The Wall of Storms (The Dandelion Dynasty, #2)

by Ken Liu

In death I am the Emperor...

Na-aroénna will once again d...

Goremaw will once again sup on marrow. Let us redeem honor from ...

Kuni Garu mu...

“Asleep? No! I was merely resting my eyes.”

The lotus blooms, my darling,

Do you see how it blushes at the sight of you?

My heart beats, my...

Do you not know how brief the...

“That would be sitting by a cozy fire in winter while snow falls outside the window;

climbing onto a high place after a spring rain to admire a revitalized world;

eating crabs with freshly brewed tea next to the fall tides; and dipping your feet into a cool lotus-covered...

I am ripe for harvesting, my sweet dear.

If you don’t pick me, another hand will.

I am heavy with need; my face bends near, Ready for the night...

But perhaps no hand will ever pick me,

And that is not so terrible a fate. I’ll kiss the water and release my seeds

To see them wander the wa...

How far will they go? What will ...

What distant shores will they touch and visit Before they sink and sprout and grow and bloom— To sway...

I am named Dissolver of Sorrows, thought Théra. When the bitterness in my heart has been dissolved, what is left is potential.

Which is closer to a true portrait of the man?

“A lie, no matter how often repeated, does not become the truth.

What sights and wonders was Ruthi witnessing?

What sort of immortals would force the women to wield clubs and fight? And so immodestly!

Were these barbarians without shame?

Very obscure—I’m surprised you know it.

“That . . . is a philosophy of evil.”

Violence has a cost, Gin, and sooner or later, that debt must be repaid.

“They’re called garinafins and they do more than spit fire. Just looking into their eyes turns you into stone, and then they smash you into smithereens with their eagle-claws and wolf-teeth.”

Is this why Kon Fiji warned his disciples against hero worship? “To admire anyone excessively is to set yourself up for disappointment.”

Rulers, like gods, cannot be seen as making mistakes, and so you have yoked me to this lie that I cannot repudiate.”

We’re not perfect, and we strive to do the best we can despite our sins.”

“In a time of war, the rules of peace are suspended.”

Was it a flock of birds? A breeze? Didn’t the stars appear to be obscured for a moment by some shadow?

He shuddered. Have the gods of Dara finally decided to intervene?

Am I to fail? Will my name be forgotten as whispers into the winter wind?

What a marvelous bird to fly through such a storm! Is this its native habitat?

It would have been nice to see new lands before I die, but every journey has an end. We come from the Flow, and to the Flow we shall return.

What if the gods of Dara were limited to Dara and had no influence beyond the Wall of Storms?

Tututika, is there beauty in a society of one? Could there be imperfection when the world consists of only one soul?

Fithowéo, do you think there can be warfare between the self and the self?

“Before the sea, all men are brothers,” he croaked, and then collapsed against the beach.

The universe is knowable. Patterns could be discerned and made useful.

So this is what it feels like to kill a man.

“What an amazing series of coincidences.”

Do you feel honored or dishonored?

He felt old and weak. How many more wars must I fight? How many more people must die?

Must I add to the accusatory voices in my head?

“Luan Zyaji was only half right,” said Soto. “The grace of kings may belong to all, but only few are fit to take up the burden.”