THE CHILDREN OF THE LAKE- The Calling

CHILDREN OF THE LAKE

Book One: THE CALLING & THE FIRST VIAL

Admar R.A De Sousa

---A pastor's son who's lost his faith.

A witch who used a love potion to claim him.

A lake that remembers what the church made him forget.

---Tumpe Chibanda wanted one thing: to forget the forest, the fire, the girl with eyes like ancient magic. But when he wakes with a stranger's note on his slippers and a stone that burns against his skin, forgetting is no longer an option.

Thandiwe Banda has waited her whole life for the prophecy child. She just didn't expect him to walk into her ritual circle with a phone raised and a heart full of prayers. Now the potion she uses binds them together—but is it love, or just magic?

Beneath the waters of Lake Malawi lies Kaya Kubwina, the Village Below—a hidden school where blood determines destiny and the ancestors watch from every shadow. Here, students are sorted into four houses: Lungu the healers, Crocodile the guardians, Leopard the warriors, and Fish Eagle the leaders. But a secret Fifth House exists for those whose blood is too dangerous—the Inkosu, the Reckless Ones, who wear black and are watched constantly.

To survive the Orientation, Tumpe must face his deepest fears. To claim her place beside him, Thandiwe must confront what she did. But something else watches from the deep—Mazimba, the White Bone Witch, whose hunger for power has waited twenty years to be satisfied. And in the shadows, a boy with ritual scars and burning eyes nurses a hatred that will change everything.

The prophecy said the bloodmark child would either unite the traditions or destroy them.

But first, he has to survive first year.

---What readers are saying:

"A breathtaking debut that weaves Malawian folklore into a dark fantasy tapestry as rich and deep as Lake Malawi itself." — Malawi Literary Review

"The magic system based on blood types is genius—simple enough to understand, complex enough to drive entire plotlines." — African Fantasy Chronicles

"Finally, an African fantasy that doesn't apologize for being African. The ancestors are real here. The magic is visceral. The stakes are life and death." — AfroLit Magazine

---Perfect for fans of:

· Harry Potter/Percy Jackson meets African mythology

· Dark fantasy with moral complexity

· Stories exploring faith, tradition, and identity

· Epic world-building rooted in real history

· Characters who must choose between love and destiny

---CHILDREN OF THE LAKE

Book One: THE CALLING & THE FIRST VIAL

The water remembers.

The blood calls.

The path begins.

---Admar R.A De Sousa was born in Blantyre, Malawi, and raised in Chileka, where stories of ancestors and spirits were as common as morning prayers. A lawyer and human rights advocate by training, he writes fantasy that explores the intersection of faith, tradition, and identity. Children of the Lake is his debut novel.