Six Crimson Cranes Quotes
"The bottom of the lake tasted like mud, salt, and regret."
"Demons take me, I had to be the biggest idiot in Kiata!"
"They called me that once. They called me many worse things."
"What are words but silly sounds that tire the tongue? You don’t need them to find your brothers."
"You can’t break the curse if you’re dead. You’ll certainly die if you spend all day out here, wallowing about like some self-pitying fool."
"You work for me now. Any tricks, and I’ll tell the magistrate to cut off your hands for trying to steal my boat."
"It’s just a matter of time before Father finds me."
"I would have noticed her eyes when she summoned her power, yellow as the summer chrysanthemums that bloomed in our gardens."
"Our stepmother has wrought enough sorrow. We cannot let her shadow darken our precious hours of light."
"Fear is just a game, you win by playing."
"Only a sliver. Even then, it was a tremendous risk. No dragon would give more, not without Grandfather’s blessing."
"When the tides are highest, my dragon magic is at its peak. Stop by the nearest river after the next full moon and call for me."
"We fled across the Taijin Sea, racing the storm. Lightning lashed the sky, thunder crackling not far behind."
"Mama was more beautiful. And infinitely less impulsive."
"No matter where life takes you, you will be like those stars—connected by the light you shine together."
"I have need of a starstroke net to break a terrible curse."
"Your timing is suspect, demon. I knew you were no cook."
"Sometimes, but not often, poison is the cure for poison. It's a medicine in disguise."
"Her cranes tried to catch her, but as they dove, they spilled her red dye upon their foreheads, creating the crimson crown that is still there today."
"When they become important to one another or make a promise to one another, a knot is tied, connecting them."
"If fate is a bunch of strings, then I'll carry scissors."
"She said that they taste best when you eat them in the snow."
"No one may enter or leave until we uncover the assassin."
"It's a good thing I'm not on the emperor's council, or the commander of the army."
"You always reach for these at dinner."
"People change. Besides, they’re already cold."
"We hang thieves here, but I’d prefer to see you burn."
"Stray too close to the fire, and you’ll only burn."
"The next time you see me, you will have her pearl."
"All this time, I’ve been waiting for you, Shiori’anma."
"I would tell you stories from dawn to dusk if it meant filling your eyes with happiness."
"The real Tesuwa Zairena perished with her parents."
"My magic is insignificant, compared to the power you and your stepmother wield."
"Water, I realized. It washed away the illusion, revealing who she truly was!"
"His ashes were consecrated on the Holy Mountains—the last of the dark magic left in Kiata."
"We will remember you for centuries to come, as we remember all those who have dishonored the gods."
"A more desolate place to die, atop a pile of straw and sticks in an unmarked field of snow."
"My brothers would come for me. I knew they would."
"Maybe I would freeze before I was burned to death."
"Our duty as sentinels is to expel demons from Kiata."
"The sun was rising, its light prickling my eyes."
"I gnashed at my wrists, sawing the ropes with my teeth."
"You are not the first that we have burned in the name of the mountains."
"I don’t want to be released from my pledge, Shiori."
"I’ll look forward to relieving her of it, once I’m done with you."
"The dragons will unleash their fury upon Kiata at last."
"You are my daughter, not of my blood, but of my heart."
"I only worry that I won’t want to let you go."
"Our fates are linked. How could I forget you?"
"Thank you for continuing this journey with me."