| "This may be a thing you were better not to know,... 906 |
[Mar. 4th, 2010|02:58 am] |
"This may be a thing you were better not to know, my lady
It probably was, she thoughtBut she had come too far in the night, and had too far yet to goThis was no morning for sheltering, or trying to seek shelter"Perhaps," was all she said"But I would prefer you to tell me, Scelto
He said, after a moment: "I have been told that he is going to be Rhun is growing old and the King must have a FoolIt is necessary to have one in readiness, and it can take a long time, depending on the circumstances
The circumstances, Dianora thought, sickenedSuch as whether the Fool-in-waiting had been a healthy, gifted, normal young man with a love of his home
Even |
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| Danoleon turned back to the three of them"You... 843 |
[Mar. 3rd, 2010|04:24 am] |
Danoleon turned back to the three of them"You will forgive us," he murmuredHis voice was deep and soothing"We have had some disconcerting news recently, and right now we have a patient in some painIdrisi di Corte, here, our physician, tends to be distressed when such is the case
Privately, Devin doubted if distress had much to do with the Cortean priest's rudeness, but he kept his peaceAlessan accepted Danoleon's apology with a short bow
"I am sorry to hear that," he said to Idrisi"Is it possible we might be of aid? Music has long been known as a sovereign ease for |
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| Erlein sank to his knees on the opulent... 175 |
[Feb. 15th, 2010|03:16 am] |
Erlein sank to his knees on the opulent carpetDevin knelt beside himHe heard Alienor dismissing her servants from the room
"You are a fool!" Baerd snarled at the wizard
"He certainly is," Alienor agreed in a rather different tone, all exaggerated petulance and flounce"Why would anyone think I'd want the burden of knowing the true identity of a disguised Khardhu warrior?" She was still holding Catriana around the waist, quite unnecessarilyNow she let her go, with an amused expression at the girl's rapid retreat
"You are an impetuous creature, aren't you?" she murmured silkily
"Not especially," said Catriana hardily, stopping a few feet |
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| Somewhere in the palace, she knew, the torturers... 854 |
[Feb. 13th, 2010|03:40 am] |
Somewhere in the palace, she knew, the torturers would be attending to Camena di Chiara who had tried to kill a Tyrant and free his homeWho had done so knowing he would die and how he would die
Even now they would be with him, administering their precise measures of painWith a professional pride in their skill they would be breaking his fingers one by one, his wrists and his armsHis toes and ankles and legsThey would be doing it carefully, even tenderly, solicitously guarding the beat of his heart, so that after they had broken his back, which was always the last, they could strap him alive on a wheel and take him out to the harbor square to die in the sight of his people
She would never have dreamt Camena had such courage or so much passion in his heartShe had derided him as a poseur, a wearer of three-layered cloaks, a minor, trivial artist angling for ascension at courtYesterday afternoon had compelled a new shape to her image of himNow that he had done what he had done, now that his body had been |
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| "Or if you're the kind of person who has no guts,... 531 |
[Feb. 12th, 2010|03:30 am] |
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"Or if you're the kind of person who has no guts, you just give up every time life pushes youIf you're that kind of person, you'll live all your life playing it safe, doing the right things, saving yourself for some event that never happensThen, you die a boring old manYou'll have lots of friends who really like you because you were such a nice hard-working guyYou spent a life playing it safe, doing the right thingsBut the truth is, you let life push you into submissionDeep down you were terrified of taking risksYou really wanted to win, but the fear of losing was greater than the excitement of winningDeep inside, you and only you will know you didn't go for it You |
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| Erlein was breathing, but showed no signs of... 750 |
[Feb. 11th, 2010|03:26 am] |
Erlein was breathing, but showed no signs of consciousnessHis pain must have been devastating, Devin realized, with a flashing memory of the wizard beaten to his knees and screaming by the riverHe wondered what screams the night had heard, here in this wild and lonely place
He felt an awkward mixture of respect and pity and anger as he gazed down at the grey-haired troubadourWhy was he making this so hard for them? Why forcing Alessan to shoulder so much more pain of his own?
