The protagonist of Patricia A. McKillip’s The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is Sybel. She is a sixteen-year-old woman who lives in isolation on a mountain, caring for mythical creatures summoned by her late father, Ogam.
Sybel begins the story as someone more comfortable with legendary beasts and the pursuit of knowledge than with ordinary human relationships. Her secluded life changes when Coren of Sirle brings her an infant named Tamlorn, asking her to raise him. Through Tamlorn and her encounters with Coren, Sybel becomes entangled in the political struggles of Eldwold.
The other choices are characters from the novel or related figures, but none is the central protagonist: Coren becomes closely connected to Sybel, while Tamlorn is the child placed in her care. The novel was first published in 1974 and won the 1975 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.