Passage and Piece - an SRL Phrase Game

[karenee]

"Of all worlds," corrected the Ancient One, "of this world and the next and the one beyond that. I am the Long Awaited King whose coming was foretold of old, who was, and is and will be again. I am the Giver of Life, known from before the foundation of the world, by whose hand Heaven and Earth received their form. I am known by many names, but the time is coming when all men will call me Lord."

Taliesin trembled with fear and awe as the Supreme Spirit's words burned into his soul.

"I am the one you have sought, Taliesin, in the deep, secret places of your heart. I am the light that strives against darkness. I am the knowledge, the truth, the life. From this moment you will hold no other gods above me. Do you understand?"

--(Taliesin)

[Tegid]

Thus, I came to know early the substance and use of power. Great Light, you know I have never sought it for myself! Power was offered me and I took it. What is the wrong in that?

In those days, however, power was seen differently. Right and wrong were what men conceived in their own minds and hearts. Sometimes in truth, more often in error. There were no judges in the land, no standard men could point to and say, "You see, this is right!" Justice was that which issued from the steel in a king's hand.

You would do well to remember this.

But these ideas of justice and right came later, much later. There was living to be done first, a foundation to be erected on which to build the man.

-- (Merlin)

[karenee]

There it was again. The chance that it was a computer error ceased to be a possibility. Glitches did not repeat themselves. The chance that it was a kink in his program was also remote. The command was well within the program's range of flexibility. --(Dream Thief)

[Tegid]

Maggie was right about the apartment in Brooklyn. Hunter went to the address early the next morning and found that it had not only been cleaned out, but also rerented. When shown an ID photo of Simon, the landlady confirmed he had lived there for a few months. "Very quiet," she said, "but friendly enough. Wasn't around much, so I didn't get to know him well. Nice boy. Always paid on time, kept the noise down -- not like a lot of people these days."

"When did he move out?"

"This would have been six weeks ago. A Tuesday I think -- or Wednesday, maybe. I don't know. All I got was a phone call saying he wasn't coming back. He hadn't been around much for about a week before that though. I told him he'd lose his deposit because he wasn't giving me thirty days' notice, but he said that was okay, plus I could keep whatever he'd left in the apartment -- which wasn't a lot."

"Do you still have it?"

"Most of it I sold, but I kept the VCR and portable TV. The clothes I gave to the homeless shelter. He had some nice things."

"Didn't you think it was a little odd?" Hunter asked. "Just up and leaving like that?"

"Not really. I take short-timers -- they pay a little extra for the flexibility, you know? Now that I think of it, he might have said something about Pennsylvania -- probably a job or something. That's usually what happens anyway."

-- (!Hero: City of Dreams)

[kg00ds]

The next day we resumed the circuit, and all went as it had before. Nothing terrible happened. The earth did not open before our feet and swallow us whole; the sky did not fall; the sun did not deviate from its appointed course. And, when evening came, the moon rose to shed a friendly light upon the land. All was as it should be.
- The Endless Knot (SOA triliogy)

[Tegid]

"Why are you carrying stones?"

"I am marking out the dimensions of our caer," he replied, retrieving another stone. "These are the markers."

Apparently he had gathered stones from the lakeshore and heaped them in a pile. Now he was walking the circumference of his would-be fortress, using the stones to mark out the walls. We began the circuit of the walls, and he showed me where he had placed the stones.

"This is good," I told him. "But a bard should choose the place to build the stronghold if it is to stand. All the more if it is to be the residence of a king."

-- (The Silver Hand)

[karenee]

Leaving the others to restore themselves, I walked back over the hill to fetch the horses and, with some difficulty, brought them within the confines of the ruined caer. The horses shied from entering the place, and it took all my coaxing just to get them to pass through the gate. Once inside, they twitched and shivered as if they were cold, and stamped the ground anxiously. Nevertheless, I tethered them nearby and, retrieving the two waterskins from behind the saddles, hastened back to the ruined wall. --(Grail)

[Tegid]

"They have lost the Holy Lance," Emlyn said, his voice growing suddenly bitter. "These ignorant, foolish men! Blind and stupid, every one -- from king to footman, not a brain among them. Cast them all into the pit and be done with it, O God!"

Once, such an outburst from the gentle monk would have alarmed Murdo, but not now. He knew exactly what the monk was feeling; he felt the same way himself.

Sinking to his knees, Emlyn raised clenched fists in the air. "They have made of your great name a curse, O Lord," he cried, "and their deeds are blasphemy in your sight. Who will restore your honor, Great King? Who will overthrow the wickedness of the mighty?"

-- (The Iron Lance)

[karenee]

Devi's smile was warm and pleased. He turned to the door of the chapel and opened it and led them in. It was dark and warm inside and smelled slightly musty with age--like an old library or museum, thought Spence. The scent was not disagreeable at all; rather it made him feel secure, as if he had stepped into a safe harborage well out of reach of the world's blasts and alarms. This then, was what the ancients meant by sanctuary. Here on this holy ground nothing could harm him. He was safe and at peace.

-- (Dream Thief)

[Tegid]

I heard footsteps thudding behind me -- and loud curses as the crows turned their attack on my pursuers. The dark entrance of the cairn yawned before me. I could smell the dry musty scent of the cairn's interior. I swallowed hard and lunged into the entrance, banging the top of my head as I tumbled into the deep blackness of the cairn. -- (The Paradise War)