ACT IV: THOUSAND FACED MOON
(Scene: A clearing in the dark forested landscape, at dusk. The CHOIR OF EVIL TREES WHO HATE HEAVEN are sitting around still and quiet.)
(The HAPPY VILLAGE WOMEN enter the scene).
NARRATOR
In every age, there will be those malcontents
Who look in dark places to fulfill their sentiments;
Nicolas was not alone: see here now, four souls
From the village nearby, misguided and lascivious:
Come to the wicked wood with their offering bowls.
GHWENDOLYN
Enough about my straying husband, sisters, here is the place:
Here will we perform our rite, to the Gods of Old
The Goddesses will incline to us, and show their face,
And the blessed and bright ways of our ancestors.
Let us hold hands and make a circle here!
(The group of HAPPY VILLAGE WOMEN all gather around and grasp hands)
GHWENDOLYN
I invoke the powers of the sweet and flower-decked earth
LISA
I invoke the powers of the nurturing waters
SUE
I invoke the powers of the bright Fire
AMBER
I invoke the powers of the gentle Air
GHWENDOLYN
I now call upon the spirits of the trees of this forest green
To bless our rite in the name of the Fairy Queen,
And to protect our circle of sisterly love
By the Gods below and above.
...And may those same Gods curse my treacherous husband,
Who left me for so many months!
And may they curse my enemy Isobel,
Apothecary-woman of our village,
Whose beauty I envy and whose talent far exceeds mine-
While I was still being a hypocrite christian,
Isobel was a pagan pure, with a wisdom that far exceeded mine!
May she die miserably!
Long have I stalked her around our village,
Long have I wished that my belly and arms and face did not bloat out-
But with our positive witchcraft here, I shall avenge myself,
And gain a figure that pleases men! Perhaps I shall gain some Wits, too!
COME FORTH, YE POWERS OF NATURE!
(The CHOIR OF EVIL TREES WHO HATE HEAVEN all suddenly move, and with their branches they grab the four HAPPY VILLAGE WOMEN and devour them all. Their deaths are particularly painful).
(The EVIL TREES go back to being still and not moving).
(One of the Trees moves to the side, to reveal a Dark Cottage beyond.)
(Nicolas comes onto the stage, looking angry and walking swiftly.)
NARRATOR
Later that day, in another part of the Wood,
Consumed with rage and tearful rebuke, Nicolas rode
Deep into the withered Forest of Old Janicot’s abode.
Upon spying the hidden cottages of the wood-folk dark
Off of his steed he leaped, and with anger cried out:
(Nicolas stops in front of the Cottage)
NICOLAS
Who is within? Siblings of sin! Hear ye bitterness! Hark!
(He starts to sing)
Hell Hath No Fury (Nicolas’ second song)
If you can’t trust the devil, who can you trust?
She won’t have me, old Goat, but you said she must!
You promised her love!
If you won’t take my soul, then what will you take?
Why did you lie, Old Hob, you foul old snake?
I must have her love!
AND… SHE… SPURNS… ME… STILL!
Cursed fortune, and a cursed pact too
You can’t trust the devil, so what can you do?
A curse on women’s hearts,
And on Cupids’ darts,
And on foul cults
In these blighted parts!
To what power can I now turn, if not the Lord
Of the dark red heath and hangman’s cord?
Where’s the greater evil?
I have been scorned by he, who is scorned by all!
Not a sign, nor a single nightmare’s call
To take my pain away!
Cursed fortune, and a cursed pact too
You can’t trust the devil, so what can you do?
A curse on women’s hearts,
And on Cupids’ darts,
And on foul cults
In these blighted parts!”
(song ends)
(From behind a tree, a black hooded figure emerges)
HOODED FIGURE (With an older woman’s voice)
Come, Nicolas, and follow me at once-
There is more you must learn, if you wish to discern
The truth, and no longer wail at darkness, as a dunce.
(scene fades out as they walk off stage, and when the scene returns, they are in another dark forest scene, with strange, ancient stones standing in the background.)
NARRATOR
So behind the black cottage ring she led, and deeper still
Into the heart of the heart of that darkly cursed tangle;
Stopping finally, at a strange circle of stones, that seemed
To leer at them, as stony fiends. This pale monument was
Coeval with the pyramids of ancient Khem, Nicolas deemed.
(The HOODED FIGURE hands a cup to Nicolas)
HOODED FIGURE
Take and drink you this
(NICOLAS takes it and drinks it, and coughs and falls to his knees gagging a bit, before standing up, swaying a bit.)
