Damn it, I did it again. Below review was me
AAAAAAAAARRRRRERRRRRRREEEGGGHHHHHHHHHHH

I thought this sounded familiar when I first started reading! Vert Glace, the name I can't pronounce.

You write characters that are very easy to get into and sympathize with. I felt that right away with Tessa, putting myself in her shoes, young but determined to the point of tunnel vision, small community with strong ties and, as a result, deeper secrets. Yes, this on-ramp is big. It speaks openly about the world surrounding it. It also intrigues me to see Tessa fleshed out as a character, as (in this small sample, of course) she's single-minded and focused on one thing.

One thing-I think it would be helpful to draw a bit more attention to the fact that Vert Glace is a hilt without a blade. Not that you didn't point that out, but I think describing it as a bladeless hilt rather than simply a hilt (which most people would assume has a blade attached) would make it more obvious and be a point of intrigue.

My favorite part-or whole, as it were-is the implied mystery! What's up with Greatest Of All Time Island? I love how you dont pose the question-you let it form in the reader's mind, so that they don't even know if it will be answered, but they just HAVE to find out. It's like the whole story is shrouded in a fog that the reader wants to clear, and the only way is to keep reading. Love that intrigue.

And now that I've used intrigue 3 times in one review, I will be done

This is really well done. I love the way you've described the island, giving enough information for the readers to understand the basic culture, law and people, while also leaving room for the world to be expanded upon. Tessa seems to be a well thought out character and I imagine that you're going to have a lot of fun writing about her in the future. Captain Shutter is an interesting character that I definitely hope to read more of and his comments about the Councilmen create a few questions that are in desperate need of answering. Which is great since it just makes me more eager to read the novel that this is connected to. All in all, it's a beautiful piece of work.

Oh, man, that's probably gonna be very sad in the the next chapter. But that's hit the nail on the head, hasn't it - "the next chapter". I already feel like there's going to be more. You've done a great job here pulling me into this world. I love the slow building up of the world, it feels like the start of an old fairy tale. The setting here is fascinating and I'm intrigued to know more about it. You've already crammed a lot of interesting story threads in - the island laws, the horse, the sword hilt - that just beg to be expanded on. Tessa is full of character and there is a sadness to Lorin's actions that already hints at the ending well before we get there. It all just works.

The only criticism I can offer is that this feels more like Chapter 1 than a stand-alone piece. The emotional (in potentia) ending does offer a good amount of closure, but I can't really see this standing on its own as much as I'd like to. Basically, I want to really want to read the book this is part of - which is both high praise and a tiny criticism (though only for the rules of this particular contest). Well done!