Coronation Gift

(Scene: A bustling marketplace in the First Domain. Merchants hawk their wares, children chase each other and sing, and citizens gossip. A group of lowborn huddle together, fear etched on their faces.)
Lowborn 1: Did you hear? The Emperor is dead!
Lowborn 2: (Whispering) Keep your voice down! The Enforcers are everywhere.
Lowborn 3: They say he died suddenly. No one knows how.
(A hush falls over the marketplace as a group of Domain Enforcers march through, their faces grim. They begin grabbing lowborn citizens at random, dragging them away.)
Lowborn Child: (Crying) Mama! Papa!
Lowborn Mother: (Struggling against the Enforcers) Leave my child alone!
(The Enforcers pay no heed, throwing the lowborn into cages. The remaining citizens watch in horror.)
(Scene change: A grand hall in the Imperial Palace. A young woman, the new Emperor, sits on her throne, surrounded by advisors. A distant choir sings her praise.)
Advisor 1: (Nervous) Your Majesty, we have begun collecting the sacrifices for your coronation, but the lowborn protest in the streets.
Emperor Sver'rian: (Shocked). How dare they defile this honored celebration. No doubt the scum of Shard 2 is among them.
Advisor 1: I don't know. Perhaps-
Emperor Sver'rian: (Coldly) Well then, increase the offering, starting with those Shard 2 vermin and the youngest among them. Let them serve as a reminder to all who would defy this throne.
Advisor 2: But Your Majesty, the Agency has sent a message. They plead for clemency.
Emperor Sver'rian: (Scoffs) The Agency? They have no power here. This is a matter for the First Domain, and the First Domain alone.
(The Emperor rises from her throne, voice booming.)
Emperor Sver'rian: Let this Culling commence! Let the blood of the disloyal wash away the stain of their rebellion!
(Scene change: Back in the marketplace, the Culling is in full swing. The streets are filled with the screams of the condemned. A group of highborn citizens watch from a balcony, their faces a mixture of fear and fascination.)
Highborn 1: This is barbaric! They're slaughtering innocent people!
Highborn 2: Silence! You dare question the Emperor's will?
Highborn 3: (Shaking their head) This will not end well. The lowborn are the backbone of our society. What will we do without them?
(The Culling continues, leaving a trail of death and destruction. A somber hymn echos in the marketplace. Once vibrant and alive, it is now a desolate wasteland.)
(Scene change: The Imperial Palace, sometime later. The Emperor sits on her throne, her face pale and drawn. The advisors stand before her, their heads bowed.)
Advisor 1: Your Majesty, the Culling is complete. Nearly a third of the lowborn population has been eliminated.
Emperor Sver'rian: (Weakly) And the economy?
Advisor 2: In ruins, Your Majesty. The loss of so many workers has crippled our industries.
Advisor 3: And the Agency... they have severed all ties with us. We are isolated, alone.
(The Emperor slumps back in her throne, the weight of her actions finally crushing her.)
Emperor Sver'rian: (Whispering) What have I done?
(The advisors exchange grim glances. The play ends.)

-Playscript for K. X. Novia's award-winning musical Unmaking of a Dynasty, Act II: The Culling. Adapted for Middle School performance.

Type

Entertainment, Generic

Medium

Digital Recording, Text