Mage Quotes

Santa was dead, to begin with. There was no doubt whatsoever about that. The after-action report was signed by the field commander, the director of operations, the secretary of the Office of Sidhe Affairs, and the chief battle-mage. Janus had signed it - and Janus's word could be counted upon for anything he chose to put his name to. Old Saint Nicholas, the Sidhe Lord of the Yuletide, was as dead as a door-nail.
It didn't stick. ~ Chris Lester

You four are a whole other breed. ~ Scarlett Dawn

Ysolde: "You think so? Well maybe your precious Aisling just needs to watch out, because I'm not some pushover, you know. I'm a mage, and mated to the baddest ass in the dragon world."
Brom looked speculatively at Baltic. "That's you?"
Baltic: "Yes. If you were my son, as you should have been, you, too, would have a badass. ~ Katie MacAlister

As soon as he stood in front of her, she folded her arms and looked cross.
"You don't have any gardening skills. You turned down a prestigious job to weed the garden?
"I will be rewarded richly in treasures untold."
She raised a brow.
"I've heard dragon-shifters pay a lot of money to merchants and the like.
"Aaagh, but you are also a dragon-shifter of a sort.
Yes, but I am a gardener, which means I don't go on high-risk missions to earn my gold. ~ Terry Spear

The cripple gave him a look. 'I remember that just yesterday you told me I was a cretin and a fool and a disgrace to the memory of my ancestors.'
'Academic hyperbole.' Morg dismissed the complaint with the wave of one hand.'It was merely enthusiastic encouragement, I assure you.'
'Perhaps overenthusiastic would be a more accurate description' muttered the cripple. ~ Karen Miller

Reality is highly overrated. ~ Roxanne Bland

Be wiser than most, be a child in your heart, be a sage in your mind and a mage with your hands. Feel hearts beating, hear the flapping of birds' wings. Heal the broken, embrace the vulnerable. Speak to the living trees. Be pulled down by no one, and by nothing. This is how to be a Goddess. ~ C. JoyBell C.

She had prayed for someone else, anyone else but Den. She'd been hoping for a nice, quiet man like Papa. Instead, the gods had sent her the man who'd scorched the world. ~ C.L. Wilson

Ersken gathered the dice, put them in the cup they had used for play, and tucked it inside one bound Rat's shirt.
"Let that be a lesson to you not to gamble," he told the Rat soberly. "The trickster asks you pay for any luck you may have, one way or another."
"Bless the boy, he's a priest with it," one of the Goddess warriors said with a grin. "After this, laddie, what's say I take you home and rub some of that off yez?"
Ersken actually winked at her! "Forgive me, gracious warrior, but my woman would turn me into something unnatural if I took you up on your kind offer," he replied as if he truly regretted it. "She's a mage and I'd best stay devoted. ~ Tamora Pierce

The light changed slightly. Mari looked up and over at one wall. There was now a narrow, roughly door-shaped hole in it. Standing in the hole was Mage Alain.
Mari stood up, realizing that her mouth was hanging open. That wall was solid. I felt it. There wasn't any opening. She watched as the Mage took two shaky steps into the cell, then paused, some of the strain leaving his face. She blinked, wondering what she had just seen, as the hole in the wall vanished as if it had never been. One moment it was there, the next it was gone. ...
Mari took a long slow breath. 'They use smoke and mirrors and other 'magic' to make commons think they can create temporary holes in walls and things like that. It's all nonsense.' "Mages actually can make real holes in walls."
"No."
Her head hurting with increased intensity, Mari glowered at the Mage. "You didn't make a hole in the wall?"
"I made the illusion of a hole in the illusion of the wall."
Mari looked at Mage Alain for what felt like a long time, trying to detect any sign of mockery or lying. But he seemed perfectly sincere. And unless she had completely lost her mind, he had just walked through that solid wall. ...
"We can get out the same way that you got in?" Mari asked. "Through imaginary holes in the imaginary wall?" She wondered how her guild would feel about seeing that in her report. Actually, she didn't have to wonder, but she wasn't about to turn down a chance at escape.
The Mage took ~ Jack Campbell

Perhaps the gods will surprise us and it will be neither."
"A true tragedy."
"Of epic proportions."
"Two longstanding rivals."
"And only one robe to bear."
"Who will win?" Darren's tone was wry. "The handsome prince?"
I grinned. "Or his valiant betrothed? ~ Rachel E. Carter

A man friends are more capable of working him harm than strangers; and his greatest
danger lies in his own habits. ~ Aleister Crowley

