“Representation is a big deal to me. I wanted to write a
fantasy story for every kid. I never looked like the Pevensies or Harry Potter.
I look like one of the Huxtables. My Fellowship of friends was pretty mixed-up
looking. That’s why I wrote about Sabien and Ska. I had two big sisters growing
up. They looked out for me. I want girls to know that action and adventure aren’t
just for boys. That’s why I wrote about Ei Lata’n. And princesses don’t have to
sit and wait in a tower. That’s why I wrote Magnificent. I want every kid in
this world, boy or girl, to know that there’s a fantasy world out there where
they can exist, too.” – Shomari Black, author of Sabien's Quest
What if you started with Lord
of the Rings then made all the heroes teenagers, gave them contemporary voices
(like in The Princess Bride), and had their different races reflect in their
skin color as well as their stature?
This is the story of a 15
year old monk in a medieval fantasy world who gets kicked out of his monastery
and isn’t allowed to return unless he can find a lost relic. While he’s looking
for it, demons are crawling up out of hell to find and kill him because if he
manages to get his hands on the relic, he’ll stop their well-orchestrated
apocalypse. What he doesn’t know is that he was hidden in the monastery as a
baby because he is the illegitimate son of the king, and true heir to the
throne.
Now, the acting prince is
betrothed to a princess who finds him so revolting, that she packs her bags
right after their betrothal ceremony and leaves in search of the true heir to
the throne so that she can marry him instead. Meanwhile, the monk is fumbling
through the nations in the kingdom and building a ragtag group of friends who
join him on his quest: a werewolf, a forest dwelling troll thingie, etc. And popping
in and out of the story is a half-werewolf/half-elf assassin who can’t decide
if she wants to help the monk or not.