NARRATOR
Hesitantly, Nicolas sipped the bitter brew, and he knew
That he had taken the potion of the wicked red mushroom-
That which brought the unseen into a mortal man’s view.
HOODED FIGURE
Like so many other things, to your eyes may appear,
there is more beneath the surface here.
(She takes off her hood, revealing the horrible and decayed DEATH CRONE OF HECATE)
(NICOLAS recoils in fear and disgust.)
DEATH CRONE
A useless gesture, feeble one:
All things know their season, and meet death by my whim.
For I am the power behind Him in the Oak, I the power
Behind every form that graces the heavens, the crossroads,
And the Hells, I, the one for whom the moon-dogs howl;
I am Hecate of the Thousand Faced Moon, blooded,
Sated, by the hundreth child of the all-devouring Sow.
(The Crone begins to sing, and she is joined by voices from behind the trees)
I Work My Will: The Death Crone’s Song
DEATH CRONE
This is the hour of my great power
And none could be stronger now:
I Work my will, eternally
You are nothing without me
UNSEEN CHOIR
Eternity…. Nothing but fear…
Look away now… Disappear….
DEATH CRONE
My will works beneath the cosmic veil,
And men obey, all kneel and wail
I Work my will, eternally
You are nothing without me
UNSEEN CHOIR
Eternity…. Faces pale weer…
Run away now… Disappear….
DEATH CRONE
Blood and bones come pouring forth
From my womb deep in the earth
I Work my will, eternally
You are nothing without me
UNSEEN CHOIR
Eternity…. A soul’s dismay…
Look away now… Just look away….
DEATH CRONE
Come together for a mortal birth,
This feeble flesh that you give worth!
I Work my will, eternally
You are nothing without me.
UNSEEN CHOIR
Eternity…. Bound by Fate…
Look thin now… Dissipate….
DEATH CRONE
I am the mother full, and without child
The mother of hate and strife!
I Work my will, eternally
You are nothing without me
UNSEEN CHOIR
Eternity…. Tears now run…
Your love marked … Her chosen one….
DEATH CRONE
The bars of Fate will never bend!
I reign over a time without end!
I work my will eternally
You are nothing without me.
UNSEEN CHOIR
We Despair…
(Song ends, and Nicolas finally gains his courage, and shaking his head in disbelief, cries out):
NICOLAS
Demon bitch of hell! None here is as great or as cunning
As he, goat-lord Janicot, the hateful lord of this world!
Though men give thanks to a creator God above, ‘tis the
Banner of Hades by night above those churches unfurls!
(A GROUP OF SATYRS suddenly appears on the stage from behind the trees, and tapping with their hooves, they set the rhythm to the song Nicolas begins to sing):
My Goat God is Greater than Thou Art (Nicolas’ Third Song)
Oh, Mother Crone, talk your good show-
Make your grand claims, that fool men so
But I know the truth, and I know the facts
The Goat-King’s in charge!
There’s nothing he lacks!
He’s got the Cock,
He’s got the force
He’s got the power
Over Nature’s course,
Talk your talk about the ancient world,
Talk about the time when God was a girl,
But we know the truth, and it’s always been
The Goat-God made this world for men!
He’s got the Cock,
He’s got the force
He’s got the power
Over Nature’s course,
Call us foolish, and call us larks,
Call us unenlightened patriarchs,
But when you see a naked beauty pale,
(That’s the proof, all the proof)
That God’s a male!
He’s our Goat God
He’s a Great God
Our Goat God is Greater
Than Thou… Art!
Oh woo, and dance, and rut and then
Go find another, all you happy Men!
We don’t need no ‘Mysteries and Fate’
In our sadistic, patristic atavistic state!
Under our Goat God
He’s a Great God
Our Goat God is Greater
Than Thou… Art!
There ain’t no time, or season after next
No plans for the future, just a lot of sex
And ale! And wine! And wenches divine!
So many women, and so little time…
Gifts of our Goat God!
He’s a very great God
Our Goat God is Greater
Than Thou… Art!
(song ends)
(The DEATH CRONE lets out a large, shrieking peel of laughter)
(She looks at the SATYRS and hisses “SHOO!” and they all flee the stage in fear)
DEATH CRONE
Silly boy, you have come here to wail about thy deal!
To complain to the Devil about thy bidding now denied?
You received your end of the contract dark and done-
Yours was Rosalyn for one night, as she lay by your side.