Unfortunately, he knew some of the answers to that, and they were not comforting
"Will he try to kill himself?" he asked Baerd abruptlyAs Sandre said, this one is a survivorI don't think he'll do this againHe had to run once, to |
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| Hello, my account friends 640 |
[Feb. 10th, 2010|10:28 pm] |
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Welcome to my first blog |
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| All those who choose to stay with him must become... 687 |
[Feb. 10th, 2010|10:28 pm] |
All those who choose to stay with him must become citizens of this peninsulaOf a new dominion: the Kingdom of the Western PalmChiara, Corte, Asoli, Lower CorteFour provinces under Brandin on the IslandHe has announced that we are free of Ygrath, no longer a colonyTaxes are to be shared equally among us now, and they have been cut in halfCut by considerably more than half here in Lower CorteOur burden will now be equal with the othersThe messenger said that the people of this province, the people your father ruled, were singing Brandin's name in the streets of Stevanien
Alessan, moving very carefully, as if he were carrying something large and heavy, that might shift and fall, turned toward DanoleonWho was nodding his head
"It seems that there was |
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| Myanmar businessmen speak highly of China-ASEAN FTA establishment |
[Feb. 5th, 2010|12:47 pm] |
"YANGON, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar business circle has spoken highly of the establishment of China-ASEAN free trade area (FTA) as scheduled, saying that the establishment helps push the development of economic and trade cooperative ties between Myanmar and China.
Members from the business circle made the comments in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the launching of the FTA on Jan. 1, 2010.
Starting 2010, both the building of ASEAN Community and China-ASEAN FTA will enter into a new stage. Therefore, Myanmar, like other new members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will face a new and greater challenge and new development opportunity, experts said.
U Khin Maung Lwin, a Myanmar expert studying FTA, said despite the establishment of the China-ASEAN FTA in 2010, Myanmar enjoys a five-year grace period like other ASEAN new members and is allowed to meet the FTA demand until 2015, leaving a period of time and space for the country to deal with.
Experts here said under the framework of the FTA, Myanmar possesses an advantage of having rich natural resources such as land, water and mineral resources, while its disadvantage is the lack of capital and technical know-how and then a long period of exporting primary products with less process and low added-value. The country has now attached importance to such processed and value-added export, while welcoming foreign investment in the aspect.
Chairman of Myanmar Chinese Chamber of Commerce Lai Songshen pointed out that the establishment of China-ASEAN FTA has positive significance over Myanmar's economic and trade development, saying that Myanmar's integration into the regional development process could enable faster and better development of its economy and trade.
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| China-ASEAN FTA to boost intra-regional trade: business leader |
[Feb. 5th, 2010|12:42 pm] |
"SINGAPORE, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- The establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA), which will be effective on Jan. 1, 2010, is a win-win outcome and will no doubt boost intra-regional trade, a well-known Singapore business leader has said.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Phua Kok Khoo, president of Singapore-China business association, hailed the FTA between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a good event for both sides, saying that after the launch of the FTA, which took eight years in the making, trade between the 10-member regional bloc and China will be more liberal and convenient.
The environment for investments from both sides will be further improved while ASEAN countries and China's trade partnership will surely be more closer, he said.
Phua believes that China-ASEAN FTA, the world's biggest with a population of 1.9 billion and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) close to 6 trillion U.S. dollars, will not only help ASEAN and China to grow, but also help the rest of Asia and the world to grow as a whole.
The ASEAN countries each have their different resource and industrial advantages, and the FTA will give impetus to maximize their advantages, he said, adding that the countries like Singapore can make use of its geographical, investment and operating advantages to serve as a bridge to help enterprises from China and other ASEAN countries to achieve internationalized development and better market their enterprises.
Phua stressed that since the completion of the FTA, ASEAN and China should continue to strengthen their economic, trade and investment links, and try hard to explore newer and freer cooperation system.
Meanwhile, the enterprises from ASEAN and China should seize the opportunity to well develop themselves by making better use of the preferential policies provided by the FTA, which is mutually beneficial for both sides, he said.
He suggested that ASEAN and China should further develop the depth and width of their cooperation through the FTA.
Both sides should work out a long-term strategy to sustainable develop their existing industrials and actively seek fresh cooperation fields, he added.
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