Abilene Christian University Digital Commons @ ACU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 5-2016 The Lightbringer: A Novel Brett L. Butler Abilene Christian University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd Part of the American Literature Commons, Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Fiction Commons, and the Fine Arts Commons Recommended Citation Butler, Brett L., "The Lightbringer: A Novel" (2016). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 16. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ ACU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ACU. ABSTRACT The Lightbringer is about a collision of two worlds: the world of a contemporary South Florida town and the magical world of Zariel, bringing with it the universal threat of the Terra. Childhood friends, Breck and Tom, are thrown into the middle of an ancient conflict between the Terra—a collection of alien races that have been transformed by darkness—and the forces of good. After an encounter with a magical pool of golden water, the boys must learn to use their new abilities to protect against the growing Terranox army. In the midst of their struggle, however, a mysterious companion—the Lightbringer, one of the few remaining Lightborne—arrives to help them survive the invasion and to guide them while they search for the one who can help them save the world. While facing the ever-increasing threat of the Terra, Breck comes to grips with his origins and his destiny as the Lightbringer who is said to overthrow the Terra once and for all. The Lightbringer: A Novel A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School Abilene Christian University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts By Brett Lee Butler May 2016 To those lovers of fantasy who find themselves perpetually in search of new and interesting worlds. And to those who long for an escape, a way to flee the pains and displeasures of our temporary human existence, even if only for a few moments. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to my wife, Jenny, for her unceasing encouragement and belief in my talent as a writer, for living often like a single mother while I escaped to write for hours on end, and for being my constant support during one of the most stressful times of my life. Thanks to my son, Ember, for teaching me to be a father. Thanks Dr. Shelly Sanders for your sound advice throughout the thesis writing process, for guiding me to literary mentors who would teach me invaluable lessons about the craft, for telling me “You can do it!” when the task before me seemed impossible, and for your sincere investment in my writing. My characters thank you for your help in bringing them to life. To Dr. Steve Weathers who first helped me identify my strength in dialogue and whose words of encouragement propelled me forward in many moments of self-doubt. To the Creative Writing professors at Abilene Christian University—Dr. Shelly Sanders, Dr. Steve Weathers, and Professor Al Haley—for taking a chance on me and for being honest about both my strengths and my weaknesses as a writer. To Chris and Tim Schulz, you forced me to take breaks, to immerse myself again in the worlds of games where I first was inspired to create. To my Mom and Dad for believing that I am more that I am, which gives me reason and motivation to do great things. To Dr. Steven Moore, Stephanie Whitlow, and Gabriel Prado—dear friends and compatriots of the craft—you inspire me and remind me that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things. Special thanks to Dr. Mikee Delony, who first assured me that it was okay to be a lover of fantasy in the literary world, and Dr. Bill Carroll, whose knowledge and passion for fantasy helped me understand and verbalize the essential functions of fiction and fantasy in our society. Finally, unspeakable thanks to our God and Creator, for whom I am a sub-creator and to whom I owe all that I am and all that I will become. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: THE JOURNEY TO CREATE .............................................. 1 On the Merits of Fantasy......................................................................................... 4 Characterization and the Young Adult Reader ..................................................... 12 Faith in Fantasy ..................................................................................................... 19 I. MELTING............................................................................................................. 27 II. WIND AND FIRE TRAILS ................................................................................. 42 III. SHOOTING STARS ............................................................................................. 54 IV. HIDE AND SEEK ................................................................................................ 67 V. IN AND OUT ....................................................................................................... 83 VI. THE LIGHTBRINGER ....................................................................................... 97 VII. THE TERRA ....................................................................................................... 113 VIII. LIGHT BEYOND ............................................................................................... 132 IX. SEEDS OF DARKNESS .................................................................................... 154 X. DEEPER IN ........................................................................................................ 167 XI. BEYOND THE HORIZON ................................................................................ 185 XII. OUT WITH THE TIDE ..................................................................................... 202 INTRODUCTION THE JOURNEY TO CREATE The idea for The Lightbringer has been gestating in my mind for eight years, growing the worlds from which the Lightborne and the Terra originate. I first had the idea when a friend, who had a chapter of hand-written scribbles, asked me to read his manuscript. After exploring the document, which was simply an introduction to a dozen different characters, I thought, “If he can do it, I can do it.” The Lightbringer came first with his golden armor and a magical hammer called Tempest. His companion, Rellion, formed second—an Elven mage, the wise sage whose extensive knowledge of the universe and intuition is coveted by many. A year later, I climbed out of my dorm room bed, light casting shadow lines on the gray carpet, and sat at my laptop. Before I brushed my teeth or checked my phone for messages, I started a new Word document and wrote the line, “Breck’s eyes shot open. He reached as his cell phone vibrated off the bed stand.” I have been a prolific gamer all my life, not prejudicing any system over another. I was accustomed to fiction and story-telling through the world of gaming. “How different can it be?” I thought. The further I progressed through the manuscript, the more I realized that I was in over my head, that I knew nothing about writing aside from the academic essay. To complicate matters further, I grew up in a Christian tradition that was averse to secular literature, especially fantasy! As a result, I had not touched much fiction beyond C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia (which was church-approved) and had not 1 2 learned how to read for pleasure. In this way, my entrance into creative writing was backwards, attempting to create something blindly with little literary experience to guide me. Five years after I started the The Lightbringer manuscript, I stepped into my first graduate class at Abilene Christian University. I had been denied entrance into the Creative Writing track, but I knew that exposure to literature would set me on the right path and teach me the skills I needed. After the first semester, I determined that my passion still resided in the creative process and wanted to focus my efforts in that direction. So, I extracted the prologue of The Lightbringer and sent it along with an explanation of why I wanted to be reconsidered for my original path. After some persistence and a slightly more polished writing sample, I was finally accepted! Though the novel had been collecting digital dust for years, Breck’s story was never far from my thoughts. Breck’s first line had taken a dozen different forms before I deleted it on the first day of writing my thesis. After a long-held commitment to that original moment, I decided it was time to trust the story and let the characters drive themselves. I set aside the 200-page manuscript and started a blank document. Breck and Tom, his best friend, were there, and that was all I needed to begin. Everything after that was progress, the evolution of a story that had long been in the making. The product of that evolution is something perhaps truer to the original idea, to the heart of the story, than what previously existed. The characters are more real, the alien race is more defined, and the stakes are higher. All this is attributable to reading of other works within the genre, reading about the craft, exploring the functions and goals of fantasy literature, and rewriting the novel under the direction of Dr. Shelly Sanders. 3 Through the writing process, however, there were many obstacles, moments where