​THEM THAT ARE CALLED is contemporary and high fantasy with a subtle blend of science fiction. It's marketed for younger adults. The story takes the shape of an epic with heavy and intended prose.

 

It follows five separate vantages, tied together by blood and the reach of a nefarious plot which has been maturing since the days just after the birth of time. This narrative weaves together mythos from across the globe, covering challenging ethical questions through the vehicle of war and violent conquest. It deals with insecurity, the esteem of self, doubts, choices, the conflict between expectation and individual want, the concepts of duty and free will, and ultimately comments on the human experience in finding meaning and purpose in one’s life.

 

Meet the anchors of the epic, all of whom are humanlike but not human - they're vandun from a world called Congor. You'll find a wartime admiral who left home centuries ago, the coming-of-age story of two dynamically different heirs (the princess Jerusha and her younger cousin from another kingdom, the high-prince Judah), the cohort of Trinus (a small number of exceptional scouts), and an orphaned boy of common means who’s been left alone in the wild, after the slaughter of his family.

 

"I write from my own cultural anchor, so I’ve described these four leads as phenotypically Black. That said, the story carries a diverse cast reaching across the stars and incorporating mythology from all corners of the world – some lesser known than others." -J.G. Parker

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Our chronicler meets us at the open, with the story of them that are called – the epic. It begins with two immortals, arguing the ego of one who will become known as Ethoabba to his fallen number. Each of whom are in pursuit of an ancient power, to vindicate their leader who like them has been cast out. To those who don't worship him as a god, that leader is called Zagan, the First Made.

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The epic will show you several worlds you've never known, as well as one you know well. There you'll see the ice bears, Kunik the mother, and Narnuk the bear god. You'll meet the great wolves Romulus, Dante II, Hati, and Skoll. You'll see several feign, and schemes that draw our protagonist unwittingly into fell designs that use him as a piece in another’s game. To make it home, he’ll first need to stifle their plot with enchanted items from Hephaestos the maker, and to find the ankh before the dijin open the gate. To win the war, he’ll need his covert cadre, an alliance of 12 kingdoms, his uncle’s army of Nazerites, the assertion of his own voice, and the confidence of knowing his name when it’s called. Life on their world may never be the same.

 

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   “You are not vandun. Or any other. You are the feign who chose. Each of you. The scourge of every system and every star that exists.”

   And Gamaliel is upset by this but he resists wearing the emotion in response. Though his station does not compare well to the boy’s, he is still thousands of years beyond Judah in age. He has seen galaxies die and be born. And he is mistaken, for he presumed respect was warranted to him by this contrast of time between them. Yet it is obvious to any that the boy has no respect to offer this near-immortal. Aggravation unseats his fear at an exponential rate, and Gamaliel’s slow pacing ceases. He becomes spent on the scorn that stabs him, and he can no longer afford caution a mind to pay. Arms wide, he raises his wings and stretches them far. His objection is passionate now, and his resistance wanes. 

   “Melek Kosi, you are unprovoked! Why must this contest be ever-present between us?! How many stories have you heard where one of mine tried first to speak and left without assault? And yet it’s here before you. You listened like you were different, your legend says you are, already! But here you are, no less committed to attacking the harmless. Attacking me, despite my insistence that I am leaving as no threat to you! You mean to bludgeon me nonetheless? I am trying to LEAVE, and I’ve done you no wrong!” He chops the air with his careless hand in frustration. “Would you DAMN us ALL?! –”

   Too liberally does he allow his hand to fall. It touches the metal of his hammer ever so lightly, as he takes a careless step toward Judah.

   Threat enough.

   The boy erupts with an answer, for the approach was sudden and demanded an impulsive response. The ferocity of that lion is loosed, at last. Faster than the eye blinks, Judah is upon him.