Crystal Ark -- Episode #302

EXTENDED SYNOPSIS:

King Zad (Steven Grives) vows to wipe out every trace of his murdered predecessor, King Eldar, and establish his reign as the new ruler. There is, however, a faithful alliance that has remained loyal to the former king in hopes of restoring his rightful heir to the throne. Two of Eldar's followers, Breon (Todd MacDonald) and Rhana (Brooke Satchwell), have a precious red clay tablet in their safekeeping which they have pledged to protect until they find the one who can use it to restore the line of King Eldar. With Zad's knights on their heels, the two realize that the only way they can protect the tablet is to split it into two pieces. That way, if either is caught, Zad will only get half the tablet.

Shortly after, Breon is captured, but before he is beaten and left for dead, he manages to hide his half of the tablet among the roots of a nearby tree trunk. Rhana is caught as well and taken to Xinca where she is held captive by Zad. In his weakened state, Breon makes it to the hut of the legendary BeastMaster (Daniel Goddard), and tells his story to Dar and Tao (Jackson Raine). Tao nurses Breon back to health, and the three men set out to rescue Rhana.

Meanwhile, when Zad grills Rhana about the tablet, she hints that the red clay could be from the Red Desert where the ruins of a great and ancient temple are said to stand. Zad prepares Rhana and his knights for a trip to find and destroy what might possibly be the last vestige of Eldar's reign. As Breon, Dar and Tao eavesdrop on Zad's plans, they're spotted by Zad's guards, and a battle ensues in which Breon is stabbed. With his dying breath, Breon sketches a map leading his friends to the spot where he hid his half of the tablet. He also reveals a small distinctive tattoo he bears on his arm, which causes the rune on Dar's palm to glow. Seeing this, Breon dies, happy in the knowledge that the BeastMaster is "the one."

Dar and Tao find the spot where the tablet is hidden and send Podo into the trunk to search for the treasure. Unfortunately, all the ferret finds is the piece of cloth in which it had been wrapped, indicating that Zad's men must have gotten there first. In a battle with the knights, Dar and Tao retrieve the shard and send the defeated army scurrying off into the jungle. The mystery of the tablet's source is solved when Podo pops up with a piece of shiny black stone that had been buried in the piece of cloth. Tao recognizes it as black ice, which, like the red clay, is also found near the desert.

Knowing full well that Zad and his army are far ahead of them, Dartanus (Marc Singer), Dar's Spirit Warrior, helps the travelers find a shortcut to their destination. On the road, Dar and Tao meet Frolo (Scott McRae) and his group of rebels, all of whom were members of Breon's crew and faithful followers of Eldar. Hearing their story, Frolo takes them to the site of the temple. When they realize Zad and his men have already arrived at the site and begun destroying it, Frolo reassures them that the loss of the tablet would be a much greater calamity.

In a confrontation, Dar manages to rescue Rhana and the shard from Zad's grip. As he fits the two halves of the tablet together, a spark of energy travels along the crack between the pieces, knitting them together as if they were never broken. Tao deciphers the tablet's hieroglyphics, which direct them to a cave. There, Dar finds a stalagmite which causes the rune on his palm to glow when he touches it. Curious, he chips away at the calcium deposit on the stalagmite until he uncovers a crystal ark bearing the etchings of runic animals. According to Dartanus, King Eldar knew Balcifer, the devil himself, was after him and his whole family. In his last living moments, he changed all but his youngest son, Dar, into animals. Now it's Dar's mission to find all the animals and bring them to the ark where they will be safe. When he has found them all, their power will be released and they will regain human form and help Dar defeat Balcifer and restore peace and justice to the world. Once his task is complete, Dar will take over the throne as the rightful king of Arakann.