And so it was that in the midst of chaos and color and light, in the glorious rebirth of a magical world, there remained two small vessels dark and drained. And those vessels were the heart and the soul of a brokenhearted young mage, sobbing alone in the sand. ~ Lisa McMann

The Innocent Mage is come , and we stand at the beginning of the end of everything ~ Karen Miller

Generals trump Majors," Ursan said.
"True, but do princes trump generals?"
"I attacked him."
"Ryne's not the type to hold a grudge."
Ursan considered. "Isn't he a king? Both his parents died"
"Technically, yes. But he hasn't assumed the title."
"Neither has Prince Kerrick," Ursan said. " Don't you find that odd?"
"Not with Kerrick. He loved his father very much. I think it's still too painful for him to assume the title. Plus he hasn't been home in years."
Ursan remained quiet until we reached his tent. "Prince Kerrick's a forest mage. Which means his eyes change colour with the seasons. Right?"
"Yes."
He stared at me for a moment. "Lucky guy." Ursan ducked into his tent. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Pounce trotted past the newcomers, carrying a black kitten with a white bib and mittens in his mouth. The small creature hung in Pounce's grip, ears flat, hindquarters and tail curled up. It seemed as dejected as a body could be at my cat's handling…
My cat dropped his captive in Aniki's lap. He then lectured her in meows, saying, I cannot let you maul me about. Do it to him.
…Kora grabbed Pounce. "Why her?" she asked, holding Pounce up. "I'm a mage. By rights I should have a cat. You like Aniki more than you like me!"
Ersken said, "I think Pounce is in a giving mood today."
Here came my cat with a second kitten. This one was a light and dark brown ball with thin black stripes and spots. Pounce dropped it in front of Kora. ~ Tamora Pierce

Between the ink mage and the wizard, his mouth falling open at the sight. The hulk had nearly let her go after Talbun's shock attack, but he recovered quickly and took her head in his meaty hands. Don't. With appalling ease, the ink mage twisted. The snap was so loud, it made Brasley flinch even from across the chamber. His mouth fell open to scream. "No!" The brute's mouth twisted into a contemptuous grin as he let the limp body fall from his hands. Brasley watched it happen in slow motion, almost like she was floating, eyes closed, face peaceful, hair floating up around her. It was as if life had been some tremendous weight, and now that it was gone, her shell drifted down to the floor like a dry leaf. Talbun's body hit with a dull thud that brought Brasley back to reality. ~ Victor Gischler

Asha stared as Mari for a while, her face once again betraying no emotions. "When we were acolytes, newly come to the Mage Guild Hall on Ihris, Mage Alain once tried to catch me as I fell. He was punished for this." Her gaze went to Alain. "We talked. In the first days. Before such things were driven from us. He was...he could have been...someone..."
"A friend," Alain said.
"Friend." Asha seemed to be looking inward now, as if searching for memories lost in time. "What does this mean?"
Alain's voice took on more feeling. "It is someone who helps."
"Helps?" Asha suddenly inhaled strongly. "I remember. When all else was gone...Alain...helps...helped...me."
"We were taught to forget this," Alain said. "Master Mechanic Mari reminded me of what it meant. She has reminded me of many things. She must do something of great importance. Will you help me now, Mage Asha?"
Here gaze rested on Alain, then went back to Mari. "This Mechanic helps Mage Alain. I will help, too. I will not betray you to the Guild, Mage Alain. ~ Jack Campbell

They are brothers," Benny repeated softly. "That is a bond you cannot break. ~ Rachel E. Carter

When you turn something into stone, you take out the moisture that makes most of the bulk of flesh. A really good mage could turn you into a pebble," said the really good mage before me. ~ Patricia Briggs

Do you think we'll be waiting long?" Valkyrie asked,
keeping her voice low.
"The last time we were in this building, we accused the
Grand Mage of being a traitor," Skulduggery said. "Yes, I think
we'll be waiting long. ~ Derek Landy

He'd have to tell the Mage what he saw.
I've finally seen the Humdrum, sir.
I know what we're fighting
me.
'What's left of you.' the monster had
said.
What is left of me? Simon wondered.
A ghost? A hole? An echo?
An angry little boy with nervous
hands? ~ Rainbow Rowell

I am a mage," she replied with every ounce of haughtiness three years in a competitive doctoral program had taught her. "We bend the rules of the universe on a daily basis. Presumptuousness is the base line for entry. ~ Rachel Aaron

