C.L. Wilson

“Let love, not fear, be your guide.”

“But the Dark cannot claim what Light does not surrender.”

“You think because you face situations not of your making that you exercise no choice? That you are helpless? To the contrary, child. Your whole life has been full of choices. Hiding from a hard truth is a choice. Surrender - even to the inevitable - is a choice. Even in death there is a choice. You may have no control over the time or manner of your death, but you can choose how you face it.”

“The gods listen, Rain. Put a thought out there often enough, and they'll think it's what you want.”

“Do you love me, Rain?""More than I knew it was possible to love. All the stars will fall from the heavens before I ever stop.”

“Arrogance is no substitute for experience, Fey.”

“Ellysetta was sitting at the secretary in Rain's suite, penning a note to her parents, when Bel burst through the doors. The other members of the quintet followed so swiftly that all five warriors nearly ended up in a heap on the floor. They were breathless and flushed, perspiration trickling down the sides of their faces.Kieran bent over, hands on his knees, and dragged air into his lungs. "Well done,brothers. We beat the smug chervil.”"You all look like you could use a drink." Cool and unwinded, Gaelen smiled at the new arrivals from the sofa near the window. "Water? Or perhaps something a little stronger to help you regain your strength?”

“You but winnowed out those who have made their pride a funeral shroud." Jaren met Rain's eyes. "Our world has changed, Feyreisen. I have watched great Fey cities die, seen our forests fade back into desert, and listened to my shei'tani weep for the children her womb will not bear. It seems to me when the ways of the past lead only to death, then change is the only hope for life.”

“Every journey starts with the first step, and the first step down the Dark path is choosing self over sacrifice.”

“Wanting love is not selfish, Rain. We're all born missing the connections that make us complete.”

“Do you know how a pearl comes to be?""Oysters make them, from a bit of sand.""Aiyah. From a bit of sand." He rolled the pearl between his fingers. "All pearls begin as something unpleasant that the oysters cannot expel from themselves, even though they may want to. So they embrace these things that will not leave them, shaping them and smoothing away the sharp edges, until over time, they make of these unwanted things great treasures.”

“A woman did not feel jealousy if her emotions were not engaged. And a wise man did not let it fester.”

“I am the steel no enemy can shatter'I am the magic no dark power can defeat. I am the rock upon which evil breaks like waves. I am Fey,warrior of honor, champion of Light.' "the warrior's creed”

“Ku'shalah aiyah to nei."- Bid me yes or no.”

“Hope was a fragile flicker that he wanted to cup with both hands to protect against the harsh winds of reality.”

“Battered and bruised but still fighting for dominance his was not the selfish petty pride that made bullies of lesser men but rather the quiet determined dignity that turned men into heroes and made heroes crawl back to their feet from the bitter dust of defeat and stand tall once more.”

“She felt him bow his head to rest his jaw on her hair, the touch feather light. Tears beaded in her lashes”

“Bel jumped to his feet, rubbing his wrists where the shel'dor piercings had chafed. "All right, kem'jetos. First we save Rain and Ellysetta, then we kick some Elden ass.”

“What's this?" Primage Dur squinted at the glow of magic in the forest before them. Twelve shining warriors in red leather stood interspaced between a line of gnarled trees, blocking the advance of the Eld. "Who are they?""Dalh'reisen," Azurel hissed."Are they... singing?”

“My friends... today, we are not Fey, Celierian, or dahl'reisen, but brothers, united and strong, each of us honorable and worthy warriors of Light. We are the steel no enemy can shatter. We are the magic no Dark power can defeat. We are the rock upon which evil breaks like waves. We are warriors of honor, champions of Light.”

“Not all battles can be won. Not all lives can be saved. And no matter how we wish it, not all songs end in joy.”

“.... Steli forgot knocking....”

“<> I love you... I want you... I need you. The words chanted in her head with the beat of her pulse, repeating over and over. His voice - or was it hers? - grew more insistent with each utterance. <> Come to me. Give yourself to me.”

“Over. My. Rotting. Corpse.”

“I liveI fightI bleedI die For love.I am Fey"~I am Fey, a warrior’s poem by Evanaris vel Bahr”

“Ten thousand swords before you, ten thousand daggers drawn.Ten thousand lives defend you, ten thousand warriors strongOur blood will spill ten thousand times In hope, ten thousand sighFor love we face ten thousand deaths With joy, ten thousand dieTen thousand Fey before you, ten thousand fierce and tall,Ten thousand souls protect you, beloved of us all~Ten Thousand Swords, a Fey Warrior’s Song”

“That was the strength of Ellysetta's weave. Bright, unyielding,indefatigable love. Love that did not know surrender. Love that did not understand limitations or even basic self-preservation. Love that would batter itself to death before giving in to defeat.”

“Live well.Love deep.Tomorrow, we die.”

“I watch my loved ones weep with sorrow, death's silent torment of no tomorrow. I feel their hearts breaking, I sense their despair, United in misery, the grief that they share. How do I show that, I am not gone...but the essence of life's everlasting songWhy do they wee? Why do they cry?I'm alive in the wind and I am soaring high. I am sparkling light dancing on streams, a moment of warmth in the fays of sunbeams.The coolness of rain as it falls on your face, the whisper of leaves as wind rushes with haste. Eternal Song, a requiem by Avian of Celieriafrom Crown of Crystal Flame by C.L. Wilson”

“Those screams had been growing steadily louder, as the torture masters of Eld worked their way down the line of new prisoners. A few chimes ago, however, the screams had fallen mysteriously silent."Do you think the torture masters have tired themselves out?" Gaelen pondered with black humor."More likely, we're next, and they've just gone to sharpen their blades," Tajik said. Locked up in the room with them, Farel gave a grunting laugh of amusement. "Could be. They've been using them enough.""You know," Gil announced, "as rescues go, I have to say this one pretty much scorches rultshart turds.”

“Well, I guess you can really gut a man with your little finger."He flashed her a look so flat and cold and full of death, she knew he'd earned every awe and terrified word ever spoken about him. "That is the least of what I can do." (Shannisorran v'EnCelay aka Lord Death)”

“And as for you, Gaelen is your uncle, your mother's beloved brother. He's your family. Learn to get along with him. You don't have to like him, but you might want to consider the fact that he's walked the earth more than twice as long as either of your parents, and he's spent the last thousand years battling the enemies of the Fey. He's probably forgotten more Fey skills than you've ever learned.”

“If you wish to serve me, as you have bloodsworn yourself to do, you must do so with honor. And that does not include introducing yourself by name to people like my mother in order to terrify them into submission.”"Kem'falla—" Gaelen protested."Don't bother to deny it," she snapped.”

“He held up his index finger. 'Rule one: in any dispute between mates, the male is always to blame, even when he is clearly blameless. Rule two'—his middle finger joined the first—'whenever in doubt, refer to rule one.”

“You were chastising me. You may continue.”(Lord of the Fading Lands)”

“You were chastising me. You may continue.”

“My beloved is the sunAnd I am the earth that thrives only in her warmth. My beloved is the rainAnd I am the grass that thirsts for her quenching kiss. My beloved is the windAnd I am the wings that soar when she fills me with her gentle strength.My beloved is the rockUpon which rests the happiness of all my days.—The Elements of Love, a poem by Aileron v'En Kavali of the Fey”

“Come to think of it, Your Majesty, I believe I must still be growing. Either that, or you are shrinking.”

“Ver reisa ku'chae. Kem surah, shei'tani. (Your soul calls out. Mine answers, beloved.)”