My Eternal...

A short play inspired by Poe's short story "Tamberlane" and the history that inspired it (with a dash of "Imp of the Perverse" thrown in to taste)

“My Eternal”

a play

by

Trystin S. Bailey

CHARACTERS
Timur Lenk
Imam Al'aan
Eleonora

The setting: a dark damp dungeon cell in a 14th century castle, Persia.

TIMUR LENK, (40s, a man who seemed to once possess great power that has since been lost) sits in the shadow, head lowered in shame in tattered clothing. Beside him is ELEONORA (30s, a woman whose dark ethereal beauty is in no way overshadowed by the tattered clothing and look of death about her). She takes Timur’s face gently into her hand and turns it toward her own. She smiles for a moment, then frowns as her nails dig into him. She smacks him hard in the face and then moves away from him, disgusted at first. Then hurt. After a time, IMAM AL'AAN (60s, a kind-eyed Muslim spiritual leader) enters solemnly in robes of glistening red and white, a stark contrast to the rest of the scene. He is unaware of Eleonora’s presence for the duration of the play.

Al'aan: Timur Lenk. I have come to administer your Last Rites. (Al'aan waits for a response but receives none) I have come to give you one final opportunity to submit yourself before the one true God and save your damned soul.

Timur: Hmph.

Al'aan: I would not advise you make light of your situation, Timur. You are to be executed tomorrow at dawn. Your status will not save you from the fires of Hell.

Timur: Hell? Ha. I long for Hell, Imam. Anything is better than this.

Al'aan: You say that now-

Timur: You don’t know. (glances at Eleonora) You have no idea...

Al'aan: Then tell me. Tell me what drove a man such as you to act...in such outright defiance to the will of your God and your station.

Timur glances to Eleonora, she hisses at him and he lowers his head.

Al'aan: We were friends once, you and I. As a friend, help me to understand.

Timur: You are no friend of mine.

Al'aan: If not me, then who? I love you.

Timur: You betrayed me.

Al'aan: I understand how you might see it that way-

Timur: I trusted you...

Al'aan: I answer to something greater than us all...even you, Emperor. You came to me,  covered in dirt and blood, seeking- what was it?...sanctuary? without breathing a word as to why. Shortly after, word came to me of your actions I had to make a choice. I chose right. (thinks) You have struggled so long, done so much good. Why in heaven’s name would you throw it all away?

Eleonora: (peeling herself away from the shadow) Yes, Timur Lenk, why in heaven’s name would you throw it all away? The crown suited you so. It was your destiny to bear it.

Timur: Quiet.

Al'aan: Excuse me?

Eleonora: This dear, sweet man is here to save your soul from eternal damnation. Show him a little respect.

Timur: Quiet, I said.

Al'aan: Timur...

Timur: (to Al'aan) I will tell you my story, Imam, if only to be rid of you so that I might spend my last living hours in solitude.

Al'aan: So be it.

Eleonora draws closer as he speaks, intrigued to hear his tale. Timur at first sees this as an attack, but, upon realizing she means no harm, settles.

Timur: I still look fondly on the days of my youth in Kesh; when I was but a boy and the headstrong son of a man tamed too early by marriage and fatherhood. Life was simpler then and no great feats that I have accomplished since have succeeded in stealing the peaceful simplicity of those years from me. (becomes suddenly serious) But, unlike my father, I dared not suppress the fury of the blood that courses through my veins; that same blood that did drive my ancestor, Genghis Kahn, to such greatness. I would reach the fullness of my potential...

Al'aan: And that you did.

Timur: I accepted the total weight of my ancestry and won a great many wars, yes. I became feared, respected, powerful.

Al'aan: It would seem that you had everything you had ever hoped for. Only to throw it all away-

Timur: I was swiftly achieving all I had hoped for, true, but...there were those things that we had never hoped for once and yet discovered that those were what we wanted the most.

 

Eleonora: Heh.

 

Al'aan: I do not follow...

 

Al'aan: Kesh is a town known for its lush greenery- an oasis -and I would often linger amongst the trees at night, to think. One night, under the clearest starlit sky, I saw her. I did not know from where she came. I had never seen her before. It was as if I were gazing upon an angel. Her beauty was- It was the last I suspected, Imam Al'aan, to find her there, in a place I had journeyed countless times before. And then to feel as I did so instantly, so completely at the sight of her. It was love, Imam. It was the last thing I expected.

 

Al'aan: I-I had no idea...

 

Eleonora: Of course you did not. I was his little secret shame, locked away and forgotten-

 

Timur: We made love beneath the stars and I felt through her a completeness I did not think possible. Then and there she promised herself to me and I to her. Hardly a word had passed between us but there are things far stronger than mere conversation. My own connect with my relative Genghis Khan made proof of that years before. (pause) Her name was Eleonora.

 

Al'aan: Why did I not know of this...?

 

Eleonora: Yes, Timur, why? Why did you not see it fit to let me into your world?

 

Timur: (to Eleonora) That is not-! (catches himself. To Al'aan) I had spent years of my life preparing for war; for the throne I knew I was destined for. This...woman...this Eleonora...I knew not how to incorporate her into my life. Love, love is not something so easily categorized or controlled. I...it was best to keep both world's separate. This was my final decision.

 

Eleonora: And look what it did! Great warlord. Fool!

 

Al'aan: This is all very illuminating, but what does it have to do with-?

 

Timur: She married him.

 

Eleonora: It was th-!

