Search for the Crystal Shard
DLF Waugh
Tellwell Talent (2025)
ISBN: 978-0228820260
Reviewed by Demetria Head for Reader Views (10/2025)
Search for the Crystal Shard by DLF Waugh, opens as the Guardian Rafe, the protector of the ancient forest, sees a surge of terror below in a nearby village. He investigates and sees a young maiden, Triquetra, bound to a stake over a pyre as villagers prepare to execute her as a witch. Before intervening, he attempts a brief mind-link with her, and their psychic connection surprises him, as she reveals she is the daughter of Nema and needs him to find her mother. Rafe then proceeds to rescue her by summoning Wind, Water, and Fire to extinguish the flames and scatter the villagers. This draws the ire of Count Dramewar, a petty manipulator who assumes that Rafe would approve of the execution. Instead, he is met with fury as Rafe makes it clear that he recognizes both an injustice and the magnitude of the young maiden he just rescued. This single act of mercy becomes the turning point that leads to an ancient destiny.
Waugh does a good job making his storytelling immersive with the use of a classic high-fantasy structure. The ancient world comes to life, the forest feels like it’s living and breathing. The magic is not merely spectacle here, but it’s circled around the environment. The standing stones are not mere stones but memory vessels. The cosmic functions of the magical races are tied to the Elements. Then there are the protectors, witches, tree sprites, dragons, and mystic lineages that are deeply connected to this ancient ancestral destiny and the environment.
Readers get to see Triquetra grow into a confident heroine, who’s awakening starts out emotional before it becomes magical. Her character is resonant and relatable because while she is powerful, she’s inexperienced. She possesses something mystical and supernatural, yet she’s kind of unaware, at first. Rafe truly sees her, and this is the start of her initial transformation. Where the villagers see a being who is a threat and dangerous, Rafe sees this sacred potential in her. He’s not the only one who sees her; where her own mother, Neema sees possession and strategy, Mathuse sees a legacy. The emotional engine of Triquetra’s early stages of development creates this tense battle between protection, withholding, and finally the revelation. I think this is the perfect way for Triquetra to come fully into her being. I also loved the way her and Rafe’s bond isn’t initially framed as a romance, but it starts out as a soul connection and recognition.
This is not a fast-paced adventure but rather a well-paced fantasy unfolding like a mythic ritual. Each act or rite, as I would like to call it, is timely and allowed to breathe, from the magic rituals, ancient prophesy, and revelations. It does not read like a chase story, and the narrative and action are done purposefully, in terms of how the storm begins to build at the edges. For example, there are rising interests in Triquetra and her awakening like the frozen Queen Nora’s dying dominion or how the Red Dragon Ruak’s interests are piqued.
From a stylistic point of view, Search for the Crystal Shard reminds me of the mythic tone and spiritual ancestry that raises the emotional stakes in similar works like Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest or Patricia A. McKillip’s the Riddle-Master Trilogy. Even readers who have enjoyed the young adult and new adult fantasy worlds of Shelby Mahurin’s Serpent & Dove, will definitely enjoy Waugh’s work, especially for its elemental duality and the way the Guardian serves as the savior. Waugh comes away from the traditional hero tropes and focuses more on lineage, sacred pairings, and metamorphosis.
This is an incredible way to lay the foundation for a larger saga where the focus is restoration rather than a victory. This is a story of rightful inheritance, awakening, and restoring balance. Readers will love the lush worldbuilding, the use of mythology, the emotional stakes, the soul-bound prophecy narrative, and epic fantasy layers. As the first book in The Biagsi Prophesy series, Search for the Crystal Shard is full of promise.