The Naming by Alison Croggon

Maerad, a young girl who has been a slave practically all her life, has no friends or family. Her Mother died when she was 7, and the her father and brother were killed when she was still a young girl. She has convinced everyone in Gilman's Cot, a garrison-like place that is ruled by Gilman, that she is a witch, which brings about a wary respect of her elders, but scorning as far as her peers go. Her prized possession is a lyre, which she was taught to play so that she could entertain the soldiers after their raids. One day, her whole life changes when a stranger, who should have been invisible to her, comes by when she's milking a cow. The stranger, impressed by her ability to see through his disguise, invites her to go away with him, and she leaves. Soon, she discovers that she really is a witch, or, as they call one who has magic, a bard. Not only that, but she may be the only one who can save the world from the one who has plagued it- the Nameless One. I give this story 5 stars, because though it is quite detailed, it left me interested on every page, and it is an, in my opinion, well written story. The first in the Pellinor Quartet.