In the tradition of the historical fiction of Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear, USA Today bestselling author Roseanne Bittner tells a story of Native America sure to capture you and carry you on an adventure of love and hate, good and evil, life and death in Mystic Dancers, first in a series. In 1833, Star Dancer, a Sichangu (Brulé Sioux), is promised in marriage to Stalking Wolf, an Oglala warrior whom she has never met. What begins as a loveless union develops into a moving story of a man and a woman led by powers beyond their control. Dreams, visions, and mystic experiences fill this provocative love story that launches a saga about the Lakota and their first meeting with the White Man. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The white buffalo is a sacred and holy creature to the Lakota. Buffalo Dreamer, a holy woman, and her husband, Rising Eagle, have not only been blessed to see the white buffalo, they have eaten of its heart and have been told by the sacred beast that as long as the Lakota have the white buffalo hide, all will be well. But all is not well. White hunters have stolen the sacred white robe and great misfortune has befallen the Lakota. Settlers continue to invade Lakota territory, backed by vicious cavalry forces that massacre women and children. The Lakota are starving and their anger is growing. Led by Rising Eagle, a great force of Lakota and other tribes wage war upon the white man. Together they battle to regain the land stolen from them, to protect the precious buffalo the white man wantonly destroys, and to search for the sacred white robe. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The white buffalo is a sacred and holy creature to the Lakota. Buffalo Dreamer, a holy woman, and her husband, Rising Eagle, have not only been blessed to see the white buffalo, they have eaten of its heart and have been told by the sacred beast that as long as the Lakota have the white buffalo hide, all will be well. But all is not well. White hunters have stolen the sacred white robe and great misfortune has befallen the Lakota. Settlers continue to invade Lakota territory, backed by vicious cavalry forces that massacre women and children. The Lakota are starving and their anger is growing. Led by Rising Eagle, a great force of Lakota and other tribes wage war upon the white man. Together they battle to regain the land stolen from them, to protect the precious buffalo the white man wantonly destroys, and to search for the sacred white robe.
ISBN: 0312865120 TITLE: Mystic Visions AUTHOR: Bittner, RosanneEXCERPT: Chapter OneEmerging from swirling clouds, the warriors rode out of the sky toward Buffalo Dreamer. Their bodies glimmered a ghostly white. Coup feathers and quilled ornaments decorated their hair. Colorful quills adorned lance covers, quivers, leggings, moccasins, and armbands. Each man wore a bone hairpipe breastplate tied to his otherwise naked chest. Some wore a bearclaw necklace. Their faces were painted black, making the whites of their eyes seem to glow.Buffalo Dreamer watched them, astounded and forward in thundering glory, their long black hair trailed in the wind. Eagles circled above them like sentinels. The hooves of galloping warhorses rumbled like thunder, but even though the riders'' mouths were open as though shouting war cries, there was no sound.Buffalo Dreamer tried to run, but she couldn''t move. Sod sprayed in all directions as panting steeds charged past her, determination on the faces of the warriors, who stared straight ahead as though unaware of her. Now she could see they were Lakota, but men of another nation rode with them-Shihenna, those the white man called Cheyenne. Suddenly the terrain changed, and Buffalo Dreamer found herself standing on a ridge, looking down at many white men wearing blue coats. More Lakota and Cheyenne rode out of the sky, until they numbered in the thousands. The fierce warriors surrounded the men in blue coats, circling, killing, until the white men were pounded into the earth and disappeared in a pool of blood. The warriors rode back into the clouds, carrying scalps and sabers, their eyes gleaming with victory.The clouds swirled around and engulfed them, then fell to the ground and took the form of a white buffalo. The sacred beast stared at Buffalo Dreamer, its eyes bright red. Crimson tears of blood trickled down the white hairs of its face. "It is the beginning of the end," it spoke. "When next I appear to you, I will die. Eat of my heart, and keep my robe with you always, for protection. And beware of the men in blue coats."Buffalo Dreamer awoke wiraid. War shields of buffalo hide hung at the sides of their painted horses, the shields decorated with hand-drawn pictures of personal spirit guides: eagles, horses, wolves, bears, birds, beavers, suns, stars, lightning bolts. As the warriors charged seemed too quiet, and Buffalo Dreamer found it difficult to remove herself from the very real dream she had just