Cas

“But those who initially went to the West were overtaken by the barbarism of the frontier with astonishing speed - think Lord of the Flies or Heart of Darkness. There was murder, mayhem, robbery, alcoholism, depression, and suicide, and all of it on a positively Homeric scale that still has cultural anthropologists enraptured.”
― Simon Winchester

“He might not have both oars in the water, but his course is sound.”
― William Ritter, The Dire King

“We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive. We do not apologize for them,” she says quietly, eyes never leaving mine. “Maybe they have broken you, but you are a sharper weapon because of it. And it is time to strike.”
― Laura Sebastian, Ash Princess

“I have seen the coming of the dawn.
Unconcernedly watching the passing of the day,
Whiled away my hours in joyful play-
I live to simply sing the song of love
And play the music of my heart-
Dancing and playing in the light,
I am filled with passion and delight.
My voice is free.
It rises and floats away from me-
I am unable to escape these walls.
My body will not float like my song’s plaintive calls.
Only in my mind I float free as my song
And I fly to a home where I belong.
There, those who know my heart well
Sing, sing, sing with my song’s spell-
They snatched my voice,
Held me against my choice.
I forget all that was mine
Yet I reach to dream it one last time.
I struggle to the last
But my light is fading fast,
A lone warrior waging a brutal fight
Against an endless night.
I fight for escape even if the notes of this song
Are only the part of me to leave.
I rise up out of here,
Reaching for the things I hold dear.
I will not stay silent,
I shall not remain still.
I sing. I sing to the end.”
― Victoria Forester, The Girl Who Could Fly