Award-winning author
Vijaya Schartz
 

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The Curse of the Lost Isle
A series in progress by Vijaya Schartz, based on authentic medieval legends

From history shrouded in myths, emerge the tumultuous lives of a post-Arthurian family of Magical Celtic Ladies, who roamed the civilized world in search of salvation from a curse. Wielding enchanted swords, they stir in their wake passions, wars, and destruction.  For centuries they struggle for survival and acceptance in a Christian world, fight the Viking hordes, found new nations, build fortresses, send the first knights to the Holy Land, give birth to kings, cities, and  new cultures.

Book I - Book II - Book III - Book IV - Book V - Book VI



 

Pagan
Queen

The legend of Pressine, Queen of Alba
806 AD

 

Set in Dumfries, on a medieval backdrop of ancient fortresses, Viking raids, epic battles, traditional feasts, enchanted swords, warrior knights, and divining basins. Pressine of Bretagne, born Fae and imbued with hereditary gifts, is sent by the Goddess she worships, to seduce King Elinas of Dumfries, and help him unite the tribes of Alba against the Viking invader. Head-strong and independent, Pressine did not expect Elinas to awaken in her such romantic feelings. He is noble, just and wise, and very attractive for his age. But her Pagan nature clashes with the religious fanaticism of the king’s heir, who sees her as anathema. Fighting the assaults of Charlemagne's bishops, struggling for acceptance in an increasingly Christian society, Pressine also seeks redemption from a curse that could be her undoing. Despite the dangers, for the love of her king, she defies the Goddess by becoming with child. But can her indomitable passion overcome the Faery curse?


 
 


Melusine

of Luxemburg

 963 AD

Set at the foundation of Luxembourg in 963. Battling the church and hiding the curse that makes her a serpent from the waist down one day each month, Melusine, daughter of Pressine, meets Sigefroid of Ardennes, a shrewd, ambitious knight, son of the Duke of Lorraine, who wants to carve himself a kingdom. To obey the Goddess, Melusine seduces him and becomes the very first Lady of Luxembourg. As Melusine struggles along her beloved count, she will build fortresses and cities and give birth to kings and emperors.  But destiny never relents, and when Sigefroid turns religious, her very survival is at stake.

 

 

 

Melusine
of Forez
1022 AD


Still afflicted by the serpent curse, Melusine haunts the wild hills and the springs of Forez, near the Burgundy border, on the road of pilgrims, troubadours and merchants. The gold in the rivers instills greed in the powerful, and many envy the rich pagan Lord of Forez, including his most trusted vassals and the Bishop of Lyons. And they'll stop at nothing to crush Melusine, whose deal with the devil (or so it is said) keeps her lover unscathed through battles. Under Melusine's protection, Forez and her Count will thrive for a while, but rumors of a mythical monster in the swamps, one with a woman's torso and a serpent's tail, will initiate a hunt...

 

 

Palatina
of Mount Canigou

First Crusade 1096

 

Condemned to guard her father's treasure in a cave under Mount Canigou in Aragon at the French-Spanish border, Palatina waited centuries for a righteous knight of her own lineage to claim it for a noble cause. When Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, claims the treasure of his ancestors to finance the First Crusade, Palatina will follow him on the greatest adventure of all times and discover life's pleasures. But unknown to the crusaders, the pagan treasure is tainted, and the damnation of their eternal soul is at stake...


 


Meliora
of the Hawk Castle

Great Armenia, during The Crusades

 

Meliora, exiled to the sanctuary of the Hawk Castle on Mount Ararat in Great Armenia, on the road to Jerusalem, is a healer and a lover by nature. Her curse, however, forbids her carnal love. In her recluse abode, with an enchanted hawk for companion, Meliora gives shelter to Saracens, Byzantine and Christian knights alike. When the knight of her heart is wounded, she falls to the curse and defies the Goddess to save him. With the wrath of the Goddess, tragedy will strike, and the consequences will change the course of the Crusades... and of Meliora's life.
 

 


Melusine
the famous and infamous
Lady of Lusignan

 

Set in Poitou, Anjou, Bretagne, and Aquitaine, in the Twelfth Century. Melusine, still cursed to become a serpent from the waist down, now once a week, founds with young Raymondin of Forez the all-powerful family of Lusignan. Wise and knowledgeable, Melusine uses supernatural powers and political intrigue to establish, with her many sons and daughters, a network of royalty throughout Europe and the Middle East. But the church is watching, and when Raymondin becomes suspicious...

 

 

 

 

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