Queen of Fire

But people are still people, however comfortable their surroundings. They lie, they feud, they betray and however much you give them, they always want more.

I cannot believe the path to victory lies in staining our souls so black we become indistinguishable from those we fight.

A historian is a hunter, my lord. Seeking out signs in the undergrowth of correspondence and memoir, tracking prey via the spoor of memory.

I saw cities, and roads of marvelous construction. I saw cruelty and greed, but I've seen them here too. I saw a people live a life that was strange in many ways, but also much the same as anywhere else." "Then why are they so cruel?" There was an earnestness to the girl's face, an honest desire to know. "Cruelty is in all of us," he said. "But they made it a virtue.

War is ever the folly of the ignorant. But I have seen much to convince me some wars must be fought, to the bitterest end if need be.

Only in war does the madman become sane.

Put more than one philosopher together and you’ll birth an argument,” Erlin commented. “A truism I’ve observed the world over. In fact, I once saw one argue with himself, it got quite violent in the end.

Love may claim our hearts but lust will always claim our bodies. It is the traitor that lurks in every soul.

The price of stability is unpreparedness.

I was a slave, but never a fool. This empire is vast beyond imagining and we have killed only a fraction of the force they will bring against us. They will kill us, all of us, for we are slaves and we cannot be allowed even the barest hope of freedom. Without us, they have no empire.

All knowledge is a threat to someone.” Vaelin

What has happened cannot be changed, and so you cannot touch it. Change is the province of the future.

Hide an advantage and you double its value.

Some memories are best left to wither.

Anyone who claims they have a genius for war should be regarded as the greatest of fools. For the successful conduct of war is an exercise in the management of folly.

What do you think the world is if not just an endless parade of madness? To make war is madness. To seek power is madness." She laughed louder, throwing her arms wide. "And madness is glorious!

It's a rare man who can guard against beauty.

Have we freed this man or cursed him?" he wondered aloud. "Freedom is never a curse, brother," Thirty-four insisted. "But it is often a hard road.

Courage?" I gave a very soft laugh. "I find courage is just another of life's illusions. In the end, we all do what we must.

If you believe our cause so hopeless, why join us?" "Because you offered something I had forgotten could be offered, a choice. And I choose to die free.

Face after face contorted in hate, men, women, children. Whatever lies had been voiced against me had clearly gained near-universal acceptance. I knew then that, regardless of what transpired here, my home was now lost to me. It wasn’t just that these people would never accept me, more that I would never forgive their gullibility.

My mother used to say that men would fight and kill for money, but they would only die for their gods.

I think I preferred him jaded. The world might be a better place were it ruled by disappointed souls.

The Beyond is not the eternal domain of the dead, it is the result of folly and pride, it is a scab covering a seeping wound, eternally corrupted and corrupting. To exist there is to know the chill of death for all eternity, to feel yourself slowly ebb away until you are nothing but formless consciousness, shorn of memory but aware, knowing nothing but that endless cold.

Power comes at a price, love," Veliss replied through bared teeth, maintaining the smile she offered to the townsfolk lining the square. "What power?" "All power. The power to rule, to kill, or, in your case this fine morning, the power to incite the lust of the old goat you're about to meet." "Lust? I have no desire to incite lust in anyone." Veliss turned to her with a quizzical expression, her smile suddenly genuine. "Then I'm afraid you're in for a lifetime of disappointment.

Wise Bear said something in his own language, mouth twisting in disgust as if the words stained his tongue. He caught Vaelin’s enquiring gaze and provided a terse translation, “Cat People.

He wants to make an end. And we will.

He recalled those brief years when his song had fallen silent, his refusal to heed it leaving him bereft, without guidance. It had been hard to be so rudderless in a sea of chaos and war. This, however, was much worse, because now there was the chill, the bone-deep cold that had seeped into him in the Ally’s domain and lingered on here in this world of myriad paths, all seemingly so dark. And the words, of course, those words that hounded him from the Beyond. We will make an ending, you and I.

We found a jewel in the desert,’” I quoted. “’And from it fashioned a charred cinder.

Plenty of us with the scars and burns to prove it. Got one on my ass if you want to see it.” “I think I’ve seen sufficient horrors recently.