The Serpent Bride
Sara Douglass
 The novel begins with the tale of Kanubai, the first entity who invited Light and Water to be his companions. They co-existed peacefully for a while, until Light and Water merged creating Life. Kanubai was jealous of Life because he was not part of the union and tried to consume Life with chaos and darkness. Light and Water fought against Kanubai and sent him to the abyss. The story shifts to Ishbel Brunelle, an eight year old girl whose family was killed by the plague. She is driven to despair because the villagers outside will not let her leave her home. Eventually Ishbel tries to kill herself, but finds she cannot die from the plague. After some time, she is rescued by a man named Aziel, who turns out to be the arch-priest of the Coil, a group of people who worship a deity known only as the Great Serpent. Twenty years in the future and Ishbel is introduced as the arch-priestess of the Coil, and has a revelation; if she is to save the Outlands and Serpents Nest from destruction, she must marry the King of Escator, Maximillian Persimius.