#arthurian

And then, just as I begin to raise my sword to cleave a path to Arthur's side, there comes a sound like a tempest wind - the blast of a mighty sea gale. Men fall back, suddenly afraid. They cover their heads with their arms and peer into the darkness above. What is it? Is the roof falling? The sky? The strange sound subsides and they glance at one another in fear and awe. Merlin is there. The Emrys is standing calmly beside Arthur. His hands are empty and upraised, his face stern in the unnatural silence he has created . . . ↗

— Stephen R. Lawhead

#men

Soft sun shone down on a misty cathedral at the opposite end of a football-field length courtyard. The cathedral had a long pointed tower with beautiful rose and ivory stained glass windows. Pink-petal flowers and deep green ivy climbed the stones from the ground to it’s roof. A large fountain stood in the middle of the courtyard with water falling from several lion’s heads. Between the misty air and rolling slope of the earth, the grounds reminded me of a long lost fairy tale. ↗

— Priya Ardis

#coming-of-age #e-books #ebooks #fairy-tales #heroic-fantasy

But, I believe," I continue, "I know what true love is - or what it should be." "What should it be?" Tristan asks, his voice soft now. "It should be a friendship and truly knowing who a person is, knowing his flaws and hopes and strengths and fears, knowing all of it. And admiring and caring for - loving the person because of those things. ↗

— Lisa Ann Sandell

#elaine-of-ascalot #friendship #gradual-love #lady-of-shallot #over-the-years

... and it seemed to her that time stopped, that her body melted into his as if she were without nerve or bone or will, and his kiss was like fire and ice on her lips. ↗

— Marion Zimmer Bradley

#arthurian #love #marion-zimmer-bradley #love

No, don't draw away from me. Whatever else I am, I am your son - your most wretched son. If you do not hate me, try to love me a little, Father; it is lonely never to have been loved, only devoured. ↗

— Rosemary Sutcliff - Sword at Sunset

#artos #medraut #mordred #sword-ad-sunset #love

Arthur is no fit king. Uther's bastard, Merlin's pawn, he is lowborn and a fool. He is wanton and petty and cruel. A glutton and a drunkard, he lacks all civilized graces. In short, he is a sullen, ignorant brute. All these things and more men say of Arthur. Let them. When all the words are spoken and the arguements fall exhausted into silence, this single fact remains: we would follow Arthur to the very gates of Hell and beyond if he asked it. And that is the solitary truth. Show me another who can claim such loyalty. ↗

— Stephen R. Lawhead

#men