The First Girl Child

We do not live to endure. We endure so someday we can . . . live. I have endured a great deal, but there have only been a few moments when I have truly lived.

And in the end, we can only sacrifice ourselves. To sacrifice others is no sacrifice at all.

Women don’t make great warriors,” Ivo spat. Dagmar didn’t respond. He didn’t agree. A mother was the fiercest warrior of all.

Be careful what you fear,” Ivo replied, grave. “We draw the attention of the fates when our fear grows too loud. The fates are cruel, and they will reward you with what you fear most.

Because the beauty of the fall was worth the pain of landing.

I am yours, Bayr. Always. My heart is yours. My spirit is yours, and even when I’m dead, I will refuse Valhalla, and I will follow at your heels, watching over you.

We do not live to endure. We endure so someday we can . . . live.

am Desdemona. I am Alannah. I am Ivo, and I am Bayr. I am the daughters of the clans, and the keepers of the temple. I am Alba’s mother, and Dagmar’s friend.” Her voice broke on Dagmar’s name, but she pressed on. “I am everyone you have wronged. And I am Ghost, the new Highest Keeper.

I’ve come to believe that home is not a place. Home is inside of us. Home is the people we love. Home is what we strive for.

To sh-show you mercy now would be to sh-show no mercy to those you will p-prey upon next.

It was you who taught me that the only sacrifice with any power is the one that is willingly made

We are abused. We are used. We are bartered and abandoned. But rarely are we loved.

Be careful what you fear, Ivo replied, grave. We draw the attention of the fates when our fear grows too loud. The fates are cruel, and they will reward you with what you fear most.

the sun was a nosy stranger, and it found its way inside.

There will be no keepers either, though I’m convinced you, Master Ivo, were hatched from an egg,

But I look back on the days when he was a newborn babe, when I had to hold him all night to keep him from crying, and I long for that time. There will never be a night like that again.

Being among the trees was like being watched. No . . . not watched. Watched over. Being acknowledged, being seen, but not being judged. “We welcome you,” the trees whispered. They welcomed him, yet they didn’t impose upon him or ask to know his secrets.

To love was to be at the mercy of someone else. To love was to be controlled.

With abilities and strength like he has, it makes sense that he would quickly gain confidence. Confidence and independence go hand in hand. But I look back on the days when he was a newborn babe, when I had to hold him all night to keep him from crying, and I long for that time. There will never be a night like that again.’ -Dagmar, The First Girl Child.

Bay'r's anger began to evaporate in the midmorning sunlight, and he looked again on the valley of Dolphys and saw her with new eyes. He didn't want to lead. But mayhaps he could serve. Mayhaps it was the same thing.

You are perfect–you are marvelous and terrible–in your weakness.

Every time the clouds wrapped themselves around those cliffs, I would throw myself from them.” “Why?” he pressed. “Because the beauty of the fall was worth the pain of landing.