Zalanthan-esque Quote of the Day

[Veselka]

"If you don't know the men at your back by name, don't be surprised if they won't follow you into battle. On the other hand, don't be surprised if they will, either, because there are countless other factors you must take into account. Leadership is a slippery commodity, not easily manufactured or understood."
--The Steel Remains, Richard K Morgan

"It was the blue-tinged taste of a regret so deep you could never plumb its depths. It was the victory at Rajal that never came, it was his brother walking away down the long dark wood corridor, it was a life he might have had in Yhelteth if disgust and fury had not sent him away in disgrace instead. It was the slaves he could not free, the screaming women and children of Ennishmin he could not save, the piled-up, silent dead and the smashed-in, ruined homes. It was every wrong decision he'd ever made, every path he'd failed to walk, fanned out and held up for him to understand, and it hurt."
--The Steel Remains, Richard K Morgan

"The Lady Ishil gestured. "Oh, we asked. It wasn't difficult. Everyone in this pigsty of a town seems to know where you sleep." A delicately curled lip. She let him go. "And with who."
Ringil ignored that one. "I'm a hero, Mother. What do you expect?"

--The Steel Remains, Richard K Morgan

[MeTekillot]

"If I had any single regret for the countless horrific events that have transpired in my wake... it's that I'm dying."
--
"The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair."
--
"It's a good rule in life never to apologize. The right kind of people never want apologies, and the wrong kind take advantage of them."
--
"You'll work with them, you'll live with them, you might even trust your life with them. But none of that makes them your friend. It can't. Because one day, you might have to end them."
--

[MeTekillot]

"He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it."
--
"All my means are sane, my motive and object mad."
--
"The most frightening thing about this sorcerer is that he appears completely sane. In fact, as far as he's concerned, he is completely sane, lucid in a way few mortals are ever allowed to be."
--

[MeTekillot]

"Whoever is dissatisfied with himself is continually ready for revenge."
--
"Now of course it's not true, but, they only believe what their Lords tell them to believe... and I tell the Lords what to believe; it's really quite simple."
--
"I haven't shown my hand - I've shown one card. I've given my enemies a single, provocative point upon which to fixate. They have no idea what other cards I'm holding. It's a strong hand, believe me - I dealt it to myself."
--
"I suppose I'll figure out what the hell you're talking about in a month or so. Man, I hate talking to you guys! I always feel like I'm getting an answer to a question I haven't even asked yet."
--
"I learned that I'll never win, not that way. That's their game. Their rules. I'm not going to fight them. I'm going to fuck them. That is what I know. That's what I am. And only by admitting what we are, can we get what we want."
--

[Cordon]

-Smooth sands ahead, walk softly, and carry a big stick-

[tiny rainbow]

[MeTekillot]

"The graveyards are full of indispensable men."

[tiny rainbow]

The Obelisks and Pyramids to be found all over the world, many submerged under leagues of water, are all remnants of the Old Goddess and Dragon religions. The Pyramidion is one of the central symbols of Ophite Traditions. The basis of Ancient Egyptian spirituality and in fact all ancient spirituality lies in Serpent Worship, as the Serpent and Winged Serpent are symbols ancient beyond ancient, and date back to a truly unknown antiquity. The Temple at Delphi, or this sketch, rather and the ruins which remain; is an example of the once universal Temples of the Dragon.

"I saw death. We could not save any more. We could not even save ourselves! Then...

Then I felt - I felt it fill me. A rage great and terrible - a fire so bright our sun was less than a flickering candle. I felt it take me, Templar. I became wrath. I fought. I was borne away on its rage. It felt... Good."

The River I swim. It's not water, Arphaun. it's a rush - a rush of souls. Every soul. Every life the Demon consumed on every world. As I drifted, I saw. Arphaun, oh how I saw! History blurred across endless shores - memories of other fights and other Burns."
--Emmera, 'Hellgate: London'

Yet another legend recounts that there was a demon named Durgasur who want to destroy the world, drove away all the devas from swarg, and snatched four Vedas.

Parvati got to know about this and created Kalaratri, instructing her to warn Durgasur against an attack. Durgasur's guards however tried to capture Kalaratri when she turned up as a messenger. Kalaratri then assumed a gigantic form and delivered the warning to him.

