How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He shook his head again, remembering the struggle. No wonder he was so exhausted last night, Tilja thought. Both of us. Only just made it. But given those two or three changed minutes, Alnor and Meena were alive instead of dead, and could go back to the Valley and remake the old magic, and all time to come would be different, utterly different. (18.58)
The Ropemaker—and Faheel—envision time as a great rope, so plucking at a strand changes events to come and takes great effort. But Tilja notes that all of the hard work she and Ropey put in was worth it. Perhaps it's a metaphor for her magical discovery—she put in a lot of hard work and went through hardships, but in the end her home and friends are saved.
Quote #8
"Yes, I see," said Alnor solemnly. "Asarta's magic isn't really in the bread and water, not any longer. They're just tools we use, so to speak. But the true magic is in ourselves, in our blood, renewing and renewing itself through the generations. Twenty generations after Asarta, and twenty more after Faheel, and now another twenty to come." (18.68)
For twenty generations the Urlasdaughters and Ortahlsons have performed the rituals Asarta set forth—but now Alnor realizes that the magic lies not in the products of those rites but instead in the practitioners themselves. The people perpetuate the magic—after all, magicians are people too—and have done so, and will continue to do so, for many years. While the Valley folks definitely needed help to renew the magic, they have the power to keep it going.
Quote #9
Tilja understood that she was watching something wholly magical, not the man-made magic of Talagh, or of the ring, but the kind of magic by which Faheel had made friends with mountains and with oceans. She was filled with delighted amazement that she, Tilja, whose touch could undo powerfully woven charms and destroy great magicians, was allowed to watch this happen. (19.60)
Tilja has come full-circle from the beginning of the story, when she felt excluded from her family's bond with the unicorns and cedars. Now, having matured and discovered her own unique power, she doesn't feel resentful, but instead grateful to be able to witness this type of magic.