Original Play by the blogger ibikunle Abraham " The Sovereign’s Shadow"
Genre: Historical Tragedy / Political Drama (in the style of Macbeth or Julius Caesar)
Setting: A fictionalized Renaissance-era Italian city-state named Veridia.
Synopsis: The newly crowned Duke of Veridia, Lorenzo, is a man of perceived virtue but is haunted by the assassination of his elder brother, the previous Duke. As the city struggles with famine and political unrest, Lorenzo's trusted advisor, the manipulative Count Valerius, convinces advisor.
Sovereign 's shadow
Act I, Scene I: The Palace Throne Room of Veridia
Scene Description: The throne room is richly decorated but dimly lit, suggesting a somber mood. The new DUKE LORENZO is seated on the throne, looking uneasy. His trusted advisor, COUNT VALERIUS, stands nearby. Courtiers, including the recently widowed DUCHESS ELARA, mournful in black, are present. The atmosphere is tense.
LORENZO:
(Rising from the throne, addressing the court)
Our royal brother’s death, though past its peak
Of fresh despair, still weighs upon the state.
Veridia mourns her Duke, so kind and meek,
Whose life was cut by some most cruel fate.
We have assumed the crown, as duty calls,
To steady the great ship that lists to port;
To mend the cracks within our palace walls,
And bring stability back to the court.
VALERIUS:
(Stepping forward, voice smooth and strong)
Long live the Duke, Lorenzo, wise and just!
The people cheer your name in every street.
In you, my lord, they place their honest trust,
To keep the realm from traitorous deceit.
ELARA:
(Her voice gentle, but carrying clear)
We thank you for the words of comfort, sir.
My husband’s memory is green in heart.
May your new reign bring calm where there is stir,
And play a virtuous, not a wicked, part.
LORENZO:
(Looking at Elara, slightly unnerved by her directness)
Your grief, fair sister, does become your state.
We pray the time shall ease your heavy load.
We know you loved him well, though it was late,
A widow walking on a lonely road.
A Messenger enters hastily, bowing low.
MESSENGER:
My lord the Duke! A missive from the port!
The harvest failed, the ships bring little grain.
The people starve and murmur at the court,
They say the tax collector caused this pain.
LORENZO:
(To Valerius, aside)
More trouble! Famine knocks upon our door.
This crown already feels a heavy thing.
VALERIUS:
(Aside to Lorenzo, firmly)
Fear not, my lord. We must demand no more
But strength and resolve from our new-made King.
We shall address the people’s base demands,
And show them that their sovereign is strong.
(To the court, loudly)
The Duke requires a moment to his hands,
He needs to plot a course to right this wrong.
The court is finished. Go and pray for rain.
Courtiers begin to disperse. Elara gives Lorenzo one last look of sorrow and exits. Only Lorenzo and Valerius remain.
LORENZO:
(Pacing, agitated)
The people starve! The whispers in the square
Speak of my brother's 'sudden' resting place.
They say his death was less a 'cruel fate'
And more the work of a too-eager heir.
VALERIUS:
(A subtle smile playing on his lips)
Rumors are wind, and quickly pass.
Your brother died of fever, swiftly caught.
As for the people's hunger, that shall pass,
When they see justice is discreetly wrought.
But watch the Duchess, she speaks too much.
Her public grief conceals a private fire.
Fear that she holds a cold, avenging touch,
And plots to see you in a funeral pyre.
LORENZO:
(Pausing, looking troubled)
Elara? Nay, that's impossible.
Her eyes are full of honest, simple grief.
VALERIUS:
(Leaning in close)
Honest as daggers concealed in the cloak,
Simple as poison in a wedding wreath.
Be wary, Duke, the hand you trust the most,
Might be the hand that sends you to your ghost.
End of Act I, Scene I.
Act I, Scene II: A private chamber in the Ducal Palace.
Enter LORENZO, Duke of Veridia, and COUNT VALERIUS.
LORENZO:
The crown sits heavy on my brow, Valerius.
My brother's blood, though cold these many moons,
Doth stain the very throne I sought to shun.
The people whisper, "Usurper," in the square,
And every smiling courtier hides a knife.
VALERIUS:
My liege, the people cheer the name of Lorenzo.
Their whispers are but wind; your fears, a fog.
Yet there is one whose grief is over-ripe,
A widow's tears that flow with too much ease—
The Lady Elara doth court dissent.
