A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians (The Shadow Histories, #1)

by H.G. Parry

Neither of them was quite sure what it was that was supposed to be beginning, but it didn’t matter. They were twenty. Everything was beginning.

He filled his brain with words by day and felt their essence seep into his soul overnight.

Symbols had power only as long as people gave it to them. It seemed that the time of the people had come.

That’s what all laws should do. Impose the restrictions that, if human beings were always moral and rational, they would impose upon themselves.”

I sometimes think ‘just this once’ is the most dangerous phrase in the English language.”

“Tell me, is it comforting to have such a wide view of things?” “Of course it’s not comforting. It’s absolutely terrifying. If you find it comforting to see the entire world as a battle between good and evil, with every action you take reverberating through time like ripples in a pond, then you are clearly doing something very wrong. Except every once in a while, then it is, yes.”