Passage and Piece - an SRL Phrase Game

[Tegid]

I bent down, gathered an armful of stones and pressed these into the hands of the nearest stupified warriors. Tegid did the same, and, at my signal, we all threw our enchanted stones down upon the Coranyid. The unleashed sound burst forth in a thundrous peal of chorused exultation. -- (The Paradise War)

[karenee]

That he had been specifically summoned to the Holy Island he had no doubt. By whatever subtle magic, he was drawn to the lake and there, waiting when the boat arrive for him to take him to the ring of stones. Enchantment, surely. But for what purpose?(The Sword and the Flame)

[Tegid]

Arthur -- big as he is -- is but a boy beside the Fisher King. I felt a stripling youth again.

"The peace of Christ be upon you, Merlin, my son," Avallach said, spreading wide his arms. "Welcome! Come into my hall -- we will raise the cup together."

Leaving the stone-flagged yard, we crossed a roofed portico and passed through two great doors into the palace. "Charis is not here at present," the Fisher King informed me as the welcome cup arrived. "One of the priests summoned her this morning. They fetch her whenever she is needed at the shrine."

"Did they say why?" I asked with sinking heart, praying it was not what I feared. Could plague spread so quickly? I did not know.

"Sickness," Avallach replied, holding out the cup. When the cup was filled, the Fisher King pressed it into my hands. "Drink, Merlin. You have traveled far, and the journey was hot. The villagers say there is drought."

I smiled. Avallach called any and all who lived in the shadow of the tor "villagers" -- as if he were a lord with thriving settlements full of loyal subjects. In truth, though a few folk still lived in holdings scattered around the marshes, most who passed through the Summerlands were pilgrims in search of a blessing at the shrine.

-- (Pendragon)

[karenee]

"Baron Neufmarche," sighed Asaph, feeling the weight of care lift from his shoulders, "you have no idea how much this means to me. It is a blessing of the highest order." - (Hood)

[Tegid]

Everywhere was Gwalchmai welcomed, and greeted by one and all. He had been away so long, no one ever expected to see him again, thinking him dead and gone.

On the way back to the city, the Emrys explained to me how it was. "He went in search of Pelleas," he said.

"You said he went in search of himself," I reminded him.

"So he did. He thought he was searching for Pelleas, but it was his own soul that stood in need of saving."

"Who was this Pelleas?"

The Great Emrys sighed. "Pelleas was my steward, and my dearest friend."

"What happened to him?"

The Emrys fixed me with a stern glance from his golden eyes. "You ask too many questions, boy." He turned away, and we journeyed on in silence.

-- (Arthur)

[karenee]

With Milan's son, Rol at the long stern oar, they waved themselves away from the throng on the pier. Rol's strong hands worked the oar, and soon they had entered a deeper channel where a swift current pulled them along. They raised the small sail on its stubby mast and drifted smartly away.

"Where do you wish to land, my Lords?" Called Rol from his seat at the tiller.

"Anywhere you think best, as long as it's west of the Wall." Quentin paused and regarded the hardy youth with his strong shoulders and thick thatch of brown hair. He remembered when the good-natured young man had been a skinny little boy who ran alonside the horses whenever a traveler passed through the village--such as Quentin and Toli often had occasion to do. - (The Warlords of Nin)

[Tegid]

The next day saw the ships slowly making their way upriver under the stares of the curious townspeople of Lindalia, who had come to see the spectacle of three warships pulling themselves along the cliffs by the straining muscles of the oarsmen.

By the end of the second day Selric's navy had reached the fork Durwin had described. They found it to be as Theido had said: the commingling waters of the two mighty branches had carved out a hollow bowl, rimmed around by high palisades. Plunging over the brink of these steep banks in green profusion, vines and vegetation splashed down like leafy waterfalls to trail away in the current.

-- (In the Hall of the Dragon King)

[karenee]

Guy, glancing right and left, took them in with a shiver of disgust and, refusing to be cowed by the unnatural spectacle, rode on.