LORENZO:
Elara? Nay, her sorrow is a truthful badge.
She loved my brother with a loyal heart.
VALERIUS:
A loyal heart that beats with a new rhythm now,
A rhythm that doth pulse a dangerous tune.
I overheard her steward—a honest man—
Speak of an alliance with the Florentine,
To right a "wrongful seizure of the throne."
She plays the pious mourning dove by day,
But underneath her wing, a serpent sleeps.
LORENZO:
(Pacing, disturbed)
The Florentine? Our oldest enemy?
If this be true, then virtue is a mask,
And all her tears mere oil for rebellion's flame.
Observe her closely, good Valerius.
A sovereign's safety is the law of God.
VALERIUS:
Fear not, my lord, your servant is your shield.
The shadow of her treason shall not touch
The glorious sun of your new reign.
(Aside, smirking)
The seed is sown, and paranoia's root
Doth grow most quick within a fearful min
Act II, Scene I: The Grand Hall of the Ducal Palace
Scene Description: Torches flicker in the great hall. The DUKE LORENZO holds court. Courtiers and citizens mill about. Enter DUCHESS ELARA.
LORENZO:
(Aside to Valerius)
Mark her entrance, Valerius. See how she sweeps,
With studied grace, a queen among the flies.
She doth command the air more than her Duke.
VALERIUS:
(Whispering)
Observe, my liege, the pride that swells her step.
No humble subject this, but one who feels
The crown was stolen from her rightful grasp.
Elara approaches the throne and bows.
ELARA:
Good morrow to my sovereign lord, the Duke.
May peace reside within Veridia's walls.
LORENZO:
(Coldly)
Your greetings are as sharp as winter's air,
Duchess. We trust your rest was undisturbed
By conscience, or by plotting in the night?
ELARA:
My lord? Your words are riddles not solved.
The conscience sleeps as sound as newborn babies.
Plotting? The plot is for nothing save the peace
The heart hath lost since my dear husband died.
LORENZO:
Your husband died by some most cunning hand.
A hand that yet may hold a sceptre soon,
If rumor speaks the truth.
ELARA:
Rumor is but the bastard child of malice,
Nurtured by those who feast on others' pain.
Who plants these seeds of discord in your ear?
VALERIUS:
(Stepping forward smoothly)
The state, good madam, demands vigilance.
And whispers of the Florentine alliance
Do reach the council chambers like a plague.
ELARA:
(Eyes wide with shock, then anger)
A Florentine alliance? This is base!
A lie hatched in the shadows of the court!
The honor and the soul swear—
LORENZO:
(Standing up, voice rising)
Your 'honor' is a word as thin as silk!
Your 'soul' a thing of blackest perjury!
The steward confessed—we have the very proof!
You correspond with Florence for our head!
LORENZO:
(To the guards)
Arrest her! Take her to the deepest dungeon!
She stands accused of treason 'gainst the state!
ELARA:
(As guards seize her)
Lorenzo! You are mad! This is Valerius' work!
He is the serpent that you warm, my lord!
He murders truth and honesty with lies!
VALERIUS:
(Smiling faintly, as she is dragged away)
Her madness speaks. A common trait in guilt.
LORENZO:
(Shaking, staring at his hands)
Is this the price of power? To lose all trust?
To turn a grieving sister to a foe?
Oh, heavy crown, you bring a heavy heart.
If she be guilty, then the world is false.
End of Act II, Scene I.
(The play continues with Elara's imprisonment, Valerius seizing more power, and Lorenzo’s gradual descent into a tyrant, eventually leading to a tragic civil war and a final, bloody confrontation where the truth is revealed too late.)
ELARA:
The steward? My kind, old Anselm? This is madness!
He is a man of eighty winters past,
Who scarce can write his name. You torture him
For words that serve your wicked purposes!
continue
Act III, Scene I: The Dungeon of the Ducal Palace
Scene Description: A dark, damp cell. ELARA is chained to the wall, weak but defiant. Enter VALERIUS, carrying a lantern.
ELARA:
(Weakly, her voice echoing)
The light offends mine eyes. Be brief, Valerius,
For I have nothing left to give a monster.
VALERIUS:
(Setting down the lantern)
A monster? Nay, a servant of the state.
I come to you not with the Duke's harsh words,
But with a simple offer: sign confession
Of your most heinous plots, and take the block
With dignity and speed. Resist, and torture
Shall stretch your limbs and make your tongue confess
A thousand sins you never dreamt of doing.
