Book excerpt: The Parting of Shadows is now split into three parts - Part one: Livid's past is a complete mystery. She was found at night in the warm sands of the great desert. Only a newborn, she was thought to be dreadfully ill because of her total lack of color. Her skin was as pale as snow, and even her blood was dark-gray in color. She now lives the solitary life of a shepherdess on the edge of the very desert where she was found some nineteen years earlier. In this environment, Livid has learned to take care of herself, and she fears nothing . . . Nothing, that is, except water! Living in the driest place on the world of Riven, she knows very little of this strange fluid, but seas of water haunt her dreams, and thus she fears it with debilitating terror. Meanwhile, far to the west, a bard named Curesoon has been seeking to find his family. Thus engaged, he steps into the shadows of the black bog Miremurk, and unknowingly embarks upon an adventure that will draw in many, including even the gray-maiden named Livid.