Jordan Ifueko Quotes

Uniformity is not unity. Silence is not peace.

Only one thing is more powerful than a wish, and that is a purpose.

Why does everyone hate change so much?" I demanded. "Because things could get worse." "Maybe. But do you know what I think?" My chest throbbed. "I think deep down, we're afraid that things could get better. Afraid to ding out that all the evil—all the suffering we ignore—could have been prevented. If only we had cared enough to try.

No, we don't deserve the burdens that our parents gave us, but we cant defeat monsters we won't face.

Stories are meant to be shared," Melu said gently, "but no one was made for another person, Tarisai.

But I knew, deep down, that love had never fixed anyone. It had only given them the strength to try over and over and over again.

Do not ask how many people you will save. Ask, Towhat world will you save them? [...] What world, Wuraola, is worth surviving in?

You don’t get to choose why people love you. But what you do with the love you receive . . . that’s a choice you make every day.

I hope you never win the pride of a monster, Tarisai. It’s worse than their contempt.

Do not ask how many people you will save,” I murmured: “Ask, to what world will you save them? What makes a world worth surviving in?

Do not confuse guilt with conviction. Guilt is self-centered, and leads only to destructive obsession. But conviction brings balance—a sense of purpose beyond oneself.

It's no use bringing up the past. You write your story, not the people who came before you.

I need help," I said. The words echoed in my ears. I blinked, stunned at how natural they sounded. Why hadn't I said them before?

I've never understood why mortals make things so complicated. Am's story for men and women has always been simple: You are equals, built to work side by side. But when it comes to power, mortals have always loathed simplicity.

B-But . . . what good is a v-voice with no st-story to tell?

Peace comes when stories are celebrated, not erased.

People never listen to what you want. They listen to who you are.

Leadership isn't good or evil, it's what you choose to do with it.

Through you, my legacy lives." "You didn't make me who I am. I am not the sequel of your story.

Don't worry," I told her. "No matter how bleak the world gets, I'll make sure there's always a corner to plant flowers.

A future, I added in my head, where no child was bound by curses, and every daughter had a name.

I want to live," I said, replacing Ye Eun's lily behind my ear, "because life is . . . life is worth it. Because as long as we can imagine a better world, we should stick around to see it. Even if it doesn't exist yet. Even if we have to build it from scratch, brick by muddy brick.

You caged me like a bird. But you cannot make me sing.

Didn't I tell you a bath would help?

The only thing more powerful than a wish is a purpose.

If one person understands another completely—from their deepest pain to their most passing thought—I think they can’t help but love each other. I think . . .” Dayo gave me a small smile and shrugged, crinkling his burn scar. “When you take someone’s story as your own, it’s no different than loving yourself.

Think of memories as books, and the brain as a library. You can only reach the books on the shelves closest to you. But that doesn't mean the other ones aren't there. And the knowledge from each book shapes how you think, even if you don't remember the books themselves.

The more I learn, the more I think the only decent way to use power is to share it with others. Maybe there shouldn’t be rulers—at least, not in the way we think. Maybe emperors—and kings, and queens, and Raybearers—should just be people who make sure power flows to everyone.

No matter how many times she made mistakes, or said no, or demanded why . . . she would always deserve to be housed, and clothed, and fed, and taught to imagine a better world for herself and everyone in it.

And off she goes,” Sanjeet murmured. His voice was cavernous, even against the roar of the waves. “Bent on winning freedom for the entire world. Tarisai of Swana.” He laughed, a gentle growl that made my insides restless. “She would have us be masters of our own fates, whether we like it or not.

I think I’d rather be hated as a weakling than loved as a monster.

And the more I learn, the farther I feel. I don’t know where home is anymore.

I am not a ghost, I screamed without words. I am not nothing. I am not nameless; I will not fade into graceful oblivion like every other Kunleo girl,

- What if they start a rumour that I am a witch ? - You’re a woman who rules equally with a man, he said dryly, they will always call you a witch.

Why does everyone hate change so much?" I demanded. "Because things could get worse." "Maybe. But do you know what I think?" My chest throbbed. "I think deep down, we're afraid that things could get better. Afraid to find out that all the evil - all the suffering we ignore - could have been prevented. If only we cared enough to try.

I want to live,” I said, replacing Ye Eun’s lily behind my ear, “because life is . . . is worth it. Because as long as we can imagine a better world, we should stick around to see it. Even if it doesn’t exist yet. Even if we have to build it from scratch, brick by muddy brick.

The place closest to your soul isn't your heart," Kirah explained. "It's your stomach. Anger, love, and sorrow simmer together there, like bubbles in a cauldron. People of the Wing believe that when the Pelican breathed each soul into being, it wrote two secrets on a burning coal: your greatest good and your best desire. You swallowed the coal before being born, and it burned in your belly. That's why we wail as newborns, Mama would say.

But I knew, deep down, that love had never fixed anyone. It had only given them the strength to try over, and over, and over again.

You had enough faith in me to cross a firepit,' Sanjeet said. 'For everyone's sake, Tar, have that faith in yourself.

I clenched my fists. Not all pain was worthless. Sometimes, pain could write a story.

Should a fool follow his heart? A thief? A murderer? Your heart is not your friend unless you know who you truly are.

What good is a voice with no story to tell?

You are all the same, young people. Full of questions and deaf to ugly answers. Leaving your safe homes, your warm beds because—let me guess—you want to follow your heart.

Guilt is self-centered, and leads only to destructive obsession. But conviction brings balance—a sense of purpose beyond oneself.

