Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

was not due to the need to find new grazing lands as the seasons and climate shifted, or the search for better trade. Instead, the Carpathians\' movements were driven by a great purpose: to find a land that would have the right earth, a soil with the kind of richness that would greatly enhance their rejuvenative powers.
    Over the centuries, they migrated westward (some six thousand years ago), until they at last found their perfect homeland-their susu -in the Carpathian Mountains, whose long arc cradled the lush plains of the kingdom of Hungary. (The kingdom of Hungary flourished for over a millennium-making Hungarian the dominant language of the Carpathian Basin-until the kingdom\'s lands were split among several countries after World War I: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Austria, and modern Hungary.) Other peoples from the Southern Urals (who shared the Carpathian Over the centuries, they migrated westward (some six thousand years ago), until they at last found their perfect homeland-their \"susu\"-in the Page 212

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    Carpathian Mountains, whose long arc cradled the lush plains of the kingdom of Hungary. (The kingdom of Hungary flourished for over a millennium-making Hungarian the dominant language of the Carpathian Basin-until the kingdom\'s lands were split among several countries after World War I: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Austria, and modern Hungary.) Other peoples from the Southern Urals (who shared the Carpathian language, but were not Carpathians) migrated in different directions. Some ended up in Finland, which accounts for why the modern Hungarian and Finnish languages are among the contemporary descendents of the ancient Carpathian language. Even though they are tied forever to their chosen Carpathian homeland, the wandering of the Carpathians continues, as they search the world for the answers that will enable them to bear and raise their offspring without difficulty.
    Because of their geographic origins, the Carpathian views on healing share much with the larger Eurasian shamanistic tradition. Probably the closest modern representative of that tradition is based in Tuva (and is referred to as \"Tuvinian Shamanism\")-see the map above.
    The Eurasian shamanistic tradition-from the Carpathians to the Siberian shamans-held that illness originated in the human soul, and only later manifested as various physical conditions. Therefore, shamanistic healing, while not neglecting the body, focused on the soul and its healing. The most profound illnesses were understood to be caused by \"soul departure,\" where all or some part of the sick, person\'s soul has wandered away from the body (into the nether realms), or has been captured or possessed by an evil spirit, or both.
    The Carpathians belong to this greater Eurasian shamanistic tradition and share its viewpoints. While the Carpathians themselves did not succumb to illness, Carpathian healers understood that the most profound wounds were also accompanied by a similar \"soul departure.\"
    Upon reaching the diagnosis of \"soul departure,\" the healer-shaman is then required to make a spiritual journey into the nether worlds to recover the soul. The shaman may have to overcome tremendous challenges along the way, particularly: fighting the demon or vampire who has possessed his friend\'s soul.
    \"Soul departure\" doesn\'t require a person to be unconscious (although that certainly can be the case as well).
    It was understood that a person could still appear to be conscious, even talk and interact with others, and yet be missing a part of their soul. The experienced healer or shaman would instantly see the problem nonetheless, in subtle signs that others might miss: the person\'s attention wandering every now and then, a lessening in their enthusiasm about life, chronic depression, a diminishment in the brightness of their \"aura,\" and the like.
    2. THE LESSER HEALING CHANT OF THE CARPATHIANS
    Kepä Sarna Pus(The Lesser Healing Chant) is used for wounds that are merely physical in nature. The Carpathian healer leaves his body and enters the wounded Carpathian\'s body to heal great mortal wounds from the inside out using pure energy. He proclaims, \"I offer freely, my life for your life,\" as he gives his blood to the injured Carpathian. Because the Carpathians are of the earth and bound to the soil, they are healed by the soil of their homeland. Their saliva is also often used for its rejuvenative