ELARA:
My tongue shall speak no lies, though it be flayed!
You are the architect of this foul ruin.
You whispered poison in a virtuous ear,
And turned the Duke's own fears into his weapon.
My 'steward' Anselm? What a wretched lie!
You broke the old man on a rack for words
That you yourself dictated.
VALERIUS:
(Smiling, leaning closer)
The people believe it. That is the only truth
That matters in this world of statecraft, madam.
Lorenzo believes it. That makes it law.
He is a Duke who would be loved, but I
Have taught him that to be beloved is weak.
Fear is the truer currency of kings.
And soon, the power he fears to wield in full,
Shall be in hands that know its proper worth.
ELARA:
You seek the Ducal throne yourself, you jackal!
VALERIUS:
I seek a stable Veridia. One that is strong.
Lorenzo wavers. He is full of doubts,
A wishy-washy soul unfit to rule.
His tragedy is that he desires virtue
In a world that demands a ruthless hand.
His fall is built on his own fatal flaw:
He listens to the shadows of his mind,
Which I have merely furnished with the ghosts.
ELARA:
(Spitting at him)
Your tongue is poison, and your heart is black.
When the truth is known, the mob shall tear you limb from limb!
VALERIUS:
(Wiping his face with a silk handkerchief)
The truth is buried deeper than this cell.
By then, I shall be Duke, and truth will be
Whatever I declare it in the morning sun.
Sign the paper, Duchess. Save your noble flesh
A painful, drawn-out end.
VALERIUS:
(Sighing, standing up)
Then rot you shall. The Duke requires a public show.
The scaffold awaits at dawn. May the saints
Grant you a more pliant spirit on the block.
(To himself, as he exits)
The Duke's hand shakes. He needs a final push.
The execution will secure his path,
Or break the final tether to his soul.
Either way, Valerius wins the day.
End of Act III, Scene I.
ELARA:
I’d sooner rot in chains than serve your lie.
The heavens see your sin, Valerius.
Vengeance is slow, but it is always sure.
continue
Act IV, Scene I: The Public Square of Veridia, at Dawn
Scene Description: A scaffold is erected center stage, draped in black. A large crowd of citizens whispers nervously. SOLDIERS stand guard. Enter LORENZO, VALERIUS, and other Nobles onto a balcony overlooking the square.
1ST CITIZEN:
Look how he trembles, the new Duke. He cannot face his people.
2ND CITIZEN:
They say she is innocent, a saintly woman betrayed by that devil, Valerius.
LORENZO:
(On the balcony, pale and strained, to Valerius)
Must this be done? The people's mood is sour.
They loved her husband, and they pity her.
Perhaps a life imprisonment would serve?
VALERIUS:
A life imprisonment is doubt's long shadow.
It keeps the flame of treason burning low,
Ready to rage when you are weakest, Highness.
A swift execution cements your power.
Justice must not appear to hesitate.
Executioner appears on the scaffold. ELARA is led out, head held high, though weary.
ELARA:
(To the crowd, voice clear)
Good people of Veridia! A victim of a terrible lie!
No traitor, but a wronged woman!
The Duke, misguided by his allies,
Shall one day see the truth!
LORENZO:
(Whispering to Valerius, agonized)
Her strength! Her truth!
What if innocence has been murdered?
VALERIUS:
(Firmly, guiding Lorenzo's hand)
Sign the execution order, my Lord.
Delay is weakness.
Do not appear irresolute!
Lorenzo signs the paper and gives it to a captain, who runs to the executioner.
ELARA:
(Seeing the Captain approach the scaffold)
Valerius, you have won your prize!
Lorenzo, your reign begins in innocent blood!
The executioner raises his axe. There is a sharp sound of the blade falling.
CROWD:
(A collective gasp, then murmurs of anger)
Shame! Shame upon the Duke!
Suddenly, ANSELM, the old steward, weak and bruised, stumbles from the crowd, pushing past the guards.
ANSELM:
Stop! The truth!
The Duchess is innocent!
Valerius forced lies!
He forged the letters!
Anselm collapses, gasping for breath.
LORENZO:
(Staring, utterly frozen in horror on the balcony)
The steward! He lives! What is this?
You said the old man died confessing!
