The Paladin - Adam Nichols

First rate sword and sorcery set in the same world as Nichol's two previous fantasies - aimed squarely at the David Gemmell market. Elinor is about to be married off to a man twice her age - in rebellion she runs away to sea, unable to bear the thought of a life as the submissive wife of a tradesman. Escaping from a wreck at sea, Elinor washes up at a madman's castle, joins the guard where she hones her fighting skills and is finally tricked into becoming an assassin - her only escape is to join with Spandel, the madman's pet and head for the hills. It is an escape that leads her to a people she can finally identify with, to the love of her life. In the process she becomes a heroine, a figure about which legends will be written, songs sung and tales told ... Elinor Whiteblade - the wielder of a wondrous shining sword that frees the descendents of a magically created race from scorn and servitude.