Centuries ago, the Vaelinars appeared on Kerith. Some say they came with three blows from the Hammer of War. Certainly they arrived torn from battle on their own world, with animosities that survived the journey, even if their memories and links to their gods did not. Eventually the Accords were forged to let them live in some sort of peace, with each other and with their new neighbors. Not a lasting peace though, with all too visible fraying now as a majority press to end the Accords, while an increasing number simply ignore them, as some indeed have done since they were created. But the situation grows more complex now, as demons are being forged inside weapons, a Queen's man of mixed blood loses eighteen years of his life and the memory of how they were spent, a Dweller family finds a former slave Vaelinar child washed up at their door, the shadows around the Queen flicker with treachery and assassins, and a child's skipping song about Four Forges dire offers obscure warning.

This was a bit slow to get started, beginning with a rather mannered prologue and an opening scene that was almost annoyingly mysterious about some things. But once the story got fully going, and some very engaging characters pulled me into their lives, I really enjoyed it. The fantasy world depicted is as vivid and multi-textured as the various peoples who inhabit it. And while this first volume of a series was enjoyable on its own, I definitely look forward to seeing where further of The Elven Ways will lead the characters I came to care about and what new things I will learn about their world.