The creative thesis Eight Jewels is a fantasy novel centring on the adventures of Cassie in Askar, a land that she has inherited along with her grandfather’s house. The story involves Cassie hunting for eight jewels that will help her defeat a witch who is threatening the survival of the world of Askar. Along the way she learns about love, belonging and purpose, and has to make considerable personal sacrifices in order to achieve her goal. The story ends with her wiser, and emotionally and spiritually richer for the experience. The first person point of view is used to explore the irony between the heroine’s world view and that of the fantasy world. The exegesis examines classic fantasy tropes in relation to the heroine’s journey and how that differs from the hero’s journey.
