Lightbringer (Empirium, #3)

by Claire Legrand

My belief is my hope, and hope is the light that shines even on the darkest night.”

“May your ship sail true and your fires burn bright. May your heart think of me while the stars shine their light.” —Traditional Vesperian traveler’s prayer

“No,” Eliana whispered. “I rise.”

With the dawn I rise, Audric prayed, raising Illumenor. With the day I blaze.

‘There is nothing in this world that I could look upon and not then think of you,’ he said, ‘for in you lies everything I have known, everything I am, everything I will be.’” —“The Ballad of Gilduin and Morgaine,” ancient Celdarian epic, author unknown

“Feel the earth beneath your feet and the wind that moves the trees See the shadows shift across the fields, the tide that pulls the seas Hear the whip of metal forged in prayer The crack and spit of flame Watch the sun climb up the sky and burn— A fire no sword can tame!” —“The Glory of the Seven,” traditional Celdarian war hymn

“To the skies you were born, to the skies you return Back to the high places, the far moon, the cold burn But why did the great song call you so soon, child of the stars? And why oh why did you listen?” —Traditional angelic lament