‘Ultimately, laddie, we are all alone.’
– Druss, to Skilgannon, White Wolf
‘How simple love would be, Younger Brother, if we only had to bestow it on those who deserved it. Yet what would it be worth?’
– Abbot Cethelin, to Brother Lantern, White Wolf
‘We all of us carry the seed of evil in our hearts and souls. Even the purest, even the most holy. It is part of the human condition, born into us. We cannot root it out. All we can do – at best – is prevent it from germinating.’
– Ustarte, to Skilgannon, The Swords of Night and Day
‘It is not a crime to be frightened. I am frightened. Diagoras is frightened. Anyone with any intelligence would be frightened. Fear is necessary. It is there to keep us alive; to warn us to avoid danger.’
– Skilgannon, to Rabalyn, White Wolf
‘We are not created to be immortal. I do not fully understand it even now, but I know that death is necessary. Perhaps it is merely that we need the contrast. Without the darkness of night how can we fully appreciate the glory of the sunrise?‘
– Gamal, to Skilgannon, The Swords of Night and Day
‘You listen to me. There will always be men who select their friends for reasons of advancement, either socially, militarily or politically. They will tell you to avoid a certain man’s company because he is out of favour, or his family is poor. Or, indeed, because his life is lived in a manner some people find unbecoming. As a soldier I judge my men by what they can do. By how much guts they have. When it comes to friends all that matters is whether I like them.‘
– Decado, to Skilgannon, White Wolf
‘There is no more futile phrase than if only. If only we could go back and live our lives again. If only we hadn’t said the unkind words. If only we had turned left instead of right. If only is useless. We make our mistakes and we move on.‘
– Skilgannon, to Rabalyn, White Wolf
‘Beware of arrogance, laddie. I have seen great fighters brought down by an idiot with a bow. Once I saw a fine warrior felled by a stone hurled from a child’s sling. Fate has a dark sense of humour sometimes.‘
– Druss, to Skilgannon, White Wolf