‘My uncle said that words were just noises in the air. Trust deeds, he told me, not words.’
– Keeva Taliana, to Waylander, Hero in the Shadows
‘My father told me that a man is lucky if in his life he can count on at least two good friends. He maintained that a man with many friends had to be either rich or stupid, and I think that is largely true. In all my life I have had only one friend, and that is you.’
– Sieben, to Druss, The Legend of Deathwalker
‘Fame is fleeting, but love and hate are eternal. I may be but a small leaf in the wind of history, but I will stand against evil wherever I find it, no matter the cost. The demon I slay will not descend upon the home of a farmer and murder his family. The bandit who falls beneath my sword will never again rape or kill or plunder. If my death saves a single soul from pain and anguish then it is a price worth paying.’
– Kysumu, to Waylander, Hero in the Shadows
‘I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The most well-known of these is, of course, I love you. But by far the most deadly is, if only.’
– Owen Odell, narration, Morningstar
‘In life we do not always get what we want, my friend. I did not want a storm. I did not want my first wife to leave me – nor my second wife to stay. Such is life, eh?’
– Milus Bar, to Bodasen, The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
‘Do not sneer at their faith. We all need something to have faith in.’
– Odysseus, to Helikaon, Fall of Kings
‘Harmony is balance, it is understanding the evil we carry, but holding it in stasis by the good we should desire. Harmony is achieved when we have the courage to accept that we are flawed.’
– Pendarric, to Ruth, Wolf in Shadow
‘A good craftsman can create a masterpiece in four or five years. A fool with a hammer can destroy it in a few heartbeats.’
– The Morrigu, to Banouin, Midnight Falcon
‘Wealth is a small thing, tiny like a grain of sand. It seems large only to those who do not possess it. You talk of my palace. It is not mine. I built it, I live within it. Yet one day I will die and the palace will have another owner. Then he will die. And so it goes on. A man owns nothing but his life. He holds items briefly in his hand. If they are made of metal or stone they will surely outlive him and be owned by someone else for a short time. If they are cloth he will – with luck – outlive them. Look around you, at the trees and the hills. According to law, they are mine. You think the trees care that they are mine? Or the hills? The same hills were bathed in sunlight when my earliest ancestor walked the earth. The same hills that will still be covered in grass when the last man turns to dust.’
– Waylander, to Keeva Taliana, Hero in the Shadows