An animated rendition of Adam Mickiewicz’s poem “Świteź” by Se-ma-for
On a tempestuous night a coach battles through the dark forests of 19th-century Poland. The galloping horses start at something in the darkness, the coach loses control and smashes deep into the woods. A young traveler emerges from the wreckage, the coachman and the horses having fallen into a deep sleep. Dazed, he staggers further into the woods. From out of the darkness ominous shadows emerge at speed: all around him are warriors on dark steeds. They release a barrage of fiery arrows over his head. He runs for his very life to the edge of a lake, where suddenly all is stillness. He topples into the lake.
The traveler is transported to a medieval world, where he witnesses the last days of the town of Świteź which lies at the bottom of the lake – being plundered by the ghostly warriors he glimpsed in the forest. The townspeople flee into their church, and pray for salvation. Their prayers are answered by a deluge, which engulfs marauders and innocents alike. But the innocents are transformed into lilies, which to this day cover the entire surface of the lake. The next day our young traveler, stunned but alive, is pulled out of the lake from amongst the lilies.
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