Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Thesis (Master's)

Department or Program

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies

First Advisor

Bernabe Mendoza

Second Advisor

Min Young Godley

Third Advisor

Brian O'Connor

Abstract

"The Keepers' Shadow" is a 350-page fantasy novel. The project's base concept/idea is one I've always had, however, the in-depth world-building that brings that story to life is what I researched and expanded on during my independent study and thesis. The agriculture, economics, architecture and government systems are heavily influenced by Renaissance Italy, Spain, and Ireland. Moreover, I heavily researched and implemented themes/issues such as colonization, tyrannical governments, religious restriction/conflict, erasure of history, slave labor, and the successful use of fear mongering. These concepts are not ones unlike what we see in our own political and social climate today, hence my desire to incorporate them in a "fantastical setting" as a means of tackling and confronting them through what might be considered a more "digestible" lens. Throughout history, writers across continents and careers have used the "fantastical" to portray, confront, analyze, and explore concepts that might otherwise have been seen as "too much" -- whether that be "too political" or "too divisive" or "too (fill in your word of choice here)". Writers long before my time realized that one sure-fire way to get people of all stations to think and confront that which they choose to ignore is to put all such things in a fantasy setting and make the "heroes" confront them. Then the reader is forced to answer: If I side with the hero in this work of fiction, what side am I on in real life?

My thesis follows Willow Corvus, a woman without any power of her own despite her existence in a very magical world. Readers follow her as she finds herself at the center of a growing political and physical war that could very well destroy everyone involved before its conclusion. While Willow tries to navigate the world around her, new powers she never asked for, a group of vigilantes she isn't sure even want her around, and all the politically damning information she accidentally stumbled upon, readers will have to decide if "good and evil" are as black and white as they appear, or if that's just what those in power want them to believe.

Download

Included in

Fiction Commons

Share

COinS