Etheria: The fifth kingdom of Encantadia
Episode 2: Ang Kasunduan (The Agreement)


We begin with the two princes Raquim and Hagorn having a little chat while Hagorn is enroute to Etheria. Hagorn is telling Raquim that he is about to meet his future wife and that he hopes that she will be beautiful. Raquim then tells him of his encounter with the beautiful veiled diwata that he encountered. He goes on that she is the most beautiful being he has met in all of Encantadia.


Sapiro:
A herald from the Etherian court arrives at the Sapirian gates looking for the king. He is met instead by Prince Asval who intercepts the messenger. He asks the herald to deliver his message to him instead as the king is too busy to be disturbed. With this confrontation the herald reluctantly agrees.


Etheria: Outside the palace
The Etherian court is gathered outside the palace for a proclamation from the queen. Queen Avria has called her faithful subject from Hathoria to bestow a gift for their continued loyalty to the crown. It is the most precious gift she can bestow; she agrees to marry her only daughter Minea to the Hathorian Prince Hagorn.


Sapiro:
The Herald delivers the full brunt of the Etherian ultimatum on Asval. He tells him of the escape of Memen and how the captain of the guard was forced to commit suicide because of the embarrassment of failure. He informs the Sapirian that they are still in search of the renegades, and that the queen has ordered that none must aid them or harbor them in any way.


Etheria: Outside the palace
Hagorn is speechless at what the queen has just granted him. With this proclamation the queen allows Hagorn to gaze upon Princess Minea, prior to this she had always gone about completely veiled.


Then Avria announces to the whole court:
“Mula san araw ito ay itinatali ko ang Principe ng Hathoria sa aking anak na kanyang makakaisang dibdib”
(From this moment I bind the Prince of Hathoria to my daughter whom he shall marry)



Sapiro:
Prince Raquim is headed out of Sapiro when he encounters his Aldo Asval. The two begin a conversation. Asval instructs his young nephew to be vigilant and careful as they are harboring Memen and Ornia. This concerns the young prince for he fears what may happen to his kingdom if the queen where to find out of this fact.


Etheria: Throne Room
Minea is not happy about her mother’s decision to marry her off to the prince of Hathoria. She asks her mother why she must marry Hagorn. To this the queen explains the politics behind her decision. The royal family was disgraced by Memen’s betrayal and has been loosing face with the other kingdoms. She fears that they may challenge Etheria and is simply securing their loyalty by any means necessary.


Minea is fuming as she enters her private chamber with Gurna in tow. She is furious at her father for putting her in this situation of having to marry Hagorn. If only he had the sense not to have run off with another woman, and a slave to boot. With her anger she vows to hunt down Memen and his new daughter herself and be rid of the one thing that could threaten her throne.


Sapiro: Training Grounds
Raquim and Hagorn are talking while preparing to have a practice fight against each other. Hagorn is telling his friend about his awe at the beauty of his feature wife. Raquim does not believe him since no one has ever seen Minea’s face before. Hagorn informs his friend that Minea removed her veil for him and he was able to gaze upon her beauty. The Sapirian Prince still does not believe that Minea could be that beautiful, he still affirms that the diwata he encountered in the forest is the most beautiful woman in encantadia. He vows that he will find the diwata and they will have to compare the two women face to face, not knowing that the two are one in the same.


Etheria: Minea’s Chamber
Minea is donning Diwata clothes in order to hunt down her father when Gurna walks in. The lady in waiting is shocked at what the princess is doing. She tries to scold her saying that royalty must not wear the garb of the common slave. Minea explains that she must do this to get close to the people she seeks without being detected. She is serious about hunting down her father Memen and her half sister Casseopeia. She then pulls out her mother’s sword the kabilan. She then magic’s the weapon with her curse to kill all diwatas and it begins to glow red.


Sapiro: Throne Room
Cassandra reacts to what her grandfather has just read:
“Ilo, may kilala akong Minea. Siya and ina ng aking mga ashting Sang’re”
(Grandfather, I know of a Minea. She’s the mother of my elder Sang’re)
To which Ybrahim responds:
“And Mineang yon at and nasusulat ay iisa”
(That Minea and the one in the book are the same person)


This confuses the child since her great grandmother was not that kind of person. To this Ybrahim informs his granddaughter that people, like so many things, change over time. All they need is a little polishing so that they can shine and blossom into their better selves.


Sapiro: Training Grounds
Raquim and Hagorn are now fighting. Both young men are good fighters. But it is obvious that the prince of Sapiro is the better combatant. Hagorn knows that he is within a breath of being defeated once more by his good friend. He asks Raquim not to beat him too badly so that he will not look too disappointing to his ancestors. They then continue on with the match.


Etheria: Throne Room
The Etherian Herald has returned to the court and is being addressed by the queen. She asks him how the search has progressed. To this the messenger reports that they have covered all the kingdoms of Encantadia from Adamia to Hathoria but were not able to find Memen or Ornia. This displeases the queen greatly. She calls upon the head of her guard to go forth with a troupe of Etherian guards and slaughter all the diwatas they can find in the hope of forcing Memen out of hiding.


Forest:
Evades is caring for the baby Casseopeia. He senses that the diwata race is in danger from Avria’s anger. He knows that there is no time to waste. The Diwatas need Casseopeia’s help immediately. But how can she help when she is a mere infant. To solve this problem he uses his magic to order the child to develop and grow, so that she may save her people.


Sapiro: Training Grounds
The match between the princes is drawing to a close with Raquim nearly beating Hagorn. The Hathorian prince has been forced to the ground is merely defending himself with his shield. But mere moments from victory, Raquim suddenly spies a familiar face. It’s the diwata he has been searching for all this time. He looses his concentration and almost entirely forgets about Hagorn. This gives the Hathorian the opportunity to change the tides of the battle and defeat Raquim.


