The Awakeners Series by Sheri S. Tepper

Pamra Don, a member of the Awakeners, with Thrasne, a river man, Lady Kesseret, and Treeci, decides to challenge the dominance of the powerful World River.

Pamra Don has learned much on the River and has become the visionary leader of a great pilgrimage, carrying the discontent of Northshore to lay at the feet of the Protector of Man. But the native Thraish have at last taken note of Pamra Don and her crusade--and their vengeance will be swift.

Come to the world of the River.Come to a world distant in time and space, a world where the pace of life is counted by tides of the great River, but where, as in the river itself, there are swift dark currents flowing under a placid surface.Meet Pamra Don--a young woman scarred by her mother's death, lured to a preist-hood where the truth must be hidden from the faithful... moreCome to the world of the River.Come to a world distant in time and space, a world where the pace of life is counted by tides of the great River, but where, as in the river itself, there are swift dark currents flowing under a placid surface.Meet Pamra Don--a young woman scarred by her mother's death, lured to a preist-hood where the truth must be hidden from the faithful. And meet Thrasne, a young boatman who trades from town to town, free from the iron control of the towers of the Awakeners, and the priests of the world of the River--free, that is, as long as he never speaks his mind. These two, by design and accident both, are about to discover many truths. And on the Northshore of the River, the truth can kill you. less