“Men brave and generous live the best lives, seldom will they sorrow; then there are fools, afraid of everything, who grumble instead of giving.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“It is like a man | whom no one loves,-- Why should his life be long?”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“Exchange of words | with a witless ape Thou must not ever make.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“Obłęd i szał, rozczarowanie i żal,
Siądź tu, a opowiem tobie
o męce tęsknoty
I zdwojonym bólu.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“And I said to him that I had made a vow in my turn, that I would never marry a man who knew the meaning of fear.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“I bid thee be wary, | but be not fearful; (Beware most with ale or another's wife,”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“A brand from a brand | is kindled and burned, And fire from fire begotten; And man by his speech | is known to men, And the stupid by their stillness.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“Wiem, gdzie jesion stoi, Yggdrasill się zowie,
Lśniącą wilgotnością pień jego zroszony;
Z niego idzie rosa, co w dolinach spada,
Koło Urs studni wciąż zielony stoi.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“What hast thou to ask? | why comest thou hither? Othin, I know | where thine eye is hidden.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“40. The giantess old | in Ironwood sat, In the east, and bore | the brood of Fenrir; Among these one | in monster's guise Was soon to steal | the sun from the sky.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“-Svøp nu, Freyja, vindtøiet om dig - vi skal ake, vi to til Jotunheimer!
-Meget mandgalen kan du mig kalde, om jeg aker med dig til Jotunheimer!”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“13. Fili, Kili, | Fundin, Nali, Heptifili, | Hannar, Sviur, Frar, Hornbori, | Fræg and Loni, Aurvang, Jari, | Eikinskjaldi.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“That is the true mingling of kinship when a man can tell someone all his thoughts; anything is better than to be fickle; he is no true friend who only says pleasant things.”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“37. “That counsel I tenth, that thou trust never oath of an outlaw’s son;”
― quote from The Poetic Edda
“Well, I saved you today, didn’t I? Just like I saved you before. You walked out of the Bastion free, without a scratch, and if any Cokyrian but me had caught you with that dagger, you might be drawn and quartered by now.”
“You didn’t save me from that butcher,” I said irritably. “But you’re right. About today, I mean.” I could sense his satisfaction, which irritated me all the more. “So accept my thanks, but stay away from me. We’re not friends, you know.”
I was nearing my neighborhood and didn’t want anyone to see me with him. He stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop.
“We’re not friends yet. But you’ve thought about it. And you just thanked me.”
“Are you delusional?”
“No. You just said thank you to the faceless Cokyrian soldier who arrested you.”
“Don’t you ever stop?” I demanded, trying in vain to move around him.
“I haven’t even started.”
“What does that mean?”
There was silence as Saadi glanced up and down the street. “I want to know where you got that dagger. Or at least what story you told.”
“Why don’t you ask Commander Narian? The two of you seemed fairly close.”
“Quit making jokes.”
“I haven’t made a single one.”
“Well?”
“It was my father’s,” I said, clinging to the lie Queen Alera had provided, whether by mistake or not.
“Oh.” This seemed to take Saadi aback.
“And now, because of you, I don’t have it anymore.” I knew I was pressing my luck, but I wanted to make him feel bad.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, seeming sincere enough.
Thinking I had maybe, finally, succeeded in getting him to leave me alone, I stepped around him.
“Shaselle?”
I stopped again, without the slightest idea why.
“Your father--what was he like?”
The question shocked me; I also wasn’t sure I could answer it without crying. But Saadi appeared so genuinely interested that I couldn’t disregard him.
“You have no right to ask me that,” I answered out of principle. “But for your information, he was the strongest, bravest, kindest and best-humored man I ever knew. And none of it was because he took what was handed to him.”
For the second time, I attempted a dramatic departure.
“Shaselle?”
“What now?” I incredulously exclaimed.
“Do you have plans tomorrow?”
“What?”
“I have a day off duty. We could--”
“No!” I shouted. “What is this? You expect me to spend a day with you, a Cokyrian--a Cokyrian I can’t stand?”
“Yes,” he affirmed, despite my outburst.
I laughed in disbelief. “I won’t. This is ridiculous. You’re ridiculous. Enjoy your time off duty with your own kind.”
Turning, I sprinted down the street, and though he called after me yet again, I ignored him. As I neared my house, I glanced behind once or twice to assure myself he wasn’t following. He was nowhere in sight.
I reached the security of my home just in time for dinner, and just in time to cut off Mother’s growing displeasure--the first step in her progression to anger. I smiled at her, hurried to wash, and was a perfect lady throughout the meal. Afterward I retired to my room, picking a book from my shelf to occupy me until my eyes drooped. Instead of words on pages, however, I kept seeing Saadi’s face--his clear blue eyes, that irritating hair, those freckles across his nose that made me lose willpower.
What if I had offended him earlier? He had only asked to spend time with me, and I had mocked him. But he was Cokyrian. It was ludicrous for him to be pursuing my company. It was dangerous for me to be in his. And that, I suddenly realized, was part of the reason I very much wanted to be with him. Saadi aggravated me, confused me, scared me, and yet I could no longer deny that he intrigued me in a way no one else ever had.”
― Cayla Kluver, quote from Sacrifice
“There is nothing so stupid or dangerous or painful that people won’t eagerly do it, if by doing it they will make others believe they are better or stronger or more honorable. I have seen people poison themselves, destroy their children, abandon their mates, cut themselves off from the world, all so that others would think they were a better sort of person.”
― Orson Scott Card, quote from The Worthing Saga
“opposing party was an offshoot of the Libertarians. They were called the Eliminationist Party, and their platform was predicated on the belief that corporate society had evolved beyond the need for government at all. For decades the Eliminationists remained a fringe party because of their shortsighted insistence on scrapping all government everywhere. Because corporate society was inherently conservative, and the party’s platform too radical, the Eliminationist movement never got off the ground.”
― Dani Kollin, quote from The Unincorporated Man
“For the first time I was learning how much easier it was to leave than to stay behind and love.”
― Laurie Lee, quote from As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
“To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav’n.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained
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