Somewhere in Ukraine, Cossack era

Night. Rainstorm. Thunder rumbles. Lightning flashes. There is a landscape of a forest meadow. During the lightning flashes, the outlines of three stones appear. The stones are almost completely embedded in the ground. Debris from them lie nearby. In a flash of lightning, Hero appears. He looks around and finds a nearby shelter where he can hide from the rain. There he lodges for the night.

In the morning, Hero wakes up to the banging of an axe and hears the Ukrainian language. He hides behind some bushes and observes some people. The men are cutting trees and chopping them up. Others are loading the finished wood onto carts and delivering it on the road to the camp.

Hero comes out of the forest and heads toward the camp. People look at the Hero, and he greets them in Ukrainian.

The Hero gets to the Camp and stops near the white tents. The largest tent is Ataman's. Ataman sits near his tent and sharpens his saber. The Ataman has a Cossack mustache and oseledets on his shaved head.

The Ataman notices the Hero.

Ataman (laughs): "Cossack, where did you come from?"

The Hero is dressed in animal skins. The Ataman gestures for the Hero to come to him. He offers him a drink of water from an iron jug. The Hero takes the ladle, scoops up the water, and eagerly drinks.

Ataman: "We really need guys with strong hands and a fervent heart right now."

Hero: "What's to be done?"

Ataman: "Protect our future."

The Hero nods.

Ataman (laughs): "Daughter, come here, please, look at this poor guy and pick up some nice clothes for him."

A girl with a long-braided plait comes out from the tent. The Hero meets her and recognizes her as the Chief's daughter. They smile at each other.

Then all the people cut down trees together and chop them. They build the walls of the fortress. They build watchtowers. People work together, helping each other. The Ataman teaches the Hero to fight with sabers.

The Hero notices that among the builders of the fortress there are people of different nationalities. They all work very hard together, and in the evening they sit around the fire and cook food, have dinner, tell each other interesting stories, and laugh.

The Hero became friends with a Mongolian guy. And one day during dinner he asks him.

Hero: "Tell me, why are you here and not on your native land?"

Mongol:  "The more Khan acquires wealth and power, the less he hears the voice of his own people."

The Ataman's daughter teaches the Hero to ride and hit the target with a bow on the move. Together they ride the endless plains.

The fortress is finished. Cossacks are standing on the watchtowers.

Night. Everyone has gone to bed. The Hero sits by the fire, gazing at the stars and thinking mentally.

Hero's voice-over: "The man has learned to fly, he has touched the Moon, he has reached for the other stars, he has almost conquered the nature of Mother Earth. He still has so much to learn about himself and the world around him, but he still hasn't learned to live in peace with other people."

Ataman's daughter comes up to him and sits beside him. She also looks at the stars.

Ataman's Daughter: "Why there are so many stars in the sky? "

Hero: "Because many people want to live a better life, to believe in a good future. And for this, they are willing to give their lives courageously."

In the morning, Hero wakes up because of a big bell sound. A rider gallops toward the fortress. He is met by the Ataman.

Rider: "In three days an army of Hordes with the mighty Dark Voivode will come here."

Ataman: "Calling a Cossack Council."

Everyone gathers around a large table with maps and plans on it.

Ataman: "Now we can only count on ourselves and rely on the weapons we have. Yes, we don't have much right now. Only a hundred rifles, a dozen cannonballs for two big guns. But we have a lot of barrels of gunpowder. Therefore, Cossack ingenuity should be shown. Who has any ideas?"

Hero: «I have».

The Hero draws his plan on paper and explains it.

The Cossacks begin to prepare for the defense. They clean their rifles and lay out the cannonballs near the big guns. Roll out on the plain behind the walls of the fortress barrels of gunpowder. From the barrels is pulled explosive wire and fill it with the ground. Small hills as high as a horse are formed. On the hills, they put scarecrows (as in the field from the birds), which are dressed in military costumes of the Horde. Subversive wire for powder barrels is pulled to the scarecrows. Sharpened wooden pegs are hammered into the hills from all sides. In the middle of the plain, they make another hill with a scarecrow on top but without the stakes.

