Grimdark Quotes

“The day will come when you need them to respect you, even fear you a little. Laughter is poison to fear.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“The hard truths are the ones to hold tight. - Old Bear”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“She’s dressed in a white her soul doesn’t reflect, a drop-dead beauty with drop-dead morals.”
― Halo Scot, Echoes of Blood

“You always collect your debts this promptly?” Thrazo asked when he couldn’t handle the oppressive silence.
“When they matter.”
“And this one does?”
“Yes.”
“That’s nearly a conversation. Careful, you might strain something.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Debt

“We play with the gifts the Gods bestow upon us . And who are they to us? Either carpets to our thrones or casualties on the way.”
― Gourav Mohanty, Sons of Darkness

“There is no 'right side of history', there is only their side, and yours”
― Holden R. Snow, Darker Skies Ahead

“To break with ritual is to break with faith, brother...”
― Alec Worley, Stormseeker

“Thrazo didn’t understand, so he rolled the tea over his tongue, grimaced. “That tasted like boiled regret.”
“It’s willowbark.”
“Ah. Boiled regret with ideas.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Debt

“Thrazo didn’t ask what caused the noises. Some answers you didn’t want before you had steel in your hand.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Debt

“We still walking into this?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I was worried my day might calm down.”
Elijah gave him one of his almost-smiles. “Keep your axe high.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Debt

“You’ll get your drink. First round’s mine.”
Thrazo grinned. “And there’s the poetry again.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Debt

“Elijah knew too well: the dead didn’t stop haunting just because you closed your eyes.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Lie

“People say anything when the fire’s close.”
Elijah studied her. “And when it’s not?”
“Then they lie slower,” she said.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Lie

“I suggest you stop digging, Lynton,” she said, stepping past him. “Some things are best left in the ash.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Lie

“You wore our words like armour,” he said. “But you never carried the weight.”
― J.L. Coulbeck, The Witch Hunter's Lie

“It’s all over now, came that lonesome voice. You have to let it go.
Vasily searched the heavens. But how can I let it go, and still hold onto you?
As always, the winking stars stayed silent.”
― S. A. Matey, Prince of Glass: Remastered

“Shank off, you faithless skiv!”
“Then say my name,” Taein said as he rose and adjusted his coat. “You know exactly who I am.”
“You’re the Unkillable Kid—” The mugger said through a froth of blood, his squirming growing weaker.
Taein picked him up by the lapels and drew the mugger’s face so close he could see the broken blood vessels in his eyes. “Say. My. Name.”
“Taein,” Big said, and he burst into tears.

And Taein he was, after all.
He was the prince of purloining, scourge of the streets, survivor against all natural odds, reckless to the point of delusion. He was Taein, survivor of the BlackBlades, the Unkillable Kid himself, (or unkillable as far as he knew, at least), and if a good thrashing was all that could beat back the numbness anymore, even just for a few adrenaline-soaked moments, so be it. It was better to feel anything other than his usual state of abysmal emptiness—even pain—because that emptiness haunted him like a starving child, dogging his heels every waking minute, leaching through his very bloodstream as a hard frost crawls along a windowpane. 
He was Taein—terror of thieves, conductor of chaos, sweetheart of spite—and if brushing hands with death was all that could shake him halfway to life anymore, so be it.”
― S. A. Matey, Prince of Glass: Remastered

“What made Taein the Unkillable Kid was more than surviving the war that tore his realm apart and the hunt for his life that followed. It was more than almost starving to death in the wilds, it was more than the addictions that still hungered for his life. More than his time in the Blackblades, more than evading the Garrison, more than all the thrashings and scraps and botched brawls he’d ever gotten himself into. What made Taein the Unkillable Kid was the truth—that he literally could not die. 
And Taein knew that for a fact, because he had tried to die more times than he could count. ”
― S. A. Matey

“Herein lies a story all creatures know
The root of the root, the seed left to sow
A history of yearning, of great sorrow and pain
Told to me as a warning, told to you just the same. 
In the beginning, the Father-Graven had two sons
Who tore the boundless heavens apart 
In salted stardust, Geiin birthed a world
And Mithre corrupted its heart.
The world fell to a night deep and starless 
The spirits of men filled fully with darkness
Geiin ascended and in his wake
Left four brothers, each an Anathema remade:

A Father to rule dumb creatures
A Father to keep Ieris living and green 
A Father to be mankind’s healer 
& a Father to balance, sort, and cleave. 

