‘Evil will always have the worst weapons. Evil will gather the greatest armies. They will burn, and plunder and kill. But that’s not the worst of it. They will try to make us believe that the only way of destroying them is by becoming them. That is the true vileness of evil. It is contagious.’
– Druss, to Stavut, 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
‘Nothing wrong with fear. It is how we deal with it that counts.‘
– Stavut, to Shakul, 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
‘We none of us live for ever. Better by far, then, to live well.‘
– Druss, to Rabalyn, 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
‘Without the darkness of night how can we fully appreciate the glory of the sunrise?‘
– Gamal, to Skilgannon, The Swords of Night and Day
