"I thought you were the best," she chided. "Fathers always seem that way," he said dryly. "But no. With bow or knife I am superb. But with the sword? only excellent." "And so modest. Is there anything at which you do not excel?"

“Only a fool loves war. Or a man who has never seen it. The trouble is that the survivors forget about the horrors and remember only the battle lust. They pass on that memory, and other men hunger for it.”

“All legends have a base in fact.”

“By nature of definition only the coward is capable of the highest heroism.”

“This world has few redeeming features, and one is the capacity for people to love one another with great, enduring passion.”

“Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails at something.”

“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, Kiall. They will hurt the people you love. 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.”