Destiny or gods or fortune—whatever one is pleased or innocent enough to call them—they seal men to their decree. - Tanith Lee

I raised my arms as if in prayer and heard the mutter of response behind me. Then I scattered the dried grains, red and brown and black, and studied the patterns they formed on the stone ledge before Sibbos. This is not such a mystic thing. You see what it is sensible to see, or else you interpret what you see so that the meaning comes out as you want it.

It was as easy to be alone with six kin as it is to be alone by yourself, and maybe easier.

Why," she said, "did they leave their kingdom to us?"
"As well ask why they brought our ancestors to this star. Oh, yes, I think our races were taken from some other planet entirely, to be their toy. If we guess them to be gods, why stint them? Their avarice and callousness would be gargantuan. We can hardly fail to see that.