Darrow O'Lykos Quotes
149"I was forged in the bowels of this hard world. Sharpened by hate. Strengthened by love."
Red Rising, ch. Prologue, p. 1
"I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war."
Red Rising, ch. Prologue, p. 1
"On Mars there is not much gravity. So you have to pull the feet to break the neck. They let the loved ones do it."
Red Rising, ch. 1: Helldiver, p. 3
"We grew together, and now are grown. In her eyes, I see my heart. In her breath, I hear my soul. She is my land. She is my kin. My love."
Red Rising, ch. 4: The Gift, p. 29
"Then what will it take to take it back?” “Blood.” Dancer smiles at me like a township alleycat. There’s a beast behind this man’s fatherly smiles. Eo was right. It comes to violence."
Red Rising, ch. 9: The Lie, p. 70
"Even that Gamma had a family. He dug like me. He was born like me, went through the flush like me, and he never saw the sun either. He was just given a little packet of medicine by the Society, and look at the effect. How clever of them. How much hate they create between people who should be kin."
Red Rising, ch. 10: The Carver, p. 71
"The Gray soldiers prowl the cities ensuring order, ensuring obedience to the hierarchy. The Whites arbitrate their justice and push their philosophy. Pinks pleasure and serve in highColor homes. Silvers count and manipulate currency and logistics. Yellows study the medicines and sciences. Greens develop technology. Blues navigate the stars. Coppers run the bureaucracy. Every Color has a purpose. Every Color props up the Golds."
Red Rising, ch. 10: The Carver, p. 72
"A Bronze is a faded Gold. Of the same class, but looked down on for inferior appearance, lineage, and capabilities."
Red Rising, ch. 10: The Carver, p. 81
"If I am a good man, then why do I want to do bad things?"
Red Rising, ch. 13: Bad Things, p. 102
"He disagrees with the rules, but he follows them. It is possible. I can do the same until I have power enough to change them."
Red Rising, ch. 20: The House Mars, p. 145
"Prime. I’ve made a corpse of the best killer’s brother. Dread creeps into me to make a home."
Red Rising, ch. 20: The House Mars, p. 147
"I forget that Cassius, Roque, Sevro, and I are enemies. Red and Gold. I forget that one day I might have to kill them all. They call me brother, and I cannot but think of them in the same way."
Red Rising, ch. 30: House Diana, p. 228
"His eyes do not judge. Not even now. There are times when I wonder what I did to earn such loyalty, then others when I try not to press my luck by looking the gift horse in the mouth."
Red Rising, ch. 32: Antonia, p. 250
"He knows what I’ve done. This is a trap I cannot ride away from. I guess there are those times in life. It’s like staring at the ground as you fall from a height. Seeing the end coming doesn’t mean you can dodge it, fix it, stop it."
Red Rising, ch. 33: Apologies, p. 258
"The Elderwomen of Lykos say that when a man is bitten by a pitviper, all the poison must be drawn out of the bite, for the poison is wicked. When I was bitten, Uncle Narol left some in on purpose."
Red Rising, ch. Part 4: Reaper, p. 264
"These wolves change with the season. I watch how they surround us. Each moves with individual cunning. Yet each moves as part of the pack."
Red Rising, ch. 34: The Northwoods, p. 269
"Don’t quote Cicero to me,” I say. “You are held to a higher standard than a marauding centurion."
Red Rising, ch. 36: A Second Test, p. 301
"You do not follow me because I am the strongest. Pax is. You do not follow me because I am the brightest. Mustang is. You follow me because you do not know where you are going. I do."
Red Rising, ch. 36: A Second Test, p. 304
"I once heard that if a Jackal becomes trapped, it will chew off its own leg to free itself. That knife might be easier than using teeth."
Red Rising, ch. 41: The Jackal, p. 349
"I am the spark that will set the worlds afire. I am the hammer that cracks the chains."
Red Rising, ch. 44: Rise, p. 380
"Words are a weapon stronger than he knows. And songs are even greater. The words wake the mind. The melody wakes the heart."
Red Rising, ch. 44: Rise, p. 381
"They say a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. They made no mention of the heart."