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Anime and Manga
"Confused evil souls, be buried in darkness and sleep. Let the shadows purify you."
— Lowemon, Digimon Frontier
"If life has days, it also has nights. If there's light, there's dark, too. There's lots of fun things to do in the dark."
— Grizzly, Shirokuma Cafe
Fan Works
And at night, in the confines of his cupboard, he stared. Embraced the darkness like a friend he had known his whole life. For that was what it was. Not a terror as the other children thought, or a punishment as his "family" believed, but a companion. A comfort in a life of abuse and hate.
— Harry's third person narration, On Wings of the Void
"The Night was first...and it was ours first. If you've forgotten your birthright, I'm not ashamed to claim it still."
— Luthien, A Boy, a Girl and a Dog: The Leithian Script
Film
"Oh, Mother Night! Fold your dark arms about me! Protect me in your black embrace!"
— The Lord of Darkness, Legend (1985)
Literature
"The House of Night gardens had been created to be fully enjoyed only after the sun set. Night blooming jasmine, moon flowers, evening primrose, and lilies opened to the moon and released a fragrance that was sweet and satisfying, and stretched on for acres and acres. Dozens of fountains and statuary were situated throughout the grounds, each of them illustrating a different version of the Goddess, Nyx.
I'd searched and easily found a willow tree that curtained an area not far from a particularly beautiful statue of the Goddess, arms raised, lush body unashamedly naked. Under my new willow, I also found the familiar darkness and the shadows that soothed my battered body and spirit.
[...]
The waning moon was high in the sky, but shielded by clouds it afforded little light. I'd been glad of the cloud cover. I'd felt comforted by the darkness and as one with the shadows, so much so that by the time I reached the Wheiler House it seemed as if I had become a shadow myself."
I'd searched and easily found a willow tree that curtained an area not far from a particularly beautiful statue of the Goddess, arms raised, lush body unashamedly naked. Under my new willow, I also found the familiar darkness and the shadows that soothed my battered body and spirit.
[...]
The waning moon was high in the sky, but shielded by clouds it afforded little light. I'd been glad of the cloud cover. I'd felt comforted by the darkness and as one with the shadows, so much so that by the time I reached the Wheiler House it seemed as if I had become a shadow myself."
"O guiding dark of night!
O dark of night more darling than the dawn!
O night that can unite
A lover and loved one,
Lover and loved one moved in unison."
O dark of night more darling than the dawn!
O night that can unite
A lover and loved one,
Lover and loved one moved in unison."
— "The Dark Night of the Soul", by St John (translated by A.Z Foreman)
by A.Z Foreman)"The Butterfly's Wife looked at Balkis, and saw the most beautiful Queen's eyes shining like deep pools with starlight on them, and she picked up her courage with both wings and said, "O Queen, be lovely for ever.""
— "The Butterfly That Stamped", by Rudyard Kipling
"I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God."
Which shall be the darkness of God."
— "Four Quartets", by T.S Elliot
"Sudden brightness clove the preying darkness, brightness that was itself a golden darkness, brightness so bright it was darkness."
— The Ballad Of Nat Turner, by Robert Hayden
Holy places are dark places. It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood.
Darkness flooded Sophie's mind. But it was softer somehow.
Peaceful.
A sliver of shade on a scorching day.
The first wisps of a long, quiet night.
The shadow of a perfect hiding space.
Her consciousness curled up, snuggled in, folded the layers over like blankets, and sank into the sweet, soothing black.
Seeking shelter.
Craving rest.
Feeling safe.
Peaceful.
A sliver of shade on a scorching day.
The first wisps of a long, quiet night.
The shadow of a perfect hiding space.
Her consciousness curled up, snuggled in, folded the layers over like blankets, and sank into the sweet, soothing black.
Seeking shelter.
Craving rest.
Feeling safe.
— Keeper of the Lost Cities, Flashback
Music
"Holy darkness, blessed night, Heaven's answer hidden from our sight, as we await you, O God of silence, we embrace your holy night."
— "Holy Darkness", Dan Schutte
"When the sun's out, and the moonlight is in
It blankets the land and a new life begins..."
It blankets the land and a new life begins..."
— "The Children of the Night" by Bliss N Eso
"O night, O holy night
O night divine"
O night divine"
— "Tuning Out", Bastille
"I see skies of blue,
and clouds of white.
The bright-blessed day,
the dark, sacred night"
and clouds of white.
The bright-blessed day,
the dark, sacred night"
— "What a Wonderful World", Louie Armstrong
Religion
Lady of night, that turning ever about us art now visible and now invisible in thy season, be thou favourable to hunters, and lovers, and to all men that toil upon the earth, and to all mariners upon the sea.
— Gnostic prayer
"He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies."
— Book of Psalms, Psalm 18:11
"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty."
— Book of Psalms, Psalm 91:1
Tabletop Games
Deities of the night are a mixed bunch, with a range of specific concerns. Some are gods of the moon or stars. Others are patrons of those humans who operate most at night, including thieves (and, in some societies, wizards). Some are gods of sleep or dreams. A pantheon can actually include two or three such deities without a serious overlap of responsibilities; the trick is to give each of them a distinctive personality and some variation in powers and spells available to their priests. ... Obviously, a deity of darkness is likely to be seen as mysterious and shadowy at best, downright sinister at worst – but a god of peaceful sleep and helpful dreams may be a good friend to humanity, and moon gods are often seen as essentially benevolent.
— GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 7: Clerics
Video Games
"To truly see, your eyes must be open to both light… and dark."
— Father Balder, Bayonetta
The gods gave Man the darkness so that he might sleep in peace, wrapping it around him as a blanket against the harsh light of day. The darkness reminds us of death, and thus, of sweet life. The darkness gives tone to the world, rich and varied.
— "Leamonde Entite Bestiary Entry, Page 1: Observations", Final Fantasy XII
"Remember, the sun burns the flesh. Only in the shadows can you find refuge."
— Shadow-Sage Iskar, World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
May the night
Stay dark
May our minds
Stay sharp
—"Wild Dog", Sluggish Morss: Pattern Circus
"Dark is the jungle, but fertile is its soil."
—Troll Druid, World of Warcraft
Webcomics
"I am Nyx. "Night that bends to her sway both gods and men", as the poets say."
Web Original
"This is a more alchemical perspective: spirit needs to be embodied; alchemy recognizes that both Light and Dark are divine and deserving of our respect."
— Biblioteca Arcana, on Fire
"Here we are unconditionally whole, where we live in the divine paradox of the unknown. Yin is as good as yang. Together they make up the Tao, where all is perfect. Nobody is more or less special than anyone else. Here in fact, nothing is sacred because there is nothing here that is not sacred."
— Randine Lewis
Real Life
"I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day."