VALERIUS:
(His composure cracking slightly, drawing his sword)
The ravings of a mad and dying servant!
He seeks to save his mistress with lies!
Seize him! Silence him!
Chaos ensues in the square. Guards try to reach Anselm. The crowd surges forward, protecting the old man.
LORENZO:
(Finding his voice, a raw shout)
No! Touch him not! You have played me for a fool!
You are the traitor! Guards, arrest Valerius!
VALERIUS:
(Backing away, keeping his sword raised)
Fool? The city is mine!
(Shouting to his loyal soldiers hidden in the crowd)
Now! Rise up! Seize the palace! The Duke is weak!
Trumpets sound, not in ceremony, but in the chaos of civil war. Valerius's men clash with the Ducal guards. Lorenzo runs from the balcony.
End of Act IV, Scene I.
Act V, Scene I: The Grand Hall of the Ducal Palace
Scene Description: The hall is in disarray. Furniture is overturned. Sounds of fighting echo from the corridors. LORENZO enters, sword drawn, weary and covered in dust. He is alone.
LORENZO:
The palace bleeds. The city burns.
Power was not wanted, yet it came,
Poisoned by trust in a damned soul.
Elara's ghost haunts these halls,
Her blood is heavy on guilty hands.
No Duke, but a puppet king,
Whose strings were pulled by a malicious hand.
O, honour, where have you gone? O, justice, fled?
VALERIUS enters, wounded, his sword dripping blood. He laughs a bitter laugh.
VALERIUS:
The virtuous Duke, alone in the ruin!
Your honor saves you not from my just sword,
Nor does your 'justice' turn the tide of war.
The city is divided; half for me,
Half for the memory of the saintly Duchess.
Your weakness cost you everything, Lorenzo.
LORENZO:
(Raging, his weakness gone, replaced by fury)
Weakness was believing in a friend!
Fault was seeing virtue where was none!
You engineered this chaos, spoke your lies,
And murdered an old man to hide the truth!
Prepare yourself, you villain! Your time has come!
VALERIUS:
(Sneering)
I fear no man who wavers with the wind!
They fight. Swords clash fiercely around the overturned throne. Lorenzo, driven by guilt and rage, fights with a desperate strength. Valerius, wounded and arrogant, is quickly overcome. Lorenzo disarms him and holds his sword to Valerius's throat.
LORENZO:
Confess your treachery before you die!
Let heaven hear the truth your own mouth speaks!
VALERIUS:
(Gasping, defiant to the end)
The only truth is power! I regret
Only that I did not take the crown sooner!
You were too soft, a fool of conscience!
LORENZO:
Then die a villain, damned to all eternity!
Lorenzo stabs Valerius. Valerius collapses and dies.
GENERAL MARCELLUS and SOLDIERS enter, securing the hall.
MARCELLUS:
My lord! The fighting ebbs! Your forces hold the palace gate!
Valerius's faction loses heart! We win the day!
LORENZO:
(Staring at the dead body of Valerius, then at the blood on his hands)
We win? Is this a victory, Marcellus?
The Duchess is dead. The city torn by war.
I sit upon a throne built on a grave,
A grave dug by my own mistaken hand.
Lorenzo walks slowly to the throne but does not sit. He looks out at the audience.
LORENZO:
The crown is naught but sorrow and regret.
The trust lost is blood that cannot be washed away.
Let chroniclers record Veridia's fall,
And teach this lesson to all future kings:
Guard well your ear against the slanderer's tongue,
For he who trusts the shadow loses all.
My reign is over before it has begun.
A ghost haunting a bloody stage.
Lorenzo drops his sword, standing alone in the ruined hall.
End of The Sovereign's Shadow.
Act I, Scene II: A private chamber in the Ducal Palace.
Enter LORENZO, Duke of Veridia, and COUNT VALERIUS.
LORENZO:
The crown sits heavy on my brow, Valerius.
My brother's blood, though cold these many moons,
Doth stain the very throne I sought to shun.
The people whisper, "Usurper," in the square,
And every smiling courtier hides a knife.
VALERIUS:
My liege, the people cheer the name of Lorenzo.
Their whispers are but wind; your fears, a fog.
Yet there is one whose grief is over-ripe,
A widow's tears that flow with too much ease—
The Lady Elara doth court dissent.
LORENZO:
Elara? Nay, her sorrow is a truthful badge.
She loved my brother with a loyal heart.
