Warriors in the Mist: A Dark Fantasy

by Susan D. Kalior

Overview

It happened in the mystical magical Dark Ages in a Province called Kantine, ruled by Sakajians. Sakajian warlords vied for power, the mightiest of whom controlled even the King. Brotherhood was vague. Sisterhood was held only by the Priestesses of the Mist, who were nearly diminished.

 

Kamara Lania is a priestess striving to unite the realm with the divine love. Meanwhile, a violent self-serving warlord, Kayenté Ketola, is acquiring dominion of the realm on his journey to become king. They are both thwarted by a supernatural being, the "Cold One" consuming the world, because good and evil in their extremes, always fall. Mystical interplay throws the Priestess and the Warlord into a harrowing and complicated, even comical transformation, where they each must become more like the other to keep the world from fading into nothing.

 

Excerpt:

 

She crawled carefully through dancing feet, under clanking swords, and a rain of blood. She heard whisking and whipping, thumps and thuds, grunts and groans, curses, prayers, and the blasting beat of a thousand hearts, the world yet spinning round and round.

 

She prayed the warriors would be too engaged in battle to bother with her. Her gown kept catching under her knees, pulling the neck down around her shoulders. Metal feet slammed down around her. Something wet poured over her neck and dripped down her skin curving around her throat. It smelled like blood. However, everything reeked of blood. She kept moving, forbidding tears, wishing she'd drank a second glass of wine, for the elixir seemed to distance her somewhat from the horrors she normally felt.

 

Ahead, on the outskirts of the battle, she glimpsed a lone oak tree ahead of her, looming there, a live thing, like a mother bidding her to come and fall upon her breast.

 

Thinking only of the tree, the tree, the beautiful tree, she found herself more quickly there. She dropped her shoulder against the fragrant bark, and curled into a tight ball, very still, afraid to move, lest a knife come flying at her, the way Kayenté had once told her it could.

 

Her eyes were closed, but the image of swords and bludgeoned bodies flashed erratically in her mind. This battle was like the one in her nightmare: warriors, swords, arrows, blood; and she curled against a tree, trembling in her dirty white gown. Would The Cold One appear next?

 

Her arm was snatched. Someone pulled her forward so swiftly, she felt like a shooting star. Her vision blurred, so fast they did run. When they stopped, she fell to her hands and knees in the thick foliage, panting hard with burning lungs. Someone stood next to her. Would she now behold The Cold One? What was, was; and what was to be, was to be. She could not change it, so she sat back on her knees and looked up to see dust covered leather pants, and a sword dripping blood.

Raising her eyes further, she saw Kayenté's face. It was Kayenté who towered over her!

 

Her hand flew to her heart. "You aren't The Cold One."

 

He squatted, resting the sword over his knees. "I don't know about that."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940046277753
Publisher:	Susan D. Kalior
Publication date:	08/09/2014
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
File size:	597 KB

About the Author

        Susan was born in Seattle, WA.. Her first profession was a psychotherapist treating those suffering from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, sexual abuse, family violence, and severe mental illness. She employed therapies such as communication skill building, relaxation training, systematic desensitization, bioenergetics, and psychodrama. She has facilitated stress management, parenting, and self-discovery workshops that have aided in the psycho-spiritual healing of many. She has lectured on metaphysical and psychological topics, and been involved in various social activist pursuits.
         Her education includes an M.A. in Ed. in Counseling/Human Relations and Behavior (NAU), a B.S. in Sociology (ASU), and ten months of psycholog-ical and metaphysical training in a Tibetan community.
         Susan writes entertaining books steeped in psychology, sociology, and metaphysics in genres such as visionary fiction, dark fantasy, horror, and romance. All her books are designed to facilitate personal growth and transformation.
        In her words: I love to sing, meditate, and play in nature. I love fairy tales, going outside the box, and reading between the lines. I strive to see what is often missed, and to not miss what can't be seen. There is such a life out there, and in there—beyond all perception! So I close my eyes, feel my inner rhythm, and jump off the cliff of convention. And when I land, though I might be quaking in my boots, I gather my courage and go exploring.
        Through travel, study, and work, I've gained a rich awareness of cultural differences among people and their psychosocial struggles. I have discovered that oppression often results from the unexamined adoption of outside perceptions. The healing always has been in the individual's stamina to expel outside perceptions of self and constructively exert one's unique core being into the world. I am driven to facilitate expanded awareness that people may separate who they are from who they are told to be. Embracing personal power by loving our unique selves in our strengths and weaknesses . . . forever—is a key to joyous living. My motto is: Trust your story. Live the Mystery..