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Imagine a love forbidden by design, yet needed as desperately as air. Could you resist it? Would you endure the consequences when it slips through your fingers? Passions like these burn hot and fast, consuming everything in their path before fading into memory and ash. We do not truly choose who we love. Love strikes without warning. Sometimes it is a spark of recognition, sometimes a force that sweeps us away before we understand what has happened. It lifts us from the life we once knew and sends us soaring, reckless and radiant, like wings caught in firelight. Forbidden love, the kind that tempts us to betray oath and duty for a single moment of closeness, is the sort of love legends are built upon. Bright. Fierce. Unforgiving. But no one can remain in flight forever. Eventually, we fall back to earth and must face what remains. Pieces of the life we once held together lie scattered, and nothing fits quite the same again. This kind of love leaves its mark. It alters the course of a life and stains memory with longing. There is no returning to what once was, only moving forward with the taste of ash and the shadow of what might have been. Iseo and Celestino burn bright in BIRTH, Book One of The Livingstone Saga. Will Celestino honor the sacred oath written in the Codex of Gargoyles, or will he betray everything to follow the call of his own heart? 2014, revised 2026 Janell Rhiannon. All rights reserved. 
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In Book One of The Livingstone Saga: Birth, Iseo and Celestino share a very passionate kiss. It is only a kiss, after all. Harmless. Innocent. Or is it? A kiss seems simple enough. You can steal a kiss, offer a kiss, return a kiss, or brush someone’s cheek in passing. But the more I think about it, the more I believe a kiss may be the most dangerous act of all. The simple motion of leaning closer, of closing the distance between two people, is often the moment when the first line is crossed. It is the dividing line between safety and risk, between what is known and what waits in the shadows ahead. A kiss is the doorway to passion. It is the first truly intimate act between lovers, and often the one most deeply missed when it disappears. Once it happens, something changes. There is a shift, subtle at first, but impossible to ignore. It becomes harder to pull back once the tide begins to rise. A single kiss can carry promise, temptation, and consequence all at once. It can lead to joy, ruin, or something far more complicated than either. That is what makes the kiss between Iseo and Celestino so dangerous. A girl and a gargoyle were never meant to love one another. Their bond defies sacred law and sworn duty, yet the pull between them refuses to be denied. And when that moment comes, when restraint finally gives way, it begins with a kiss. Celestino waited until he felt her reach toward him. It was only the slightest movement, yet it was all the permission he required. Without breaking his gaze, he lowered his head. Gentle at first, he tasted wine and honey on her lips. “You are the nectar of God and earth,” he whispered, so close that she felt the warmth of every word as his lips brushed against hers. You will have to read the rest in Book One of The Livingstone Saga: Birth. This kiss lingers across pages, unfolding slowly, equal parts tender and dangerous. Whether it remains innocent is something each reader must decide. 2014, revised 2026 Janell Rhiannon. All rights reserved. Finis Terrae and the Camino de Santiago: The Medieval Edge of the World in The Livingstone Saga8/1/2014 Finis Terrae, or the End of the Earth, was what the Romans called this rugged stretch of stone along the western coast of Hispania. When Rome ruled Spain, this windswept shoreline was believed to mark the very edge of the known world. Beyond the horizon, many believed, lay the threshold to the afterlife itself. By medieval times, that belief had transformed into something darker. The distant horizon became known as the Gates of Hell, a place where land gave way to mystery, and where faith and fear often walked hand in hand. Even today, as in centuries past, Finis Terrae remains the final destination for many Catholic pilgrims. They begin their journey in towns scattered across Europe and travel mile after mile along the famous Camino de Santiago, the Road of Saint James. Their pilgrimage ends at the ocean’s edge, where fire, water, and sky meet in a ritual both ancient and deeply personal. When I wrote this scene in The Livingstone Saga, I imagined what it would feel like to stand there at the very end of the world. To look beyond the horizon and wonder what lay waiting in the distance. I thought it might be fun to let readers stand where Iseo and Celestino once stood, gazing toward the horizon and the place medieval pilgrims believed marked the very Gates of Hell. From the Finis Terrae Chapter Celestino came up close behind her, near enough that she could feel the tension between their bodies. Below them, pilgrims built fires along the beach. They stripped their travel-worn garments and cast them into the flames before running into the cold, welcoming waves. He leaned toward her ear and whispered, “Pilgrims have no modesty.” His breath traced the line of her neck. “I am your pilgrim.” As she shivered, he stepped back and turned to watch the sun as it prepared to sink beneath the meeting of ocean and sky. “We should return to the inn.” Iseo barely heard him. Her knees trembled, and her heart pounded loudly in her ears. For a man untrained in courtly romance, Celestino plucked every hidden string of her heart. As they walked back with the sun fading behind them, the gray hush of evening wrapped them in their own private world. Celestino reached for her hand. She allowed it, and for one precious moment, they walked as lovers beneath the first emerging stars at the end of the world. 2014, revised 2026 Janell Rhiannon. All rights reserved. Santiago de Compostela Cathedral and the Origins of Iseo and Celestino in The Livingstone Saga8/1/2014 The history of Iseo and Celestino begins in the famous Cathedral in Santiago, Spain. The city's roots stretch far into Spain's Celtic and Roman past. After the apostle James the Greater was beheaded, his body was taken back to Santiago, Spain. This connection to Saint James is what made the first Romanesque chapel (that was burned down by the Moor al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir) and the current cathedral (completed in 1129 AD) so famous. Santiago is located in the northwestern region of Spain about 20 miles from the sea. It is one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations in Europe. Here, at Santiago de Compostela, this where Iseo first studied the art of carving livingstone, and where she "birthed" Celestino under the moonlight, as recorded in chapter one. For almost three hundred years, gargoyles had been carved at this sight. Primarily because the "Devil's Quarry" was relatively close by. To this day, the exact location of the quarry, where pockets of livingstone were known to exist, has remained a tightly guarded secret. There are subtle reminders left behind in the construction that speak to the sacred mission of the Makers (creators of gargoyles) and the raging battle between Heaven and Hell. The Portico de Gloria is the primary architectural feature that holds clues of the hidden history. Primarily, there are the numerous relief sculptures of Saint James himself and the Apocalypse. The representation of demons and beasts in the portico represents how glory triumphs over evil, and is a clue that gargoyles lived in this cathedral. This includes, the demons on tympanum of the left door (arch over the door). There is a very strong correlation between the depiction of demons on churches, and the little known livingstone workshops. |
Janell Rhiannon
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