Returning to Earth was no honeymoon The exciting THREE WORLDS superhero romance saga continues! After the interstellar chaos of the past few weeks, Lina Starhart thinks she now has time to catch her breath and get used to the idea of not only being a bride but of being married to the galaxy’s most powerful man. But she has yet to learn what the job fully entails. Her Cinderella happily-ever-after is all too brief. ˃˃˃ Enemies all around Not only does her famous husband Valiant have to bear the constant scrutiny of celebrity-watching networks, but he has enemies whose attention now turns toward Lina, whom they see as the hero’s primary weakness. Can Lina step up to her new responsibilities and show herself to be a mega-level champion?
Chapter X The Turning In Nether World, there were approximately three thousand nightwalkers that made up the population of the southern clans. Of these three thousand, nearly two thirds were natural born. Nightwalkers can conceive children who grow there fangs and could hunt small rodents by the age of two. At thirty years of age, the growing process stops and physically they remain at that age for all eternity, but there were those nightwalkers that had been turned. Those nightwalkers that had been turned were once human beings that have been bitten by nightwalkers and survived. Why nightwalkers turned some humans into beings like themselves varies. Some did so to increase their numbers when birthrates were low, others did so simply out of a need for companionship. Most humans that have been turned really didn't have a say so in the matter. Most were given the choice of either being turned or being dead. No human has ever been known to voluntarily seek to be turned, but that is what Cassia has chosen in order to ensure her survival. For nightwalkers that have been through the process, a turning was looked upon with the same reverence as a baptism or a second birthday. To be turned marked the ending of one life and the beginning of another, and once one had been turned, there was no going back. Nickademus awoke in his cave shortly after sundown. He made his way up the path to the cabin and to Cassia. He did so with a heavy heart. He had not brought her here for this. This was something she did not want, but had to do because he had failed in the one thing that he had promised her, protection. Tonight she will be turned. Cassia had changed her sleeping habits since arriving in Nether World by being up most of the night to guard against attack. This was no life for her, and she knew that. To constantly be on guard against a nightwalker attack after sundown was far from the peace and security she had hoped to find after escaping the Empire. On this day, however, she could not find sleep. She began the day by watching the sunrise knowing that it will be the last one she may ever see. She did the same when the sun set for the evening. In between she would be a whirlwind of emotions from heartache to gladness. Gladness to know that it was possible to live the type of life she wished to live, free of having to keep one eye open for trouble, sadness of knowing that the Cassia-Ren that was reared by her parents, adored by her country, and married to Shia Davi, would cease to exist. In her place will be a stronger, faster version of her former self, one that will stay young forever. Gone would be the old Cassia-Ren that will live on only as the stuff of legend. Nickademus gave his usual knock, and this was followed by her usual invitation to come in. They both stood there in the room in complete silence with each incapable of finding the right words for a moment like this. Finally, it would be Nickademus who would break the silence first. "Cassia, are you prepared?" he asked. "I'm as prepared as 1 think I'll ever be", she said as she moved across the room and took a seat on the edge of the bed facing him. She patted the bed next to her inviting him to sit. "Come on, sit", she said. "1 promise not to bite ...that will be your job." Cassia was trying to keep the mood somewhat lighthearted. She knew that Nickademus did not want to do this and that he must be feeling terrible about it. She wanted to reassure him that he was not the one responsible for the choice she had to make. She came to Nether World by her own free will, and this was the price one had to pay for admittance. Nickademus moved slowly and sat next to her. He was as nervous as a virgin about to experience the first time at making love, sitting on her bed during such an intimate moment as the biting of the neck didn't help ease his nervousness. She turned her head to face forward and tossed back the portion of her hair closest to him to allow him gr
St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great and legendary finder of the True Cross, was appropriated in the middle ages as a British saint. The rise and persistence of this legend harnessed Helena's imperial and sacred status to portray her as a romance heroine, source of national pride, and a legitimising link to imperial Rome. This study is the first to examine the origins, development, political exploitation and decline of this legend, tracing its momentum and adaptive power from Anglo-Saxon England to the twentieth century. Using Latin, English, and Welsh texts, as well as church dedications and visual arts, the author examines the positive effect of the British legend on the cult of St Helena and the reasons for its wide appeal and durability in both secular and religious contexts. Two previously unpublished vitae of St Helena are included in the volume: a Middle English verse vita from the South English Legendary, and a Latin prose vita by the twelfth-century hagiographer, Jocelin of Furness. Antonina Harbus is Professor in the Department of English at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
An examination of Magnus Maximus's life indicates that the Roman order survived in Britain for far longer than is usually credited, both politically and to a large extent materially.
The idea of prehistory dates from the nineteenth century, but Richard Bradley contends that it is still a vital area for research. He argues that it is only through a combination of oral tradition and the experience of encountering ancient material culture that people were able to formulate a sense of their own pasts without written records. The Past in Prehistoric Societies presents case studies which extend from the Palaeolithic to the early Middle Ages and from the Alps to Scandinavia. It examines how archaeologists might study the origin of myths and the different ways in which prehistoric people would have inherited artefacts from the past. It also investigates the ways in which ancient remains might have been invested with new meanings long after their original significance had been forgotten. Finally, the author compares the procedures of excavation and field survey in the light of these examples. The work includes a large number of detailed case studies, is fully illustrated and has been written in an extremely accessible style.
The most complete guide ever to the real Arthurian world and the legends that surround it He defeated the Saxons so decisively at the Battle of Badon that he held the Saxon invasion of Britain at bay for at least a generation. He has inspired more stories, books and films than any other historical or legendary figure. But who was the real King Arthur? Here is the most comprehensive guide to the real Arthurian world and the legends that surround and often obscure it. Sifting fact from fancy, Mike Ashley reveals the originals not only of King Arthur but also of Merlin. Guinevere, Lancelot and the knights of the Round Table - as well as all the major Arthurian sites. He traces each of the legends as they developed and brilliantly shows how they were later used to inspire major works of art, poetry, fiction and film. There is clear evidence that. The Arthurian legends arose from the exploits of not just one man, but at least three originating in Wales, Scotland and Brittany The true historical Arthur really existed and is distantly related to the present royal family The real Arthur and the real Merlin never knew each other The real Lancelot was not British but was closer to a sixth-century asylum-seeker The Holy Grail legend probably grew out of a cosmic catastrophe that could have destroyed most of civilization
