The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty, #1)

by Ken Liu

“If one abandons all ideals, then the world will be without substance.

The more perfect the ideals, the less ideal the methods.

Cruing ma donothécaü luki né othu, the Classical Ano poets said. The past is a country to which one cannot return.

“Though I am declared victorious today, who knows in ten generations whether your name or mine will be the brighter? You died a grace of kings at my hand, but doubt will haunt me till the day I die.

“I saw you soar in the sky when you held Namen back at Zudi, and I bore witness when you slaughtered the innocent in Dimu. I marveled at your courage, nobility, and loyalty, and I shuddered at your cruelty, suspicion, and obstinacy. I laughed as you cradled my infant son outside Çaruza, and I cried as you burned down the Immaculate City. I understood your dedication to the world as you thought it ought to be, and I regret it is not a world that all of us wish to live in. I swallowed bitterness as you refused to call me brother, and I had to do so again to betray you at Rana Kida. I felt closer to you than I did to my brother by blood when the chance for victory seemed remote, yet we could not break bread together in joy in Pan. From the shores of Wolf’s Paw to the skies over Zudi, you left in the hearts of the people an indelible image. “You swept through the world in a tempest of gold. My brother, there will never be another like you in these Islands.”