What was faultless turned to rust 
A world once beautiful turned to dust 
At the end of all things but this stands true
All spirits return to one of two
Geiin or Mithre, holy or shrewd
Until the end we will slay what has strayed
Hear this song and be afraid
Never again let Anathema see light of day.”
― S. A. Matey, Prince of Glass: Remastered

“...helplessness would not win Vasily a war. Helplessness had to be turned to rage. The kind that could topple mountains, the kind that could dethrone kings, the kind that could burn a whole realm down to the ground.
The kind that never, ever went away.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, many said about men of power. But Vasily knew a different kind of truth.
Heavier still, was the hand that wields the sword.”
― S. A. Matey, Prince of Glass: Remastered

“When they were well out of her earshot, Taein swiveled back and glowered at Vince. “You’ve got to throw those away.”
Vince, bouncing awkwardly in the saddle as his draft kept time with Lorrin, looked aghast. “Taein, she gave us muffins.”
“She probably poisoned them, you imbecile,” Taein hissed. 
“Why would she do that?” Vince asked, fumbling to keep a hold of his reins and manage a pair of blueberry-dotted muffins at the same time. 
“Because she knows I’m the one that stole from her, years back!”
Vince paused before popping an entire muffin into his mouth. “You’re far too paranoid, Taein,” he said as he chewed. “These are blueberry muffins. Suit yourself, but I ain’t throwing these away even if they are poisoned.” 
“Well, don’t go blaming me when you keel over. You were duly warned.”
“Me, paying recompense for your poorly-executed crimes? When has that ever happened?” Vince chuckled.”
― S. A. Matey, Prince of Glass: Remastered

“Hours passed in that dark space. 
It seemed as if time itself had separated from them, as if it’d become some strange, stalking creature Vasily had left behind at the door, a selfish thief he never wanted to find again. If time was a thing of flesh and bone he would’ve killed it right then and there, burned it and the whole world too for just another moment, for just another day to say all these precious unsaid things clogging his chest that he hadn’t the courage to say in the rapidly-fading now. 
But now was all they had, just the barest whisper of a few stray moments, all so quick to slip through his fingers and fall to the floor. 
Now was not enough.”
― S. A. Matey, Prince of Glass: Remastered

“Taein was bleeding in ways that no man could sustain for long, but he had a job to do. The path ahead had to be finished, before all this blood like water ran out and the grave closed over him at last.”
― S. A. Matey, Prince of Glass: Remastered

“Taein couldn’t feel much anymore, but he could still feel Vasily’s presence in his very bones. The old unbreakable tether between them. That unrelenting grudge.
The thief turned and faced the hunter, the path ended at last”
― S. A. Matey, Prince of Glass: Remastered

“In a large, abandoned field, I found myself cleaning the dung off the only pair of shoes I owned since I can remember. Perhaps, next time, I'll be more cautious of my steppings. It was at that moment when I found myself locking eyes with a creature whose sight I found utterly revolting. Marked from head to heel with hair so short, one could've mistaken the poor thing for a boy, except for the bountiful bosom, whose ample weight carried well. If I were to say the poor thing made Ms. Bottom Slippers look attractive, I kid you not!”
― Marilyn Velez, Tundra: The Darkest Hour

“Bara en idiot återvänder till slaveri”
― Anna Hallander, Genom Skuggan

“The world was broken over eight hundred years ago, during The Reckoning. Now it is a time of darkness, a time of war, of blood and slaughter. It is a time of fire and dissolution.”
― Toby R. Beeny, The Bjornlinga Saga #1

“A cold terror gripped the men then, a fear that burrowed deep into their guts. The land itself felt malevolent, alive with a dark force that sought to consume them.”
― Toby R. Beeny, The Bjornlinga Saga #1

“You choose your destiny. You choose your fate. The choice is always yours, Anawar.’

I had made my choice. And now I was in deep shit.”
― Ronit J., Island of the Dying Goddess

“Jehan had seen fear change its clothes before.”
― Robyn Abbott, The Penitent