SOLVED. Fantasy coming-of-age adventure about two boys, one of whom is the prophetic hero trope, the other is his sidekick. [s]

[Kidd]

I certainly read this before 2010, probably around 2005. The cover was black. I believe there was a gem (opal?) of some sort in the title or on the cover, but could be wrong about the opal. The book seemed a little worn, so my hunch is that it was published in the 80s or 90s

I am fuzzy on some of the details of the plot, but I remember that it centered on two young boys initially, who grow up into young men by the end of the book. One is clearly the hero, and I think there is a prophecy about him, and the other is just his samwise gamgee sidekick.

There is a section where they stay with a salt-maker by the sea for a long time (years) and the hero-guy falls in love with the salt-maker's daughter, but then I think she dies and they have to leave.

I think the geography was that they started on a smaller island and migrated to a larger island early on in the story.

The most notable thing about the book is the ending (SPOILERS) where the main hero guy joins a group of suitors all vying for the hand of a princess, but they all die and the only one left is the hero's sidekick who has been with him the whole time and is forced to take his place, marry the princess, and save the day in the last couple chapters of the book.

[SBC]

Someone else was looking for this recently too, It sounds exactly like The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt. The hero’s name is Oriel but it’s told by his friend Griff

[Kidd]

I can't believe this actually worked, thank you sir!!!

[Kidd]

Yeah that's it, The Wings of a Falcon

[SBC]

Glad I could help