about the anthology
We the Immortals is an ongoing epic fantasy project inspired by American folklore. Initially conceived in 2007, the anthology is comprised of standalone stories set at different points within the mythological history of author Luke Warfield's secondary world.
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Some of these tales unfold in longform, such as novels and novellas; others bear a shorter length, being short stories and novelettes. There is poetry and essays and epistles. There are tall tales, myths, and folk songs. No matter the format, all are driven by characters.
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While bigger sociopolitical events inevitably occur within the timeline of We the Immortals, such events are not the focus of its featured narratives. We the Immortals is ultimately about people and the legends they leave behind—analogous to the figures of a America's own mythical past.​
the dying world
Behold Planet Theia, a world suffering from a slow and mysterious geological decay.​ Theia’s once Edenic state, wherein vivid flora, copious fruitage, and diverse wildlife flourished in an epoch of endless springtide, has vanished. Now, unruly seasons, cataclysmic storm systems, and unpredictable famines dominate the landscape. Crops yield smaller and less abundant with each passing year, and deserts, tundra, and badlands spread across the globe, turning all that was once green and good to dust.
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To the angels, Theia’s decay can only be explained as the result of separation from their holy goddess, an entity said to take the form of a planet-bearing cosmic tree hanging upside down in space. Humans, to the contrary, believe nature is simply out of balance; all will be made right once humankind reclaims its lost birthright of immortality and magic.
Regardless of culture or creed, the central conceit remains the same: Theia is changing. If Theia’s decay cannot be reversed, all life will one day perish with her.
fantasy americana
We the Immortals invokes the spirit of the United States—a franchise imbued with the histories, cultures, art, religions, and politics making up the amalgam that is the American experiment.​​​ The anthology has been built on the optimism of the Transcendentalists and the pessimism of the Dark Romanticists. It critiques in the fashion of the Realists and hyperbolizes like the Absurdists. Themes such as the Divinity of Nature, Civilization vs. the Wilderness, Manifest Destiny, Imagination vs. Logic, Self-Reliance, Idealism, and the Ecstasy of Exploration can all be found within the DNA of this anthology.
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Ultimately, We the Immortals is a life-long labor of love, pursued for the purpose of publishing a true Fantasy Americana—that is, a US-inspired epic fantasy experience unlike anything produced to date. Enter a world of bold pioneers, notorious cowboys, and immortal angels. A world of mountain-dwelling sasquatch and holy godbeasts. A world where melon heads, wendigos, dark watchers, and other fearsome critters of a unique American distinction come alive in a chimeric tapestry built on the shoulders of classic American lit and lore, yet facilitated through the Sword & Sorcery tradition.
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We the Immortals is the legacy of one writer's vocational devotion, a signpost marking his place and time in the greater mural of human experience. Welcome to Luke Warfield’s vision. Welcome to the Fantasy Americana.
