The Lullaby Woman

Abstract

This thesis represents the beginning of my novel in progress, Lullaby Woman, which is a creative piece of fantasy relying on the themes of mis-told histories as tools of oppression, and tales and myths as tools of a culture’s survival. The novel elevates these themes to the level of the literal by revolving around a magic system which functions on a single entity’s belief in the stories it is told. The entity is called the Undersong. If the Undersong believes a story, then it shapes the world to match it. In the novel, two stories are being told by two voices, and they disagree. These pages follow the narratives of Billie, a disaffected young Singer who has sworn, after a horrific mistake in her past, to never sing again, and Witt, a Channeler for the nation’s king who is accused of treason but still has a promise to uphold, both of whom possess a strong connection to the Undersong. Billie is connected to the Undersong through her voice, which allows her to sing to the dead who make up the Undersong and be heard. Witt’s connection is held together by his contract to the royal family, and manifests as a conversation through the ragged man who trails him everywhere like a shadow. Separately, but together, Billie and Witt find themselves entangled in events that could upset the entire course of history for their home nation of Gryre Loth. Rather, in fact, they already have, and now it’s up to two storytellers, alive years after everything is over, to make sure the right version of history is the one the Undersong believes.