Krull (film) - Plot

Plot

The movie begins with the narrator mentioning a prophecy regarding "a girl of ancient name that shall become queen, that she shall choose a king, and that together they shall rule their world, and that their son shall rule the galaxy".

The planet Krull is invaded by an entity known as "The Beast" and his army of "Slayers," who travel the galaxy in a mountain-like spaceship called the Black Fortress. Prince Colwyn and Princess Lyssa attempt to marry and form an alliance between their rival kingdoms in the hope that their combined forces can defeat the Beast's army. A prophecy foretells that Lyssa will bear a child destined to rule the galaxy. The Beast has his Slayers attack the wedding before it is concluded. The castle of Lyssa's father, King Eirig, is destroyed and the Kings are murdered. The Kingdoms' armies are devastated and the princess is kidnapped.

Colwyn, the only survivor, is found and nursed by Ynyr the Old One. Colwyn sets out to rescue Lyssa, but he must first find "the Glaive", an ancient, magical star-shaped weapon, which he retrieves from a high mountain cave. Next, he must track down the Black Fortress, which teleports to a new location every day at sunrise. He is joined by an accident-prone magician, Ergo "the Magnificent", the cyclops Rell (who possesses the ability to know when his time of death arrives), and Torquil, the leader of a band of ten fugitives that includes Kegan, Rhun, and Oswyn. Colwyn enlists the convicts' aid and in return offers them their freedom as their reward.

Colwyn and Ynyr get help from the blind prophet the Emerald Seer, and his young apprentice Titch, to find the Black Fortress. However, the Beast has the seer killed before he can reveal its location. With time running short, Ynyr journeys to the Widow of the Web for aid. The Widow is actually an enchantress, also named Lyssa, who loved Ynyr long ago and was exiled to the lair of the Crystal Spider for murdering their only child. The Widow reveals where the Beast's fortress will be at the next sunrise. She also gives Ynyr the sand from the enchanted hourglass that kept the Crystal Spider from attacking her. Ynyr quickly flees the web as the Crystal Spider attacks the Widow's prison and begins to destroy it. Ynyr returns to the group to reveal the news before he loses the last of the sand, which kills him.

Colwyn and his followers use captured Fire Mares (the only transport fast enough to reach the teleporting fortress in the same day) to reach the Black Fortress, but are attacked by Slayers, who kill Rhun. When they get to the Black Fortress, Rell uses his massive strength to hold open the huge doors long enough for the others to enter. He dies when the entrance closes, crushing him. Kegan is killed by a Slayer shortly afterwards and Colwyn gets lost in the labyrinthine interior. When the Slayers try to kill Titch, Ergo magically transforms into a tiger and kills the Slayers, injuring himself while saving Titch's life. Torquil and Oswyn are caught in a trap with slowly closing walls studded with massive spikes.

Colwyn injures the Beast with the Glaive and finds Lyssa. He is unable to recover the Glaive from the Beast's body. Lyssa realizes that together, their ability to project flame can finish the beast. The two use the flame to slay the Beast and they make their way out of the crumbling fortress, finding Torquil and Oswyn and retrieving Ergo and Titch. The survivors watch as the Black Fortress crumbles and is sucked up into the sky. Colwyn names Torquil as Lord Marshal, which Torquil accepts.

As the surviving heroes depart across a field, the narrator (Ynyr) repeats the same prophecy from the beginning, implying that the queen and her chosen king mentioned there (whose son shall rule the galaxy) are Lyssa and Colwyn respectively.