ᵛⁱᵃᵗᵒʳ / 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑

[ FOLLOW ]  for sender to find receiver at the end of a trail of blood.

[ DISCOVER ]  for receiver to find sender at the end of a trail of blood. 

[ SEE ]  for sender to look towards receiver after a battle and realize they’re bleeding. 

[ TELL ]  for receiver to look towards sender after a battle and realize they’re bleeding. 

[ SHIELD ]  for sender to take the brunt of an attack for receiver. 

[ COVER ]  for receiver to take the brunt of an attack for sender. 

[ SHOCK ]  for sender to find receiver covered in blood and delirious. 

[ AID ]  for receiver to find sender covered in blood and delirious. 

[ CONCEAL ]  our muses haven’t had time to slow down so receiver has been hiding a serious injury which sender finally uncovers. 

[ REALIZE ]  our muses haven’t had time to slow down so sender has been hiding a serious injury which receiver finally uncovers.

[ ATTEMPT ]  for sender to intervene in a fight receiver is in but receiver has already sustained an injury. 

[ LATE ]  for receiver to intervene in a fight sender is in but sender has already sustained an injury. 

[ FIND ]  for sender to rescue receiver after they’ve been tortured. 

[ LOCATE ] for receiver to rescue sender after they’ve been tortured. 

[ CHECK ]  for sender to show up at receiver’s house because they haven’t been heard from in a while only to discover receiver is recovering from major injuries. 

[ FOUND ]  for receiver to show up at sender’s house because they haven’t been heard from in a while only to discover receiver is recovering from major injuries. 

[ SAVED ]  for sender to rescue receiver from a dangerous situation but reveals they’re injured afterwards. 

[ SUCCEED ]  for receiver to rescue sender from a dangerous situation but reveals they’re injured afterwards. 

[ LOSS ]  for sender to attempt to rescue receiver only to be stopped by a serious injury. 

[ FAILURE ]  for receiver to attempt to rescue sender only to be stopped by a serious injury. 

[ MELTDOWN ]  for sender to witness receiver being hurt which causes them to go into a murderous rage. 

(  various  dialogue  prompts  for  all  your  medieval  /  fantasy  /  d&d  inspired  threads  and  aus!  )