She settled into a sitting position, wincing. "Oh, my poor rear end. I hope you appreciate what I went through to get here."
Alain watched her anxiously. "You have hurt your ... "
"My butt. Yeah." She returned his gaze, puzzled. "I'll survive. Why are you blushing?"
"Blushing?" His face felt warm. What did that mean?
"Yes." Mari laughed. Does talking about my butt embarrass you? I'm sorry. It's nothing special."
"I ... " His face felt even warmer. "I think it is."
"You do, huh? Where have you been all my life?"
This time he gave her a mystified look. "I sent almost all of it inside a Mage Guild Hall. The one in Ihris. You know this."
Mari laughed again. ~ Jack Campbell

Can dragons fly?"
The apparent change of subject didn't seem to startle the Mage. "No. Not at all. They do not have wings, ... "If you want a flying spell creature, you need a Roc."
"A what?"
"A Roc. It is a giant bird," Alain explained.
Mari shook her head. "A giant bird. I'm crazy to be listening to this, you know that?"
"I have thought…" He fumbled for words, for a moment looking just like any other seventeen-year-old young man. Was that actually embarrassment showing? "You might…be interested…someday….in flying…on a Roc. I mean…with me." 
"Are you asking me on a date?" Mari tried desperately not to laugh at his discomfort. "A date on a giant bird?"
"Um…I do not know…just something to do…together. That is not dangerous," Alain added hastily. 
"Doing something together, that isn't dangerous?" Mari asked. "That would be a change of pace for us, wouldn't it? … "Have you ever gone…flying…with a girl before?" 
Was he blushing? Just the faintest hint of it, but - stars above. She had made a Mage blush. 
"No," Alain said. ~ Jack Campbell

Ten thousand years ago, her husband, Abraham the Mage, had presented her with the weapons and armor. "To keep you safe," he said, his speech a slurred mumble. "Now and always. When you wear it, think of me."
"I'll think of you even when I'm not wearing it," she promised, and never a day went by when she did not think of the man who had worked so hard and sacrificed so much to make and save the world. The memory of him was vivid.
Abraham stood tall and slender in a darkened room at the top of the crystal tower, the Tor Ri. He was wrapped in shadow, turned away from her so she wouldn't see the Change that had almost completely claimed his flesh, transforming it to solid gold. She remembered turning him to the light so she could look at him for what she knew might be the very last time. Then she had held him, pressing his flesh and metal against her skin, and wept against his shoulder. And when she looked into his face, a single tear, a solid bead of gold, rolled down his cheek. Rising up on her toes, she had kissed the tear off his face, swallowing it. Tsagaglalal pressed her hands to her stomach. It nestled within her still. ~ Michael Scott

How certain are you that this forest is Darken Wood, Raistin?"
"How certain is one of anything, Half-Elven?" the mage replied. "I am not certain of drawing my next breath. But go ahead. Walk into the wood that no living man has ever walked out. Death is life's one great certainty, Tanis."
The half-elf felt a sudden urge to throw Raistlin off the side of the mountain. ~ Margaret Weis

I'd give you some pants, but I don't wear any," a mage standing by a bookshelf remarked sympathetically. ~ Andrey Vasilyev

They say that when an elemental mage called forth flame, she stole a little from every fire in the world. That would make Iolanthe Seabourn quite the thief. ~ Sherry Thomas

The first thing every mage should learn is that magic makes fools of us. Now you may call yourself a mage. You have learned the most important lesson. ~ Tamora Pierce

One conversation, here on the surface, yet another beneath. The priest and the mage are playing games, the entwining of suspicion with knowledge. Heboric sees a pattern, his plundering of ghostly lives gave him what he needed, and I think he's telling Kulp that the mage himself is closer to that pattern than he might imagine. "Here, wielder of Meanas, take my invisible hand ... " Felisin ~ Steven Erikson

If there's one thing all diviners share, it's curiosity. We really can't help it; it's just part of who we are. If you dug out a tunnel somewhere in the wilderness a thousand miles from anywhere and hung a sign on it saying, 'Warning, this leads to the Temple of Horrendous Doom. Do not enter, ever. No, not even then', you'd get back from lunch to find a diviner already inside and two more about to go in.