Subsequently, when Durgasur came to invade Kailash, Parvati battled him and killed him, gaining the name Durga.

"Mahisha, king of the giants, at one time overcame the gods in war, and reduced them to such a state of want that they wandered through the earth as beggars.

Like a mountain of fire, Katyayini appeared refulgent as a thousand suns, having three eyes, black hair, and eighteen arms. Siva gave her his trident, Vishnu a discus, Varuna a conch-shell, Agni a dart, Vayu a bow, Surya a quiver full of arrows, Indra a thunderbolt, Kuvera a mace, Brahma a rosary and water-pot, Kala a shield and sword, Visvakarma a battle-axe and other weapons. Thus armed, and adored by the gods, Katyayini proceeded to the Vindhya hills.

Whilst there, the demons Chanda and Manda saw her, and being captivated by her beauty they so described her to Mahisha, their king, that he was anxious to obtain her. On asking for her hand, she told him she must be won in fight.

He came, and fought; at length Durga dismounted from her lion, and sprang upon the back of Mahisha, who was in the form of a buffalo, and with her tender feet so smote him on the head that he fell to the ground senseless, when she cut off his head with her sword.

The complexion of Kalaratri is that of the darkest of nights with bountiful hair and a heavenly shaped form. She has four hands - the left two hands hold a scimitar and a thunderbolt and the right two are in the varada (blessing) and abhaya (protecting) mudras.

She wears a necklace that shines like the moon. Kalaratri has three eyes [the Trinetri] which emanate rays like lightning. Flames appear through her nostrils when she inhales or exhales. Her mount is the donkey, sometimes considered as a corpse. Blue, red and white colours should be used to wear on this day.

The appearance of Goddess Kalaratri can be seen as bearing doom for evil-doers. But she always bears good fruits for her devotees and should avoid fear when faced with her, for she removes the darkness of worry from life of such devotees. Her worship on the seventh day of Navratri is given especially high importance by Yogis and Sādhakas.

All is pervaded by her, who is Mahākālī at Māhākāla, and who has the nature of the Great Destroying Goddess. She indeed is Mahāmārī at the fated time; she indeed is creation, the Unborn; she indeed the Eternal gives stability to created beings at their fated time. She indeed is Lakṣmī, bestowing prosperity on the houses of men while 37 she abides with them; and she indeed when she is absent becomes the goddess of Ill Fortune unto their destruction. When hymned and worshipped with flowers, and with incense, perfumes and other offerings, she bestows wealth and sons, and a mind brilliant in righteousness.

Let the sacrificer repeat the word Kali twice, and say 'Hail, Devi! Goddess of thunder; hail, iron-sceptred goddess!' Let him then take the axe in his hand, and again invoke the same by the Kalratri text, as follows: Let the sacrificer say, Hrang, Hrang! Kali, Kali! O horrid-toothed goddess! Eat, cut, destroy all the malignant; cut with this axe; bind, bind; seize, seize; drink blood! Spheng, spheng! Secure, secure. Salutation to Kali.' 'Hail! three-eyed goddess, of most terrifying appearance, around whose neck a string of human skulls is pendant; who art the destroyer of evil spirits; who art armed with an axe and a spear, salutation to thee with this blood.'

Different mantras (or forms) are used in reference to the description of the victim to be immolated. If a lion, this-- "'O Hari! who in the shape of a lion bearest Chandika, bear my evils and avert my misfortunes. Thy shape, O lion! was assumed by Hari to punish the wicked part of the human race; and under that form, by truth, the tyrant Hiranyakasipu was slain!' Women are not to be immolated, except on very particular occasions; the human woman never.

.. A great variety of regulations and invocations, rites, etc., are laid down for the performance of sanguinary offerings, whether the immolation of a victim, or an offering of the sacrificer's own blood, or burning his flesh. Until very recent times commonly, and in some quiet places even now, at certain festivals, the worshippers cut their flesh and burn their bodies

It is dawn on Saumyavāsara, the 11th day of Pausha in Śiśira,
In the Year of Sarvari Nama, year 34 of the 112th Age, the Age of Ἔρις.