❛ i hope this raven finds you well… ❜

❛ you carry a sword, yet you are not a knight. ❜

❛ the gods must be angry. i sense a storm brewing. ❜ 

❛ there’s no place i’d rather be than by your side. ❜ 

❛ nobility is defined by what you do, not who you are. ❜

❛ i know how to keep my life and my crown. and i will. ❜ 

❛ well, i’m not a knight. not yet. ❜

❛ at least we’ll die with honor. ❜

❛ i’ve never seen a dragon before, what are they like? ❜

❛ this knife is laced with venom, any sudden movements and you’re dead. ❜ 

❛ of all the idiots in the realm, i’m trapped with you. ❜ 

❛ shed no tears for me. i will be back before you know it. ❜ 

❛ i’m sorry, but i’m to be married to someone else. ❜ 

❛ here’s a copper for your thoughts. and a silver not to tell them. ❜ 

❛ you humans are most amusing. ❜ 

❛ may i have this dance? ❜ 

❛ you were made to be ruled. ❜ 

❛ i will protect you. it is my duty, knight or not. ❜

❛ my kingdom is in danger. i’ve come to ask for your aid. ❜ 

❛ i’ve got a date with destiny, and it won’t end in a kiss. unfortunately. ❜ 

❛ keep your sword up and your back straight. ❜

❛ you’re asking me to commit treason. ❜

❛ you will make a fine ruler one day. ❜ 

❛ no curse of mine shall befall you from my dying breath. ❜

❛ you should see me in a crown. ❜ 

❛ bury me shallow, i will be back. ❜

❛ bard! play something a little more upbeat. ❜ 

❛ i warn you, i’ve been trained to kill since birth. ❜

❛ my magic is useless against them. i’ve never felt so powerless. ❜ 

❛ how can it be my destiny to protect someone who hates me? ❜ 

❛ i am at your mercy, your grace. ❜ 

❛ do not be afraid, little one. i will not hurt you. ❜ 

❛ any man who must say ‘i am the king’ is no true king. ❜

❛ knights must prevail with steel and sinew alone. ❜

❛ impudent of you to assume i will meet a mortal end. ❜

❛ spare me the ‘i’ve come to slay you’ speech and let’s get on with it. ❜ 

❛ it is my duty to protect the last of the dragons. ❜

❛ do i look like the kind of person who dies? ❜

❛ we are king and queen, chained together like prisoners in a dungeon. ❜ 

❛ for every great ruler, there is an equally great assassin poised to kill. ❜

❛ my bloodline was wiped out before my eyes. i’m the last heir. ❜ 

❛ you look better in your wanted posters. ❜ 

❛ you don’t need a king. a knight can make another knight. ❜

❛ violence for violence is the rule for beasts. ❜

❛ fear cuts deeper than swords. ❜

❛ pick a god and pray to it. ❜

❛ i’d rather die than marry you. ❜ 

❛ my duty is to my people. ❜ 

❛ glad to see you haven’t become food for the vultures. ❜ 

❛ i will paint the throne red with your blood. ❜ 

❛ what’s a life threatening quest without a bit of music? ❜ 

“ man was not born to a world of justice. but he can create such a world! ”

“ they offer you so much power. so tempting to take advantage of it. ”

“ death is the promise we’re all born with. ”

“ we could not bring back the golden age. indeed we were now paying the price of having enjoyed one. ”

“ through our sense of identity, we act. we determine our moral judgements. ”

“ we create fresh narratives to use in our survival. it is part of what makes us such flawed creatures. creatures of such narrative fiction creating cause and effect. ”

“ we rewrite our own memories, of course, all the time. ”

“ to compromise with tyranny is always to be destroyed by it. the sanest and most logical choice lay always in resistance. ”

“ we are friends to death, but not his servants. ”

“ the nearest we ever come to knowing truth is when we are witness to a paradox. ”

“ law and chaos? they’re not the same as good and evil, i’m told. ”

“ i am a petty god at the moment. you will find me more lordly and benign when i achieve the position of a greater god. ”

“ if we are the toys of the gods are not perhaps the gods themselves mere children? ”

“ it is fitting that we should be wanderers, for we have no place in this world. ”

“ by means of our myths and legends we maintain a sense of what we are within and who we are. without them we should undoubtedly go mad. ”

“ it’s history that’s caused all the troubles in the past. ”

“ a good death is better than a poor one. ”

“ everything may exist for a while — even justice. but the true state of the universe is anarchy. it is the mortal’s tragedy that he can never accept this. ”

“ i have hated hypocrisy and deception all my life, yet all my life i have been victim to it. that is the terrible irony. ”

“ time is the enemy of identity”

“ we’re wary of you. even if we allowed you to lead us again you would take your own doomed path and us with you. ”

“ memory is the foundation of identity. ”

“ i can accept then, that we are more than forsaken, because there was never anything there to forsake us. ”

“ i have chosen. i chose chaos. ”

“ you spend your lives chasing that which is within you and that which you can find in any other human being. ”

“ meaning? do not seek that, for madness lies in such a course. ”

“ my mind goes out searching through black barrenness for something — anything. ”

“ i seek no excuses, for i know what i am and i know what i have done. ”

“ but people may do great good accidentally, though with evil intentions — conversely people may do great evil though having the best of intentions. ”

“ i have brought evil to many places. ”

“ if we remain adaptable, we remain strong. if we force others to accept our traditions and values, we ultimately grow weak…”

“ who told you that the world was just? ”

“ we live in a world where many kinds of regression dignify themselves with the mantle of progress. ”

“ thing is, treasures are not won by care and forethought but by swift slaying and reckless attack. ”

“ there is no future here for myself and my men. ”

“ there are many legends which say the past was perfect or that the future will be perfect. i have seen many pasts and many futures. none of them were perfect, my friend. ”

“ that the world forgets me is all i ask,”

“ the subtlest lie of all is the full truth. ”

“ why should their pain produce such marvellous beauty? ”

“ the past is a script we are constantly rewriting. ”

“ is the prisoner a prisoner because he lives in a cage or because he knows that he lives in a cage? ”

“ we free travellers need no chains of that sort. ”

“ people are not alarmed by the unusual  — so long as it is placed in an acceptable context. ”

↬   OF  MERMAIDS,  MASQUERADES  AND  MAGIC.

scenarios  inspired  by  various  settings,  encounters  &  magic  tucked  between  pages,  fashioned  by  the  author.  tw  for  drowning  mentions.

+   feel  free  to  change  pronouns  /  roles  !

MERMAIDS.

