MERRON: Barsaive's Jewel, City With a Thousand Hearts, it survived the centuries-long Scourge intact. How? What entity guarded Merron from invaders, yet mutilated its finest citizens? It moves unseen. No wall or lock can stop it. Now this creature commands the city's guilds of magicians to curse Merron with disasters, plagues, and the menacing spirits called the Cordial Guards. Years ago the warrior Alban Peyl lost his arm and his magic to this mysterious being. Now Alban's arm has returned. His search for the reason pits him against the creature, the magicians' guilds, and his own darkest impulses. In this contest of wills, victory and liberating wisdom lie in breaking the shackles of custom ... transcending illusion.... PIERCING A VEIL An Earthdawn novel by Allen Varney Contents Prologue: Ten Years Before Part One: AFFLICTION 1: Alban's Arm 2: Padia Perplexed 3: Virtuous Vilph Part Two: PERCEPTION 4: Peeling Away 5: Vilph Prevails 6: Appropriate Vengeance Part Three: VOLITION 7: Violent Acts 8: Adept's Progress 9: Persistent Vision Epilogue: One Year After