Mahabhaya(terror), Mahakali, Mahamari(pandemic), hunger, thirst, sleep, night, Ekavira, Kalarattri, and Chandika
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु माँ कालरात्रि रूपेण संस्थिता नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नम

The lack of knowledge and effective resources means that the majority must resign themselves to a miserable fate ..At the same time, there are characters in the novel whose courage and enterprise encourage them to exercise some autonomy, even to the extent of shaping events and influencing outcomes.

[tiny rainbow]

The thunder song distorts you. We stand around you while you dream. You can almost hear our words but you forget. This happens more and more now. Repeat the word. The name of the sound. It resonates in your house. After the song, time for applause. We build you till nothing remains. The egg cracks and the truth will emerge out of you. You are home. You remind us of home. An earworm is a tune you can't stop humming in a dream: "Baby baby baby, yeah." So safe and nothing to worry about. Ha ha, funny. The last egg breaks now. The hole in your room is a hole in you. You came and we let you in through the hole in you. You have always been here, the only child. A copy of a copy of a copy. When you hear this you will know you're in new you. You want to listen. You want to dream.

[MeTekillot]

"Virtue needs some cheaper thrills."
--
"You were a hero round these parts. That's what they call you when you kill so many people the word murderer falls short."
--
"You should laugh every moment you live, for you'll find it decidedly difficult afterwards."
--
"Sometimes men change for the better. Sometimes men change for the worse. And often, very often, given time and opportunity... They change back."
--
"The sympathy extended to a victim is deceptive. People love the victim only when they can feel superior to him or her. It is a human reflex that makes you feel better about yourself when you can help someone weaker, a victim. That works as long as the roles are clearly defined."
--
"His stride and bearing were those of a person who carried himself with the bitter pride of knowing that his separation came from being above."
--
"But now he seized his disgust, and twisted it until it burned like a fingernail dug under a scab."
--
"He relished his own pain, and knew always how to wound others."
--
"When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet."
--
"Weakness is no sin, and can even become a strength if played right. Fortunes change, and the mighty are often brought down."
--
"I would rather betray the whole world than let the world betray me."
--
"Any one who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good."
--

[MeTekillot]

"The world is full of monsters, after all. Perhaps the best one can hope for is to have the most terrible on your side."
--
"A man who's not content with what he's got, well, more than likely he won't be content with what he hasn't."
--
"What better foundation for an alliance than mutual hatred and suspicion?"
--
"I've made peace with myself."
"Good for you. That's the hardest war of all to win."
"Didn't say I won. Just stopped fighting."
--
"It's a dangerous thing, pretense. A person ought to know what they are, even if they ain't proud to be it."
--
"Hate will keep you alive where love fails."
--
"There's no freedom quite like the freedom of being constantly underestimated."
--
"When you do not recognize the wrongs of the past, the future takes its revenge."
--
"There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter."
--
"You have to let go of the idea that anyone down here is in control."
--

[tiny rainbow]

"Mr Dalliard! We have been activated! After all these years..." (archived)

She ruled the greatest city of knowledge. She almost realised her dream. Came so close. She raised IT from its prison. IT whispered to her directly. IT made such promises, claimed IT willingly powered the city. LIES. It promised the impossible could be accomplished if all of its fellows were freed. LIES. She was smart. She was clever. She knew there was treachery in the whispers. But she went ahead anyway, thinking she could control the pandemonium. She thought she could betray an event horizon. That age collapsed in screams under tentacular skies.

She would rather be remembered for her contributions to science. But she will proudly wear infamy as a garland and recline in furs atop a throne of those who have wronged her.

I want you to understand why she is scary. I don't want you thinking less of me. It's not power, followers, or a womb full of teeth. You got to understand. Humour me. Look in a mirror. Stare at your reflection. We've all done this. In the wee hours. Stare so long your face becomes a stranger. You lose your identity. You could be anyone.

Now, picture all the people you've been. Every different one. Maybe you think your life was short. Or uneventful. But if you look, there were many you's. We get stuck in the now and the rut. Don't we? Tunnel vision. You think you're just this two-dimensional you. But look at all those different yous. Layer them on top of each other. Suddenly, you have substance. You have the power of context. You are a multi-dimensional being. You've seen shit. That is when we are at our most powerful. When we remember all the us's. Then we are legion.