‘  beyond  the  winds  and  past  the  shores,  strange  magic  lurks  about.  ’

‘  will  you  go  to  the  lagoon  with  me  ?  it’s  unsafe  to  go  alone.  ’

‘  they  say  a  siren’s  call  alone  can  drown  a  man  before  she  swallows  him.  ’

‘  quick  !  cover  your  ears.  ’

‘  what  did  you  imagine  as  you  heard  the  song  ?  ’

‘  i  can  feel  a  voice  like  claws  sinking  beneath  my  skin.  ’

‘  one  can  pray  to  the  ocean,  but  the  waters  answer  in  strange  tongues.  ’

‘  careful,  or  we’ll  hit  the  reef.  ’

‘  the  sea-folk  are  flighty  as  their  fins,  and  illusive  as  shimmering  scales.  ’

‘  i  should  like  to  find  myself  a  sailor  fit  for  a  feast.  ’

‘  sometimes  i  wish  there  was  more  than  the  endless  waves.  ’

‘  do  you  see  that  ?  there,  beneath  the  surface  ?  ’

‘  that’s  no  fish,  and  no  woman  either.  ’

‘  what  lies  off  the  edge  of  the  map  ?  ’

‘  the  sea  has  monsters,  but  beauties  too.  ’

‘  i’ve  heard  that  merfolk  make  bargains,  and  trade  in  the  ocean’s  magic.  ’

‘  i’ve  never  seen  a  pearl  like  this  one.  ’

‘  the  ship  will  go  down  if  we  don’t  turn  about  !  ’

‘  what  is  that,  out  there  on  the  rocks  ?  ’

‘  won’t  you  listen  to  my  song  ?  ’

‘  mermaids  love  shiny  things.  keep  a  careful  eye  on  yours.  ’

‘  if  we  hide  in  the  kelp,  we  might  see  them  as  they  pass.  ’

‘  i’ve  heard  the  tales.  to  catch  you  means  to  gain  a  granted  wish.  ’

‘   i’ve  never  seen  your  likeness,  only  heard  the  myths.  ’

‘  come  with  me,  beneath  the  sea  and  foam,  and  be  mine.  ’

‘  some  of  us  live  in  the  ocean,  others  in  rivers  and  streams  and  even  trees.  ’

‘  falling  in  love  with  a  human  is  an  old  tale.  tell  me  a  new  one.  ’

‘  so  you  gave  up  your  fin  for  legs  ?  ’

‘  soon  i  will  be  nothing  but  seafoam.  ’

‘  what  is  a  heart,  but  an  ocean  of  secrets  ?  ’

‘  you’d  let  yourself  be  undone  and  remade  for  someone  you’ve  never  known.  that  is  not  love.  ’

‘  let  your  dreams  sink  to  the  depths.  they’ve  done  you  no  good.  ’

MASQUERADES.

‘  i’ve  never  seen  so  many  unfamiliar  faces.  ’

‘  he’s / she’s / they’ve  been  looking  at  me  all  evening.  ’

‘  would  you  do  me  the  honor  of  a  dance  ?  ’

‘  neither  of  us  need  know  the  other  tonight.  i  prefer  the  mystery.  ’

‘  your  choice  of  costume  is  rather  extravagant.  ’

‘  what  fun  would  it  be,  if  i  took  this  off  ?  ’

‘  i’m  certain  we’ve  met  before.  ’

‘  i’ve  always  longed  for  a  night  like  this.  it’s  something  out  of  a  dream.  ’

‘  won’t  you  come  away  with  me  ?  there’s  a  balcony  just  outside.  ’

‘  i’m  inclined  to  think  we’ve  never  met  before,  and  perhaps  will  never  meet  again  after  tonight.  ’

‘  you  look  like  you  know  how  to  waltz.  care  to  ?  ’

‘  i  must  stand  up  with  someone  this  evening,  and  i  don’t  see  why  it  can’t  be  you.  ’

‘  would  you  stop  staring  so  intently  ?  what  do  you  think  to  find  ?  ’

‘  i’ll  stop  bothering  you  if  you  agree  to  dance  with  me.  ’

‘  please  take  it  off.  i  want  to  see  you.  ’

‘  i’ve  never  been  to  a  masque  before.  ’

‘  it  seems  our  attire  makes  opposites  of  us.  ’

‘  i’ve  never  seen  a  more  hideous  costume  than  that  one.  ’  

‘  i  can’t  stay  much  longer.  you  see,  i’m  not  supposed  to  be  here  at  all.  ’

