Home > Work > The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1)
1 " You are what your creators and experiences have made you, like every other being in this universe. Accept that and be done; I tire of your whining. "
― N.K. Jemisin , The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1)
2 " I remembered Nahadoth's lips on my throat and fought to suppress a shudder, only half succeeding. Death as a consequence of lying with a god wasn't something I had considered, but it did not surprise me. A mortal man's strength had its limits. He spent himself and slept. He could be a good lover, but even his best skills were only guesswork - for every caress that sent a woman's head into the clouds, he might try ten that brought her back to earth. "
3 " The younger man stepped away from the table and came toward me, his whole posture radiating menace. Every Darre woman is taught to deal with such behavior from men. It is an animal trick that they use, like dogs ruffling their fur and growling. Only rarely is there an actual threat behind it, and a woman's strength lies in discerning when the threat is real and when it is just hair and noise. "
4 " We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease. "
5 " It is blasphemy to separate oneself from the earth and look down on it like a god. It is more than blasphemy; it is dangerous. We can never be gods, after all - but we can become something less than human with frightening ease. "
6 " He has come to seduce the god of seduction, and oh, has he come prepared. "
7 " How terrible to be a god of change and endure grief unending. "
8 " In a child's eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe. "
9 " ...and when I lift my head to scream out my fury, a million stars turn black and die. No one can see them, but they are my tears. "
10 " But love like that doesn't just disappear, does it? No matter how powerful the hate, there is always a little love left, underneath.Yes. Horrible, isn't it? "
11 " So there was love, once. More than love. And now there is more than hate. Mortals have no words for what we gods feel. Gods have no words for such things. But love like that doesn't just disappear, does it? No matter how powerful the hate, there is always love left, underneath. Horrible, isn't it? "
12 " Determination could easily become obsession. "
13 " Once upon a time there was aOnce upon a time there was aOnce upon a time there was aStop this. It's undignified. "
14 " It was very bad if the council had resorted to recruiting men. By tradition men were our last line of defence, their physical strength bent towards the single and most important task of protecting our homes and children. This meant the council had decided that our only defence was to defeat the enemy, period. Anything else meant the end of Darre. "
15 " The priest's lesson: beware the Nightlord, for his pleasure is a mortal's doom. My grandmother's lesson: beware love, especially with the wrong man. "
16 " …for to name a thing is to give it order and purpose... "
17 " There's truth even in tainted knowledge, if one reads carefully. "
18 " Fortunately, where reason failed, blind panic served well enough. "
19 " There is nothing foolish about hope. "
20 " You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I don't you like you, either. "
