With The Ring of Five Dragons, Eric Van Lustbader returns to his roots with the monumental launch of a towering multi-volume fantasy, The Pearl. Filled with action, intrigue, murder, and magic, The Pearl is the first great new fantasy series of the new millennium. Using the conflict between technology and spirituality as the backbone of The Ring of Five Dragons, Eric Van Lustbader deftly spins the story of the clash between two cultures and the resulting battle between them. One hundred and one years ago the quiet, pastoral land of Kundala was invaded by a wandering race of beings called the V’ornn. Technologically advanced and brutal, the V’ornn easily conquered the more spiritual Kundalan and relegated them to slavery and subjugation. Weakened by its failure to stop the invasion, the ancient and magical Kundalan religion is losing adherents to a new faith, one secretly created by the V’ornn to further undermine Kundalan solidarity. While most V’ornn dismiss all things Kundalan as worthless, their mysterious rulers, the Gyrgon, believe that Kundalan magic may hold the secret of immortality they have long sought. The answer lies in the mystical Pearl, the most sacred artifact of the Kundalan, lost since the invasion. In order to possess the Pearl and its power, the Gyrgon must first find the Ring of Five Dragons, the key to the door of the fabled Kundalan Storehouse. The Storehouse lies deep beneath the palace of the Regent who rules in the Gyrgon’s name from his seat in Axis Tyr. Eleusis Ashera is an exceptional V’ornn, for he is fascinated by the Kundalan, and has taken one, the sorceress Giyan, as his lover, and allowed her to raise his son, Annon. Eleusis dreams of building a new city where V’ornn and Kundalan can freely trade, exchange information and learn from each other. But Eleusis has many enemies and one in particular, Wenn Stogggul, will stop at nothing to attain Eleusis’ position as regent. In a brutal attack against the regent’s palace, Wenn Stogggul’s minions kill Eleusis and his entire family except for Annon. He manages to escape with Giyan and begins an adventure fraught with danger and magic as he vows to avenge his father’s death. Required to adopt the body and mind of another in order to protect himself from his father’s enemies, Annon is slowly drawn into the magic and sorcery of the Kundalan religion and learns that he is part of an ancient prophecy and is destined to help free the Kundalan from their unbearable servitude. Eric Van Lustbader raises the provocative issues of moral values and self-awareness in The Ring of Five Dragons, a tale of twisting plots and strong characterizations that will have readers eagerly awaiting the next book in The Pearl saga.