The Lifemate Mythology – Dark Legacy

With over 30 books in this long-running series that began in 1999 the challenge is always how to keep it fresh and expand the Carpathians and their mythology. At the time the first book in the series, Dark Prince, was published, there weren’t any vampire books being written for the romance genre. The idea of vampire-like creatures that protect humans and kill vampires was new. That vampires came from these same Carpathians, ones who had not found their lifemate and gave in to the darkness, was unique.


At that time, the mythology behind the Carpathians included the fact that converting a human woman into a Carpathian took three blood exchanges. Like classic vampire lore, Carpathians, as well as vampires, could not withstand the sunlight, and they slept in the earth during those hours. Two very unique pieces of Carpathian mythology included the fact that vampires came from Carpathians. A Carpathian who gave in to the darkness and became evil turned into a vampire. Vampires were once the friends and loved ones of Carpathians, making their turn to evil both dangerous because these beings knew Carpathian people, lands and law, and made it sad because Carpathian hunters were sent to kill those who were once their friends or family.



The second unique piece of Carpathian lore had to do with “Lifemates”. A Carpathian had one and only one lifemate. But, they didn’t necessarily know who that lifemate was or where they were. And, if the Carpathian male didn’t find his lifemate he lost his ability to see in color and to feel emotion, sending him beyond the brink of darkness where the allure of becoming a vampire called to them. If the Carpathian never found their lifemate they could choose to become a vampire, or they could choose to meet the sun, thus taking their own life instead of becoming an evil thing.

There was a shortage of Carpathian women, so when a soul was split the soul had to go somewhere, and in light of the lack of available Carpathian women, it went into human women who had psychic ability. Finding a lifemate was important, and once found, three blood exchanges to convert a human woman was necessary. Whether human or Carpathian, to be bound as a lifemate, the male had to say the ritual binding words. Once said, that couple were together, as one, for life.



Carpathian males were hunters, keeping humans safe from vampires or any others who would do harm to them. It was their duty to safeguard their lifemate at any and all cost. Carpathian men were born protectors. Women and children were sacred. And in Dark Prince we discover that the Carpathians are nearly extinct and there aren’t enough Carpathian women. But, as fate would have it, human women with some psychic talent could become lifemates. Whether an act of evolution or simply an unknown fact until Mikhail, the Carpathian Prince, found Raven, a human woman who’d become his lifemate, it’s not exactly clear.



With Dark Legacy, book 31 of the series, the issue of lifemates is once again addressed. The idea of lifemates hasn’t changed. Some people seem to understand exactly how lifemates work, but as time passed and there were more books it became clear that not everyone had a clear understanding. People would ask questions about why this couple couldn’t be lifemates, or why someone had to wait so long for a lifemate. There are rules that govern that and can’t simply have an exception made and still be true to the initial mythology.



Dark Legacy clarifies the issue of lifemates and revisits, briefly, what lifemates are, why they’re important and where the pairing comes from. The clarification may give some readers an epiphany regarding current characters who are still unclaimed, or it may validate what some readers already knew about lifemates. Certainly, the issue of lifemates is bound to be an interesting topic of conversation for readers of the series as they discuss characters still searching for a lifemate.