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uncle appeared uncomfortable with her participation in any public activities that would cause her to stand out or draw any attention to her extraordinary talents. She knew him well enough to believe that there were reasons for how he raised her, but whatever his motives were, he wasn’t sharing them.
    Clayre, on the other hand, had some strong opinions of her own about how she should be raised. She and Clayre both often argued with Rhys, reminding him that the whole village already realized that she was unique and that it made no sense to try to hide her abilities. Clayre insisted that it was important for Elwyn to be trained to maximize her natural skills and talents, so that she would be better able to fulfill whatever destiny lay before her. The word “destiny” to Elwyn had become a trigger word synonymous with frustration and confusion. How could she even contemplate fulfilling her destiny when she had no idea who she was, why she was so different from the people around her, or what those differences meant to her future? It didn’t help that the only person that might know the answers to those questions, wasn’t talking.
    Elwyn knew that Rhys and Clayre must have come to some compromise though, because her training and education had a much different focus than that of the other children in the village. There were times when she felt overwhelmed with the pressure that came from trying to please two masters. She was taught the basics of fighting, hunting, riding, trapping, and woodland survival, like the young men of the village. And because she lived in a fishing village, she also was instructed in swimming, boating, and given some basic training in navigation. She quickly became more accurate with a bow and arrow than most of the village hunters. She also realized during this time that she had no love of taking a life. She would never hunt for more than they needed to eat, and would not hunt game if there were fish to be had in the marketplace. Rhys also instructed her in hand-to-hand combat and the use of the short sword. Again she excelled because of her natural agility and strength. She and Rhys would often spar in the evenings when the work was done and the evening meal finished. While her uncle was the best skilled of the men in the village, he was no match for her. In no time at all, her superior strength and agility made her the consistent winner in their evening skirmishes. She felt her uncle was pleased with her extraordinary skill in both hand-to-hand combat and with a sword, but he never told her he was, or said why it was so important that she learn to fight.
    Elwyn did not find her lessons with Clayre quite as easy. Clayre’s primary responsibility was to teach her how to read, write, and do calculations. The local school was small and did not welcome females. The village elder felt that young women could be better instructed at home by their mothers and other female relatives. Young men were sent to school just long enough to learn how to buy and sell goods in the marketplace. The rest of their education was learned on the job, training to work in the family business. Elwyn chuckled at how frustrated and unhappy she’d been to spend several hours each day learning to read and write fluently. Practicing her calculations was a bit easier for her, but was still a very distant second to being out in the woods hiking and practicing with her bow. Recently though, she’d become very grateful for her ability to read, for it allowed her to soak up every piece of written material that came into the village from the surrounding cities. Unfortunately for her, there were very few books and documents sent to Tarlon.
    There were times Elwyn felt that her uncle was determined to keep her ignorant and isolated when it came to the world beyond the borders of her village,. She was aware that there were other nations and races of people in the Known Lands. Unfortunately, her lessons didn’t include any information