Roger Chi

The Tower of the Swallow

Andrzej Sapkowski

Chapter 1

  1. ‘I do not desire wealth or fame, a crown or sceptre,’the witcher replied. ‘I desire a horse that is black as night and as fast as the wind. And I desire a sword that is sharp and as bright as a moonbeam. I want to ride at night on my black horse; I want to defeat the powers of Evil with my bright sword. That is all I desire.’

Chapter 2

  1. One hand washes the other, Mistle had said with a shrug when Ciri asked her about it. Hotsporn gives us commands, but he also gives information, thanks to which we survive. Freedom and contempt have their limits. In the end it is always the case that one is someone else’s tool. That's life, little Falcon.
  2. There is such a custom on the Skellig Islands, you know? A girl’s first lover gives her an expensive gift. What did it matter that mine had died before he could be my lover?’

Chapter 3

  1. The carp, thought Vattier, must be full of wisdom. But wise in regards to what? Always the same mud and same water lilies.
  2. We went with a large entourage, which had everything: young maidens, bee keepers, trappers, women, children, young maidens, pets, household goods, young maidens. And large amounts of honey. This honey stuck to everything, even the young maidens.
  3. ‘it is better to go forward without a goal, than to have a goal and stay in one place, and it is certainly better than to stay in one place without a goal.’

Chapter 4

  1. ‘Not without reason drawn from the sheath, not without honour.’
  2. The sword is for her, not for you. Come here, girl with the collar. Look at the characters etched into the blade. You do not understand them, that's obvious. But I'll tell you. Look. The fate of pre-drawn line is crooked, but it leads to the tower here. To ruin, to the destruction of the existing values ​​of the existing order. And here on the tower, you see? One swallow. The symbol of hope. Take this sword. May it fulfil what must be fulfilled.’
  3. The people want games and spectacles as much as their daily bread –from what I can tell, perhaps even more. Many of those who have come here today have saved some from their mouths. But look how their eyes shine. They can't wait to see how the show starts.’

Chapter 5

  1. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. Genesis 9.6
  2. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. J.R.R. Tolkien
  3. Indeed, it requires great pride and great blindness to call the blood that flows from the scaffold Justice. Vysogota of Corvo

Chapter 7

  1. I could never understand why you humans have so many curses and insults related to the spheres of eroticism. After all, sex is beautiful and is associated with beauty, joy and pleasure. How can you use the names of the reproductive organs in such vulgar synonyms…’
  2. Whoever is far away, will die from the plague – whoever is near, will die by the sword, whoever forbids, will die of hunger, whoever survives, will be lost in the cold… Because Tedd Deireadh comes – The End of Time, The Time of the Sword and Axe, The Time of Contempt, The Time of White Chill and the White Light, The Time of the Wolf’s Blizzard…’
  3. You were only a handful, but your average life span is ridiculously short, so your continued existence depends on the speed in which you can multiply, so the desire, the lust for it will never abandon you, sex rules you completely, it is a stronger pull then even your survival instinct. Dying? Why not, provided that before you do, you fuck. That, in short, is your entire philosophy.’
  4. ‘You will save her. Only to immediately lose her. And this time it is forever. Before that happens, you will lose all of those who accompany you. One of your companions you will lose in the next few weeks, maybe even days. Perhaps even hours.’
  5. A third shot at him with a Gabriel. A miniature crossbow invented and built by Gabriel, a craftsman in Verden. He pioneered the slogan, ‘Protect yourself from banditry and violence’, said the advertisement. ‘The law is helpless and powerless. Protect yourself! Do not leave home without a handy Gabriel brand crossbow. Gabriel is your guardian angel, Gabriel will protect you and your loved ones from bandits,’The demand had surpassed all expectations and the sale had achieved a true record. Soon all bandits wore a Gabriel when assaulting someone.
  6. ‘I cannot be helped,’he said after a moment, looking into the cornflower eyes of the flaminica. ‘I’m not a witcher. I ceased to be a witcher. In Thanedd at the Tower of the Seagull. In Brokilon. At the bridge over the Yaruga. In the cave in the Gorgon. And here in the forest of Myrkvid. No, I’m not a witcher. So I have to learn to live without a Witcher’s Medallion.’