Come to think about it, that might explain why there are so few of us. ~ Benedict Jacka

And don't even suggest that these would be better off in Tiercel's hands. No, Tiercel has other things to do with his life. You, on the other hand, get to protect him. And guess what that makes you?"
"Stupid?" Harrier suggested. "Suicidal?"
"A Knight-Mage!" the unicorn cried cheerfully. ~ Mercedes Lackey

But I've only been at this mage business four years. I have some catching up to do - ~ Tamora Pierce

He was always more good than bad. He's still more good than bad, I think. It just goes to show how much of both a person can hold. ~ Rainbow Rowell

And mage and sailor are not so far apart; both work with the powers of sky and sea, and bend great winds to the uses of their hands, bringing near what was remote. ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

One of these days I'm going to say the wrong thing to the wrong mage, and I'll be spending the rest of my days searching for Mrs Right Toad. ~ Elf Sternberg

Ellysetta Baristani is my shei'tani." His eyes found hers. "My truemate." A murmur of voices rippled through the crowd.
"Please tell the court what a truemate is."
"A truemate is the person who holds the other half of a Fey's soul." His gaze never left hers, and Ellie felt the magic of his voice wrapping her in imperceptible weaves of longing. "It is the most sacred bond known to any Fey, more sacred than that between a king and his subjects, more sacred even than that between a mother and a child. ~ C.L. Wilson

In all your years, Anadyr, have you ever encounted the Dark Mage?" asked Aynara.
"I have not, my Lady, but I would hope for my entire existence not to happen on his ugliness."
Aynara turned to Anadyr. "I have, just once before. When he appears, he is anything but ugly, my Lord. In fact, one might consider him the most beautiful entity you have ever seen. Strange that it is often the case for many a foe we encounter. Evil often comes with a smile."
(from Stormling, 2014) ~ John Hennessy

A courteous war mage. The world really was coming to an end.
And then Pritkin ran back around the corner followed by half a dozen groggy people. He glanced at the cells that still had to be emptied. "You aren't done yet?" he demanded.
The world righted itself. ~ Karen Chance

Though Mrs. Gamely was by all measures prescientific and illiterate, she did know words. Where she got them was anyone's guess, but she certainly had them. Virginia speculated that the people on the north side of the lake, steeped in variations of English both tender and precise, had made with their language a tool with which to garden a perfect landscape. Those who are isolated in small settlements may not know of the complexities common to great cities, but their hearts are rich, and so words are generated and retained. Mrs. Gamely's vocabulary was enormous. She knew words no one had ever heard of, and she used words every day that had been mainly dead or sleeping for hundreds of years. Virginia checked them in the Oxford dictionary, and found that (almost without exception) Mrs. Gamely's usage was flawlessly accurate. For instance, she spoke of certain kinds of dogs as Leviners. She called the areas near Quebec march-lands. She referred to diclesiums, linipoops, rapparees, dagswains, bronstrops, caroteels, opuntias, and soughs. She might describe something as patibulary, fremescent, pharisaic, Roxburghe, or glockamoid, and words like mormal, jeropigia, endosmic, mage, palmerin, thos, vituline, Turonian, galingale, comprodor, nox, gaskin, secotine, ogdoad, and pintulary fled from her lips in Pierian saltarellos. Their dictionary looked like a sow's ear, because Virginia spent inordinate proportions of her days racing through it, though when Mrs. Gamely was angry a staff of ~ Mark Helprin

You should have know this, Mari, that I would help you."
She was smiling again as she wiped her eyes. "Maybe I should have known. But I didn't, Alain. You are a Mage, and sometimes my memories of what happened in the waste and in Ringhmon and at Dorcastle have seemed like some kind of hallucination. I didn't know how you would react when I found you. I was actually ... Alain, I was afraid that when I found you I'd discover that you'd gone back to being like you were when we first met. That you'd just look at me as if I didn't exist and walk away. I should have realized that wouldn't happen. I should have known that you'd help without question. You keep saying that truth doesn't exist, buy you are true. There's nothing false about you. ~ Jack Campbell

The wind whipped about in a frenzy, and Solan saw Melly stiffen as she tilted her head.

A minute later, she gasped and arched her back, and he had to struggle to both stay on his feet and hold onto her. The wind built into a raging inferno that pushed everything in the camp back so that when it finally stopped, the ground was cleared three feet in every direction. Aarion, Lux, and most of their camp had been pushed back haphazardly to the trees. The Lady Melisande was out cold.

Lux and Aarion moved forward from where they had flown, both wiping leaves and debris from their leathers. Lux shook his head at the fragile-seeming mage in his commander's arms. "It's good that she has a dragon mate to watch out for her. I don't think a human male could handle the stress. ~ Kelly Lucille

So, what do you think? Better than four years with Byron?"

