The Crown of Silence Quotes

“You hate Valraven most for when he would not help you save Tayven. You resented feeling so powerless, so in need of aid. You hated him then for not being the great saviour that he’d always been for you. But in a way, you have always hated him; for being stronger than you, for bettering you and saving your skin.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Whatever moments of unity they might have shared when they came out of the water had gone now. Secrets had changed them, unspoken words.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“There was no easy path to what was right, what was truth.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Smite me now. I am not worthy of this company.”

“Ah, pride,” said the angel. “You must learn to temper its excesses. I’ll not smite you.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Without wisdom, without awareness, without mercy, without will, the king does not exist. All these qualities are within the Crown. They are the vital elements of kingship, and when they come together in the flesh of the true king, silence covers the sky, the waters, and the earth.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“We create ourselves constantly.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“It was a hideous parody of when Taropat had passed his essence to Khaster. Tayven felt the serpent’s breath writhing madly within him. Pulses of energy coursed through his flesh. He felt as if his body would burst. He was not strong enough to control it.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Don’t give up, Tayven. You are the one. We know the truth. You were meant to have the Dragon’s Breath. The love you felt for Khaster was pure. The love you can give now is pure. Take back the hope you tried to give me. I relinquish it. I am no longer afraid.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Your pretty songs were nothing but lies and now, because of you, your friends will perish here. I will devour them for their false trust in their deceit. Why don’t you sing for me while I feast, lovely bard? I like a pretty tune.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Ahhh,” breathed the serpent, “to be desired by princes and kings. I am you, Tayven. I am the snake inside your pretty skin that bit them and poisoned their hearts.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Don’t you know when a bard lies he commits murder? He murders truth, and from the lips of a king’s bard, that kills part of the world.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“The serpent shook itself and its image wavered. Tentacles rose from it, which presently Tayven realized were arms. The serpent had acquired a semi-human appearance. To the waist, it had the form of a beautiful boy which melded into the flexing coils. The creature’s limbs wove upon the air in a cruel dance. It smiled, showing sharp teeth, and a narrow forked tongue flickered out.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Perhaps there was some truth in the implication Taropat had made. Merlan had taken Khaster’s place in Tayven’s mind. He was the weak and vulnerable one now, and Tayven felt he must help him as he couldn’t have helped before.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“The serpent’ll have you. He likes tender flesh. I like to watch.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“What pretty creatures. Are they for the serpent?”

“We are all here to seek knowledge,” Taropat said.

“Oh,” answered Goodgog in some disappointment. “Better drowned. More pretty then.”

“The serpent is the spirit of this place?” Taropat said. “What shall we offer it?”

“Not your place to decide,” answered the guardian. “It takes what it wants, your life or your soul or your sanity. I like to watch.”

“Hmm,” said Taropat. “We intend to pass on from this place with all those attributes intact.”

“Then you must fight him,” said Goodgog. “But when you do he’ll take the form most likely to squash you flat. That is the way.”

“If we vanquish the serpent, may we pass to Pancanara?” Taropat asked.

The mad creature laughed. “If you vanquish the serpent, I’ll take you there myself, otherwise I’ll feast on your bones. It’s all one to me.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“I could not let such a tasty morsel pass through my domain without knowing him this way.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“A place like this should not exist in such a cruel world. To find it there was to have hope restored.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“This was how it should be, the close relationship between apprentice and master. The learning, the wonder of it.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“You have a beautiful face, mister. I’d hate to think of it pecked away.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“I think the flaming brand symbolizes Anterity’s attribute. The fire is the will, the will to overcome, not to conquer and repeat the cycle of hatred. We shall only triumph if we affirm our own suffering as our responsibility. We will triumph once we can take action and relinquish reaction.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“The past lay between them, a stagnant flood of unspoken words and unexpressed feelings.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Shan felt he’d lost the closeness he enjoyed with his mentor, because the others were there.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Natural rock formations looked like ancient temples, while ancient temples looked like natural rock.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Shan had lived here, in close proximity to Taropat every day. Tayven felt a barb in his heart. Jealousy.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Strangely enough, I saw our roles the other way around las time. I was the great magician and you were the poetic bard. But Taropat has changed that. I accept it willingly.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“Life would become difficult again for a while, but I knew I’d have the strength to face it.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“You were never what I thought you were, but if anything, I respected you more for it.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“This man looked like Khaster yet in many ways he was entirely dissimilar. If any thing, this was what Khaster should always have been: tougher, more humorous.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“He was aware only of a serpent biting its own tail; a circle completed.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence

“As I said, he danced on both sides of the coin; master on intrigue and cunning and devoted lover to a damaged man.”
― Storm Constantine, The Crown of Silence