VALERIUS:
A loyal heart that beats with a new rhythm now,
A rhythm that doth pulse a dangerous tune.
I overheard her steward—a honest man—
Speak of an alliance with the Florentine,
To right a "wrongful seizure of the throne."
She plays the pious mourning dove by day,
But underneath her wing, a serpent sleeps.
LORENZO:
(Pacing, disturbed)
The Florentine? Our oldest enemy?
If this be true, then virtue is a mask,
And all her tears mere oil for rebellion's flame.
Observe her closely, good Valerius.
A sovereign's safety is the law of God.
VALERIUS:
Fear not, my lord, your servant is your shield.
The shadow of her treason shall not touch
The glorious sun of your new reign.
(Aside, smirking)
The seed is sown, and paranoia's root
Doth grow most quick within a fearful mind.
Act II, Scene I: The Grand Hall of the Ducal Palace
Scene Description: Torches flicker in the great hall. The DUKE LORENZO holds court. Courtiers and citizens mill about. Enter DUCHESS ELARA.
LORENZO:
(Aside to Valerius)
Mark her entrance, Valerius. See how she sweeps,
With studied grace, a queen among the flies.
She doth command the air more than her Duke.
VALERIUS:
(Whispering)
Observe, my liege, the pride that swells her step.
No humble subject this, but one who feels
The crown was stolen from her rightful grasp.
Elara approaches the throne and bows.
ELARA:
Good morrow to my sovereign lord, the Duke.
May peace reside within Veridia's walls.
LORENZO:
(Coldly)
Your greetings are as sharp as winter's air,
Duchess. We trust your rest was undisturbed
By conscience, or by plotting in the night?
ELARA:
My lord? Your words are riddles not solved.
The conscience sleeps as sound as newborn babies.
Plotting? The plot is for nothing save the peace
The heart hath lost since my dear husband died.
LORENZO:
Your husband died by some most cunning hand.
A hand that yet may hold a sceptre soon,
If rumor speaks the truth.
ELARA:
Rumor is but the bastard child of malice,
Nurtured by those who feast on others' pain.
Who plants these seeds of discord in your ear?
VALERIUS:
(Stepping forward smoothly)
The state, good madam, demands vigilance.
And whispers of the Florentine alliance
Do reach the council chambers like a plague.
ELARA:
(Eyes wide with shock, then anger)
A Florentine alliance? This is base!
A lie hatched in the shadows of the court!
The honor and the soul swear—
LORENZO:
(Standing up, voice rising)
Your 'honor' is a word as thin as silk!
Your 'soul' a thing of blackest perjury!
The steward confessed—we have the very proof!
You correspond with Florence for our head!
LORENZO:
(To the guards)
Arrest her! Take her to the deepest dungeon!
She stands accused of treason 'gainst the state!
ELARA:
(As guards seize her)
Lorenzo! You are mad! This is Valerius' work!
He is the serpent that you warm, my lord!
He murders truth and honesty with lies!
VALERIUS:
(Smiling faintly, as she is dragged away)
Her madness speaks. A common trait in guilt.
LORENZO:
(Shaking, staring at his hands)
Is this the price of power? To lose all trust?
To turn a grieving sister to a foe?
Oh, heavy crown, you bring a heavy heart.
If she be guilty, then the world is false.
End of Act II, Scene I.
(The play continues with Elara's imprisonment, Valerius seizing more power, and Lorenzo’s gradual descent into a tyrant, eventually leading to a tragic civil war and a final, bloody confrontation where the truth is revealed too late.)
ELARA:
The steward? My kind, old Anselm? This is madness!
He is a man of eighty winters past,
Who scarce can write his name. You torture him
For words that serve your wicked purposes!
continue
Act III, Scene I: The Dungeon of the Ducal Palace
Scene Description: A dark, damp cell. ELARA is chained to the wall, weak but defiant. Enter VALERIUS, carrying a lantern.
ELARA:
(Weakly, her voice echoing)
The light offends mine eyes. Be brief, Valerius,
For I have nothing left to give a monster.
VALERIUS:
(Setting down the lantern)
A monster? Nay, a servant of the state.
I come to you not with the Duke's harsh words,
But with a simple offer: sign confession
Of your most heinous plots, and take the block
With dignity and speed. Resist, and torture
Shall stretch your limbs and make your tongue confess
A thousand sins you never dreamt of doing.
