Sebastien De Castell Quotes

If not us, then who? Who's going to stand when everyone else kneels? Who's going to argue for the law even when there's no justice to be had? Who's going to try even when the trying is too damn hard?

Some deaths are worse than others. The one you go to is the worst of all.

Kest had pushed his way into the thick of the melee, fighting using a style that Brasti once dubbed sorendito, which is an old Pertine word for a rather filthy act that costs extra in most brothels, involving three partners and ... well, never mind

When you see the world outside your home town, outside the walls of what you were brought up to see, then you discover that you almost never know if you're dong the right thing. One action, brave and true, leads to war and destruction. Another, craven and greedy, leads to peace and prosperity.
pg 197

You can't do this,' I said, though I had nothing whatsoever to back up my statement.
'Why not? I seem to have an army behind me.'
'We have a Saint,' Brasti said, pointing at Kest.
'Your Saint seems to be unconscious,' the Duke replied.

I wondered, not for the first time, that the world could bear the weight of so many foul people. "Besides,

Another trap. Never let yourself be tricked into comparing one woman with all others; it rarely turns out well.

Happiness is a series of grains of sand spread out in a desert of violence and anguish.

Perfect,' she said, then promptly sat down in the dirt. 'I'm just going to sit here until the world starts making sense, if that's all right.'
'You might be waiting a long time,' I said.

However much this annoyed me, it is accepted practice for a duellist's supporters to cheer them on- in fact, i was entitled to similar outbursts from my own admirers.
'This Undriel fellow really is remarkably skilled,'Kest remarked.
Undriel. That was the bastard's name.
Brasti came to my defence, after a fashion. 'It's not Falcio's fault. He's getting old. And slow. Also, i think he might be getting fat. Just look at him- barely four months since he beat Shuran and already he's half the man he once was.'
Always nice to have friends nearby in troubled times, i thought, batting at Undriel's blade with a clumsy parry that was testament to my increasing exhaustion.

You are not my business partner,' Nephenia told Ishak. 'You're my familiar. It's an ancient and time-honoured pairing of two souls, not some shallow business transaction.'
The hyena yapped at her for several seconds, then Nephenia punched me in the arm. 'Ow! What was that for?'
'For letting your squirrel cat introduce these ruinous ideas into my familiar's head about "partnerships" and "equitable relationships". Do you realise Ishak's now telling me he wants us to work out a formal contract?'
'Wait until she hears about the clause on freshly killed meat,' Reichis whispered into my ear.

I walked over and hugged him, knowing it would only make things worse for him. I don't get that many chances to torture Brasti.

Your ancient enemy is basically just a really, really big squirrel

Feltock bit the inside of his cheek. Then he said, 'And you think you remember everyone who was there that day?'
I thought about it for a moment. 'Not everyone, 'I replied. Feltock was looking at me intently, trying to see if I knew, if I did remember. More trouble than it will be worth, I thought, but I was a little drunk and a little tired so I said, 'But since you're asking, yes, General Feltock, I remember you.'
Feltock's eyes went wide for a moment, but then he gave a bitter laugh. 'Not "General", 'he said. 'Not for a few years now. 'We drank some more in silence. 'So,'he said, uncrossing his legs with a crack. 'Are you gonna come for me next, boy?'
I sighed. 'No.'
'Why not? I was there, wasn't I? I was one of those what took down your King, wasn't I? So what's the difference between me and Lynniac?'
'You didn't laugh. 'He just looked at me for a while and then said, 'Huh'. Then he stood up and started walking back to the wagons.
'Why "Captain"Feltock?' I asked when he was a few paces away. 'Why aren't you a general any more?'
Feltock turned and gave me a sour grin. He tossed the rest of his wineskin back to me.
'Because, boy, when they put the King's head on that pole, I forgot to laugh.

I rolled my eyes at Kest. We'd heard this lecture many times before, but Trin hadn't, so she stepped right into it.
"Is it really so hard?" She asked
"My dear, not one man in a hundred can be a proper archer. And not one in ten thousand can become a master."
"And you are one? A master archer, i mean?"
Brasti smiled and contemplated the nails of his right hand. "One might fairly say so, i believe."
"One says so frequently," I observed.

I stared in awe as Ferius shuffled the deck, her hands moving smoothly and confidently as the cards flipped around her fingers. It was like watching a master mage performing a dazzling series of somatic shapes one after the other.
It was like magic.

That's what being free means - not the right to do whatever you want, but the right to take a stand and say what you'll die for.

She turned back to the rest of us. "They've taken it all," she said. "They've taken every last good thing in the world."
Then she swung the door wide. "Now go and show them your answer.

We all got ugliness inside us, Kellen. Yours is worse? Then fight harder. Figure it out. But don't you ever pretend you don't have a choice.

Despite my repeated attempts, my hands refused to reach out and wrap themselves around Brasti's throat. The

History is written by the victors,' she said, 'but the truth has a way of revealing itself.

Eventually Reichis asked, 'You know why this is such a stupid idea?'
'You said that already. Like, twelve times.'
'Yeah, but do you know WHY it's a stupid idea?'
I stopped. 'Why?'
Reichis shivered on my shoulder. 'Because this place is giving me the creeps, and I'm a squirrel cat - normally we're the ones giving other people the creeps.

I suppose "cartographer" is as good a description as any, but the Argosi do not draw maps of places, but rather of people... cultures.' She tapped the deck in my hand. 'You understand the meaning of the suits? ... look more closely at the individual cards and you'll see that the particular design on each card reflects part of the fundamental power structure of that society.'
pg 79

Never trust a man who brings a hundred soldiers to a wedding

I instinctively reached out to steady her. Unfortunately for both of us, at that precise moment she shifted her weight to catch her balance. Our foreheads collided with a painful thud, and worse - much, much worse - it's entirely possible that my lips brushed against hers in the process.
'Did he just try to kiss me?' she demanded loudly.

Nehra frowned. "Do you always run headlong into certain death?" "Sometimes he walks," Dariana said. "Occasionally he shuffles. Once I'm pretty sure I saw him amble into certain death." Nehra rolled her eyes. "You risk your lives on foolish odds.

I've discovered that a death sentence can be somewhat liberating for someone who's spent their life curtsying.

Gods, man, don't you start now,' I said softly. 'We're going to get a terrible reputation if we just keep travelling across the countryside crying all the time.

It's called the Way of Water, Dexan. You tried to kill me, so now I get to keep your hat. - Kellen

Back at the oasis you told me that one day I'd figure out I was special... I'm done waiting. - Nephenia

That's right i was turning into ferius parfax

Thank you... Kellen... Will you wait with me? Just a little longer?' - Seneira
...
'I'll wait with you,' I said. 'As long as it takes.

I don't know how well I can fight, or run, or judge, but when the blade comes, I swear on whatever they want me to swear on, I'll stop it, with my body if nothing else.

Ferious offered up a sardonic smile. "Not everybody hates you, kid. There are entire countries full of people who haven't met you yet.