She was one of the first. She's lived longer than your beef brain can process. Unfathomable. Imagine just how many different hers she has been. Do you think the one, flat version you met was all there is? She's been too many. She gets lost in the shuffle. But imagine, imagine what happens when she self-actualises. Imagine when she takes a moment, stares into a mirror, and gains her full context.

That's when you should be afraid of what comes next.

See you.

A BROKEN SMILE BENEATH HER WHISPERED WINGS
The builders! We call upon their secret names. Human children hear our cries in their sleeping minds, and then make angels in the snow - pictographic signals aimed at the sky.

"Shut up!" Idaho glared at the shocked Naib. "You wear a collar, Stilgar!"

"You are a servant," Idaho said. "You've sold Fremen for their water."

This was the second most deadly insult, the one which had destroyed the original Jacurutu. Stilgar ground his teeth, put a hand on his crysknife.

"If history teaches us anything, it is simply this:
Every revolution carries within it the seeds of its own destruction.
And empires that rise, will one day fall."
——Princess Irulan

"Who will our next oppressor be?"
——Chani

"It will take more than courage to survive what's coming."
——Reverend Mother Ramallo

[MeTekillot]

"The destruction of an enemy. There are few things more satisfying."
--
"To be in contact with someone else's pain was to risk feeling it yourself, unless you severed the connection by hating them. When most people's greatest desire was to avoid pain, of course they would rather hate."
--
"Zhu didn't consider it her business how Ouyang chose to manage his emotions, as long as it worked."
--
"It was a child's play of cruelty, with a child's lack of knowledge about how transparent he was— and how vulnerable it made him, to be seen. Baoxiang's satisfaction sharpened, gained its own cruelty. 'I see you.'"
--
"That hurt. He stared down at it in dumb agony. It hurt so much it burned the grief out of his head until the only thing inside him was a clear- edged white scream."
--

[Artem1s]

Tektolnes was horrified. 'I'm sorry,' said the newly-appointed Lord Templar Boopsiedel weakly. 'That's just how we are. It's all to do with survival, I think.'

There will be no mighty warriors sent to kill me? Thinking almost plaintively.

'I don't think so.'

No heroes? 'Not any more. They cost too much.'

But I will be eating people!

Boopsie whimpered.

He felt the sensation of Tektolnes rummaging around in his mind, trying to find a clue to understanding. He half-saw, half-sensed the flicker of random images, of dragons, of the mythical age of reptiles and – and here he felt the genuine astonishment of the "dragon" – of some of the less commendable areas of human history, which were most of it. And after the astonishment came the baffled anger. There was practically nothing Tektolnes could do to people that they had not, sooner or later, tried on one another, often with enthusiasm.

—Terry Pratchett (edited for atmosphere)

They weren't going to run until he did, he
realized. Otherwise it wouldn't be fun.

He shrugged, turned away from the tree . . .
and then turned back and ran. By the time he
was halfway there he was afraid his heart was
going to climb up his throat, but he ran on,
jumped awkwardly, caught a low branch,
slipped, struggled gasping to his feet, grabbed the
branch again and managed to pull himself up,
expecting at every second the first tiny puncture
as teeth broke his skin.

He rocked on the greasy wood. The elves
hadn't moved, but they were watching him
with interest.
'You bastards,' Vimes growled.

They got up and picked their way carefully
towards the tree, without hurrying. Vimes
climbed a little further up.
'Allanak! Mister Civilized! Where are
your weapons now, Allanak?'

'Your Mister Sleeps could run much faster than
you, Allanak!'
'Fast enough?'
'No! And the man with the little round black hat
could fight better than you, too!'
'Well enough?'
'No!' shouted one of the elves cheerfully.
Vimes growled. Even assassins didn't deserve
that kind of death.

—Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

"I would like you to teach the elves civilised behaviour," said Her Ladyship coldly.
    Lord Vetinari appeared to consider this. "Yes of course, I think that would be quite possible," he said. "And who would you send to teach the humans?"

—Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals

Do not lightly rouse the Soh, for they are slow to anger, but when they finally decide to unleash their wrath, all the Pah rages with them.

Yet times have changed since that ancient age, and desert elves realise that the fate of the Pah is now tied to that of other lands. Though they do not seek to act as the world's protectors as do the Akei'ta Var, nor enthrone themselves as its rulers as do the Sun Runners, there are those times when the will of the Elan Pah must shape the fortunes of those that live beyond the boundary of their homelands.

"It is the nature of life, that the old ways must give way before the new. The known cannot continue on as it is. Life itself is out of balance. So we must do what we can. All of us, from the greatest to the least. The foundations of victory are ever built on the heroism of little people."

There are not enough words in your simple tongue to express our hatred for them, roundear. Killers, despoilers, slavers and thieves we name them, but not one of these oft-earned titles begins to describe the depths of their depravity. They roam and kill in darkness called up by their foul sorceries. They are so base as to specifically target children for their depredations. The capricious folk of the Sun Runners claim that they are their despised kin, exiled long ago, but truly, can one ever trust the words of an elf?

Over time, an elf may find that she is more comfortable with the wilds than in the presence of her kin. She will drift further from camp, spending more and more time alone, honing skills of stealth and marksmanship. Many never return from this journey, for there are corners of Zalanthas that are dangerous even to the elves, yet those who survive are skilled beyond compare and hardened by their experiences.

Few warriors can match an elf's skill with a bow. Should they wish it, these silent stalkers can loose an unerring stream of black-shafted arrows in a heartbeat, or place a single shot precisely in the weak point of a foe's armour. Furthermore, elves are highly adept at the arts of disruption and surprise, often appearing silently next to a vulnerable enemy and vanishing as quickly before the body even hits the ground. Thus while many are simply watched, foul monsters who enter the Pah run the risk of being slain without warning by the Waywatchers, cut down by unseen archers or falling prey to cunningly constructed traps.

To tread such paths, an elf must be invisible not only to a predator's sight, but to its other senses also -- no easy matter when contending with otherworldly creatures to whom an elf's soul manifests as a brightly burning light.

The Soh Lanah Kah's skills of stealth and concealment serve them well upon the battlefield. They are masters of ambush and distraction, the assassins of siege weapon crews and of careless gicks who stray too far from the protection of their allies. Indeed, many an invading army has been brought to battle utterly unaware that warbands of the Soh have dogged its footsteps for days. Only when the battle lines clash do they reveal themselves, sowing confusion and disruption amongst the enemy lines.

It is both the Akei'Ta Var's triumph and their tragedy that so many of their life-giving skills have been turned to life-taking. Their hands can form vicious talons capable of ripping apart the armour of foes, yet when at peace they can use them to perform incredibly delicate tasks like lifting a sleeping bird back to its nest without waking it.

Similarly, the voices that in battle sing unnerving dirges and let out hideous shrieks that terrify their foes can in peace croon gentle songs of life and purity to encourage plants to grow and stave off disease. They can stalk their enemies for hours unseen and unheard before tearing them limb from limb, or they can walk through a verdant glen so lightly that they leave no trace of their passing and do not disturb the animals grazing there.

This great forest was different, for powerful spirits dwelt within and amongst its trees. It is impossible to say whether this was part of the Old Ones' design, the work of the elf gods or caused by some other influence that seeped into the trees' souls, but as time went on, the trees came to think in a way that trees were never meant to, and learned of feelings such as anger and hate. Before long, the great forest became aware of itself, and of the blooded life that crawled upon the world like insects. The great forest treated some races with tolerance, and even friendship. Others, especially those greedy folk who saw the trees only as a ready source of fuel, were met with ruthless fury, sparking legends of remorseless tree-daemons that would last for millennia.

Here in the thickest forest,
So dark, so deep.
We offer all the blackest sleep.
It is always night and never day.
Those who enter shall be our prey.
We will bury you where none can see,
A gift of life to feed a tree.
So dark, so deep.

"Seek no favours of the tree-kin, but sink deep the roots of every bargain."