ELARA:
My tongue shall speak no lies, though it be flayed!
You are the architect of this foul ruin.
You whispered poison in a virtuous ear,
And turned the Duke's own fears into his weapon.
My 'steward' Anselm? What a wretched lie!
You broke the old man on a rack for words
That you yourself dictated.
VALERIUS:
(Smiling, leaning closer)
The people believe it. That is the only truth
That matters in this world of statecraft, madam.
Lorenzo believes it. That makes it law.
He is a Duke who would be loved, but I
Have taught him that to be beloved is weak.
Fear is the truer currency of kings.
And soon, the power he fears to wield in full,
Shall be in hands that know its proper worth.
ELARA:
You seek the Ducal throne yourself, you jackal!
VALERIUS:
I seek a stable Veridia. One that is strong.
Lorenzo wavers. He is full of doubts,
A wishy-washy soul unfit to rule.
His tragedy is that he desires virtue
In a world that demands a ruthless hand.
His fall is built on his own fatal flaw:
He listens to the shadows of his mind,
Which I have merely furnished with the ghosts.
ELARA:
(Spitting at him)
Your tongue is poison, and your heart is black.
When the truth is known, the mob shall tear you limb from limb!
VALERIUS:
(Wiping his face with a silk handkerchief)
The truth is buried deeper than this cell.
By then, I shall be Duke, and truth will be
Whatever I declare it in the morning sun.
Sign the paper, Duchess. Save your noble flesh
A painful, drawn-out end.
VALERIUS:
(Sighing, standing up)
Then rot you shall. The Duke requires a public show.
The scaffold awaits at dawn. May the saints
Grant you a more pliant spirit on the block.
(To himself, as he exits)
The Duke's hand shakes. He needs a final push.
The execution will secure his path,
Or break the final tether to his soul.
Either way, Valerius wins the day.
End of Act III, Scene I.
ELARA:
I’d sooner rot in chains than serve your lie.
The heavens see your sin, Valerius.
Vengeance is slow, but it is always sure.
continue
Act IV, Scene I: The Public Square of Veridia, at Dawn
Scene Description: A scaffold is erected center stage, draped in black. A large crowd of citizens whispers nervously. SOLDIERS stand guard. Enter LORENZO, VALERIUS, and other Nobles onto a balcony overlooking the square.
1ST CITIZEN:
Look how he trembles, the new Duke. He cannot face his people.
2ND CITIZEN:
They say she is innocent, a saintly woman betrayed by that devil, Valerius.
LORENZO:
(On the balcony, pale and strained, to Valerius)
Must this be done? The people's mood is sour.
They loved her husband, and they pity her.
Perhaps a life imprisonment would serve?
VALERIUS:
A life imprisonment is doubt's long shadow.
It keeps the flame of treason burning low,
Ready to rage when you are weakest, Highness.
A swift execution cements your power.
Justice must not appear to hesitate.
Executioner appears on the scaffold. ELARA is led out, head held high, though weary.
ELARA:
(To the crowd, voice clear)
Good people of Veridia! A victim of a terrible lie!
No traitor, but a wronged woman!
The Duke, misguided by his allies,
Shall one day see the truth!
LORENZO:
(Whispering to Valerius, agonized)
Her strength! Her truth!
What if innocence has been murdered?
VALERIUS:
(Firmly, guiding Lorenzo's hand)
Sign the execution order, my Lord.
Delay is weakness.
Do not appear irresolute!
Lorenzo signs the paper and gives it to a captain, who runs to the executioner.
ELARA:
(Seeing the Captain approach the scaffold)
Valerius, you have won your prize!
Lorenzo, your reign begins in innocent blood!
The executioner raises his axe. There is a sharp sound of the blade falling.
CROWD:
(A collective gasp, then murmurs of anger)
Shame! Shame upon the Duke!
Suddenly, ANSELM, the old steward, weak and bruised, stumbles from the crowd, pushing past the guards.
ANSELM:
Stop! The truth!
The Duchess is innocent!
Valerius forced lies!
He forged the letters!
Anselm collapses, gasping for breath.
LORENZO:
(Staring, utterly frozen in horror on the balcony)
The steward! He lives! What is this?
You said the old man died confessing!
VALERIUS:
(His composure cracking slightly, drawing his sword)
The ravings of a mad and dying servant!
He seeks to save his mistress with lies!
Seize him! Silence him!