(Hood)

[Tegid]

When everyone had assembled, the carynx sounded and the Penderwydd of Albion stepped forward. Placing a fold of his cloak over his head, he raised his staff and held it lengthwise above him. "People of Dinas Dwr," he said boldly, "heed the voice of wisdom! This day your king sits in judgment. His word is law, and his law is justice. Hear me now: there is no other justice but the word of the king."

With three resounding cracks of his staff on the stone at my feet, Tegid returned to his place beside me. "Bring the prisoner!" he called.

The crowd parted and six warriors led Paladyr forward. But if his captivity had cowed him even in the slightest, he did not show it. Prydain's one-time champion appeared as haughty as ever, smiling smugly to himself, his head high and his eye unflinching. Clearly, he had lost none of his insolence in captivity. He stalked to the foot of my throne and stood there with his feet apart, and a smirk on his face.

-- (The Endless Knot)

[karenee]

"He is not Irish either," I said. Peredur and Tallaght knew what was coming and tensed as if to meet a blow. There was no way to say otherwise, so I told him the blunt truth. "This man is the lord and leader of the enemy we have been fighting in the south."

"Blessed God in Heaven," breathed Hwyl, aghast at such harsh justice. --(Grail)

[Tegid]

Everyone dies, Gunnar had said. All flesh is grass, said Cadoc. What did you expect, Aidan?

Did you really think that Christ would blunt the spearpoints, deflect the lash, cause the chains to melt away when they touched your skin? Did you expect to walk in sunlight and not feel the heat, or to go without water and not grow thirsty? Did you think that all the hatred would turn to brotherly love the moment you strode into view? Did you think both storms and tempers would calm because of the tonsure on your head?

-- (Byzantium)

[karenee]

Thus we suddenly found ourselves standing alone as the enemy fell back to re-form the wall once more.

"This is the calmest battle I have ever fought," Bors observed. "I have never been in a fight where I was not deaf from the clatter." --(Grail)

[Tegid]

Ahead, right to the very edge of the cliff, stood the west wall of Castle Ameron. The raiding party knelt down in the path to wait for the signal. It was not long in coming, for as the knights waited silently below the curtain, there came a shout from above, far-off. "Fire!" This call was echoed by another and another all along the battlements. Then the knights heard the clatter of feet racing along the high walls directly over their heads as the cry resounded, "Fire!"

-- (The Sword and the Flame)

[karenee]

No sooner had the warder spoken than he turned like lightning upon Quentin and seized him by the tunic at the back of the neck. Quentin was surprised and shocked. He jerked like a loosely strung puppet and struck out at the man with arms and legs flailing. "Come along, ruffian, or I'll feed you to the dogs!" the warder roared.

"Do you require assistance, Trenn?" Quentin heard a voice behind him. He spun around and saw two men, richly dressed and proceeding into the great hall. One looked to be a knight by his armor, but he was no knight like Quentin had ever seen. His armor was silver and burnished to a glittering brightness, his cloak was crimson and lined with sable, as were his gloves and boots.

--(In the Hall of the Dragon King)

[Tegid]

Slowly, I descend into the void, dangling at the end of my ropes like a puppet.

The chamber into which I am lowered is immense. I cannot say how I know this -- perhaps the size is suggested by the chill of the air and the sound of my breathing echoing back from unseen walls. My eyes are bound; I see nothing. Down and down I go.

At last, my feet touch solid ground once more; I gather my legs under me and stand. I cannot tell how far I have descended. The voice falling down to me from directly overhead reaches me as an echo merely: "Seeker ...," it is Pemberton, "with the eyes of faith, I bid you seek ... and may you truly find."

At this, the ropes go slack as they are thrown in after me. This puppet's strings have been cut, as it were, and it is for me to find my own way, to seek. But what ... what am I seeking?

-- (The Iron Lance)