A Gathering of Shadows

too little of something is just as dangerous as too much

Standing there on display was painful enough.
Now came the truly unfortunate task of socializing.

Impossibility is a thing that begs to be disproven,”

Strength and weakness are tangled things,” the Aven Essen had said. “They look so much alike, we often confuse them, the way we confuse magic and power.”

Politics is a dance until the moment it becomes a war.

you see things like friends and fondness as weapons instead of shields

“No eternal soul? It’s unnatural.”
“On the contrary,” said Kell. “It is the most natural thing in the world. Nature is made of cycles, and we are made of nature. What is unnatural is believing in an infallible man and a nice place waiting in the sky.”

People survived by being cautious, but they got ahead by being bold.

If there is a god, she thought, a celestial body, a heavenly power, or anyone above—or below—who might just like to see me live another day, for pity’s or entertainment’s sake, now would be a good time to intercede.

Just because I’m in disguise, doesn’t mean I don’t want to be recognized.