The Ghost of Loss by Geillis Saille
Kirkus Reviews said, “Because Eluned loves books, bookworms will be abundantly rewarded throughout the tale, with frequent references to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, T.S. Eliot, Lewis Carroll, and more. Welsh mythology heavily influences the princess’ story and world, so fans of Lloyd Alexander’s classic Chronicles of Prydain series should find much to enjoy here.”
To make the Princess Eluned’s love of literature even more real, I added some writers and poets who were contemporaneous to her time frame. I also began each book in the Hallowed Treasures Saga with a quote as well as adding quotes to the title page for each Part of the saga.
From The Path to Misery:
“And for a long time yet, led by some wondrous power, I am fated to journey hand in hand with my strange heroes and to survey the surging immensity of life, to survey it through the laughter that all can see and through the tears unseen and unknown b anyone.” ~~Nicolai Gogol, Dead Souls
PROLOGUE
The quote from the prologue is taken from a book written by one of Eluned’s favorite authors. She has re-reads this book while at King Arawn’s Castle Pwyll in Prythew, Kingdom of Annewven.
“The most difficult path to tread is the way that leads to one’s own soul.” ~~Geillis Saille, The Ghost of Loss
PART ONE
“Let us, then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.”
~~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Call her moonchild
Dancing in the shallow of a river
Lonely moonchild
Dreaming in the shadow of a willow.
Talking to the trees of a cobweb strange
Sleeping on the steps of a fountain
Waving silver wands to the night-birds song
Waiting for the sun on the mountain.”
~~King Crimson, Moonchild from In The Court of the Crimson King
PART TWO
“From there to here, from here to there,
Funny things are everywhere.”
~~Dr. Suess, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
“The rusted chains of prison moons
Are shattered by the sun.
I walk a road, horizons change
The tournament’s begun.
The purple piper plays his tune.
The choir softly sing:
Three lullabies in an ancient tongue.
For the court of the crimson king.”
~~King Crimson, The Court of the Crimson King from In the Court of the Crimson King
PART THREE
“We travel, some of us forever,
to see other states, other lives, other souls.”
~~Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 7: 1966-1974
“Sailing on the wind
In a milk white gown
Dropping circle stones on a sundial
Playing hide and seek
With the ghosts of dawn
Waiting for a smile from a sun child.”
~~King Crimson, Moonchild from In the Court of the Crimson King
The Divine Presence by Schlomo
From In Lonely Exile:
“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”
~~T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding
PART THREE CONTINUED
While in Prythew, in Book I, Eluned buys Yona a volume of poetry by the poet Schlomo. In Book II, Yona brings the book along with her on the Quest.
“Fire descends in the night,
Lightning and thunder quicken the darkness,
A dream takes root as I sleep.”
~~Schlomo, The Divine Presence
“This is my Quest to follow that star,
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far,
To fight for the right without question of pause,
To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause!”
~~Joe Darion, The Man of LaMancha
PART IV
“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?
Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams–
this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness–and
maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
~~Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
“Deep into that darkness peering,
long I stood there, wondering, fearing,
doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal
ever dared to dream before.”
~~Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
The Gunslinger’s Troth by Delevan Aden
From Death’s Dark Shadows
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
~~Albert Einstein
PART V
The first quote is taken from Eluned’s favorite romance novel. It is one of the books she found hidden in a secret compartment in the window seat of her tower bedroom. The books belonged to her great-grandmother, Queen Fuchsia, who abandoned her husband and child to pursue her dream of acting. The book is mentioned in both In Lonely Exile and Death’s Dark Shadows.
“Honey, you ain’t never gonna find peace in this world lookin’ down the barrel of a gun.”
~~Delevan Aden, The Gunslinger’s Troth
“If there is to be any peace it will come through being, not having.”
~~Henry Miller
PART VI
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
~~Lao Tzu
“All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”
~~Julian of Norwich
Which quote is your favorite?
As I am currently finishing Death’s Dark Shadows, I don’t yet have the quotes for what will be PART VII. BUT, The Path to Misery and In Lonely Exile, can both be purchased through your local bookstore or at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, both in paperback or on Kindle or Nook.
AMAZON:
The Path to Misery: Book I in the Hallowed Treasures Saga
In Lonely Exile: Book II in the Hallowed Treasures Saga on Kindle
or in paperback here: In Lonely Exile
Barnes & Noble:
The Path to Misery: Book I in the Hallowed Treasures Saga
In Lonely Exile: Book II in the Hallowed Treasures Saga
The Wilderness Road 
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