‘Give me your best and I will reward you, whether what you do is successful or not. All I ask of men who serve me is that they put their hearts into it. No more can be demanded.‘
– Helikaon, to Khalkeus, Lord of the Silver Bow
Tag Archives: Helikaon
‘The truth is a many-costumed whore. Seems to me she will offer a man valid reasons for any deed, no matter how ghastly.‘
– Odysseus, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow
‘There is no courage without fear. A man who rushes into battle fearlessly is not a hero. He is merely a strong man with a big sword. An act of courage requires the overcoming of fear.‘
– Odysseus, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow
‘Now this is how courage and fear work, lad. Both will always be pushing. They are never still. And a man cannot choose to stop pushing. For if he backs away the fear will come after him, and push him pack another step, and then another. Men who give in to fear are like kings who trust in castles to keep out enemies, rather than attacking them on open ground, and scattering them. So the enemies camp round the castle, and now the king cannot get out. Slowly his food runs out, and he discovers the castle is not a very safe place to be.‘
– Odysseus, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow
‘We are all of us hybrid beasts. There is the savage in us, who would tear out an enemy’s heart and devour it raw. There is the lover, who composes songs to the woman who owns his soul. There is the father, who holds his child close, and would die to protect it from all harm. Three creatures in one man. And there are more. In every one of us is the total of all we have ever been, the sullen child, the arrogant youth, the suckling babe. Every fear endured in childhood is lodged somewhere in here. And every act of heroism or cowardice, generosity or meanness of spirit.‘
– Gershom, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow
‘When the wolf slaughters the sheep we shrug and say, it is his nature. When the sheepdog turns on the flock it breaks our hearts, for his actions are treacherous.‘
– Gershom, to Helikaon, Shield of Thunder
‘The moves are the same, but the difference is wider than the Great Green. Love is like that. You can spend time with a whore, and laugh and know great pleasure. But when love strikes – ah, the difference is awesome. You will find more joy in the touch of a hand, or the sight of a smile, than you could ever experience in a hundred nights of passion with anyone else. The sky will be more blue, the sun more bright.‘
– Odysseus, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow
‘Listen to me! Five years ago we hit rocks on the Penelope. Her hull was breached and she was shipping water. She rolled on the Great Green like a hog in a swamp. Her speed was gone and she almost sank. We kept her afloat and made it to port. Then she was repaired. I didn’t judge her as a bad ship. She was damaged in a storm. I judge her by how she sails when her hull is sound. You are like that ship. Your heart was breached when your mother died. And from the heart comes courage.‘
– Odysseus, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow