“Everyone thinks that courage is about facing death without flinching. But almost anyone can do that. Almost anyone can hold their breath and not scream for as long as it takes to die. True courage is facing life without flinching. I don’t mean the times when the right path is hard, but glorious at the end. I’m talking about enduring the boredom, and the messiness, and the inconvenience of doing what is right.” – Robin Hobb,Mad Ship
heroes and villains
“Every hero must have a villain to destroy, in order to prove himself a hero. But not every villain needs a hero to prove himself a villain.” – Ashok K. Banker,King of Ayodhya
ultimate hubris
“What else is life itself, living in the face of natural odds, if not the defiance of celestial power? It is the ultimate hubris.” – Ashok K. Banker, King of Ayodhya
boredom was a poor reason
“Boredom was a poor reason to do anything. Better to hold high some raging brand of righteousness, no matter how misguided and lacking in subtlety.” – Steven Erikson,The Bonehunters
Stories don’t
“It was the eighth day of recruiting and Staff Sergeant Aragan sat blearyeyed behind his desk as yet another whelp was prodded forward by the corporal. They’d had some luck here in Kan. Fishing’s best in the backwaters, Kan’s Fist had said. All they get around here is stories. Stories don’t make you bleed. Stories don’t make you go hungry, don’t give you sore feet. When you’re young and smelling of pigshit and convinced there ain’t a weapon in all the damn world that’s going to hurt you, all stories do is make you want to be part of them. ” – Steven Erikson, The Gardens of the Moon