"Are you kidding?" I kept a straight face. "Those were the best days of life. ~ Rachel E. Carter

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. ~ Sebastien De Castell

You should remove your jacket," the Mage said. "Use it to shade your head."
She didn't want to remove her one sign of authority, her one piece of armor, though in both respects the jacket offered little right now. "I'm a Mechanic."
"I know that. Is there anyone around that you need to impress? ~ Jack Campbell

Once upon a time, in a tiny village called Talry on the bank of the great river Burine, in the Riverlands Barony of Varune, the Duchy of Castal, a Great and Powerful Mage was born unto a common man and his wife. I'll spare you the suspense. It was me. ~ Terry Mancour

Will you return to your home if Prince Grotto's reign is ended?"
"Yes. It is home."
"Will you take me back as your gardener? ~ Terry Spear

Dark, shadowy figures moved closer, circling.
Torel pulled his two seyani longswords free of their scabbards. "Come, then!" He shouted. "Come dance with the tairen, if you dare! Miora felah ti' Feyreisa! Joy to the Feyreisa! And death to you all!"
And he became a whirling blur of motion - black leather, shining steel, red blood - spinning in the moonlight, delivering death to all he touched until he moved no more. ~ C.L. Wilson

The High Mage scowled. 'All right. Maybe I was trying to scare you.
It'll be rough, though. That much is true. And over on the Silanda, Fiddler will be heaving his guts out.'
Kalam, thinking on it, suddenly smiled. 'That cheers me up.'
'Me too. ~ Steven Erikson

If I wasn't mated, and wasn't straight, and you were a Mage, and we hadn't made that pact for friendship's sake, I would totally screw you. ~ Scarlett Dawn

Magic is energy, and its in every fibre of your being. The energy used to sustain life is the energy a mage pulls from within to use magic. ~ Candace Knoebel

In the Final Days shall come the Innocent Mage, born to save the world from blood and death.
He shall enter the House of the Usurper
He shall learn their ways
He shall earn their love
He shall lay down his life
And Jervale's Heir shall know him, and guide him, and enlighten him not. ~ Karen Miller

One night a powerful sorcerer knocks on the door of a less-powerful sorcerer. "I'm starting an exclusive guild," he says. "Join me now or I'll blast you out of your fucking boots right where you stand." So naturally the second mage says ...
"You know, I've always wanted to join a guild!"
Right. Those two go bother a third sorcerer. "Join the guild," they say, "or fight both of us, two on one, right here and right now." Repeat as necessary, until three or four hundred guild members are knocking on the door of the last independent mage around, and everyone who said no is dead. ~ Scott Lynch

Ozorne, please don't let him try to make me into a battle mage. I wish you'd told me that's what you wanted." Arram stopped and grabbed his friend by the arms. "I won't do it. I'm not a killer. I'll never be a killer. ~ Tamora Pierce

Funny," [Antryg] said, "if you're a mage, they always ask you to read the future, as if knowing it will help. I think three-fourths of all prayers prayed are for two and two not to equal four. ~ Barbara Hambly

This is for you. A mage named Randal told me to give it to the Band if you ever came back. 'It surmounts evil,' he told me, 'keeps doom at bay.' ~ Janet Morris

Do you think I could win?"
"It matter not what I believe. Only what you believe."
Maracose's comment made Brett think of the Jedi master, Yoda, in Star Wars. But he was determined to win and would try, no, not just try, but he think only positively about the outcome. He would survive the trials. ~ Terry Spear

The man who exulted under torture, who hurled curses at God and beauty, who hardened himself in the harsh atmosphere of crime, now only wants to marry someone "with a future." The mage, the seer, the convict who lived perpetually in the shadow of the penal colony, the man-king on a godless earth, always carried seventeen pounds of gold in a belt worn uncomfortably round his stomach, which he complained gave him dysentery. ~ Albert Camus

I am already used to taking on the same sins. For a Fairy Tail Mage, the true sin is averting one's eyes ... and no longer being able to believe in anyone! ~ Hiro Mashima

But you must not change one thing, one pebble, one grain of sand, until you know what good and evil will follow on that act. The world is in balance, in Equilibrium. A wizard's power of Changing and Summoning can shake the balance of the world. It is dangerous, that power ... It must follow knowledge, and serve need. ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

Teach him something useful, will you?"
Elorian shook his head. "It is like housebreaking a puppy. There are bound to be lots of accidents and lots of cleanups."
Frustrated beyond measure with the whole situation, her missing staff, an out-of control mage, a frozen mage, and a cursed phantom fae turned raven, Ena couldn't believe the mess they were in. ~ Terry Spear

But the death of a great mage, who has many times in his life walked on the dry steep hillsides of death's kingdom, is a strange matter: for the dying man goes not blindly, but surely, knowing the way. ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

