The Rising Fall of the Imperial Order

For my honors thesis, I wrote a fantasy novel that reimagines the era of Nazi Germany and explores issues of morality and prejudice alongside the themes of bravery, trust, and loyalty. Drawing from fantasy and dystopian novels as well as from the scholarly works of great fantasy writers such as Tolkien, Lewis, and Madeleine L’Engle, my thesis argues that fantasy and story have the ability to ask deep questions about human nature and provide a meaningful commentary on our society. The fantasy world of Almaen is oppressively ruled by an immortal Imperial, whose reign will last forever unless he is killed by a blood relative. Jaemar Ralour, a sixteen-year-old boy who has never known a life outside the Order, discovers that he is the Imperial’s nephew and thus one of the last alive who can end the Imperial’s life. Forced to become a pawn among the larger forces in Almaen, Jaemar must fight to remain true to his own beliefs while deciding whether to become a victim or a sacrifice.