NICOLAS
I said I wanted her as mine, and foul hell
Knew my heart’s intent! Not for one night, but a life!
DEATH CRONE
Thou spiteful man,
You assume so much, and voice so little. As if the hordes
Of the underworld had to you some duty to understand!
You received fair portion for your base and carnal lusts.
You had this woman, and Janicot’s obligation is through.
Mine is not the blame for the meaning you comprehended…
So like a mortal man to take his share and then complain.
You were served by hell, and no deceit was here intended.
NICOLAS
What price, then, one night of passion?
What could you ask of me, for easily could I have gotten
Such from any wench of this province.
DEATH CRONE
Ah, yes, the Goat has informed thee of
The price that you must pay; Sadly, it is no small fee.
For the violated spirits of this place have decided that
A life is now due; likewise my blasphemous clergy- they
Who adore me as the Dark, they have named your fee.
Young Rosalyn’s body must be killed, her blood spilled,
For this body has grown old; and she will replenish me.
(Nicolas turns away, and seems faint, placing his hand over his chest.)
NICOLAS
Awaken,
O, awaken me from this nightmare!
Better that you leave her be,
And let instead my spiteful life be taken!
DEATH CRONE
Your manly blood and masculine vigor appeals not
To me, the mother of all iniquity”
How brave and so poetic that you offer it in her stead,
However.
You must fetch Rosalyn here now, to the sacred stones,
And here your hand, her lily-white neck must sever.
(Nicolas places his hands over his face)
NARRATOR
Nicolas, for once, knew ultimate despair. How can one
Fight with the army of Hell’s own wrath? The mother
Of demons and the darkened earth? There is not one
That can save a man nor a woman from her will, not
One who can resist what the spinning fates have spun.
A thousand emotions pulled at him, to tear him down
Nicolas could scarce stand now, so much less frown,
What is love? Is it real? What drives us to feel as we do?
Can this be? Should Rosalyn here meet her unhappy end?
Hate for a God that would allow this, is all that Nicolas knew.
(Nicolas sits helplessly and begins to sing):
Love, I Hate Your Name (Nicolas’ fourth song)
Love, oh love, I hate your name
What are these hearts, but your twisted game?
Oh love, tormentor, and jailer too
Let me part ways forever with you!
There is no meaning to your song
There is no joy to which you lead,
Only a tune so off-key and wrong,
A theme to which we hapless bleed
Love, oh love, I hate your name
What are these hearts, but your twisted game?
Oh love, tormentor, and jailer too
Let me part ways forever with you!
What is life, if not love’s chance?
What is passion, if not love’s dance?
Pointless, to end in Bitterness!
The things for which we yearn, most of all,
Must drift and die like leaves in fall…
Love, oh love, I hate your name
What are these hearts, but your twisted game?
Oh love, tormentor, and jailer too
Let me part ways forever with you!
So quickly is this heart done for,
I wonder what it was begun for…
Love, love, I hope you come to see
What you have done…
To Rosalyn and me.”
(LOVE appears as a young beautiful angel with a bloody apron that has the words “AMOR” stenciled on the front of it, and the same word on the back, except that the “A” on the back has a big red bloodstain mostly obscuring it, and there is a red, finger-painted “T” after the word. Love is carrying a well-used butcher’s cleaver.)
(LOVE jumps into the song and sings)
LOVE
Have a moment to rest and take your pause:
Your young heart wasn’t taken without cause!
You tried life’s dark and overwhelming odds,
And your heartbreak feeds the laughing Gods!
Love, oh Love, that is my name
What are all hearts, but my fated game?
I’m an archer, a butcher, and a butler too
Serving hungry Fate a plate of you.
Placed deep within to pump your living blood,
Your emotions seem to drown in the flood!
The heart is Fate’s favorite tool of fright
And soon you’ll appease her appetite!
Love, oh Love, that is my name
What are all hearts, but my fated game?
I’m an archer, a butcher, and a butler too
Serving hungry Fate a plate of you.
For each one I bring to Joy, one goes mad,
For each one that will smile, one is sad,
It is the fated way of all things,
My friend…
It serves the greater scales of balance,
In the end.
These are not the words
For which you yearn,
But your comfort
Is not Fate’s concern.
(Song ends)
(NICOLAS Stands and Love exits the stage.)
NICOLAS
Oh, better that I find a sheltered port within, than to Be tossed about, like a ship at sea, in my own heart!
Mine she will never be, my Rosalyn.
I cannot bear it that she be someone else’s. Old Hag!