Oh, there are little rhymes a mage might use to remember the sequence of what must be done, but the words themselves don't do a thing. You could write every 'spell' as high as a man on the barn wall, but if you don't have the power to start with, all you'd have is a strange rhyme. And a bad one at that. ~ Gail Z. Martin

I had no sister, but I felt as if she were one."
"A sister? You think of a woman that gorgeous as a sister, but you fell in love with me?"
"You are more beautiful than Asha. I see this inside of you as well as outside."
Mari shook her head. "Have I told you that you sound totally crazy sometimes? You expect me to believe that she never lit any fires in you, and I did?"
"Yes," Alain replied, his tone faintly bewildered as he looked at her. "Asha never changed the way I saw things, as you have."
That reminded her of something. "What did you tell her about me? That I define your world or something? I couldn't believe you said that."
Alain nodded. "You define the world I see. Yes. I needed to explain what you mean to me in terms another Mage would understand."
Mari could feel her lips quivering but tried to fight of laughter. "Alain, I 'define the world' for you? That's too much."
"Too much?"
"It's so sweet, it's nauseating."
Alain pondered her words. "What is wrong with that statement? I see the false world through my own illusions. You are now my reference for those illusions. Why should that make you feel ill? You define the world I see. ~ Jack Campbell

Why you decrepit old mage! You couldn't turn water into ice in the dead of winter! ~ Margaret Weis

I'm scared and overwhelmed and my mind is racing. But," she paused and looked at him. "You're here. You just gave me hope. You also just scared the blazes out of me. I'm no longer sure that I'm the most difficult person in this relationship."
"I remain sure of it," Alain said.
"Did you just make a joke?" She pulled away a little and stared at him, smiling more like she usually did. "Are you making fun of me, Mage?"
Alain couldn't remember how long it had been since he had laughed. The act was completely alien to Mages, to the training he had endured since he was a small child. But now he laughed, the sound rusty and halting, yet he knew it was a laugh, and it felt so good to be laughing and holding Mari that Alain wondered what Mage art or other promised reward could possibly be worth giving up such things. ~ Jack Campbell

It wouldn't be a Dragon Age game without ugly mage hats. ~ David Gaider

You must on no account attempt to use the squares given in the Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage until you have succeeded in the Operation. More, unless you mean to perform it, and are prepared to go to any length to do so, you are a fool to have the book in your possession at all. Those squares are liable to get loose and do things on their own initiative; and you won't like it. ~ Aleister Crowley

See anything interesting out there in the woods of King Hall? ~ Scarlett Dawn

I'd like for you to tell me who you are." The man blinked.
"David Dryden."
I just looked at him.
"Your one o'clock?"
"My one o'clock what?"
"Date," the third vamp said, grinning.
"For what?" I asked, confused.
"Well, you know."
The mage looked a little awkward suddenly. "The usual."
"I think we've got a contender here, boys," the brunet said.
"Smooth operator," the second vamp agreed. ~ Karen Chance

As I walked, I started making a list of everyone in the mage world whom I'd opposed, fought with, or otherwise irritated. After I ran out of fingers to count on I decided to limit the number to people I'd pissed off relatively recently. ~ Benedict Jacka

Titus's jaw dropped. 'Those caravanists, they were mages?'
'They most certainly were.'
'But one fainted and two reached for their rifles when they saw the sand wyvern.'
'It's a good policy for at least one member of the group to pretend to fall unconscious at a mage sighting. And I always think the rifles are a touch of genius - any time you see someone holding a firearm, your instinct is to dismiss that person as a nonmage. ~ Sherry Thomas

Life is more than a heartbeat, Mage. It's the essence of our souls and the fiber of our beings. It is the breath of imagination within our souls; it's the fire in our hearts that burns for change and progress. Extinguish the fire and you have killed the man, even if he still draws breath. ~ Dannika Dark

You, you are a cockroach. No matter how many times we tried to get rid of you, you kept finding a way to scuttle your way back. And as much as I don't like you, well, you are persistent. And even I can admire you that. ~ Rachel E. Carter

He's a war mage. They're almost impossible to kill." He scowled. "Even on purpose. ~ Karen Chance

The surrealists know that the surreal is in the real, just as the mage knows that the invisible is in the visible and the alchemist knows that the infinite is to be found in the finite - and the Great Work consists of its extraction. ~ Patrick Lepetit

Sandry: "There has to be something we can do."
Lark: "We're mages. We do what we can, but some problems are too big to fix."
Sandry: "Then I wish I weren't a mage. What good is magic, if you can't use it to help people. ~ Tamora Pierce

Serafina, Ava, Ling, and Becca swam inside. Neela followed them, but at the very last second, shield. "I can't," she said. "Once I go in, there's no way out again. This is real. You're real. All this time, a part of me was hoping you were only a dream."