experienced. She shivered, for her dreams carried great significance. Though only nineteen summers in age, she was considered a holy woman by the Lakota. In her medicine bag she carried the hairs of her spirit guide, the white buffalo. Among all living Lakota, she alone had seen and touched the sacred beast.She pulled a wolfskin shawl around her naked body and looked at her husband, who slept soundly beside her. Because Rising Eagle was a man of vision and possessed great spiritual power, she knew she must tell him about her dream. She watched him quietly for a moment longer, reluctant to disturb him. In sleep, he appeared just a common man: peaceful, calm. Awake, no man could match him in strength and bravery, in hunting or in raiding. He had even fought the great hump back bear to win her hand in marriage, for her father had demanded the hide of a grizzly as part of her marriage price. Rising Eagle still bore scars on his throat, chest, and back from his struggle with the fearsome beast. Other markings spoke further of Rising Eagle''s prowess: a deep scar on his left calf from a battle with Crow warriors; a narrow white scar ran from above his left eye over his nose and across his right cheek, making him appear fierce and intimidating. He had sacrificed his flesh more than once at the annual Sun Dance. And twice Wakan-Tanka''s messenger, the Feathered One, had spoken to Rising Eagle in a vision, making Rising Eagle a highly honored man among the Lakota, one whose prayers were heard beyond the farthe
In Mystic Dreamers, best-selling author Rosanne Bittner began a compelling saga with the meeting of Buffalo Dreamer, a holy woman, and Rising Eagle, a warrior whose powers were unmatched, for he had been blessed by the Feathered One. Now, in a new story sure to enthrall both new readers and devoted fans, Bittner follows Buffalo Dreamer, Rising Eagle, and their children through the great Indian wars and the settling of the West, where, in addition to the risks and rewards of daily life, they and their Lakota tribe must face the influx of white settlers and soldiers into their lands and into their lives. In Mustic Visions, we experience Buffalo Dreamer's increasingly powerful visions of the bluecoats and a coming war. We learn the fate of Little Big Boy and Never Sleeps, and of Never Sleeps's mother, Fall Leaf Woman. And we meet the one who is destined to lead the Lakota People in their greatest trial ever, Crazy Horse! At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
What would happen if dreams came true?It's said that the world is made of dreamers. Which is a lovely thought and all, except for when those dreams come with a foretelling of the future. In order to find out what she really wants, Fiona MacAuliffe has spent her life running from who she truly is. Determined to ignore her gifts in order to make her own way in the world, Fi long ago said goodbye to her family's pub in Grace's Cove and set off to follow her heart. Little does she know that it is her heart that will betray her when she returns home.
This remarkable tarot emerges directly from the mystical realms of dream and vision, manifesting completely fresh imagery. Pregnant with possibilities that shine light upon the hidden and reveal new pathways of understanding, each image--direct from the author's own dream experiences--is an original offering rich with powerful insights designed to awaken that which is essential for moving forward on our journey of self-discovery. The stunning deck and accompanying guidebook invite you to discover the wisdom and truth that lie beyond the limited view of waking reality and to draw upon the power of your unconscious--the insight of your psyche--to meet life's challenges and achieve your goals.
A schoolteacher still reeling from the tragedies of the Great War and the influenza epidemic travels to the Middle East in this memorable and passionate novel “Marvelous . . . a stirring story of personal awakening set against the background of a crucial moment in modern history.”—The Washington Post Agnes Shanklin, a forty-year-old schoolteacher from Ohio, has come into a modest inheritance that allows her to take the trip of a lifetime to Egypt and the Holy Land. Arriving at the Semiramis Hotel just as the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference convenes, she is freed for the first time from her mother’s withering influence and finds herself being wooed by a handsome, mysterious German. At the same time, Agnes—with her plainspoken American opinions—is drawn into the company of Winston Churchill, T. E. Lawrence, and Lady Gertrude Bell, who will, in the space of a few days, redraw the world map to create the modern Middle East. As they change history, Agnes too will find her own life transformed forever. With prose as graceful and effortless as a seductive float down the Nile, Mary Doria Russell illuminates the long, rich history of the Middle East with a story that brilliantly elucidates today’s headlines.