Chapter 8

  1. The king loved his wife, the queen, without limit, and she loved him with all her heart. Something like that could only end in disaster.
  2. In Redania and Kaedwen, instead of someone saying ‘to hell’they said ‘to Poviss.’‘If you do not like me,’says the master of wayward journeyman, ‘there is a clear road to Kovir.’‘Do not use those Kovir manners here!’chastise a professor shouting at his unruly students. ‘Go to Poviss’cries the son of a farmer who criticizes the ancient plough of his grandfather and the fallow system.
  3. To the north also went miners and geologists for the severity of the wild mountains and hills in Kovir meant a sure sign that if the on the surface was so much poverty then the interior must be hidden wealth. For Nature loves balance.
  4. ‘And the prophet Lebioda says: indeed, give to the poor in abundance. But instead of giving to the poor all the melon, give him only half a melon, to the poor it will seem like luck.’
  5. ‘One day one of the Prophet Lebioda’s disciples came to him and said –Advise me, Master, what shall I do? My neighbour wishes for my favourite dog. If I give him my pet, my heart will break with grief. If I do not give it to him then he will be unhappy because my refusal will hurt my neighbour. What should I do?’Have you something,’asked the prophet, ‘you love less than your beloved dog?’I have, Master, replied the disciple, a stray cat, a wicked pet that I have never loved. And the Prophet Lebioda said –’Take your stray cat and give it to your neighbour. In this case you’ll find happiness twice. You get rid of the cat and your neighbour will rejoice. Because most of the time, the neighbour will not be pleased so much with the gift, but knowing that he was gifted.’
  6. ‘You know, my dearest wife, I’ve seen another wisdom from the Prophet Lebioda? One that will still give me an advantage over having donated my cats to Redania. Cats, my Zuleyka, come home. Cats always come home. And when my cats return, bringing home their wages, their booty, their riches…I will tax those cats!’

Chapter 9

  1. Hemdall is our mythical hero. According to legend, when Tedd Deireádh comes –the time of the end, the time of the white cold and storms of the wolf, Hemdall will awaken to battle the evil powers of the land of Morhögg –the spectres, demons and phantoms of chaos. He will stand upon a rainbow bridge and blow his horn as a sign that it is time to take up arms and march. To Ragh Nar Roog, the last battle, which will decide whether the night falls down or the morning comes.’
  2. ‘Good and evil, light and dark, order and chaos? These are just symbols, but in reality there is no such polarity! Light and darkness are in each, a little of this and a little of that.
  3. ‘The blood of the queens of Cintra,’began Crach in a thoughtful tone, ‘is strangely connected with the sea. If a woman of this blood dies, the sea falls into true madness. It is said that Ard Skellig mourns Riannon's daughters. Because the storms are so strong that the west waves permeate the island, waves attacking cracks and caves until they suddenly seep from the rock salt rivulets on the east side. And the whole island shakes. The common people say ‘Ard Skellig sobs. Again someone has died. The blood of Riannon has died. The elder blood’.’Yennefer was silent.
  4. ‘I'm sure,’Vysogota said quietly, ‘if you went to Tor Zireael, the portal there would reveal itself to you as well. Even if it were in ruins, surrounded by bare stones, I'm sure you could find and activate it. And it would, I'm sure, obey your command. Because Ciri, I think you are the chosen one.’

Chapter 10

  1. Delirious thoughts, trembling with fear and despair. Cold, slimy, wet and smelly thoughts. Like the interior of a corpse.
  2. ‘Now it is your turn to leave aside my belief, Vysogota. I know what my duty is. I’m a witcher!’
  3. ‘The Tower of the Swallow is a legend. Remember. Only a legend.’‘I too am only a legend,’ she said bitterly. ‘From birth. Zireael, Swallow, child surprise. The chosen one. Child of destiny. Child of the Elder Blood. I have to go, Vysogota. Be in good health.’‘Be in good health, Ciri.’
  4. He could not see that the girl called Falka had removed the hood and scarf. He could not see that her face was terribly maimed. And her eyes painted with paste of fat and soot made it seem like she had the eyes of a demon.
  5. ‘I’m not Falka,’said the girl. The old man saw her move again, fast and blurred. He saw something glint in the light of the oil lamps. ‘I’m Ciri from Kaer Morhen. I’m a witcher. I came here to kill.’
  6. ‘What have you done…’ groaned the innkeeper in the silence that followed. ‘What did you do, girl…’‘I’m a witcher. I kill monsters’
  7. Vysogota lay on the ground, on which he had fallen while getting out of bed. He confirmed with horror that he could not get up. His heart beat up in his throat, strangling him. He knew who’s death the cry of the elven spirit announced. Life was beautiful, he thought. In spite of everything. ‘Gods…’he whispered. ‘I know I don’t believe in you…But, if you exist…’A monstrous pain suddenly exploded in his chest under his breastbone. Back in the swamps, far away, but much closer that before; the Beann’shie screamed a third time. ‘If you exist, protect the witcheress on her journey!’

Chapter 11

  1. ‘I have such big eyes the better to see you,’growled the Wolf resolutely. ‘I have such big hands to better grab you and embrace you! With me everything is big, I will thoroughly convince you of that soon. Why are you looking at me so strangely, little girl? Why do not you answer?’The sorceress smiled. ‘I have a surprise for you.’Flourens Delannoy, ‘The Surprise’from Fairy Tales and Folk Stories