Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MFA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Committee Chair
Glenn Taylor
Committee Co-Chair
Mark Brazaitis
Committee Member
Christa Parravani
Abstract
In this fantasy setting inspired by the Byzantine Empire, a nun journeys to the capital city of Aquilapolas after her father is killed in a raid. She attends the Emissary’s College to restore her faith in the Mother, but when she watches devouts perform miracles, the opposite begins to happen. Aster starts to question her worthiness, her upbringing, and the arbitrary Gods who respond to others and not to her. Her crisis deepens when she receives visions of a dead man whose life and sorrows echo her own, a man whose deeds shaped the city she now calls home. The more she uncovers, the more she realizes that something important has been forgotten, in a story about trauma, the pain of memory, and the cost of forgetting.
Recommended Citation
Merrick, Emily, "Fire Sings in the Dark" (2024). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 12452.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12452
Embargo Reason
Permanent Embargo – MFA Creative Writing
Included in
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons