“The Goddess spoke to all the dead. She was beloved for it. It seemed she passed on that gift to you. Oh, it taxed her immensely, but she tried to set as many to rest as she could. Sometimes it only takes one word of kindness, you know, to set a soul at ease.”

“You must be mistaken," Isabel said, unconcerned by the insult that the words carried."I assure you i am not. Voluptas is nearly always portrayed wrapped in roses. If that were not enough, her faces confirms her identity.""You cannot tell a goddess from a face carved in marble," she scoffed."You can tell Voluptas by her face.""I've never even heard of this goddess, and you know what she looks like?""She is the goddess of sensual pleasure."Isabel's mouth fell open at the words. She could not think of a single thing to say in response. "Oh”

“One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead.”

“Artemis the bitch goddess. You know her. She’s the one who stole your soul. (Simi)She didn’t steal it. (Gallagher)Of course she did. She steals everything. (Simi)”

“She strived for perfection. She loved setting herself tasks, sometimes impossible ones, to prove to her heart that underneath every seemingly ugly thing there was something beautiful inside.”

“I know she’ll hate him. She likes to be the only one, you know. She likes to dream that she’s queen and that when the rest are dead there’ll be no one who can order her to do anything. She said, dear, that she’d burn down the whole place, burn down Goremenghast when she was ruler and she’d live on her own, and I said she was wicked, and she said that everyone was- everyone and everything except rivers, clouds, and some rabbits. She makes me frightened sometimes.”