The Mourning Sword

The Mourning Sword by Fairyfern

Allary, reluctant princess of Orcad and cousin to the King, takes a journey to Almeirím, the city of Elves, in order to honor an ancient tradition that may save her country from a bloody war.
Banner Credit: Arden

Melissa Thinks: It's been awhile since I've found a high fantasy story on Fictionpress that stole me away quite like "The Mourning Sword". Allary is a headstrong girl who lives a life of relative peace beside her cousin, and King of the human kingdom of Orcad, Fenn. With the tension between Orcad and the neighboring Elvenkingdom rising, it seems one little mistake could bring the two species to war; so when Fenn becomes sick and can't journey to the Elven city of Almeirím in accordance with tradition to take part in King's Week, Allary, as princess of Orcad, must take his place.

Don't you just love when you're so emotionally invested in a story that you get those butterflies in your stomach? Your world falls away and you can become completely involved with an amazing story? That's what "The Mourning Sword" was like for me. There were so many memorable components of the story. Most importantly, the world building was incredibly on point. It's easy to drown in endless facts that you don't care about, or even find yourself craving a deeper explanation in fantasy novels, but that is not the case here. There is an immense amount of knowledge thrown at the reader, but it works so well both because we are learning as Allary learns and the content is incredibly interesting to digest.

On top of all of this, we have the characters, which I adore. Thiago, the love interest and prince, doesn’t disappoint. His charm, wit, and compassion are what ultimately draw Allary (and the reader) to him. King Theodoro is great example of a character who you dislike, but also empathize with on some deeper level. Orlón is charming, friendly right from the moment Allary meets him, and he keeps this up throughout the story. There is also a considerable amount of political elements at play. As we learn more about the problems both the human and the elven kingdoms face, we find Allary caught up in more than she bargained for.

I don’t want to say that this story is without fault, because there are a few things I found to nitpick at. There were a few small grammar issues; one or two times Allary seemed to embody that “not a typical girl” trope. This story was not suggested to me; in fact, I found it on my own. It doesn't have many reviews, regardless of its brilliance and so I’m very pleased to be able to share it with all of you. Enjoy!

Recommended for fans of His Queen, The Silver Tower, or Koibito no Ryu.