Dragons’ Pearls

The dragons of China, ancient and wise, were angry. Not only had the dragon temples fallen into disuse with no offerings or worship, but no dragon adviser sat by the Emperor’s side in the Forbidden City. And now something more terrible was happening - for both the dragons and for China itself: someone was killing dragons with magic, selling their flesh and bones for profit and stealing their pearls - the fount of all their wisdom and knowledge - even the power to fly - that they wore under their chins. Dragons controlled the weather - the rain, the wind, the very earth itself. They could raze a mountain, cause a flood or a devastating earthquake. It was not only the lives of the dragons at stake, but the survival of the Chinese empire, since the dragons’ anger caused all of the deadly phenomena. They also brought wisdom, peace, beauty and prosperity to China - and good luck. No one knew what would happen if all the dragons disappeared - forever. When one of the great Celestial Dragons came to the scholar of dragons, Dr. Quong Lee for his help, the elderly man could only think of one person to help him battle this black wickedness. He needed not only a dragon expert, but a magician - for there were no White magicians left in all China. A letter from China, from a fellow Dracophilologist, begged Wizard Simon Stillfield’s help stopping the slaughter of Chinese dragons. With his own Western dragon and his young family, Simon journeyed half way around the world, to encounter a totally alien culture, ancient magic, and an evil warlord, to undertake a most important mission to keep the dragons of China from extinction.