mien

enfeoffed

was the underlying order of the universe, a grid—like the warp and weft of the rough cloth woven by Cocru craftsmen—formed by horizontal lines of mutual respect among equals and vertical lines of downward obligation and upward fealty in which everyone knew his place.

jade

bright and tenacious flower will not bloom in obscurity.”

sinecure

soporific

the Seven States had vied for dominance of the Islands of Dara: rustic and arid Xana in the far northwest, confined to the islands of Rui and Dasu; elegant and arrogant Amu, fortified in rain-drenched and balmy Arulugi and the fertile fields of Géfica, the land between the rivers; the Three Brother States of woodsy Rima, sandy Haan, and craggy Faça, nestled in the northern half of the Big Island; wealthy and sophisticated Gan in the east, filled with big cities and busy trading ports; and finally, martial Cocru on the southern plains, famed for her brave warriors and wise generals.

The best followers are those who think it was their own idea to follow you.

What is fate but coincidences in retrospect

“When you learn enough about the world, even a blade of grass can be a weapon.”

into jade-lined pools

He made thousands of men into slaves to the memory of the dead emperor and ignored their protests. Sacrifices were necessary in the pursuit of legitimacy.

No fish can live in perfectly clear water.”

“We care more than you know,” the old man said, and then disappeared.

seems that good friends are always parting too quickly,” Luan Zya said, and he clasped his hands together and raised them toward Kuni Garu in the traditional Haan formal gesture of farewell.

the cold moonlight, Kikomi’s vision, momentarily obscured by the pain of her broken wrists, cleared. She shuddered as she finally understood the deviousness of Marana’s plan: If Xana were to spare Amu in the subsequent wars and her name were then celebrated, Cocru would suspect an alliance between Amu and Xana and consider her act proof of Amu’s treachery. Müning, that beautiful, fragile floating city, might yet be put to the torch by Mata’s army.

The young often want that which the old detest and fear. The yearning for the new, for something different glimpsed but faintly through legends and shadows, cannot be taken from them—not unless you freeze their hearts and imprison their minds. Yet, you say you wish Tan Adü to remain free.”

puissant

surfeit

I had to remember that being merciful to one’s enemies is the same as being cruel to one’s own men

man fell in love with a woman, married her, and the passion would cool. He would then go into the world, see other women, fall in love again, marry them, and feel the new passion cool in turn. After all, in all the Tiro states, a man was allowed to have multiple wives, if he could persuade all the wives to agree. But if he was a good man, the passion would cool into a smoldering ember, ready to be fanned aflame again

hegemon

hegemon

Kikomi had, in the end, stayed one step ahead of him and thwarted his plot. Just as she had almost succeeded in ensnaring him with a vision of rebellion, he had almost succeeded in seducing her with promises of eternal glory. The princess was willing to live in abiding infamy in the pages of history to save her people—Marana had to admire such grandness of spirit. He also wondered if, in a way, his own current position could be attributed to Mata’s own surely complicated feelings about Kikomi. Fortune was indeed a strange thing.

can be loyal to your husband at the same time that you take a lover for your own sake, though the poets tell us this is wrong. But why should we believe that the poets understand us better than we do ourselves

The past is a country to which one cannot return.

You died a grace of kings at my hand, but doubt will haunt me till the day I die.

son who carries on the legacy of his father Is more precious than a pearl in the palm of a great king.