsa. Nemyt vows to resist the Shadow’s curse as long as possible, and the trio presses onward toward the pit of demons for a final confrontation.

At the pit, Nemyt, Kullimon, and Keltus stage a suicide mission to disrupt the ritual. While Keltus and Kullimon create a distraction, Nemyt inches toward the Shadow agents to seize the ashes or the blood and derail the ceremony. Nemyt promises to kill herself if the curse overtakes her, reinforcing the gravity of the choice she faces. A brutal clash erupts: Mulgrut detects her approach, and Nemyt fights with all her might, shooting, stabbing, and killing to break the ritual’s hold. Kullimon beheads Mulgrut, ending his reign, and Nemyt corner-stabs the main Shadow agent in the head, though the agent’s death pulls the ashes into the pit with him.

With the Shadow ceremony interrupted, the avatar of Goth Azul rises to wreak havoc. Keltus confronts the demon with a spear of shadow, but the weapon meets its mark only when Tarsa’s magic transfigures it into a spear of light. He hurls the luminous spear into Goth Azul’s chest, destroying the avatar and ending the demonic threat.

In the wake of the battle, Nemyt’s sigil vanishes and she finds herself freed from the curse. She dies in Kullimon’s arms, only to be brought back to life when Keltus, now bound to the light, prays to Tarsa for her return. The trio survives the onslaught and walks away from the field, sharing the spoils of Mulgrut’s gold and contemplating how to divide their hard-won fortune.

Note: All actor references appear only where designated by the cast list, and links are provided for first mentions of those characters when applicable.