The witch cocked her head. "Only a dream?" she said mockingly. "Long ago, a great mage dreamed of stealing the gods' powers. Abbadon was born of that dream. Atlantis died because of it. Now, because of a new dreamer, all the waters of the world may fall. There is nothing more real than a dream." She nodded at the waters behind Neela. Silt was rising in the distance, a great deal of it. "The merman Traho knows this. He's coming. If you do not believe me, perhaps he can convince you. ~ Jennifer Donnelly

They kept to themselves. We all had a 'live and let live' philosophy, so we didn't mix unless someone committed crimes in our territories. Karpatii, mage and humans were close. The others stayed away from us and from each other. ~ Christine Feehan

It was a relief when we reached the village of Lumm. We did not go into it but rode on the outskirts. When the great mage-built bridge came into view I felt Shevraeth's arm tighten as he looked this way and that.
On a grassy sward directly opposite the approach to the bridge a plain carriage waited with no markings on its sides, the wheels and lower portions muddy. The only sign that this might not be some inn's rental equipment were the five high-bred horses waiting nearby, long lines attached to their bits. A boy wearing the garb of a stable hand sat on a large rock holding the horses' lines; nearby a footman and a driver, both in unmarked clothing but wearing servants' hats, stood conversing in between sips from hip flagons. Steady traffic, mostly merchants, passed by, but no one gave them more than a cursory glance.
The gray threaded through a caravan of laden carts. As soon as the waiting servants saw us, the flagons were hastily stowed, the horse boy leaped to his feet, and all three bowed low.
"Hitch them up," said the Marquis.
The boy sprang to the horses' mouths and the driver to the waiting harnesses as the footman moved to the stirrup of the gray.
No one spoke. With a minimum of fuss the Marquis dismounted, pulled me down himself, and deposited me in the carriage on a seat strewn with pillows. Then he shut the door and walked away.
By then the driver was on her box, and the horse boy was finishing the last of the harnesses, helped by ~ Sherwood Smith

There existed something in this world that bound a mage tighter than a blood oath: love. Love was the ultimate chain, the ultimate whip, and the ultimate slave driver. ~ Sherry Thomas

Much obliged, Serla Mage. ~ Lauren L. Garcia

People make mistakes all the time –some of us just are in more of a position to leave an impact when we do." Impact. Influence. Somehow along the way I had joined the circle of people whose actions dictated change, and it scared me how easy it would be to make the wrong one. ~ Rachel E. Carter

As a child in Atuan, Tenar had learned how to learn. There seemed always to be a great deal to be learned, more than she would have believed when she was a prentice-priestess or the pupil of a mage. ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

Experience teaches us restrictions," the mage reminded him. "They are not dreamed up in some peaceful tower on a mountaintop. ~ Patricia A. McKillip

The Inquisitor stared at him. "Your Highness, where is Iolanthe Seabourne?"
Right here in this room.
He was on guard, very, very much on guard. Yet he still felt his lips part and form the shape necessary to pronounce the first syllable of the truth. "I thought we had already established that I have neither interest in nor knowledge of your elemental mage."
"Why are you protecting her, Your Highness?"
Because she is mine. You will have her over my dead body. ~ Sherry Thomas

Duncan's temper kindled, but it didn't dampen the lust seeping along his nerve endings. He could flatten this persnickety witch, or better yet, weave a love spell and bind her to him. Maybe he'd do just that and have done with things. He clasped his hands behind his back to quash the temptation to summon magic. ~ Ann Gimpel

Ellysetta Baristani." Belliard's voice caused her to stop and turn back around. "Even should you clothe yourself in rags and dirt, you would bring honor to the Fey. ~ C.L. Wilson

All things were formed of energy, arrangements of bundled light that were subject to natural law. The awareness of this truth, defined to absolute perfection, granted the mage-trained their influence. To know a thing, to encompass its full measure in respect was to hold its secrets in mastery. Life-force was the basis of all power. ~ Janny Wurts

Never fear. It is much easier for men to act than to refrain from
acting. We will continue to do good and to do evil... But if there were
a king over us all again and he sought counsel of a mage, as in the
days of old, and I were that mage, I would say to him: My lord, do
nothing because it is righteous or praiseworthy or noble to do so; do
nothing because it seems good to do so; do only that which you must
do and which you cannot do in any other way. ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

