The Unicorn Hunters Quotes

“the brave do not tolerate bondage forever. And it is the work of a whole nation to save itself.”
― Katherine Arden, The Unicorn Hunters

“If years on her wobbling throne had taught her one thing, it was that the power of good governance was beyond most men's gifts, however high their birth.”
― Katherine Arden, The Unicorn Hunters

“The light was gray near the windows, rosy near the fire, wavering in places from the interplay of rain and firelight.”
― Katherine Arden, The Unicorn Hunters

“The bells overhead rang loud enough to shake the raindrops crooked”
― Katherine Arden, The Unicorn Hunters

“In those days, Keris was at its height, an enchanted city of gold and sorcery. They kept not a fleet of ships but rather a fleet of sea-dragons, who went all around the world, and brought back wonders. And they also bred horses, whose sires were gifts of the korriganed, for Queen Malgven to ride. And these horses could run upon the sea as swiftly as destriers run upon the earth.”
― Katherine Arden, The Unicorn Hunters

“To hunt a unicorn required two things. The first was a virgin of high birth and unimpeachable virtue, for bait. And the other was a hunt so extravagant that the mere dazzle of it would tempt the vain beast near.”
― Katherine Arden, The Unicorn Hunters

“All around the table, voices seemed to drop; the name Brocéliande itself breathed out dark mystery. Men told wild tales of that ancient forest. That the fair-folk, the korriganed, had lived long in its shadows. That an unwary traveler might stray into the Lost Lands, only to vanish forever, or return a century hence, still young while his whole world had spun out from under his feet. And they also did say, with more force than mere rumor, that Brocéliande was one of the last, best places for men to hunt unicorns.
A unicorn was the noblest and rarest prey in Christendom. The fire-drakes, if ever they had lived, had not been seen in living memory, and one could not hunt sea-drakes. Sea-drakes hunted men. At least, that's what seamen said when ships did not come back. But now and again, one heard credible tales of a unicorn.”
― Katherine Arden, The Unicorn Hunters

“At the heart of the crowd walked a girl with merry eyes, a floating violet in a sea of cut-velvet and silk hose, cloth-of-silver and the smell of myrrh, concentrating as she held her skirt clear of puddles. This was Anne, duchess regnant of Brittany, her hair caught back in a diadem and a pearl-studded crespine, though she wore no other jewels. They had all been sold to pay her garrisons.”
― Katherine Arden, The Unicorn Hunters