‘  you’ll  never  know  who  i  am.  ’

‘  people  like  you  always  make  a  fool  of  me.  ’

‘  oh.  i  thought  you  were  someone  else.  ’

‘  i’ll  give  you  three  chances  to  guess  who  i  am.  ’

‘  the  next  time  i  offer  you  my  hand,  you’ll  get  more  than  a  dance  from  me.  ’

‘  i’ve  wanted  to  dance  beneath  stars  like  these  for  as  long  as  i  can  remember.  ’

‘  what  do  you  look  like  ?  ’

‘  that  look  in  your  eyes  tells  me  all  i  need  to  know.  ’

‘  you  won’t  like  what  you’ll  see.  ’

‘  i  recognize  your  voice.  ’

‘  you’ll  know  the  truth  before  the  night  is  up.  ’

‘  i’ve  heard  the  darkest  of  dances  are  the  best  for  falling  in  love  to.  ’

‘  you  don’t  know  it  now,  but  we’re  friends  already.  ’

‘  can’t  we  pretend  a  little  while  longer  ?  ’

‘  it’s  when  the  party  is  over  that  we  learn  to  know  each  other  most.  ’

‘  happily  ever  after  can’t  come  so  easily  as  a  single  night  dancing.  ’

MAGIC.

‘  i’ve  caught  you.  you  have  to  undo  the  spell  for  me  now.  ’

‘  think  carefully  before  asking  for  something  well  beyond  the  reach  of  mortal  power.  ’

‘  i  think  i  know  a  spell  for  that.  ’

‘  i  can’t  help  you.  but  there  are  people  in  other  worlds,  in  the  moors  and  hills  and  trees,  that  might.  ’

‘  you  must  gather  the  necessary  ingredients  for  such  a  potion.  ’

‘  true  love  is  never  the  answer  to  the  riddle.  not  when  so  much  as  life  and  death  is  at  stake.  ’

‘  i’ve  found  and  made  my  way  here  by  right.  you  can’t  deny  me  the  answers  i  seek.  ’

‘  be  warned:  monsters  hide  between  the  trees  and  whisper  in  magic  tongues.  ’

‘  it  always  makes  a  fraction  of  sense  to  be  careful  what  you  wish  for.  ’

‘  i’ve  been  turned  into  an  unsightly  creature,  and  i  need  a  way  of  turning  back.  ’

‘  not  all  magical  stories  happen  in  castles,  or  cottages  in  the  wood.  ’

‘  preposterous.  magic  and  sorcery  do  not  exist  but  in  the  minds  of  superstitious  fools.  ’

‘  get  back  from  that  cauldron  !  it’s  dangerous.  ’

‘  i  don’t  mess  with  things  like  candles  and  the  stars  and  the  moon  after  dark.  it  never  ends  well.  ’

‘  i  am  something  ancient.  my  name  has  been  forgotten  by  mortal  mouths  and  is  found  only  in  their  oldest  texts.  ’

‘  not  all  fairy  helpers  are  kind,  and  not  all  villains  are  ugly,  or  even  cruel.  ’

‘  if  you  want  my  help,  you  must  earn  it.  ’

‘  is  this  something  i  could  learn  ?  ’

‘  i  don’t  want  to  be  ordinary,  and  i  don’t  care  what  the  risks  are.  ’

‘  you  think  to  put  a  curse  on  me  ?  i  will  spend  my  life  defying  it.  ’

‘  stay  back,  witch,  and  keep  your  spells  from  sneaking  past  your  lips.  ’

‘  you  must  chain  a  magician  in  more  than  metal  or  rope  if  you  wish  to  stop  them.  ’

‘  that’s  a  parlor  trick.  show  me  real  magic.  ’

‘  only  you  can  break  the  spell.  it  is  something  you  are  meant  for.  ’

‘  fate  is  nothing  but  an  illusion  placed  in  our  heads,  that  we  might  follow  the  words  of others  and  not  our  own  intentions.  ’

‘  whatever  has  brought  me  here,  i  cannot  turn  back  now.  ’

‘  soon  the  clock  will  strike,  and  nothing  more  might  be  done.  ’  

↬   OF  FAIRYTALES,  FOLKLORE  AND  FAEKIND.

scenarios  inspired  by  various  settings,  encounters  &  magic  tucked  between  pages,  fashioned  by  the  author.

+   feel  free  to  change  pronouns  /  roles  !