Monsters were nothing. The true terrors were people like me—the ones who saw suffering, who heard the screams of a hundred generations echoing for miles around them—and still did nothing.

I think deep down, we’re afraid that things could get better. Afraid to find out that all the evil—all the suffering we ignore—could have been prevented. If only we had cared enough to try.

The ruling barely solved anything. But he had made my plans feel like fishing for the moon, while his looked so...plausible. Was it better to have a perfect solution that I couldn't enforce? Or a weak solution that everyone loved?

But you didn’t. You stayed because Artisar had just lost its emperor, and Dayo needed you. Artisar needed you. It’s who you are, Jeet. It’s who I am, too. We weren’t raised to see the world as a small place, where nothing matters but our happiness. That isn’t our story. And . . . I don’t think it ever will be.

Why does everyone hate change so much?” I demanded. “Because things could get worse.” “Maybe. But do you know what I think?” My chest throbbed. “I think deep down, we’re afraid that things could get better. Afraid to find out that all the evil—all the suffering we ignore—could have been prevented. If only we had cared enough to try.

... people have many gifts," Kirah continued, "But our greatest good is the one we can't contain: compassion, loyalty, softness, fierceness. The ability to win hearts, or recognize beauty, or weather a storm... Our gift could be anything, really. And when we use our greatest good for something beyond ourselves, that's our best desire. Our purpose.

What was it you told me Old Mongwe said?" she asked suddenly. "About guilt?" "That it's useless." I sighed, remembering the hermit's opaque words: Guilt is self-centered, and leads only to destructive obsession. But conviction brings balance-a sense of purpose beyond oneself. "And what you said," Kirah pressed. "When you convinced Thaddace to leave that prison?" I blinked in confusion. She gripped my shoulders, hazel eyes alight. "It was important, Tarisai. You said you heard it from someone-someone powerful." I remembered then-the voice from the shrine at Sagimsan, turning my limbs to water as the breath of the Storyteller swelled on the mountain air. "Do not ask how many people you will save," I murmured: "Ask, the what world will you save them? what makes a world worth surviving in?" "That's right." Kirah nodded fervently. "And what made Thaddace keep going-what made him try-it wasn't guilt. It was love." She reached out and squeezed my hand. "It was love, Tarisai.

The ruling barely solved anything. But he had made my plan feel like fishing for the moon, while his looked so... plausible. Was it better to have a perfect solution that I couldn't enforce? Or a weak solution that everyone loved?

Was it better to have a perfect solution that I couldn’t enforce? Or a weak solution that everyone loved?

You have never worried me, daughter. You have only disappointed.

Maybe. But do you know what I think? I think deep down, we're afraid that things could get better. Afraid to find out that all the evil-all the suffering we ignore-could have been prevented. If only we had cared enough to try.

The Ray doesn't pick good people. The Ray picks leaders. And if I've learned anything from severing on the Imperial Guard, it's that leadership isn't good or evil. It's what you choose to do with it.

Why does everyone hate change so much?' I demanded. 'Because things could get worse.' 'Maybe. But do you know what I think? ... I think deep down, we're afraid that things could get better. Afraid to find out that all the evil--all the suffering we ignore--could have been prevented. If only we had cared enough to try.

Have you ever considered that most people weren’t born to save the world? Most of us are lucky just to find a home, a family to protect, and that’s enough. More than enough, even. Sunshine girl . . . everyone can’t care about everything.” “And you think I’m a fool for trying.” “I think,” he said heavily, “that your life should not be a means to an end. No human being should be reduced to a function. The day we do that—it’s the beginning of the end.

Stories are meant to be shared,” Melu said gently, “but no one was made for another person, Tarisai.

The place closest to your soul isn’t your heart,” Kirah explained. “It’s your stomach. Anger, love, and sorrow simmer together there, like bubbles in a cauldron.

It’s no use bringing up the past,” Mbali said briskly. “You write your story, not the people who came before you. Come.

You caged me like a bird, but you could not make me sing.

Tarisai, she said, Tarisai Idajo.

Some demons could not be soothed by any lullaby.

Monsters were nothing. The true terrors were people like me - the ones who saw suffering, who heard the screams of a hundred generations echoing for miles around them - and still did nothing.

It was not that such labor scared me—being a maid had always filled me with purpose. Cleaning was so necessary, whether you lived as a prince or a pauper, the work seemed to me almost sacred. It was only—I could no longer accept how I would be treated.

I gasped, turning to the Crocodile: “The cultists and the nobles know what they want”, I said. “They are all saying the same thing! Everyone else is messy, disorganized.” “Well observed.” “But a lot of those commoners do know what they want”, I pointed out. “A place to catch up with their neighbors that is not a back alley. A place to hear news and music and for their children to play without getting trampled by carts and palanquins. Structures that catch the wind, where they can hang their laundry - and awnings where they can rest without burning in the sun.” “Yes. But it is hard to say all those things at once. Do you know what is much easier to say?” “Order and beauty” (...)

A city belongs to its people

The Nobles and the Cultists have few weapons, and the commoners outnumber them- so why is the smaller group dominating the space?

I stared high at the clouds, casting shadows across that untouched orchard. Without blinking, I told the Crocodile: “Whenever I try to shape my world, I end up destroying it.” He turned my chin, so I met his gaze - which had grown uncharacteristically soft - and said: “That is a lie told to subdue slaves, who outnumber their masters. It is the lie on which every empire is built.

So, ‘order’ will mean "guards with spears, whom the nobles will bribe to harass unwanted commoners". ‘Beauty’ will mean "removing benches where people can sleep - and erecting statues in any open space, in which a large group could loiter, especially for the purpose of protests.