Yavathol was enjoying the hunt. She slipped through the forest with the lithe grace of a big cat, her eyes flicking to each shadowy movement. Occasionally she paused to listen, crouching silently, ready to spring. Dappled sunlight glinted from the slippery oil layered across her form above war-paints, and the light breeze ruffled her mane of dawn-red hair.

  But this was no normal hunt, for the prey she sought was inedible and more dangerous than any carru or rantarri. Today she hunted thryzn. Several of the sorcery-twisted creatures were nearby and the harsh sounds of their guttural tongue drifted on the breeze towards her.

  A fleeting thought slipped through her mind as she crept nearer: 'Perhaps I should have brought young Brightbranch along. he has been accepted into the troupe, and is keen to be tested. This would have been a fair chance to prove himself a true hunter.

  She let the thought drift away - now was the time for concentrated action and the beauty of combat, not the worried of leadership. She valued these solo hunts for their feeling of solitary challenge - Brightbranch's time would come.

  Just ahead of the Akei a group of five thryzn were squabbling over the mangled remains of some hapless forest creature. They were hideous, covered in rank fur and flaking scales, their limbs marked with oozing sores, their fanged jaws dripping with blood. One had the bloated head of a huge toad, another steel-sharp talons and a long barbed tail. Yavathol found them abhorrent beyond words - even the most savage creatures of the forest had their natural place, their own raw beauty, but these were abominations to be destroyed without mercy.

  Yavathol's amber eyes shone as she casually stepped out of her cover into full view of the creatures, her blade held loosely in her hand. A startled grunt came from the thryzn as they dropped their meal, and spun around to face the Akei. A dry chuckle oozed from the lips of Toad-head and a tentacle pushed from the mouth of one of its companions - at the tip of the tentacle was a single blinking eye, watching the elf as Toadhead spoke.

  'Ssssss only, ksssst, only one elfss?'

  The thryzn's lips pulled back from its teeth, like raw liver sliding across a butcher's marble slab. Its gaze flickered with concern as Yavathol stared fearlessly, her eyes holding only death. Shrieking dark gibberish, the thryzn rushed forwards, certain that victory would be theirs.

  As they neared her, Yavathol tensed and sprang, timing the moment with exquisite judgement. Her body left the ground effortlessly as she flipped over the thryzn in a graceful arc, landing behind them even as her sword whirled in a blur. The toad-like beast fell and mouthed a final gurgling curse into the dust as the thryzn's headless body stumbled forward, pumping crimson as it collapsed. The remaining thryzn whirled to face her. Yavathol lashed out with her feet, a series of whirling high-kicks that left another thryzn twitching on the forest floor, its face a bloody ruin.

  Yavathol began to keen, her voice rising and falling with strange harmonies as her body wove a hypnotic pattern through the web of sound. The thryzn shook their heads, confused by the strange song and the shifting shape. Another fell, cleanly sliced by Yavathol's ever-moving, ever-whirling blade, an expression of pained surprise briefly crossing its face.

  The last two broke and goaded their inix, terrified by the speed and ferocity of their foe. As they fled, Yavathol's arm moved in a blur and her sharp bone hand-axe tumbled through the air, sunlight glinting from bright-painted glaze over the trees in a thousand broken patterns. A fourth thryzn crashed to the ground, its skull shattered into a mess of bone and torn flesh.

  Yavathol let the last thryzn run - he would have some grim tales to tell his kin about this area of the forest. Cleaning her sword of blood on a soft bright cloth, she returned to camp, well pleased with the hunt.

  As she entered the cleaning, a young elf rushed towards her. It was Brightbranch, his eyes alight with excitement.

  'Yavathol, leader, the scouts report trespassers in the forest. Thryzn have been sighted near the Brook of Many Colours, trailing another group from beyond the trees.'

  The young aspirant looked up at his leader, hope on his face. Yavathol smiled as she spoke.

  'Come then. Fetch Morfoin. Now will be the time of your testing.'

