Eye of the Sword Blog Tour - Guest post from author Karyn Henley

I really enjoyed reading Breath of Angel, the first book in Karyn Henley's Angelaeon Circle series (reviewed here), so I am very excited to be the first stop for the blog tour for book two, Eye of the Sword. I will also be posting for the blog tour tomorrow, February 28, with my review of Eye of the Sword. So to start off the tour, here is a guest post from Karyn about the mythology of the angels from the series:

A Window into the World of Angels

I love windows. I love to hear and watch the world go by. Maybe that’s why I like to write. My mind is a window into other worlds where the rules are different, where mysteries wait, where characters welcome me into their lives.

The Angelaeon books originated when, through the window of my mind, I saw a fantasy universe of dozens of inhabited planets, each connected to the central realm of Avellan by a lightbridge, known to some as the stairway to heaven. Angels travel these lightbridges, or stairways, taking gifts (skills, arts, virtues), aid, and messages into each world, then escorting the souls of the dying back “across the veil” to Avellan.

But in one of these worlds, the stairway was destroyed, so the angels in that world (the Angelaeon) can’t return to the heavens. What’s more, without the stairway of light, the world itself has become blighted. The world is slowly dying.

Through my mind’s window, I see that most of the angels in that dying world have blended in with humanity. Most don’t have wings. That’s probably because I grew up reading the Bible. In biblical accounts, humans often mistake angels for ordinary people. Sometimes the angels glow or wear shining garments, but they’re never described as having wings. The only exceptions are cherubim and seraphim, but they’re not technically “angels.” The word “angel” means simply “messenger.” Cherubim and seraphim attend God’s throne and are not the angels who encounter humans.

Angel mythology, constructed over several centuries, offers several different hierarchies (or rankings) of angels. Cherubim, seraphim, and ophanim rank highest in most accounts, including St. Aquinas’s hierarchy based on an ancient list of angels. I tweaked Aquinas’s ranks to fit my fantasy world, where “angel” (messenger) is one of the lowest ranks and the only one with wings. I call the winged angels Erielyon.

My angels are sentient forms of light energy, so they have auras, which only they can see or sense. The color of each angel’s aura depends on the angel’s personality. Angelaeon (the good angels) emit pure auras. Malevolents (rebel angels) bear tainted auras, rusty or moldy or stained.

The Archae, angels who guard my world’s elements, never took on flesh, so they exist in spirit form, while other angels are trapped in human form. Angels, both spirit and flesh, can bear children who are angels. Half-angels (Nephili – “shadowed ones”) may inherit characteristics of their angel parent, such as extended lifespans and the ability to sense auras. Other giftings or sensitivities manifest as Nephili mature.

One of my joys as a writer is taking readers to the window and showing them my world. Through the window of a book, you can view a new world. Or view the old world in a new way. You want to see angels? I think I know just the window for you.


To learn more about Karyn Henley and the Angelaeon Circle series, you can visit her website. Also, be sure to check out this list of the other blog tour stops.