Hear My words now! I am so corrupt already, a child of sin:
No harm can come of my further misdeeds, for such
As me belongs to Hell already. Take her, Hell-Hag!
Take my love’s life, If she will never, not ever be my wife.
Take her, and with my aid, although, one more thing:
Let her be mine, once more, before she meets the knife.
(The DARK THRONG begins filtering out on the stage to stand behind the Crone, watching Nicolas)
DEATH CRONE
Hear him well
And go my flock, go now to Lord Isadora’s keep: fetch
Me Rosalyn, all before the sound of the midnight bell.
For my followers are everywhere, and even deep within
Lord Isadora’s manor, servants call Me their mistress.
This very eve, in Rosalyn’s drink, my faithful did slip
The blood of the red mushroom, to send her deeply
Into sleep, and dream: unbeknownst to she, a fatal sip.
(Scene: The Night-time countryside outside of a Keep’s gate, guarded by the INCOMPETNENT GUARDS of LORD ISADORA with the DARK THRONG dressed in hooded black cloaks, creeping along and hiding outside of the Gate. The INCOMPETENT GUARDS are napping at their posts.)
NARRATOR
So off they went, the demonic cult, stealthy as the dead,
Black-clad in droves, across the heaths and the steads.
They surrounded the hall of Isadora, now creeping,
They would enter unlawful, with help from within, and trod
The stairs, to where poor young Rosalyn lay sleeping.
INCOMPETENT GUARD ONE:
Hark! What was that sound?
It reminded me of a thin metal scabbard rattling
Beneath the cloak of some villain;
It seemed to emanate from you dark patch of shrubs-
INCOMPETENT GUARD TWO
Go back to sleep, the throat of many a night-bird
Could likely make such a melody.
And what but a harmless bird hides in a shrub at night?
Villains... friend, be not absurd.
INCOMPETENT GUARD THREE
Wait, I too would have sworn I saw a dark-cloaked figure
Moving yonder, taking cover in those wicked looking trees!
Is that one now, mine eye sees?
INCOMPETENT GUARD ONE
Nay, brother, I too have had the same thought,
But ‘twas the strong wind in the leaves that shook a branch
And made the shadows dance.
INCOMPETENT GUARD TWO
For the love of a merciful God!
I cannot rest with you two wailing on about strange sounds
And concealed villains! For mercy! Return to sleep!
We have never seen an unlawful person enter these grounds.
(All three go to Sleep)
(The DARK THRONG sneaks past the sleeping guards and enters the castle- the door is opened by a black-clad arm from inside- and the scene ends there)
(Scene: The Dark Forest with NICOLAS and the DEATH CRONE waiting, with a slab of stone before them, and ROSALYN’S sleeping body laid on it)
NARRATOR
And so was she taken, by these heartless fiends, to
The pernicious, cold wood that blackened that land.
They lay her upon a stone in a clearing, before Nicolas
Who knelt there, intoxicated, on the visions of fungus.
NICOLAS
Love, death, what more do you want of us?
DEATH CRONE
Take her now, Nicolas. Fulfill
Your loins one last time in the body of she, my victim.
This, as you asked, and let you never tell another that
You were ever denied your desires at the hands of us,
We, who filled you truly, as the cat fills on the poor rat.
(As NICOLAS approaches ROSALYN, Darkness falls over the stage)
NARRATOR
It was surreal, a toadstool-tainted dream, as he fell onto
Rosalyn, half-asleep, half-dreaming, a nightmare vision;
God’s poor daughter, so alone, and surrounded by this,
Kidnapped and foul raped in these heathen woods, and
Unable to wake, blanketed only by howls and by mists.
In final repletion, Nicolas sighed, and collapsed,
Rosalyn lay there below, still warm, and sobbing in her trance.
Unconscious was he, mind taken away finally by the brew.
(Scene: the light returns to the stage and ROSALYN is still on the stone, and NICOLAS collapsed on the ground at the foot of the stone)
DEATH CRONE
Place her back into her bed, for now
Nicolas is no use. Tomorrow’s eve, I shall send for her anew.
For deepest sleep may have spared her throat and his hand
But only for a day. He will awake and she will again sleep,
Only to be taken, and before the oak tree laid. This is fate;
And this fate is a stern mistress. Go, now, all of you, and
Tomorrow’s sacrifice with much anticipation await.
(The DARK THRONG takes Rosalyn and carries her off the stage)
(Fades out. Act ends).
Go to ACT V