Milestones and Visions

Shoutout of the week #5: The Lost Princess

What lengths can one person go to in order to achieve revenge? Can the nature of humans (or elves) truly change? What does it take to fix someone broken? 

These are questions posed by my special shoutout this week: 'The Lost Princess' by (coincidentally) Thelostprincess_s  This is a thrilling tale of self-discovery, redemption, and vengeance, all funneled through two distinct and yet connected main characters and set in a fully realized fantasy world. The story follows Amara – the eponymous 'lost princess' of Calathil, displaced from her rightful throne and forced to follow the trade of assassin to seek vengeance against the unjust king Goroth. This isn't some fair maiden more intent on preserving her decorum than getting things done: Amara isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. It's through her pursuit of vengeance that she meets an elven monarch of the distant land of Celeblas, Eramire, her sister Earwen, and their retinue of protectors and capable warriors. Together, they journey to right the wrongs of Goroth and restore peace to the world of Rhovamben. 

This short synopsis doesn't do justice enough to the strength that comes across in every scene between these characters – and I'll talk here about Amara and Earwen in particular. Both are strong in their own right – Amara displays her combat prowess and aloofness that borders on ice cold disdain as befits her chosen profession. Earwen, on the other hand, is more tactful and compassionate. She is an inspiring leader of her company, and though she too harbors her own fears, she believes in the goodness of the world and the capacity of one, like Amara, to bring light back to their darkened realm. Even if she doesn't truly know what she has been through.

Above all else it's the conversations between these two that sets this story apart. We see both their perspectives on events, but it's their interactions that slowly begin to melt the cold exterior Amara is forced to uphold, and it's Amara's strong will and can-do attitude that Earwen admires as the princess who has always relied on her protectors. Together they form a badass duo, and it's great to see two fully fleshed out, three-dimensional female characters go toe-to-toe with some vicious fantasy creatures of the dark. 

The princesses are also joined by an extensive cast of supplementary characters that comprise their company. We have Eramire's stoic warrior Thorindir, who treats Amara with as much mistrust as a knight faithful to his lady would. He's a soldier who cares about his men, and as we see them fall in battle we empathise with his pain in some emotionally charged, beautifully written scenes (I'm a certified Thorindir fanboy through and through). I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the wonderfully jealous (and sadistic) Queen Kallah, but I'd be veering into spoiler territory if I said more... 

That's the way this book will make you feel about its characters. You'll ship them, you'll laugh with them, revel in their triumphs and cry at their pain. On that note, this story also doesn't shirk away from violence, or emotional trauma. The characters all deal with regret, familial neglect, paranoia and fear to trust others. I've mentioned before that I see fantasy as a genre that can help the reader work through our own mental scars – especially if such stories handle these themes maturely and with care. This is one of those rare stories that skirts the boundary between the fantastical and the real. And it does so with flawless precision.

I'm a huge admirer of the author's prolific nature and she deserves all the success she's seeing on Wattpad currently. She also deserves more of your reads – and so I thoroughly recommend you check out The Lost Princess if you like character driven, emotionally charged and action-packed fantasy. This is a finished story, and the sequel has only recently been released. The worldbuilding continues to impress too – and the author even has an intriguing 'Bonus Content' book with more information about the universe the tale takes place in, deleted chapters, and a glossary of terms so the story itself doesn't get bogged down in long expository scenes. 

If you're looking for a new work of fantasy that will take you by the scruff of the neck and get you turning pages faster than an assassin's blade, look no further than The Lost Princess.