#kings

The king killed his brother, who was actually king, so that he could be king. Then the dead king’s wife and baby disappeared, on account the baby would’ve been king, so the brother probably killed them, too. They do that kind of thing all the time, kings do. They can kill anybody they don’t like. ↗

— Sage Blackwood

#intrigue #kings #regicide #humor

There is a darkness in you. In all of us, probably. Beasts we keep chained. Ordinary men have to keep the chains strong, for if we let the beast loose then society will turn upon us with fiery vengeance. Kings though...well, who is there to turn upon them? So the chains are made of straw. It is the curse of kings, Helikaon, that they can become monsters. And they invariably do. ↗

— David Gemmell

#humanity #kings #leadership #treachery #leadership

Life is too short for half-hearted connections and meaningless run-throughs. ↗

— Karen Kingsbury

#cody-coleman #karen-kingsbury #life

In my own worst seasons I've come back from the colorless world of despair by forcing myself to look hard, for a long time, at a single glorious thing: a flame of red geranium outside my bedroom window. And then another: my daughter in a yellow dress. And another: the perfect outline of a full, dark sphere behind the crescent moon. Until I learned to be in love with my life again. Like a stroke victim retraining new parts of the brain to grasp lost skills, I have taught myself joy, over and over again(15). ↗

— Barbara Kingsolver

#dark #high #joy #kingsolver #life

A knock down has never been a knockout unless you allow it. ↗

— Jaachynma N.E. Agu

#agu #be-different #chiyson #greater-glory #higher-life

In the smoky firelight the two old men nodded off like a pair of ancient kings passing the aeons in their tumuli. Made a musical notation of their snores. Elgar is to be played by a bass tuba, Ayrs a bassoon. ↗

— David Mitchell

#music #snores #men

Most of the mess that is called history comes about because kings and presidents cannot be satisfied with a nice chicken and a good loaf of bread. ↗

— Jennifer Donnelly

#history #kings #presidents #revolution #president

Maybe weakness is a strength of a kind. ↗

— Melissa de la Cruz

#blue-bloods #fiction #martin-kingsley #van-alen-legacy #young-adult

I once knew a man who was heir to the throne of a great kingdom, he lived as a ranger and fought his destiny to sit on a throne but in his blood he was a king. I also knew a man who was the king of a small kingdom, it was very small and his throne very humble but he and his people were all brave and worthy conquerors. And I knew a man who sat on a magnificent throne of a big and majestic kingdom, but he was not a king at all, he was only a cowardly steward. If you are the king of a great kingdom, you will always be the only king though you live in the bushes. If you are the king of a small kingdom, you can lead your people in worth and honor and together conquer anything. And if you are not a king, though you sit on the king’s throne and drape yourself in many fine robes of silk and velvet, you are still not the king and you will never be one. ↗

— C. JoyBell C.

#cowardice #destiny #fake #genuine #heir-to-the-throne

Joseph and his mother come from the black kings who were before the white man. ↗

— Peter Abrahams

#black #come #his #joseph #kings