The Mage My Mother Hid on a Hill

Synopsis

Turan has tended sheep alone on a hill since his mother died, keeping the promise she made him swear at ten: never let anyone see what he can do. When a shadow-covered leopard the size of a house kills the village elder, he goes into the forest anyway, and brings it down with a sling and a single hardened stone. Then a traveling swordsman arrives, says he is the mage the village sent for, and asks a quiet question over dinner: who are you, really?