As the match ends Hagorn confronts his friend:
“Ang sabi ko wag mo naman sobranhan ang pagtalo sa akin, at hindi magpatalo ka”
(I asked you not to humiliate me, but I didn’t ask you to loose on purpose)
Raquim doesn’t respond to his friends comment and runs after the woman.


Sapiro: Marketplace
Minea is running away from Raquim, who she seems to have lost in all the hustle and bustle of the busy marketplace. But fate can be funny sometimes, for as the princess runs away from the prince they end up bumping into each other. She orders the Sapirian to leave her alone. Raquim reacts that the diwata doesn’t seem to respect royalty and she knocks him aside. Just then the Etherian guards arrive at the marketplace and set off to kill all the diwatas in site. This concerns Minea, who actually looks a little scared since she is dressed as on of the slaves. Raquim intercedes and helps Minea escape.
As they hide from the Etherian forces Raquim is furious and tells the Princess in disguise that the Etherians have stepped over the line and it’s time for them to fall with fury in his eyes.


Sapiro: Throne Room
Cassandra tells her grandfather:
“Ilo, parang and hina ng mga diwata, hindi sila lumalaban tulad ng mga sang’re”
(Grandfather, These fairies seem to be weak, they don’t fight back like the sang’re)
So Ybrahim explains that in those days Diwatas didn’t have powers. They were the weakest of the denizens of encantadia. The Etherians considered them a lower form of being and were good for nothing but to be slaves.
Now the child asks:
“Paano sila nakatakas?”
(How did they escape?)
Ybrahim answers her:
“Dahil kay Aldo Raquim. Siya ang unang tumulong sa kanila.”
(Because of your great grandfather Raquim. He was the first to help them)

Sapiro: Memen’s Quarters
Memen is with Asval and Ornia when Raquim arrives. He informs the group that the Etherians are slaughtering innocent Diwatas in search of Memen and Ornia. With this new turn of events Memen wants to return to Etheria to try and save the diwatas by focusing Avria’s anger on him alone. Raquim agrees that this may save lives. But Asval takes a different stance. He believes that returning to Etheria will not help anyone and Memen’s sacrifice would be in vain. He successfully convinces Memen that it is a bad idea and that he should remain hidden.


Etheria: Minea’s Room
Minea is telling Gurna what she heard Raquim tell her during the attack of the Etherian guards on the poor diwatas in the marketplace. Gurna is shocked that one of the nobles would voice such an opinion out loud. She feels that the princess should immediately tell her mother of the event so that the queen could act quickly. But Minea stops Gurna. She informs the lady in waiting that in order to know your enemy, you must make them your friend.


Sapiro:
Asval is speaking with Raquim about the turn of events. They simply do not fit in with his plans for elevating Sapiro. He affirms that by no means must Memen be allowed to return to Etheria. He wants Etheria to continue its abusive behavior so that the other kingdoms will have to retaliate. Once this happens He will bring the full brunt of Sapiro’s power on a weakened Etheria and Sapiro shall rise as the center of power for all Encantadia.


Raquim is disturbed by his uncle’s plans. He asks about the safety of the people like the diwatas. If things continue down its current path many people would perish needlessly. But Asval is not concerned with the effects on the population. He believes that life does not matter; only victory and power are important.

Etheria: Throne Room
Queen Avria has summoned the leader of Hera Volo, Cilatus and his daughter Juvila, to a meeting at the royal palace. She informs Cliatus that she intends to give Juvila a command within her army to serve as one of her military leaders. Cliatus is obviously shocked by this news and tries to make excuses to prevent his daughter from serving as a warrior. Avria is quick to point out that Juvila is the greatest warrior in Etheria having defeated each and every man who has ever challenged her. Before Cliatus can say another word Juvila steps forward and informs the queen that she is honored and quite willing to serve Etheria.


Sapiro: Marketplace
Raquim is surveying the gore left by the onslaught of the Etherian forces as the marketplace is littered by the lifeless bodies of numerous diwatas. There is great concern on his face. He suddenly hears a noise from behind one of the stalls and goes to investigate. There he finds two diwata women huddling together, trying there best to remain hidden. When he finds them they are immediately frightened and beg for their lives. He reassures them that he will not hurt them. He evens asks them to tell him where the other diwatas are so that he may help them.


Wilderness:
Meanwhile, Cilatus and his daughter are on their way home to Hera Volo. They are having an argument, since Cilatus is unhappy at his daughter’s decision to become a warrior in the queen’s service. He tells her that he longs for her to marry so that she may provide him with grandchildren.

Juvila scoffs at this, Married…to whom? And how? Cliatus tells her that there are numerous Etherians who are interested in taking her for a wife. She rebukes him, pointing out that she has defeated every man that has come against her. She is not willing to settle and marry a lesser man. Therefore she will not marry until she finds the man who can defeat her.


Forest:
Raquim has tried to hide the diwatas in the Sapirian forest. But the Etherian forces have been able to track them down. He now faces an entire troupe of Etherian fighters with only a single Diwata to assist him in the defense. Even with overwhelming odds against him the prince fights valiantly. But to no avail, in the end the superior number of the attackers is too much even for a fighter of his caliber and he is captured. The Captain of the Etherian guard addresses the Prince. He tells Raquim that not even he would think that the Prince would be foolish enough to defy the will of the Etherian. Just as they are about to punish the fallen fighter a lone figure carrying the kabilan walks out of the mist toward them.