The Gift is 2002 fantasy novel by Alison Croggon. It is the first in her Pellinor tetralogy.
Plot summary The Gift, or The Naming as it is known in the US, opens with Maerad in
Gilman's Cot as a slave, where she has been for most of her life. She is discovered by
Cadvan (one of the great Bards), who reveals to her that she too has "the Gift" of the Bards, of which she was previously ignorant due to her situation in life and the death of her
mother when she was seven years old. Cadvan soon discovers that
Maerad's mother was the leader of the First Circle of the destroyed School of Pellinor that was believed to have no survivors. Knowing this, Cadvan helps Maerad escape Gilman's cot on the supposition that meeting Maerad may have been the result of something greater than chance. Cadvan
takes Maerad to the School of Innail to make the presence of a survivor from
Pellinor known and to formally instate
Maerad as a minor bard of Pellinor. During their time there, Maerad obtains a
long forgotten prophecy concerning the Foretold One who will defeat the Nameless One
(Sharma). After their abrupt stay at Innail, Cadvan takes Maerad across Annar to Norloch intending to have her instated as a full bard and to
discover her True Name. If Maerad is indeed the Foretold, then the destiny that awaits her will be a long and
arduous journey.
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