It's a gloomy morning. The Hero stands guard at the watchtower. He looks at the horizon and sees that the clouds are thickening. A wind rises. The howl of a horn can be heard in the distance. The Ataman gives the order to prepare for battle. Archers take up positions on the walls of the fortress, and Cossacks with rifles and cavalry line up on the plain below the walls of the fortress.

The Ataman on horseback is in front of them.

Ataman: "The word Cossack means a free man. A man who wants to live in his native land in peace and harmony. To love and raise his children and teach them to do good things. We will fight for this; we will give our lives for this" (The word Cossack is of Turkic origin and means a free man).

A khan's army appears on the plain. At the head of it rides the Dark Voivode on a black horse. He has a black mask on his face. The troops stop and line up. The hordes see the scarecrows of the Mongol warriors on the hills. They begin to laugh. The Dark Voivode raises his hand, the hordes fall silent.

The Ataman and the Dark Voivode gallop into the center of the plain to negotiate. They stop.

Ataman (speaking in Mongolian): " If you come as guests, you will receive a warm welcome. But if as enemies - you will find here only the end of your destiny".

Dark Voivode (in Mongolian): "My destiny is not owned by me, but by my Khan."

They disperse, each in his own direction. As they head for their troops, the Dark Voivode takes out a bow, looks around, and fires an arrow. It hits the Ataman's shoulder. The wound is not too deep. The Ataman takes out the arrow and gives the command to get ready.

A horn howls. The Khan's army goes on the attack.

The Mongol archers are the first to attack. The Cossacks take cover with their wooden shields.

The Dark Voivode and his cavalry begin their attack.

The Ataman gives the order to fire arrows at the Mongols scarecrows on the hills.

The fiery arrow hits the first scarecrow, it catches fire, followed by the exploding wire.

A hill with sharpened wooden stakes explodes. The stakes fly around and hit enemy horses and riders. The horses are frightened by the explosion, rear up, drop their riders and run away.

Other hills flare up and explode. There are few surviving hills, and among them is the largest one in the middle of the plain.

The weather breaks down completely, it begins to rain, and the fiery arrows go out.

The Ataman gives the order to attack.

At first, the Cossacks fire their cannons, but there are not enough cannonballs. Next, they use gakovnitsas and muskets.

The cavalry of the Dark Voivode is almost destroyed. The Ataman and his cavalry go on the attack, followed by Cossacks with sabers. The furious Dark Voivode, noticing the Ataman, begins to break through to him. The battle continues.

The Hero takes a cannonball with a subversive wire and begins to break through to the large central hill. He holds the cannonball in one hand and a saber in the other. The Hero almost reaches the central hill but is attacked from behind. At a dangerous moment, however, an arrow from the Ataman's Daughter strikes the enemy.

The battle lasts a very long time, it is already dark, and the rain does not stop. Thunder and lightning illuminate the battle.

The Hero reaches for the hill. He places the cannonball.

The Hero notices the Ataman fighting the Dark Voivode on sabers nearby. The Horde's mask falls from his face, and Hero sees the same deep scar on his cheek.

The Dark Voivode wounds the Ataman, knocks the weapon out of his hand, and throws the Cossack to the ground. He swings his saber at the Ataman to give him a fatal blow. But the Hero's arrow hits the Voivode's hand.

With a furious shout, the Dark Voivode takes the arrow out of his hand and notices on the hill the silhouette of Hero, illuminated by a flash of lightning.

The Dark Voivode catches his horse, rides it, and gallops toward Hero.

Hero tries to ignite the subversive wire, but he fails. The Dark Voivode approaches. He stands on his horse and going to jump on Hero. Flashes of lightning illuminate Hero's silhouette. At the last moment, Hero manages to ignite the wire.

The Cossacks are winning. The Mongols run away.

The Hero approaches the Ataman. His daughter helps her wounded father up.

Ataman: "Now you're a real Cossack."

The Hero nods. He looks at the Ataman's daughter and smiles at her; she smiles back at him.

Hero: "Thanks for training me how to fight and protect what is most precious in life. Now it's time for me to go home."

The Ataman nods.

Lightning strikes near them.

The Hero looks once more at the Ataman's daughter. He turns around and walks away.

Ataman and his Daughter see Hero being hit by lightning. A flash and the guy disappears.

End of episode 3

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