Being King Arthur's daughter is not as good as it sounds.
Sixteen-year-old Melora has struggled to find her place ever since her brother was trampled to death in a hunting accident. Her father raised her to be a warrior, but Melora isn't allowed to...
Knight of the Blue Surcoat is a retelling and novelization of the ballad The Adventure (sometimes Story) of Melora and Orlando. I tried to stay as true to the ballad as possible, but obviously I fleshed it out and added details. The original ballad caught my interest because it featured two interesting aspects: Merlin (or Myrddin in my version) as a villain, and King Arthur's daughter. The story itself is an outrageous hodgepodge of culture from the time it was written, so I have tried to both be faithful to that spirit, as well as making some things a little easier to believe (a little!). That being said, I drew mostly from the Welsh and French stories for my inspiration and origin, but the entire thing is a merry mixture and an homage to the many threads of Arthurian literature and lore.
For anyone curious, you can read the original ballad in story form and a JSTOR paper that dissects the three extant versions - I will link them in comments --->
And now, for the fun part, here are some mood boards for Melora and Orlando, as well as my version of "Camelot," aka "The Red Hall."
I have also included a glossary/pronunciation guide, which I will expand as necessary :) Happy reading!
***MELORA***
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**ORLANDO**
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*****The Red Hall*****
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**Book Playlist**
The Fairy Queen by Clannad
Sacred Knights by Disciple
Istanbul by Jesper Kyd (Assassin's Creed Revelations OST)
Somewhere by Within Temptation, feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen
Can You Find Your Way by The Green Children
Völuspá (Skaldic version) by Wardruna
Hymn for the Missing by Red
Unleashed by Epica
Scarborough Fayre by Zen of Harp
Labyrinth by Elisa
Shadows by Red
Lyonesse by Celtic Legend
The Memory of Trees by Enya
Song of Durin by Peter Hollens (text from Fellowship of the Ring)
Ashes of Eden by Breaking Benjamin
Dreams by Gabrielle Aplin, feat. Bastille
Siúil a Rún (Bonus Rock Version) by Leah
She Moved Through the Fair by Josh Groban
Black is the Colour by the Corrs
Stardust by Delain
Life Saviour by The Green Children
When They Call My Name by the Black Veil Brides
The Parting Glass by Celia Briar
*****GLOSSARY*****
Agravaine: [AG-rah-vane] Gawain's brother, but first appears in French literature, hence the name
Cymrian: [KUHM-ree-an] a Roman (and in my story, passed to the Thessalians) name for the Welsh. Earlier, and through historical accounts, the Greeks referred to Celtic peoples as "Keltoi," whereas the Romans often used "Galli/Gauls," but as my story is inspired by the Early Middle Ages, and not Ancient, I wanted to differentiate a bit.
Cymru: [KUHM-ree]Wales (the Welsh name/term for Wales dating back to about the 7th century)
Gawain: [GAH-win]Welsh pronunciation
Gwynevere: [gwin-UH-veer] Hybrid pronunciation - drawing from both the French and Welsh versions
Mador: [Mah-DOR] See the link--->
Myrddin: [MUR-then]Welsh form of Merlin (see the link)--->
Pégasos: [PI-gah-saus]Closer to the original Latinized form of Pegasus.
Seneschal: A steward or principal administrator in a medieval great house