They are the attractive aide at the bar with whom you think you have a chance, the off-putting rinthi in whose presence you had a momentary fugue, the stoic noble who /owns/ a disturbing amount of people.
They are the charismatic Stormer organizing a raid on the cities, the saboteur in the alleys of Allanak, and the Tuluki legend that absconds with children under cover of darkness.
They are the gambler who never loses a hand or the baleful sorcerer who makes an expectant mother micarry. They are the spook in the window, the impetus behind the haunted-house rumors at the edge of town, the disembodied footsteps after midnight. They are the horned thing moving in the shadows of trees, blurred at the edges of vision like a half-remembered dream.
Gicks are everywhere in the known, our known, this known of darkness, and they prey upon those who are most vulnerable to them: the innocent, the uncorrupted, the human and the humane.

She's a peerless tracker and archer, a deft hand with a sword or knife, and also proficient with many other elven weapons including spears and glaives. She's implied to be the most intelligent (and correspondingly has the highest Intelligence stat of the Five as a Guest-Star Party Member).

And she's a complete twat about it. Even the cities know it's the End Times and they need someone like her, but they still are constantly restraining themselves from strangling her.

She can be encountered almost anywhere. She might even find the Characters interesting, and decide to follow them for a while. While she is happy to help a struggling party with a few arrows from cover, she is not particularly interested in making the party's acquaintance - unless they turn out to be particularly interesting - and she will usually avoid contact as much as she can.

She might be encountered on the road to the North, hunting magickers and others for fun. If the Characters need help, she could shoot a few arrows from cover to help even the odds. She won't stick around to chat, though, and the Characters can only hope to catch a glimpse of her back retreating into the forest. If they decide to follow her, she may resent their nosiness.

"Have you traveled far, Elf?"
I have walked kingdoms that you have no name for, through realms of dream and nightmare.
"She means yes, I think."
"I've rarely strayed beyond the walls. I suppose it's too late now."
It's never too late to choose a new path.

"I have as many names as there are leaves on the trees."

Can this be Inanna?
The one who rules by the light
As if the night
Is nothing at all?
Now the Queen of Light knows
What it is to be called
By the goddess Ereshkigal,
Before whom life and death
Hold hands.
Only Inanna came to Ereshkigal
Wearing the power of unholy things!
I have fixed this for Inanna!
Ereshkigal has cleaned Inanna
Of her passing daylight.
Oh, Sumer!
Behold your queen now!
You who threw Ereshkigal away,
Do you hear her speaking to you
From that eternal city
That lives under your own?
City of thieves!
I have stolen something of my own.
The Queen of Night
Has the Queen of Light
In her bond.
And the ways
Of my underworld are perfect:
They may not be questioned.

"You want to put me in a book? What, squished between the pages like a flower? Just try it, roundear, I'll slit your jugular quick as blinking."

"[She is] a lioness. Fascinating as a zoological specimen. But worthless as a pet, and yet... Invaluable for the blood that courses through her veins."
web.archive.org/web/20090730082859/http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/witchblade/revelations.jsp?episode=witchblade_revelation_s1_ep09

"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, ONLY ME."

"All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable."

REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.

"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"

YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.

"So we can believe the big ones?"

YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.

"They're not the same at all!"

YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.

"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"

MY POINT EXACTLY."

[tiny rainbow]

Leaning back against the statue, looking at the captivated faces of the children around her and nodding, █ says, in █-accented sirihish:
     "And that's the story of the Wandering Elf, my dears."

Eyes twinkling as she concludes, █ says, in █-accented sirihish:
     "So remember, not all that seems frightening is truly evil. Sometimes, all it needs is a bit of understanding, and a touch of courage."



The sadness in her voice echoed in her weathered features. Yet, there is a spark of hope in her eyes, as █ says, in █-accented sirihish:
    "But, my dear ones, remember this: in the heart of every struggle, there is a seed of resilience. █ might be suffering, but they are not defeated."

Leaning forward, the fire in her gaze reflecting her conviction, █ says, in █-accented sirihish:
    "Like █, we are survivors. We adapt, we endure, we thrive. We continue to hope, to work, and to dream. We are █, and we will see █ flourish once again."

As she concludes, her gaze sweeps over the children, each word a promise, a prophecy. The sun dips lower, casting long shadows across █ beyond...

[MeTekillot]

"I despise the weak, and yield to the strong. I know whom I may bully, and whom I must flatter; and thus I hope to prolong my life to a good old age."
--