The Books Of Great Alta Author:Jane Yolen The child, called Jenna, had been orphaned three times. Her mother had died giving birth to her; her nurse had died bringing her to Selden Hame, where the women served the Goddess Alta and cared for female foundlings. Then even Selna died- Selna, who had adopted the precious little one- murdered by a hunter with the child in her arms... — At Seld... more »en Hame, they marveled at Jenna's white hair and dark eyes and at the precousious abilities that were apparent form the start. And they wondered, without daring to utter the thought, if this girl- thrice ophaned- was the one foretold in their holy Book of Light. the White Queen who would change their world.
There, in the mountainside refuge far from the world of men, they taught Jenna the ancient lore of the Book of Light and the worship of the Goddess Alta. There, too, she studied the arts fo the woman- warrior and discovered ther special talents- not only with the sword but also at Eye-Mind, the Game by which the women practiced seeing with the mind as well as the sight. She came to understand her specialness, though it seemed to disturb and even frighten the austere Mother Alta, priestess of the Hame.
But most important of all, at Selden Hame Jenna learned how to call forth her dark sister: Skada, her shadow-twin, who was able to exist only when the moonlight cast a shadow or lamplight flickered in a darkened room evaporating like dew in the clear light of day. They were as one person- images in a glass, sharing a unique destiny that would soon be thrust upon them. For, amid turmoil and bloodshed, they would emerge as White Queen and Black.
Journey now to a mythic land, as three perspectives of a legend unfold: the legend itself, the historical interpretation of it, and the truth. Two spellbinding novels in one volume- a saga of deception, war, and the changing face of history: Sister Light, Sister Dark and White Jenna.« less