“When Love cast me out, it was Cruelty who took pity upon me.” Kushiel’s Dart
Welcome to #Kushiel25, a fan-run project collecting photos, stories, memories, art projects and more from fans of Kushiel’s Legacy across the world to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Kushiel’s Dart being published!
Scroll through the gallery to see the beautiful marques, cosplays, art projects, and read the words that fans have shared!
Gallery
Christy Carew is a composer of music for film, TV, advertising, multimedia and the concert world. She knew she wanted to be a film music composer at the age of 6 after seeing Star Wars for the first time, telling her parents, “I want to make music like that!”
Christy has composed an album of music inspired by the Kushiel’s Legacy series. Click on the album art to open the link on Spotify!
Submitted by Christy C
“The first time I read Kushiel’s Dart I was drawn in by the world and intrigue. The story showed a world of love and desire, of faith that was very different then what I saw around me. The words Love as thou wilt and yield all rang true to me at the time. They still do 25 years later.
The first time I had the chance to meet Jacqueline Carey was at a signing at Borders bookstore. I had gotten a group of my friends together who had read the book and a few who hadn’t. Sitting there listening to her read from Naamah’s Kiss was a beautiful moment. My friends and I had the chance to tell her about the table top roleplaying game that we were involved in that we had set in her world. Getting to share the impact that her books had on each of our lives was a wondrous thing.
Over the years I have gone back to the first book in times of stress and difficulty as the story and its world is a place of comfort for me. I am grateful for having had the chance to share the story with others and I look forward to sharing it with as many people as I can.”
Submitted by Joy M., Georgia, USA
Submitted by Rindy S., USA
Submitted by @lyricalsync
Tattoo Artist: @siio_ink
Photographer: @karamelphotography
“Jacqueline sharing that our moment was as important to her as it was to me is one of the best experiences of my life. I would not have been put on the direction of acknowledging and loving myself, without Phedre. Imriel means a lot to me, as an adult who was an abused kid.
I loved Cassiel’s Servant so much, and it makes me sad that so few will read it.
Starless will always have my heart, but it was Kushiel’s Legacy that gave me the space to consider it at all.”
Submitted by Lauren L.
“I didn’t go to college until I was 40 years old in 2016. Fast forward 5.5 years, and I graduated in May 2020, the height of the pandemic. There was no graduation ceremony, at all. Years of dedication, solitude and the hardest work I’ve ever done, all uncelebrated.
A year later, the university invited us back to “graduate” with the 2021 class, as there were vaccines by that point. I knew when I enrolled in 2016 exactly what I wanted my cap to say. And here it is, celebrated a full 6.5 years after I enrolled.”
Submitted by Karryn N.
“I have the Rose on my back along with a depiction of Phedre and Joscelin. I had professional photos done and one was a tribute to Phedre’s longest night in Chosen with her red gown cosplaying Mara. So here is a photo of me cosplaying Phedre who is cosplaying Mara. :)”
Submitted by Chelsea N., South Dakota, USA
“My first encounter with the world of Terre D’Ange came during my second year at university. A gently used copy of Kushiel’s Dart was put into my hands by my partner, after they found the book in the greenroom of the theater department. The pitch they gave was an intriguing one: here is a world where sexuality was sacred, the choice of who one loved was not stigmatized and a reverence for beauty and the divine were intertwined.
I had not read a book of that length so quickly in many years yet I finished it in less than a week – college classes included. Naturally I asked for the next one, the one after that. Every little nod to history I cataloged, each new ritual was discussed, and the Court of Night Blooming Flowers stood out in an already rich tapestry of unique religious world building.
It was Valerian House that called to me the most. Having been through some truly lamentable relationships, I had locked that part of myself away. That part that had been curious about the dynamics of power but was poorly handled by past lovers. However, there was something so beautiful about the way devotion to faith and submission to sensation was portrayed and combined. While it took some time, I let myself be open to exploring again. Trying new things, facing old fears. Healing in a way that some might look at with confusion but it worked for me.
My first Longest Night Midwinter Masque was the second year it was held. The third I was volunteering to help the new organizer, by the fourth I was on the planning committee. During that third year I took another step, I had my love of Terre D’Ange inked into my skin. My Valerian marque was my second tattoo, certainly not my last, but it is my favorite. I choose clothes to display it, show it off whenever I can, credit the artist and point people in the direction of the novels from whence it came. It is the physical embodiment of a part of me that these wonderful books helped rekindle and foster in a way that I find difficult to fully express. But I am so grateful that the first novel was put into my hands because I do not exaggerate when I say it changed my life.
Ten years I have been a fan, nearly as long having the honor and privilege of celebrating these books through the Longest Night Midwinter Masque. The tenets and beauty of Terre D’Ange have brought me so much peace that I want to share them with any who will listen.
Here is to hoping that the next twenty-five years will see new readers to the same, to find the solace to love as thou wilt the way I – and so many fans – already have.”
Submitted by Lucinda B., Maryland, USA
Do you have a personal photo, story, memory, or art project to share? Send them to us at themidwintermasque@gmail.com.
If you are doing anything special for Kushiel’s Dart‘s 25th birthday, tag us on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr so we can see and tag it #Kushiel25 so everyone can share in the celebrations!
