CONTENT WARNINGS
DISCRETION ADVISED
SOULTRIAL is intended for mature audiences and contains various content warnings, including but not limited to the following topics:
Mental health; depression, grief/loss, trauma responses, PTSD, survivor's guilt
Profanity and foul language
Romance; flirting, suggestive banter
Emotionally intense performances
Physical conditions; vomiting, sickness, corruption
Violence; physical confrontations, fights, brawls, battles, raids
Gore; injury noises and verbal mentions (flesh, blood and bone), mention of torture methods and human/animal sacrifice
Character death
Supernatural; noises, whispers, voices
Creatures
PRESS
In an interview on June 7 2026, SOULTRIAL was given the opportunity to exchange with All Ages Of Geek about the process of the project, creativity in the age of GenAI and how indie (solo) developers can take initiative.
OFFICIAL ART
Art & DESign by lavinia duval
CHARACTER CONCEPT ART
Art & DESign by lavinia duval
ABOUT
SOULTRIAL is an original and cinematic dark fantasy audio series by Lavinia Duval. Since the project's establishment in 2023, SOULTRIAL (formerly Project CAELAR), has developed into a unique world of its own, flooding the centre with gritty storytelling and shattering character growth in a fictional setting combining Swedish culture with elements from Norse mythology, Germanic folk and mental health topics.
CREW
LAVINIA DUVAL
Showrunner; Creator, Director, Producer, Screenwriter and Artist of SOULTRIAL. Additionally: Creative Director, Graphic Designer, Casting Director, Performance Director, Voice Actress, Audio Editor
JOSH COOKSON
Script Editorial & Consistency Support, Crew Discord Administration
MARCUS J.D.
Translation & Transliteration, Nordic Linguistic Support (Swedish, Norwegian, Old Norse), Runic Texts & Inscriptions
JESSE BOWLING
Audio & Sound Design, Trailer Editing (Audio & Visual)
FAQ
Q: WHAT MEDIUM IS SOULTRIAL?
SOULTRIAL is an original and cinematic dark fantasy audio series (or podcast; audio drama; radioplay; cinematic audio fiction) and independent production created, directed, written, illustrated and produced by German creative and voice actress Lavinia Duval (Lavinia A.) in collaboration with an international group of creatives, voice actors, composers and vocalists. It was born from an art and passion project originally established in 2023. First sketches and artworks for the previous concept were done in the succeeding years with the audio series officially being established in March/April 2025.
Q: WHO IS SOULTRIAL DEVELOPED BY?
SOULTRIAL is developed independently by Lavinia Duval (Lavinia A.) who is the creator, director screenwriter, artist and producer of the project.
Q: HOW BIG IS THE CREW OF SOULTRIAL?
Next to Lavinia, the project’s core involves Josh Cookson (Script Editorial) and Marcus J.D. (Nordic Linguistic Support) as well as ~30 collaborators from all over the world including voice actors, composers and vocalists.
Q: WHAT IS THE PLOT OF SOULTRIAL?
SOULTRIAL is set in a dark fantasy world inspired by Scandinavian cultures (primarily Sweden) and Germanic cultures (UK, Germany) as well as Norse mythology in which every individual must undergo a trial. In a realm called Striga, the barrier between the Abyss, the realm of the souls, and physical reality, the Here and Now, is thin. We accompany the two Strigalv brothers Velasan Helviarn (protagonist) and Vhaelin Helviarn (deuteragonist) on their trials.
Q: WHICH GENRE IS SOULTRIAL IN?
Adventure, Drama, Dark Folk and Dark Fantasy. Underlying themes include Mystery, Paranormal, Swedish and West Germanic Culture (primarily UK & Germany), Norse mythology, Mental Health, Spirituality and Philosophy.
CAST
SPECIAL GUEST: STEFAN RUDNICKI
Stefan Rudnicki (he/him) was born in Poland, and lived in Sweden and Canada as a child, before settling in New York City. He was educated at Columbia University and Yale School of Drama.As an actor and singer, he has appeared in dozens of dramatic and musical stage productions in the northeast, as well as directing and producing nearly a hundred plays, and directing two feature films and several shorts. Stefan currently resides in Los Angeles, where he has established a career as a voice actor, narrating over 1,500 audio books, and producing thousands for multiple major publishers and his company, Skyboat Media.His accolades include a Bram Stoker Award, a Ray Bradbury, dozens of Audies and Earphones awards, two GRAMMYs for Best Spoken Word, and two Hugos. In 2012, he was acknowledged a Golden Voice by AudioFile Magazine.The past few years have seen Stefan’s emergence in gaming, as the voice of Warframe’s Albrecht Entrati.
VOICE TALENT
| ROLE | VOICE TALENT | SOCIAL | REFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| The First Seer | Stefan Rudnicki | Bluesky | Website |
| Velasan Helviarn | Adam Schneider | Website | |
| Vhaelin Helviarn | Daniel Denova | - | |
| Venesir Helviarn | Alex Safford | Linktree | |
| The Mask Maker | Sebastian Christopher | Website | |
| King Alrik II | David Wamala | Website | |
| Eldin Engelhard | Dan Zsolt | Bluesky | - |
| Solveig, the Golden | Lavinia Duval | Bluesky | Website |
| Leiv | Dylan Howe | Bluesky | Linktree |
| Eir | Maxadrian Burton | Website | |
| High Druid Eivor | Sophia Cymone | Website | |
| Skuli | Caleb D. Harris | Bluesky | Website |
| Sigrid | Deedee Banks | - | |
| High Druid Törnhjärta | Jordan T. Bates | Website | |
| Ffion Rödhake | Risiblezombie | - | Website |
| Svenja | Caslei Goeller | - | |
| Arbiter Halwyn Nordenfalk | Richard Gibson | Website | |
| Jarl Aeronven Stierna | Quinn Briar | Bluesky | Website |
COMPOSERS
VOCALISTS