FAIRYTALES.

‘  let  me  guess,  you  thought  a  true  love’s  kiss  would  help  you.  ’

‘  you  will  always  follow  the  trail  in  the  wood,  and  it  will  guide  you  on  the  same  path,  to  the  same  cottage,  the  same  witch.  it  will  always  be  your  undoing.  ’

‘  i  have  never  seen  a  more  tragic  creature.  how  might  i  help  you  ?  ’

‘  you  must  take  this  knife  and  plunge  it  into  his  /  her  /  their  heart.  ’

‘  forget  yourself.  that  is  how  you  break  your  curse.  ’

‘  remove  this  thorn  from  my  hand,  and  you  will  be  rewarded.  ’

‘  i’m  tired  of  being  a  prince.  i  think  i  would  actually  enjoy  being  a  frog.  ’

‘  tell  me  of  the  beast,  and  i  will  hunt  it  for  you.  ’

‘  mice  are  never  just  mice,  and  pumpkins  are  rarely  just  pumpkins.  ’

‘  i  don’t  think  breaking  a  spell  should  be  this  simple.  ’

‘  i  never  thought  i’d  return  here,  to  the  site  where  it  all  began.  ’

‘  are  you  an  orphan  ?  it’s  just  that  they’re  always  finding  themselves  in  magical  predicaments.  ’

‘  the  mirror  speaks  falsely  in  your  ear.  it  is  your  true  curse.  ’

‘  my  heart  feels  uneasy,  although  i  am  free.  is  it  supposed  to  ?  ’

‘  i’m  sorry,  it’s  just  that  i  thought  this  is  the  part  of  the  quest  where  the  animals  ought  to  start  talking  to  me.  ’

‘  of  course  i  plan  on  going  to  the  ball.  why  wouldn’t  i  ?  ’

‘  jealousy  has  made  more  witches  out  of  women  than  adam’s  rib.  ’

‘  where  has  choosing  goodheartedness  and  having  golden  hair  ever  gotten  you  ?  ’

 ‘  are  you  a  helpful  wizard,  or  the  kind  that  sits  in  a  tower  reading  moldy  books  ?  ’

‘  i’m  dreadfully  bored.  who  knew  waiting  for  a  prince  was  so  strenuous  ?  ’

‘  we  all  have  towers  we  must  leave,  and  magic  that  will  try  to  thwart  us.  ’

‘  i’m  afraid  for  the  clock  to  strike.  the  hour  will  ring  in  the  place  of  my  heartbeat  when  we  must  be  parted.  ’

‘  i  had  no  idea  carpets  could  fly.  or  pigs  for  that  matter.  ’  

‘  what  would  happen  if  the  knight  did  not  arrive  to  the  castle,  and  the  dragon  made  a  den  of  it  and  a  hoard  of  its  people  and  prize  of  its  princess  ?  ’

‘  i  sometimes  think  i  was  switched  out  at  birth,  like  a  lizard  in  a  bird’s  nest.  i  belong  somewhere  else.  ’

‘   in  another  kingdom  exists  a  throne  and  a  crown  that  is  mine  by  right.  ’

‘  if  i  did  not  wake  up  one  day,  i  would  still  be  waiting  on  a spinning  wheel,  dutifully  bored.  ’  

‘  something  in  me  knows  you  are  here  for  my  heart.  ’

FOLKLORE.

‘  in  all  the  myths  i’ve  heard,  it’s  never  been  worthwhile  to  approach  strange  sights.  it’s  best  to  turn  around  and  pretend  you  never  saw  them.  ’

‘  nothing  is  folklore  until  it  exists  longer  than  consciousness  remembers,  and  lives  in  spite  of  it.  ’

‘  i’ve  heard  your  name  before,  in  songs  and  lengthy  ballads.  ’

‘  whatever  has  led  you  here  to  me,  there  is  destiny  in  its  making.  ’

‘  the  beast  returns  every  century  or  so,  and  tries  to  devour  us.  it  will  come  again  before  long.  ’

‘  a  pretty  face  is  not  nothing.  it  earns  you  a  hearth  and  a  kind  hand,  after  all.  ’

‘  their  lips  are  red  as  blood,  and  their  teeth  carve  ruin  into  throats.  ’

‘  aren’t  dragons  supposed  to  breathe  fire  and  make  a  fuss  about  having  their  treasure  found  ?  ’

