Salt & Light (2023)

15 year old Melchizidek's life of boring chores is disrupted when he encounters attractive Tianara in the village, but his hopes are dashed - she is pledged to be married to Prince Vespar. Even worse, Luka's monkey friend is determined to torment him, resulting in the complete ruin of Asher's ceremonial robe in a spectacular laundry accident. Bad turns to worse as Asher suspects the celebrated marriage is actually part of Golech's plot to gain access to the throne. Tianara is dragged into all this against her will thanks to her opportunistic mother. Against all better judgment, Mel reluctantly accepts the critical mission of delivering Asher's secret letter to a confidant in the palace. The mission goes sour when Monkey swipes the letter. Meanwhile, Tianara plays along with the wedding fiasco - until she seizes the first opportunity to become a runaway bride. The Royals are determined to find her and Golech deftly pins the debacle on Asher. To protect Mel, Asher hastily sends him to Nippur to seek out a mysterious character named Menachem, but his plans are stalled when he encounters Tianara, also on the run. Lacking better options, Mel, Tia, Luka and Monkey agree to strike out for Nippur together at first light.