The Castle
Premise
Setting: Fantasy/Surreal
Rating: TV-14 (pending)
Genre: Psychological Drama
Status: UPCOMING
Your fear is your executioner.
Countless worlds exist. Each of these worlds are not aware of each other's existence, of course, but each thrives in its own little corner of the universe. Coincidentally, in many of these worlds, the same artifact has become a part of global legend—the Daemonolibrium. This mysterious book surfaced in countless worlds simultaneously, and legends surrounding the book varied from world to world, depending on culture, era, and circumstance. Strangely, each legend spoke of the Book opening the way to another dimension...but what was contained in this other dimension varied by planet. In some worlds it was rumored the Daemonolibrium opened a portal to a world where vast riches could be found. In other worlds, legend told of the other world containing eternal life. Still others spoke of fame and fortune from deep within the dimension's depths. Some even desired to seek God. In each world, many people from different walks of life sought the Book for their own reasons.
Hundreds find the Daemonolibrium on their own worlds and enter the other dimension. Upon crossing over, they find themselves in the atrium of a gigantic castle. Hundreds of others from multitudinous worlds are already there, and they all somehow understand each other. Inscribed on the walls of the castle's antechamber are the names of thousands of individuals, each written in foreign characters that the newcomers can all somehow read. The sundry knights and adventurers and priests and pirates and laymen make their own way through the castle, but will each find what he is looking for? Will they be able to brave their way through this dimension and find their way home?
No. It won't let them.
The Castle is an anime-style script intended to be an OVA miniseries. I set it at about ten episodes at most with each episode an hour long, no commercial interruptions. It is set in a bleak, empty dimension far away from anything you or I have ever known. It was based on a dream I had, like many of my other stories. The dream left such a profound impression on me that I just had to turn it into an Americanime project. Contrary to what the prologue above tells you, this story is not a swashbuckling tale of adventurers making their way through a mystical castle to reach a treasure. In fact, we rarely ever see the inside of the Castle. That part's merely the exposition.
Instead, it is about how two (later, four) vastly different strangers cope with being alone with each other in a desolate world of nothingness—unaging, far away from their homes with no means of escape...and with the Castle they all fear looming over them in the distance. The Castle is my first serious attempt at a non-action story, the focus being on the characters, their relationships with each other, and their escalating feelings of fear and paranoia.