 

Timur: Somehow, amidst those first bloody years of battle, I would find time to meet with her in the forest. It was not too often, but often enough to prove that she was my heart's desire. As war raged on and my empire expanded, politics became an ever more demanding responsibility and I became inundated with the needs of my subjects.

 

Eleonora: And so you forgot me...

 

Timur: (to Eleonora) I did not forget you! I swear it! There was not a single campaign, not one royal decree where you were not in my heart, your love giving me strength!

 

Al'aan: Timur? Who are you talking to?/ Eleonora: How could I have possibly known that?

 

Timur: (stops himself) (to Al'aan) I had heard that she was to wed General Po, but I was hundreds of leagues away and powerless to stop it. I had met him on occasion and knew him to be a strategic genius, respected by his men and feared by his foes. There was a fierceness in his eyes that I had not known before. She was, of course, being of a lower class, had no choice but to marry him.

 

Al'aan: None would ever oppose Po.

 

Timur: He was more feared than I.

 

Al'aan: And his massive army responded to none but him.

 

Timur: So I learned. (pause) It was after the victory at Volgan coast that I had at last found the time to return to Kesh, with the intention of reclaiming my love and marrying both my personal and political lives at last.

 

Eleonora: You were gone for five years.

 

Timur: (to Eleonora) I know. I know. Time moves differently when off to war. Months passed like minutes and the years... But know this: you were always in my heart.

 

Al'aan: You've gone insane...

 

Eleonora: How was I supposed to know that?! How could I have possibly known?! I only knew that your empire was ever-expanding and could only assume that you had banished me to your past.

 

Timur: Never, my love!

 

Al'aan: (relieved) You've gone insane!

 

Timur: (to Al'aan) I am more sane than I have ever been.

 

Al'aan: This is perfect, don't you see? It's obvious now. The pressures of the throne, combined with your longing for this woman, drove you to madness and in your madness you killed the general!

 

Timur: I am not mad! (to Eleonora) I am sorry, my dearest Eleonora! I am so very sorry! Forgive me, please! I love you! We were going to be together always...

 

Eleonora: You were too late. For years I waited for you, longing for the day that you would come to my rescue. What a fool I was.

 

Timur: Eleonora. If I knew...

 

Eleonora: That he tortured me?! That he would use me to fulfill his sadistic needs when he could not relieve his dark urges on the battlefield?!

 

Timur: If I knew...

 

Eleonora: But you didn't! And now... (cries. Timur approaches her) Stay away from me! Don't look at me! It's too late...

 

Timur turns away from Eleonora, distraught, to face Al'aan.

 

Al'aan: This is wonderful, my old friend! I have the means, I think, to save your life. I have enough clout to bring these new developments to my superiors and make certain you live through tomorrow and beyond.

 

Timur: Developments?

 

Al'aan: Your ...instability, of course. You were not yourself obviously. I will plead insanity on your behalf...this fervent muttering to yourself makes your condition clear.

 

Timur: No.

 

Al'aan: No? Ha, Timur, surely you do not mean that.

 

Timur: When I approached the general's house I heard screaming and immediately drew my sword, ready for anything. I kicked down the door and entered as it is my right as emperor to do. What I took witness to was... (looks to Eleonora)

 

Al'aan: What did you see?

 

Timur: (pauses to gather himself) Po. He was...he was shouting madly, truly madly, his eyes bulguing; his face as red as a beet and spit showering from his mouth with every syllable, with an iron pot in one hand and a wooden tool, one for tenderizing meats, in another. Pounding. Beating. It took a few moments before I realized that he was landing blow after blow on a human being, and another to realize that this human was my dearest Eleonora. A small crowd of horrified servants and stone-faced soldiers surrounded him, in silence. Even my explosive entrance did not give them start from the gruesome task at hand. More thought than impulse, I buried my sword in him and two of the soldiers loyal or stupid enough to attack me. I then took the body of my beloved and buried her amongst the trees where we so oft had met before the world cursed our love.

 

Al'aan: Timur, I had no idea... I-

 

Timur: I do not know what had angered him so...nor do I care.

 

Al'aan: Why didn't you tell this to anyone?

 

Timur: What difference would it make? You yourself said how beloved he was! Seven witnesses swore that I had beat him for no apparent reason; out of jealousy for how much more beloved he was than I. They said that I was threatened by him!

 

Al'aan: But you are the emperor. You have improved the lives of many and your subjects will not forget that. If only you would tell them the truth! Show the other generals where the woman's body was laid and force the truth out of Po's men.

 

Timur: And how might I do that from within this dungeon cell?

 

Al'aan: I can speak with my superiors! God will be on your side, Timur Lenk!

 

Timur: No.

 

Al'aan: But, my emperor...

 

Timur: Nothing you do will bring her back.

 

Al'aan: You will be restored to emperor! It is what you were meant to be! It is what you lived your life to become. To throw it all away would be- (realizes this talk has no effect on him) I will personally assist in finding you the perfect bride. You will have the pick of the empire.

 

Timur: I will die tomorrow.

 

Al'aan: You are speaking crazy, Emperor. I shall fix this error, with or without your blessing!

 

Al'aan starts to exit but is stopped when, in an instant, Timur takes the chains that bind his hands and choke the Imam with them. Al'aan, gasping for breath, falls to his knees.

 

Al'aan: T-T-Timur...

 

Timur: I lost my love in a life ill-chosen. (to Eleonora) In death, I will choose rightly at last.

 

Al'aan dies.

 

Timur: (takes Eleonora's hands in his) Come tomorrow, I am only yours.

 

~PLAY END~

 

Reviews

[TLK]

It was th-!