Advisor(s)

Kerry Madden-Lunsford

Committee Member(s)

Daniel Siegel
Jim Braziel

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

6-18-2026

Degree Name

Master of Arts in English (MAE)

School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Arts & Humanities

Abstract

The Guardian Order is a young adult fantasy novel set in the sacred land of Enyimel, a sanctuary sustained by magic and ancestral guardianship. The narrative follows siblings Kairos and Verena Sepher as they confront both an ecological catastrophe and a deeply personal rupture within their family. When a blight corrupts the land and destabilizes its magic, they are forced into a reluctant alliance to save their people. However, the external crisis mirrors an internal one: a lifetime of unequal parental expectations has shaped them into ideological opposites. Kairos embraces the heroic destiny prepared for him, while Verena resists a role she never chose. As their journey carries them beyond Enyimel’s borders, they confront the cost of heroism and the limits of sacrifice, and realize that saving their world depends on repairing their broken relationship. Ultimately, the novel argues that destiny is not a fixed inheritance but a negotiation between self and family, power and responsibility, destruction and renewal. By placing intimate family conflict within an epic fantasy framework, this project engages young adult literature’s ongoing exploration of ecological anxiety, identity formation, and the reimagining of traditional heroism.

Keywords

Coming of Age;Ecology;Family Relationships;Fantasy;Siblings;Young Adult

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