THE PHOENIX BELLS Long ago and far away, there was a wondrous land... A land of everlasting spring where willow trees grew as blades of grass. A land where all the dragons of the world dwelt in peace, filling the fragrant air with their silver song. Then one day the wise men came to the emperor to warn him of a darkness that threatened the land and all within. He must leave his palace, they urged, and travel to strange and distant places to seek a bride. He must find an empress for the land, who can light the dragonleaf with her touch and hear the silvery music of the dragons. Or their song will cease forever. THE BLACK JADE ROAD Long ago, when it was always spring.… A road ran between what would someday be Europe and the Land of Ten Thousand Willows, where sleepy dragons stretched in the sun. It was in this age that two were bound together, first by fate, then by love: the young Emperor Ty-Sun, and the Puritan girl, Blessing Dunncaster. He from a cultured land where magic and manners were one. She from dark, brooding Britain, with the witch-power wild in her blood. Together, they must fight and find their way to the Black Jade Road, where each step counts as five — and each danger, ten. For the pearls that are days are running low. A darkness is falling over the land. And the dragons are singing a mournful song of Death.… THE WILLOW GARDEN LONG AGO, WHEN A SILENT SNOWFALL BLANKETED THE EASTERN LAND … The brave young Emperor Ty-Sun traveled the Black Jade Road with Blessing Dunncaster, the bewitched and beautiful Englishwoman who would be his empress. Together they made their way back to the Land of Ten Thousand Willows. Pursuing them was the evil Darkness that felled Ty-Sun's loyal followers one by one. Ahead, far beyond the Jade Mountains, the Wall of Living Stone, and the palaces of the god-judges from Hell, lay Ty-Sun's once-glorious kingdom, now ravaged by his enemies. Has time run out for the Dragons of the Earth? Now Ty-Sun and Blessing prepare for a final struggle of fearsome battle — and wondrous magic — to save the dragons, their love, and … the Willow Garden.