At first, the pinpricks felt like hot fly bites down the soft white skin over her spine and along her shoulders. The first time Rina flinched, the mage had admonished her harshly. She hadn't moved again. ~ Victor Gischler

Loyalty is never built upon honor, brother. It is built upon blood. ~ Rachel E. Carter

Picker studied Quick Ben as they trudged up yet another grass-backed hillside. 'You want us to get someone to carry you, Mage?'
Quick Ben wiped the sweat from his brow, shook his head. 'No, it's getting better. The Barghast spirits are thick here, and getting thicker. They're resisting the infection. I'll be all right, Corporal.'
'If you say so, only you're looking pretty rough to me.' And ain't that an understatement.
'Hood's warren is never a fun place.'
'That's bad news, Mage. What have we all got to look forward to, then?'
Quick Ben said nothing.
Picker scowled. 'That bad, huh? Well, that's just great. Wait till Antsy hears.'
The wizard managed a smile. 'You tell him news only to see him squirm, don't you?'
'Sure. The squad needs its entertainment, right? ~ Steven Erikson

I do not know how you have done this to me. I thought that if I returned the help you had given me that I would be free of the inexplicable influence you have over me. But it does not seem to be working, and you say you cannot break the thread."
Mari realized that her mouth had fallen open as she stared at Mage Alain. "Are you serious?"
"What would I be if not serious?"
"You're saying that I put a spell on you that controls your thoughts and actions?"
"Why else am I here?" The Mage asked.
"Because it was the right thing to do!"
"The ... what? I am still uncertain about what right thing means - " the trace of puzzlement had retired to him.
"Listen ... Mage Alain! I don't ... put spells on boys! Or men! Or anybody! I have no idea why you think that you are thinking about me, but I assure you that it has nothing to do with me thinking about you or making you think that you want to think about me! ~ Jack Campbell

But it may be that I betrayed myself. Since Dorcastle, my ability to supress my emotions has diminished. I know feelings are showing, not in ways which commons might see, but clearly enough for Mages to spot. My elders could well have decided that I am ruined, that my contact with you has corrupted me beyond correction." ...
"What does it take to corrupt a Mage, anyway?"
"I told you. They thought that you had attempted to seduce me. Perhaps they thought that you had already succeeded despite my denials that such a thing had happened."
Once again Mari stared at him, her face darkening. "I was under the impression that your elders thought I would try that at some future point. What did you tell them to make them think that I had already put my moves on you? Or that I had already hooked you?"
"Hooked?" Alain asked.
"Ensnared." Mari got the word out between clenched teeth.
"I told them nothing. That is the illusion they wished to believe, not thinking there could be any other reason for a female Mechanic to seek my company." Alain paused in thought. "A young and attractive female Mechanic, that is."
"Oh right. The one with all those physical charms."
"Yes," Alain agreed.
She gasped a laugh. "I was being sarcastic again, Alain. I hope that isn't the only reason you've been attracted to me. Not the only reason anyway."
"You are very pleasant to look upon," Alain said, and Mari's face flushed again. Had he angered her? "But my eld ~ Jack Campbell

Just because a mage wears the black robes does not make him evil. ~ Margaret Weis

I want to tell you a story, Alex."
Alex nibbled on his bottom lip, waiting. Wondering now if Mr. Today really understood that Alex was turning him down.
"Simber." The old mage said.
Alex automatically turned to the door, expecting to see the beast.
Mr. Today shook his head. "No, he's not hear. Simber was my first creation. Before there was Artime, there was Simber. ~ Lisa McMann

She stood watching a ritual she had seen many times before, yet which now seemed odd and extremely archaic; as if everything - the hill, the ox, the Mage, the cauldron, the king, the people looking on - everything belonged to a time so far away, so obscurely ancient that it could no longer be comprehended, only felt in the pulse of blood that flowed through her veins. ~ Stephen R. Lawhead

What in Hood's name are you doing down here?'
'Hiding, what's it look like? That's always been your problem, Kal, your lack of subtlety. Sooner or later it's going to get you into trouble. Is it dark yet?'
'No. Listen, what's with this damned gale up top? It's all wrong-'
'You just noticed?'
Kalam scowled in the gloom. Well, at least he'd found the wizard. The High Mage of the Fourteenth, hiding between crates and casks and bales. Oh, how bloody encouraging is that?
...
Quick Ben moved further into the narrow space between cargo. 'Here, there's room.'
After a moment, Kalam joined him. 'You got anything to eat? Drink?'
'Naturally.'
'Good. ~ Steven Erikson