Chaos ensues in the square. Guards try to reach Anselm. The crowd surges forward, protecting the old man.
LORENZO:
(Finding his voice, a raw shout)
No! Touch him not! You have played me for a fool!
You are the traitor! Guards, arrest Valerius!
VALERIUS:
(Backing away, keeping his sword raised)
Fool? The city is mine!
(Shouting to his loyal soldiers hidden in the crowd)
Now! Rise up! Seize the palace! The Duke is weak!
Trumpets sound, not in ceremony, but in the chaos of civil war. Valerius's men clash with the Ducal guards. Lorenzo runs from the balcony.
End of Act IV, Scene I.
Act V, Scene I: The Grand Hall of the Ducal Palace
Scene Description: The hall is in disarray. Furniture is overturned. Sounds of fighting echo from the corridors. LORENZO enters, sword drawn, weary and covered in dust. He is alone.
LORENZO:
The palace bleeds. The city burns.
Power was not wanted, yet it came,
Poisoned by trust in a damned soul.
Elara's ghost haunts these halls,
Her blood is heavy on guilty hands.
No Duke, but a puppet king,
Whose strings were pulled by a malicious hand.
O, honour, where have you gone? O, justice, fled?
VALERIUS enters, wounded, his sword dripping blood. He laughs a bitter laugh.
VALERIUS:
The virtuous Duke, alone in the ruin!
Your honor saves you not from my just sword,
Nor does your 'justice' turn the tide of war.
The city is divided; half for me,
Half for the memory of the saintly Duchess.
Your weakness cost you everything, Lorenzo.
LORENZO:
(Raging, his weakness gone, replaced by fury)
Weakness was believing in a friend!
Fault was seeing virtue where was none!
You engineered this chaos, spoke your lies,
And murdered an old man to hide the truth!
Prepare yourself, you villain! Your time has come!
VALERIUS:
(Sneering)
I fear no man who wavers with the wind!
They fight. Swords clash fiercely around the overturned throne. Lorenzo, driven by guilt and rage, fights with a desperate strength. Valerius, wounded and arrogant, is quickly overcome. Lorenzo disarms him and holds his sword to Valerius's throat.
LORENZO:
Confess your treachery before you die!
Let heaven hear the truth your own mouth speaks!
VALERIUS:
(Gasping, defiant to the end)
The only truth is power! I regret
Only that I did not take the crown sooner!
You were too soft, a fool of conscience!
LORENZO:
Then die a villain, damned to all eternity!
Lorenzo stabs Valerius. Valerius collapses and dies.
GENERAL MARCELLUS and SOLDIERS enter, securing the hall.
MARCELLUS:
My lord! The fighting ebbs! Your forces hold the palace gate!
Valerius's faction loses heart! We win the day!
LORENZO:
(Staring at the dead body of Valerius, then at the blood on his hands)
We win? Is this a victory, Marcellus?
The Duchess is dead. The city torn by war.
I sit upon a throne built on a grave,
A grave dug by my own mistaken hand.
Lorenzo walks slowly to the throne but does not sit. He looks out at the audience.
LORENZO:
The crown is naught but sorrow and regret.
The trust lost is blood that cannot be washed away.
Let chroniclers record Veridia's fall,
And teach this lesson to all future kings:
Guard well your ear against the slanderer's tongue,
For he who trusts the shadow loses all.
My reign is over before it has begun.
A ghost haunting a bloody stage.
Lorenzo drops his sword, standing alone in the ruined hall.
End of The Sovereign's Shadow.
(Now continue In Sonnets Version).
The crown sits heavy on my brow, Valerius,
My brother's blood doth stain the seat of power.
The people’s whispers, ever injurous,
Do chill my heart in this my darkest hour.
You say Elara courts dissent with skill,
A mourning dove who hides a serpent’s fang.
To trust her sorrow goes against my will,
A poisoned thought that gives my conscience pang.
If she conspires with Florence, ancient foe,
Then virtue is a mask, a well-played part.
Observe her closely, let the truth not slow,
For sovereignty demands a guarded heart.
My reign is new, my trust is quickly fled;
I fear the living more than I the dead.
Sonnet 2: Valerius' Plan (From Act II)
The Duke is weak, a man of timid mind,
Whose conscience is a burden to his reign.
I’ll use the fear my poison has designed,
And turn his virtue into bitter pain.
