Dark Triumph

Hate cannot be fought with hate. Evil cannot be conquered by darkness. Only love has the power to conquer them both.

It is a good thing I no longer have a heart, because if I did, it would surely break.

And just as love has two sides, so too does Death. While Ismae will serve as His mercy, I will not, for that is not how He fashioned me. Every death I have witnessed, every horror I have endured, has forged me to be who I am -- Death's justice.

I must have faith, but having faith is hard, so very much harder than despair.

I am left with the conviction that an avalanche would be easier to dissuade than that man.

You are not my nursemaid. Remember, I am rescuing you.

I cannot tell her I have been moping over a broken heart when I have worked so hard to convince her I have no heart at all.

In the distance a wolf howls. Let it come, I think. Beast will most likely simply howl back, and the creature will either turn tail and run or fall into line behind him, like the rest of us have.

For all that I have kissed before, I have never felt anything like this. It is as if I have swallowed a tiny piece of the sun, its warmth and light reaching into every corner of my soul and chasing away the shadows. I surrender to that kiss - surrender to the strength and the courage and the sheer goodness of the man.

Truly, we are the gods' own children, forged in the fire of our tortured pasts, but also blessed with unimaginable gifts.

I am in desperate need of killing something.

But most of all, faith is love. Hate cannot be fought with hate. Evil cannot be conquered by darkness. Only love has the power to conquer them both.

If you are not careful, soon you will have men locking themselves in dungeons so that you can rescue them.

He promised that when he grew up, he would slay all the monsters

I almost hope it is a mouth that opens directly to hell, for of a certainty, we could use the heat.

I want you to be with me for the right reasons. Not because you feel you must or because you fear we will die, but because you want it with your heart and your body.

It is a raw and uncomfortable realization that Beast is partly behind this newfound will to live. Not for him, but because he reminded me of what life has to offer. He lives life so joyously-it is impossible not to want that joy for oneself.

Besides, he is one of the few things that has ever loved me and survived.

The He reaches out and lays His cold hand on my head, and His grace and understanding fill me, burning away all vestiges of d'Albret's evil darkness weighing on my soul until the only darkness that remains is that of beauty. The darkness of mystery, and questions, and the endless night sky, and the deep caverns of the earth. I know then that what Beast said was true: I am a survivor, and the taint of the d'Albrets was but a disguise I wore so that I could pass among them. It is no more a true part of me than the cloak on my back or the jewels I wear. And just as love has two sides, so too does Death. While Ismae will serve as His mercy. I will not, for that is not how He fashioned me. Every death I have witnessed, every horror I have endured, has forged me to be who I am - Death's justice. If I had not experienced these things firsthand, then the desire to protect the innocent would not burn so brightly within me. There in the darkness, shielded by my father's grace, I bow my head and weep. I weep for all that I have lost, but also for what I have found, for there are tears of joy mixed in with those of sorrow. I let the light of His great love fill me, burning away all the tendrils and traces of d'Albret's darkness, until I am clean, and whole, and new.

A short while later, as I stare down at the bodies of the six men I have just killed, I cannot help but wonder: Do I love killing? Of a certainty, I love the way my body and weapons move as one; I revel in the knowledge of where to strike for maximum impact. And of a certainty, I am good at it. But so is Beast. He is perhaps even better at it than I am, and yet for all that, he feels as bright and golden as a lion who roars in the face of his enemies and stalks them in broad daylight. Whereas I—I am a dark panther, slinking unseen among the shadows, silent and deadly. But we are both great cats, are we not? And do not even bright things cast a shadow?

He flashes a grin that is two parts death and one part humor.

Marveling at how easily he has absolved me, I step forward and take his big hands into my own. “Not you, for you are as different from them as day is from night.

It is unwise for them to be so very happy, for the gods will feel the need to humble us.

Indeed, I am as skilled as any alchemist, but instead of turning lead into gold, I turn my fear into daring, and assuredly that is a far greater trick.

Men of power are unwilling to believe anything ill of their own kind.

I will not let them take you alive.” Of all the things he could have said, that is the one thing that comforts me the most. “Nor I you,” I say around a strange lump that has formed in my throat.

Some days, like today, my aim and timing is so true it takes my breath away and I feel certain Mortain’s hand guides my own.