Alustranna

Lord Calatin, a battle hardened wizard leads his army to attack the castle of King Aric of the Northwest Forest. The King is slain, and Queen Betrys, pregnant with King Aric's child, escapes with the help of Taliesin, Bard and wizard, through the castle's secret passage. In an act of betrayal, Taliesin's half-brother Vissin kills the Queen's lady-in-waiting during this escape after which Taliesin knocks him out. Taliesin guides the Queen to the safety of an oceanside farm where the Queen dies giving birth to a baby girl, Ula. Shona, her husband Bodin, his huntress-sister Brigid, and an old woman Donia agree to raise the child in secret. Fifteen years later, Calatin is now a King who rules through terror and fear throughout the kingdom. Ula continues to live with Shona, Bodin and her Grey Cat - who Taliesin in disquise - while gaining some education with the Sisters of Cerridwen and the Silver Wheel. One day, Vissin and Lorc ride through a village market when they see Ula. Lorc immediately suspects that Ula is the daughter of Queen Betrys and in a brief moment of guilt Vissin confesses aiding in the Queen's escape. Lorc informs Calatin, who sends for Vissin's arrest, but he flees by changing into a Magpie just in time. Calatin also bans all cats whether by the sword or by burning them. He sends out his Wind Wraiths to wreck havoc on oceanside farms, and Ula's adoptive parents are killed. Taliesin, who posed as Ula's Grey Cat for her entire life, reveals his true identity. With the help of Brigid, they explain who Ula really is, and that he vowed to Queen Betrys to protect her. They embark on a dangerous, magical journey searching for safety and Calatin's hidden life essence to kill him, and for Ula to accept her responsibility to wrest the throne from Calatin. They are joined up with Vissin the Magpie-Wizard who now has a price on his head, and meet many interesting characters like Mother Idelle and the Sisters of Cerridwen, Walter the Blacksmith and Cai, the Beggar Woman, Brus, Taffy, Arn, Tor, the Free Army, Calatin's Black Knights, the noble horse Thorn, and Nora. As Ula leads her army to the castle of her parents' origins, Brigid discovers that Nora is an undercover agent for Calatin, and slays her, before Brigid tragically succumbs to Nora's poison-tipped bodkin. As the battle rages around the castle between the Free Army and Calatin's forces, Taliesin and Vissin guide Ula to break the vial containing Calatin's life essence before him. In doing so, Calatin slays Vissin. Ula smashes the vial releasing his warped essence which enters Calatin's mouth, thus killing him. Taliesin announces Ula in her true name as the rightful heir, Queen Alustranna. In the end, Queen Alustranna, Taffy, and Taliesin visit the cairns of their beloved family members to honour them for they had died during this tale of perilous adventure to keep the future of their kingdom safe. For fans of Celtic mythology and legend, Alustranna is a gripping tale told through the lens of the Welsh legendary figure Taliesin, believed by historians to be an actual cousin or brother to the legendary Merlin. In this full feature, Taliesin's drive, humour, shape-shifting abilities, and wisdom will enthrall and move the audience to believe in a plucky, intelligent teenage girl, Ula, to save her kingdom from an evil wizard. With the huntress Brigid, Taliesin, and Taliesin's rogue brother Vissin at her side, Ula's journey is fraught with adventure and danger in order to take her rightful place as Queen. Told in such a way to invite the audience into a deeper understanding of Celtic shamanic legend, its innate respect for nature and the land, it reveals that compassion and justice can prevail through incredible odds.