‘A man should be free to do what he wants to do, as long as it doesn’t hurt others.’
– Gilad, to Bregan, Legend
‘It’s a terrible truth, but no one understands death until it reaches out and touches someone close; until you stand at a bedside staring at sunken eyes and total immobility.’
– Jeremy Miller, to himself, Rhyming Rings
‘We are all fools. But I will see out this game.’
– Chareos, to Kiall, Quest for Lost Heroes
‘There’s nothing of worth that a man cannot find in his own village, let alone on the great sea. That’s the problem with these rich princes and kings. They don’t understand what real treasure is. They see it in gold and copper, and tin. They see it in herds of horses and cattle. They gather treasures to themselves, building great storehouses, which they guard furiously. Then they die. What good is it then?’
– Spyros, to Helikaon, Lord of the Silver Bow
‘Such thoughts are for the young. Pride is everything, status must be fought for. It is all empty and meaningless. It is ephemeral. Like the leaf on the oak tree. “Look at me, I am the greenest leaf, the biggest leaf, the finest leaf. None of the other leaves has my majesty.” Yet autumn beckons, and winter mocks all the leaves, the great and the green, the small and the stunted.’
– Kysumu, to Waylander, Hero in the Shadows
‘Without fear there can be no courage.’
– Song Xiu, to Yu Yu Liang, Hero in the Shadows
‘Never let anger, or outrage, or fear affect you. That is easy advice to give, but hard to follow. Men will bait you, they will laugh at you, they will jeer. But it is just noise. They will do anything to make you angry or emotional. But the only way you can make them suffer is to win. And to do that you must remain cool.’
– Chareos, to Kiall, Quest for Lost Heroes
‘Once there was a city under siege. The enemy King said that he would spare the city if the inhabitants took a single babe and sacrificed it to him on the battlements. Now the city could not hold against him and surely, it was argued, the slaying of a single babe would be better than seeing all the babes of the city killed then the attacker breached the walls.
But they understood that you do not turn aside a great evil by allowing a small one to be committed. Evil grows. Give way once and you will give away again… and again.’
– Tamis, to Derae, Dark Prince
‘It is a strange thing about some men. In matters of business or war, they can be giants; wise to a fault. In matters of the heart, they are like children. Now women are a different matter; they see the child in a man for what it is.’
– Ananais, to Renya, The King Beyond the Gate
‘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