Chapter 1 Summary

Rialla is a young girl living with her family near the fictional country of Darran. Her family is part of a small clan of nomadic Traders, and her father trains horses for a living. He is very skilled, and gains prestige for their clan. Young Rialla is born an empath, someone who can sense the feelings of others, so her father brings her into the stables when he is training horses. This way, he can use her gift to train horses more easily and also teach her to control it. She learns a lot about taking care of horses. When Rialla is a teenager, her parents betroth her to a young man from another clan, and there is a big gathering to celebrate the engagement. Rialla dances for her betrothed, and she notices a strange man there looking at her. She is unnerved...