The Shadow of Tarensa

Norra has never met anyone who looks like her, even among a planet that is home to hundreds of diverse species. When it comes time for her rite of passage though, she finally has a chance to fit in with her adopted family (an otter-like race of merchants known as the Ko'eten) once and for all. To earn the title of 'merchant,' however, she must take a month-long expedition to a faraway land and prove that she can make it on her own.

Things change when she runs into two members of a fearsome warrior race called the R'caesa, who uproot her plans and force her to follow them back to their military base. She also meets a mysterious slave whom they call "the shadow" during this time. They say that it is the last of its kind, and that its people were eradicated years ago after they allegedly betrayed the R'caesan emperor. Norra's only hope of continuing her rite of passage lies in her plans of escape, but she can't help but feel sympathy for the shadow.