Parents' Guide to The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin

Adapted from the novels by Stephen R. Lawhead, THE PENDRAGON CYCLE: RISE OF THE MERLIN is a fantasy series that blends Arthurian mythology with history and strong Christian themes. It's fourth century, A.D., and Elphin (Duran Fulton Brown), a tribal prince in Roman Britain thought to be cursed, discovers a lifeless baby wrapped in skins floating in a river. When the infant is revived by the prince, the druids consider the infant blessed and name him Taliesin. He grows up to be a druid bard (played by James Arden) with innate magical abilities, but a profound spiritual crisis causes him to reject ancient pagan traditions in favor of the Christian faith that's starting to spread across the island. Meanwhile, after the city empire of Atlantis is destroyed after Princess Charis (Rose Reid) and others participate in a ritual honoring their underworld god, The Golden Horns, she and her father, King Avallach (Daniel Fathers), her sister Morgian (Emree Franklin), and 2000 other survivors are living as refugees in Britain. As the Atlanteans mourn the loss of their home and learn to live alongside the Britons, Charis finds herself losing faith in the deities she was once faithful to. But it's not until she meets and falls in love with Taliesan that she commits herself to the one true God and Christianity. Soon they conceive a child named Merlin, who's prophesied to one day unite Britain by protecting King Arthur. But the threat of barbarians is constant, and there are those who reject Christianity and wish the powerful Taliesin harm in an effort to maintain their ancient pagan traditions and control the land.