In a lakeside village amid the forests of Ferren, a young girl has been disfigured by a dark and mysterious presence. Only zul masters—those who use a mystical red dust called zulis—have the skill to vanquish such nightmares, and so now a master must be chosen.On Earth, fourteen-year-old twins, Zigmund and Zerah, are sent to live with their uncle, Rainart, after their parents’ untimely deaths. Rainart is an abrasive drunk with a limp, and a secretive past. Yet, his secrets quickly come to light with astounding tension as the twins learn of his time in a land far away, and his possession of a mysterious and powerful red dust.Book one of The Hands of Ruin begins a saga of two worlds and the individuals who bind those worlds together. It is a story both visionary and deeply emotional, rife with action, mystery, and vivid imagination. Blending fantasy and science fiction with passion, morality, and drama, The Hands of Ruin has all the makings of a true epic.