The veil of a thousand tears - Eric Lustbader

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.