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Hi everyone!
I’ve been trying to identify a fantasy novel/duology I read years ago, probably from the late 90s or early 2000s, and it’s driving me slightly insane because I can’t find any trace of it online.
Here’s what I remember (some details may be slightly off):
It was a classic secondary-world fantasy.
The main POV character was a young princess/noblewoman whose kingdom had been usurped/disrupted, and part of the plot involved reclaiming/restoring it.
I’m almost certain the kingdom/order/dynasty was called the Ascendancy (or something extremely similar).
The royal family / ruling bloodline had naturally golden-hued skin.
There was an evil exiled royal aunt/cousin, possibly named something like Theodora / Thora / Thea.
There was a recurring religious symbol involving golden wheat, which signified the blessing/favor of a goddess.
The setting had a divine pair: a goddess called the Green Lady and her eternal husband/consort.
A major plot element involved a magical Golden Mask (I think this was the plot of the sequel).
The mask contained the preserved memories/personality/archive/knowledge of an ancient sorcerer or mage.
The evil aunt/cousin steals or wears the mask.
There was also a missing heir to the throne subplot.
The heroine eventually marries a man who initially seems like a commoner, but later it’s revealed that his mother had an affair with the missing heir: meaning he’s secretly descended from the rightful royal line.
I think it may only have been a duology rather than a trilogy.
Does this ring a bell for anyone? I’m starting to wonder if it was obscure enough that there’s barely any digital record of it. Thank you so much! I'm going crazy trying to find this :)