Elara’s tears he sees as honest woe,
But I have planted seeds of doubt and dread.
The Florentine alliance he must know,
A lie that serves the purpose of my head.
He signs her doom, believing she is false,
A puppet dancing on my subtle strings.
My plan within his fearful heart exalts,
For fear is truer currency for kings.
The Duke will fall, the city I will seize;
The wind of power blows where I do please.
Sonnet 3: Elara's Defiance (From Act III)
You come to me in darkness, foul Valerius,
And offer mercy if I sign this lie.
My conscience sleeps, my soul is clear and pious,
I'll sooner rot in chains than basely die.
You broke old Anselm on your brutal rack,
And forged the letters with a traitor’s hand.
Upon your head I call the heavens black,
Let vengeance fall upon this cursed land.
You seek the throne with malice and deceit,
And turn the Duke's own fears into his sword.
The truth shall rise above your own conceit,
And show you for the villain you have stored.
I’d sooner rot in chains than serve your lie;
The heavens see your sin, and you shall die.
Sonnet 4: The Execution and Truth (From Act IV)
The scaffold stands beneath the breaking dawn,
The people whisper of the coming shame.
Lorenzo sits upon his height forlorn,
And fears to execute the innocent dame.
He signs the order, sealing her dark fate,
The axe descends, a collective cry of pain.
But look! Old Anselm, though arriving late,
Cries out the truth amidst the pouring rain.
Valerius’ plot is broken by the light,
The Duke sees all the cunning lies unfurled.
The city riots in the dawning light,
A civil war on this unhappy world.
The truth is out, but 'tis arrived too late,
And chaos reigns within the palace gate.
Sonnet 5: Lorenzo's End (From Act V)
The palace bleeds, the sound of battle rings,
Lorenzo stands alone in ruin’s wake.
No peace this crown, no joy the sceptre brings,
But only chaos for a fool’s mistake.
Valerius enters, wounded, filled with pride,
Confronting him he thought a timid fool.
The Duke, with rage and fury fortified,
Strikes down the villain with a righteous tool.
The war is won, the traitor lies there dead,
But victory is but a hollow sound.
Elara's blood weighs heavy on his head,
A reign of sorrow built on bloodied ground.
He leaves the throne, the price of power shown:
To trust a shadow is to lose your own.
Sonnet 1: Lorenzo's Fear (From Act I)
continue
The story of The Sovereign's Shadow is complete, told first as a play script in five acts and then condensed into five Shakespearean sonnets.
Here is an Epilogue to conclude the saga of The Sovereign's Shadow.
Epilogue
Spoken by General Marcellus, stepping forward after the final scene, addressing the audience.
MARCELLUS:
Thus ends the play of Veridia's sad fall,
A mirror held to show ambition's cost.
When rulers fail to heed the commons' call,
And place their faith in trust that quickly's lost.
The Duke Lorenzo, with a virtuous heart,
Yet filled with fear, did lend a willing ear
To a snake's whispers, playing a cruel part,
And murdered truth to serve a baseless fear.
Valerius, driven by a lust for might,
Did sow the seeds of discord and of doubt.
His wicked heart found pleasure in the night,
Until his own ambition cast him out.
Let every state that hears this tragic tale,
Beware the counsellor whose tongue is sweet;
For where the truth and honesty prevail,
No tyrant's shadow can ensure defeat.
The city heals, but bears a lasting scar,
Of innocence betrayed and justice fled.
Remember this, wherever you may are,
And keep the peace where evil fears to tread.
Here is the Epilogue of The Sovereign's Shadow reimagined in a concluding Shakespearean sonnet.
Sonnet 6: The Epilogue
Thus ends the play of Veridia's sad fall,
A mirror held to show ambition's price,
When rulers fail to heed the honest call,
And sacrifice their souls for wicked vice.
The Duke Lorenzo, virtuous in intent,
Did lend his ear to whispers in the dark,
And on a web of lies his reign was spent,
Extinguished like a quickly fading spark.
Valerius, driven by a lust for might,
Did sow the seeds of discord and of doubt,
Until his own ambition dimmed his light,
And all his wicked schemes were rooted out.
Let every state that hears this tragic tale,
Beware the counsellor whose lies prevail.
The narrative of the play The Sovereign's Shadow is complete. It includes:
A script across five acts.
Five sonnets summarizing the key acts.
An epilogue in script form.
A sixth sonnet as an epilogue.
