Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer's
Prophecy by Rahima Warren
The “twin-souled dark innocent,” Kyr, is a youth born and
raised to blindly carry out the Soul-Drinker’s brutal commands. At first, Kyr’s
one desire is death, the only escape from the Soul-Drinker’s hellish rule. Just
when he is about to get his wish, the secret Circle rescues him. Now he has to
choose between the familiar easy path of despair and death, or the hard path of
healing, living, and a greater destiny, about which he knows nothing. How can a
slave who has known only
evil, pain and obedience choose to become a man of courage and compassion, and
fulfill the Star Seer's Prophecy?
Guest Post on The
Healing Power of Love
I
loved writing about Kyr’s incandescent relationship with Jolanya, and was
surprised and even a little awed by the beauty and power of the scenes with them
that came forth as I wrote. I have had experiences of sacred sexuality with my
husband, and have felt the deep love that allows healing to occur. But these
scenes with Kyr and Jolanya go beyond what I know personally. They seem to
have emerged from some
hidden well of knowing in me – or from the two of them.
As I wrote, Jolanya emerged as the Kailithana, a Priestess-Healer dedicated to healing men of their wounds
that led them to commit evils such as rape. The role of Kailithana has roots in what Western culture calls the “sacred
prostitute” – a term I seriously object to. In some ancient cultures, women
served as the Goddess in sacred sexual rituals of the Union of God and Goddess,
or in archetypal terms, the Sacred Masculine and Divine Feminine. They were
Priestesses, not prostitutes. With soul-deep love, Jolanya uses her skills and
magic to heal Kyr of his deepest wounds.
A
little bit about my book, Dark Innocence, Book 1 in the Star-Seer’s Prophecy trilogy:
Having been born and raised as a slave of an evil sorcerer called the
Soul-Drinker, Kyr knows nothing but torture, rape and murder. He cannot endure
any human touch, nor does he know what love or love-making are, even after he’s
been through much healing and reached forgiveness. Meeting Jolanya and joining
her for the Kailithara, a sacred healing journey, changes all that. In a hidden
chamber, she begins to teach him the subtler arts of
love-making.
I hope you enjoy this
moment between the two lovers.
An Excerpt with Kyr
and Jolanya:
Her body, graceful and
magnificent, was now clad only in the silken darkness of her knee-length hair.
“You, too, Kyr.” Trying not show his eagerness, he shed all his clothing,
too.
From one of the baskets against the wall, she pulled out a
small drum. Tapping out a slow and sinuous rhythm, she moved in rhythm with her
drumming. As she danced around the chamber, the curtain of her hair swayed, revealing and
concealing her beauty.
This tantalizing
vision claimed his eyes, his breath, and his manhood, and he willingly
surrendered them. Fascinated and aroused by her proud, voluptuous movement, he
turned on his knees to follow her dance with his eyes, bound to the sight of
her. Behind her, the glittering mosaics of the Goddess and her Consort whirled,
flashing with erotic power, deepening his desire.
“Dance with me, Kyr.”
“What? No, no! I don’t
know how.”
“It’s a little like
the Flowing Poses, but with no set pattern. Just stand, close your eyes, and
listen to the drum. Breathe and relax, breathe and relax. Let yourself sway with
the beat.”
“Gods,” he murmured.
“Alright, I’ll try.” He stood and let his body rock side-to-side in time with
the drum.
“Unlock your knees,
shake yourself loose a little. Good. Now, let yourself move however you like.
You can’t make a mistake because there is no wrong way to do
this.”
Tentatively at first,
he began to move around the chamber. Then an unexpected joy of freedom, and the
mesmerizing rhythm of the drum lifted him into a graceful dance. With eyes
closed, he followed the beat as the Kailithana increased the tempo. Absorbed in
this new pleasure, he kept moving even when the drum stopped.
Warm hands clasped his
waist, and he opened his eyes to meet Jolanya’s kindling gaze. The Kailithana
pulled him into her dance. He placed his hands on her shoulders to keep in
rhythm with her as they swirled around the chamber.
Laughing, he abandoned
himself to the delight of moving with a partner, enjoying the solid, vibrant
aliveness of her muscles and bones moving under her sweat-slicked skin,
breathing deeply of her musky, sweet scent, gazing into her glowing eyes. As he
surrendered more into the dance, they moved faster and faster, the God and
Goddess of the mosaics flashing past—kissing, touching, conjoined. He longed to
clasp the Kailithana to him, caress her, enter her, but did not dare to take the
lead.
Rahima Warren is the author of Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer's
Prophecy, a deep, rich
novel of the healing journey. With Master's degrees in Clinical and
Transpersonal Psychology, she was in private practice as a licensed
psychotherapist for over 20 years. In 2006, Rahima retired to focus on her
expressive painting, creative writing, and spiritual
studies.
In her work with clients recovering from abuse, she was awed
by the human capacity to heal, and to reach new levels of forgiveness, wholeness
and happiness. She also learned to trust the psyche's own process. This enabled her to allow a dark and
mysterious story to flood forth unhindered: Dark Innocence:
Book One of the Star-Seer's Prophecy.
Rahima is a
third-generation native of California and resides with her husband in Northern
California, where she periodically chases squirrels off the wild bird feeders,
and deer away from her roses. Her life-long love of fantasy is her parents'
fault: they left sci-fi & fantasy magazines with fascinating cover art lying
around the house.
********* GIVEAWAY ********
Rahima is giving away prizes, including an e-copy of her book
at each blog stop on her tour AND a Grand Prize Giveaway of aCustom Jumbo Tote Bag with your choice of fan art, chosen from
here: http://www.starseersprophecy.com/fan-art/, plus other goodies, including a signed copy
of Dark Innocence for one lucky winner, shipped to anywhere in the
world!
1)
To win a book: Leave a comment on this blog post
on the healing power of love in fiction to be entered to win a book. Be sure to
leave your email address in the comments so we can contact you if you’re the
lucky winner. This giveaway ends five days after the post goes
live.
2)
To win the Custom Jumbo Tote Bag with
Rahima’s fan art of your choice, or a signed copy of Dark Innocence, or other goodies, click the link to go to Rahima’s website
here: http://www.starseersprophecy.com/blog-tour/
and enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the page. A winner will be selected
on June 21st.
Enter for the Grand
Prize on Rahima’s website here:http://www.starseersprophecy.com/blog-tour/
4 comments:
Sounds like an awesome book. I love reading; nothing makes me happier than curling up with a good book with wonderful characters & a HEA.
thumbelinda03@yahoo.com
Thanks for stopping by, Linda! I've been a bookworm myself since I learned to read. Cut my reading teeth on fantasy & sci fi!
Nice post and excerpt
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thanks for your comment!
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