‘  someday  you  will  become  a  pilgrim,  a  saint,  or  a  favored  story,  while  i  will  be  a  voice  on  the  wind.  ’

‘  the  stories  say  brides  don’t  live  to  the  light  before  demons  devour  them.  why  should  i  become  one  ?  ’

‘  there  was  another  girl  like  you  once,  in  a  small  town  like  this  one.  i  can’t  remember  if  she  became  the  monster  or  died  trying  to  escape  it.  ’

‘  remember  to  festoon  the  hearth  with  garlic,  or  rosemary,  or  one  of  those  mundane  herbs  that  keep  evil  out.  ’

‘  that  sounds  like  nothing  but  a  tall  tale,  but  i’m  certain  smaller  minds  would  eat  it  up.  ’

‘  to  cross  this  bridge,  you’ll  have  to  pay  a  heavy  toll.  ’

‘  don’t  stray  too  far  from  the  path  set  before  you,  or  something  interesting  might  happen.  ’

‘  i’ve  passed  that  yard  of  crops  a  million  times,  but  the  crow  never  moved  from  its  post  until  this  morning.  ’

‘   it  is  as  though  ancient  fears  are  still  in  us  like  scars  or  stitches.  ’

‘  graveyards  aren’t  where  you  find  ghosts.  look  for  them  in  places  that  feel  like  memories  you  shouldn’t  have.  ’

‘  stories  reap  princes  from  peasants  as  if  their  skins  were  crops  in  the  ground.  ’

‘  what  form  does  your  fear  take  ?  surely  not  that  of  a  bear  or  a  lion.  such  things  are  too  assuring.  ’

‘  i  found  myself  where  everything  was  too  familiar  to  be  real.  ’

‘  in  safe  beds  on  cold  dark  nights,  we  learn  to  face  the  monsters  in  our  own  minds.  ’

FAEKIND.

‘  you’re  not  to  partake  in  a  fairy  feast.  don’t  you  know  it’s  the  food  that  will  devour  you  ?  ’

‘  i’m  sorry  you  did  not  read  the  eyes  of  the  trees  before  finding  yourself  here.  ’

‘  i  wish  to  go  back.  i  want  to  forget  everything.  ’

‘  you  think  that  believing  in  us  is  enough  to  protect  you  ?  that  it  will  kill  us  if  you  forget,  and  we  prey  upon  your  unknowing  ?  ’

‘  step  around  the  ring  three  times,  like  a  backwards  clock.  that’s  how  you  get  to  fairyland.  ’  

‘  i’ve  never  heard  such  sweet  music  before.  ’

‘  where  the  trees  begin  to  twist  and  groan  in  their  roots,  remember  you  must  not  make  a  right  turn.  ’

‘  i  didn’t  feel  like  i’d  stepped  into  another  world,  but  like  it  stepped  into  me.  i  knew  i  was  there  and  forgot  i’d  left  anything  behind.  ’

‘  how  amusing.  a  human  !  ’

‘  would  you  be  my  bride  if  i  were  to  take  you  into  the  ground  ?  ’

‘  i  know  of  tunnels  you  might  take,  the  burrows  of  trolls  and  rabbits.  ’

‘  don’t  take  anything  from  this  realm,  none  of  it  is  worth  the  price  of  keeping.  ’

‘  there  are  courts  by  many  titles  in  the  lands  beyond  the  veil,  all  of  them  other.  ’

‘  names  are  not  like  currency  here;  they  are  more  precious  than  diamonds  and  legacies.  ’

‘  did  you  think  all  of  us  looked  like  goblins  ?  ’

‘  getting  here  is  easy,  but  getting  home  is  quite  the  trick.  ’

‘  i  shall  give  you  a  riddle,  and  it  will  puzzle  you  until  you  know  the  answer  but  forget  your  own  soul.  ’

‘  a  bloodline  is  nothing  when  you’ve  outlived  civilizations.  ’

‘  refusing  my  hospitality  is  like  human  sin,  and  it  will  bring  worse  upon  you.  ’

‘  everything  here  is  and  isn’t,  and  things  are  and  aren’t.  ’

‘  on  lonely  nights  i  stare  into  the  trees,  and  a  strange  face  leers  back.  ’

‘  the  thrones  here  are  made  of  bones  and  blood,  and  built  upon  decay.  ’

‘  a  third  time  is  not  a  charm,  but  a  bargain.  it  says  that  you  want  something  enough  to  wager  your  sense.  ’