Gathering Blue

Take pride in your pain; you are stronger than those who have none

Be proud of your pain, for you are stronger than those with none.

We're the ones who will fill in the blank places. Maybe we can make it different.

Take pride in your pain," her mother had always told her. "You are stronger than those who have none.

Because of fear, they made shelter and found food and grew things. For the same reason, weapons were stored, waiting.

Pretending doesn't keep you safe.

He gestured toward her twisted leg. "Like you. Some don't walk good. Some be broken in other ways. Not all. But lots. Do you think it maken them quiet and nice, to be broken?

It's not true. I need all of you. We need each other.

always busy because of interesting books

When you care about someone and give them something special. Something that they treasire. That's a gift.

To sadden. To bloom. To bleed. What a strange set of words.

You will fail. Then they will kill you." - Vandara to Kira, following Kira's trial.

Thomas," she suggested, "you and I? We're the ones who will fill in the blank places. Maybe we can make it different.

It was terrifying, almost unbelievable, the casualness of the cruelty.

But to use the knowledge of the threading, you must learn the making of the shades. When to sadden with the iron pot. How to bloom the colors. How to bleed.

Kira closed her eyes, thought, and said them aloud. "Madder for red. Bedstraw for red too, just the roots. Tops of tansy for yellow, and greenwood for yellow too. And yarrow: yellow and gold. Dark hollyhocks, just the petals, for mauve....""Broom sedge," she added, still remembering. "Goldy yellows and browns. And Saint Johnswort for browns too, but it'll stain my hands."And bronze fennel--leaves and flowers; use them fresh--and you can eat it too. Chamomile for tea and for green hues.

Over and over. They be making me remember everythings. Me old songs, they just be natural. But now they be stuffing new things into me and this poor head hurts horrid.

She felt a small shudder of fear. Fear was always a part of life for the people. Because of fear, they made shelter and found food and grew things. For the same reason, weapons were stored, waiting. There was fear of cold, of sickness and hunger. There was fear of beasts.

I brug you two [gifts] . . . I gots the little here in my pockie.' He dug one hand deep into his pocket and pulled out a handful of nuts and a dead grasshopper. 'Nope. Be the other side.' (Matt)

The guardians with their stern faces had no creative power. But they had strength and cunning, and they had found a way to steal and harness other people's powers for their own needs. They were forcing the children to describe the future they wanted, not the one that could be.

Only the moon was familiar

Take your pride in your pain. You are stronger than those who have none.

We're the ones who fill in the blank spaces. Maybe we can make it different.

Artist?” Thomas suggested. “That’s a word. I’ve never heard anyone say it, but I’ve read it in some of the books. It means, well, someone who is able to make something beautiful. Would that be the word?

In the Fen, iffen they give you something special, it be a kick in your buttie.

they were artists, the three of them. Makers of song, of wood, of threaded patterns. Because they were artists, they had some value that she could not comprehend. Because of that value, the three of them were here, well fed, well housed, and nurtured.

Elderberry,” the old woman told her.

–Enorgullécete de tu dolor –le decía siempre su madre–. Eres más fuerte que aquellos que no sienten ninguno.

Fear was always a part of life for the people. Because of fear, they made shelter and found food and grew things. For the same reason, weapons were stored, waiting. There was fear of cold, of sickness and hunger. There was fear of beasts.

Maybe it is something that artists have,” she said, liking the sound of the word she had just learned. “A special kind of magic knowledge.