Troy: A Crown of Stones Origin Story by C. L. Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Troy is a Shinree, a magic user who is bound to the nation of Rella, he is a soldier and uses his magic both defensively and offensively, but he is an outcast, as are the rest of his kind and this is all because of the magic and the price he pays for using it, his inherited addiction to it and the consequences of when he uses it and all Shinree are cursed with the same addiction. Due to this weakness, his kind have been enslaved by the others and although Troy is given some freedoms, he is still enslaved as well, he was brought up to be a weapon, skilled in swordplay and with the belief that he can save the entire realm of Mirra’kelan and bring an end to the war which has beleaguered them for generations and at the tender age of seventeen, he goes to join in the army and engage the enemy with all of his skills.

Unfortunately for Troy, reality comes crashing down on him when he enlists and for the next year he is belittled, insulted, demeaned and humiliated at all times and called a “Witch” by his fellow soldiers, he is ostracised and becomes a solitary being suffering in silence and accepting things for what they truly are, he is not an essential part of the war effort, he is merely tolerated by those around him. Another factor charging his apathy is that the warrior Queen Aylagar heads the army and albeit she is breathtaking and an elite fighter, she also holds the same opinion of Troy as everyone else and so she has a stranglehold over his magic and his ability to restrain himself from using it, he resists the temptation and need to use and can only relieve his addiction at her say and that is more than difficult to obtain.

One day, Queen Aylagar launches a mission deep into the enemy territory and requires volunteers, she then pick Troy out as the final member of the group, however, as the mission is explained, Troy knows she is holding back something, so when she asks to speak to him alone after the others leave, he knows that something important is going to happen, but whether that is based in pleasure or pain, he does not know. However, it is a mixture of both when he is charged with a mission which could turn the tide of the war and prove that he is the weapon he was forged to be, but will he be successful in his assignment, or will he fail and instead prove exactly what the others think of him as a selfish and useless creature with an addiction? This is an adventure across nations with twists, turns, darkness and light within where insurmountable odds clash with determination as you follow along this action-packed prequel you will not want to miss.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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