
As an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner, Menrva Books earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more
The second volume in this huge new fantasy in the tradition of Frank Herbert’s phenomenal DUNE series.Ever since the V'ornn invasion the oppressed Kundalan have been dwindling in strength. Their religion is dying, their magic fading and their goddess all but forgotten. Only the fabled and long-awaited Dar Sala-at can find the long-lost, all-powerful Pearl and save them from extinction.Against incredible odds Riane, the Dar Sala-at, has recovered the Ring of Five Dragons and fitted it into the Storehouse Door, behind which the Pearl should be found. But despite the prophecy the door will not open. Riane's protector, Giyan, explains that daemons must have escaped from the sorcerous abyss where they were locked away by the Goddess Miina aeons ago. What Giyan doesn't know is that one of those daemons is about to possess her body.In order to retrieve Giyan before the daemon kills her, Riane must find the fabled Veil of a Thousand Tears, said to have been created from the tears of the Five Sacred Dragons of Miina and to hold the key to the secrets of Za Hara-at, the legendary city that will one day bring Kundalan and V'ornn together in peace. For this reason she is not the only one who seeks the Veil. The evil Gyrgon, Nith Batoxxx, is also on its trail, and soon Riane will be fighting him for her life.In this fast-paced and compelling saga, best-selling author Eric Van Lustbader explores the conflicts that have driven civilizations since the dawn of time: between good and evil, technology and spirituality, faith and despair.
Riane, the prophesied Dar Sala-at, must locate the fabled Veil of a Thousand Tears to rescue her protector, Giyan, from a malevolent daemon possession that threatens the survival of the Kundalan people. As the V'ornn occupation continues to erode Kundalan culture and magic, Riane faces the physical challenge of navigating a world where ancient religious artifacts hold the key to political and spiritual salvation. She is opposed by the formidable Gyrgon, Nith Batoxxx, who seeks the same relic to further his own destructive agenda. The narrative follows a third-person perspective, tracking the high-stakes race across a landscape defined by the tension between fading mysticism and encroaching technological dominance.
This work functions as a direct continuation of the established Pearl Saga, maintaining the author's signature focus on large-scale world-building and high-stakes conflict. The narrative leans heavily into the tropes of epic fantasy, utilizing the struggle between good and evil to drive the momentum of the plot. Readers familiar with the first volume will find the expansion of the lore regarding the Goddess Miina and the history of the V'ornn invasion to be central to the experience. The pacing suggests a deliberate effort to balance character development with the demands of a sprawling, multi-volume saga.
Page Count:
629
Publication Date:
2002-05-07
Publisher:
Voyager
ISBN-10:
0002247305
ISBN-13:
9780002247306
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!