The Blue Sword

Angharad Crewe, better known as Harry, is a young woman recently relocated to the colonial outpost of Istan in the Homelander-occupied territory of Daria, after the death of her father.

As she has no inheritance or marriage prospects, her brother, Richard, has arranged for her to live with the Greenoughs, Sir Charles and Lady Amelia. Although her hosts have been kind to her, Harry feels out of place and restless from the monotony of life on the edge of the desert in the Greenoughs’ home, the Residency. Her days lack purpose, and her sense of displacement is worsened by her attempt to maintain proper behavior out of gratitude and familial obligation.

While Harry settles into life in Istan, she learns about the region’s strategic and economic importance due to the Aeel Mines and the military fort at the edge of town. She also begins to form tentative connections with the local community, including the popular Elizabeth and Cassie Peterson. While she seems unaware of it, she also attracts the interest of the young men in the cavalry, who find her intriguing despite her aloofness and lack of interest in conventional social graces.

One morning, the routine of Istan is broken by the arrival of