It’s strange. I keep forgetting you don’t have hands, Hadrian commented.I don’t, the wizard replied coldly.
It’s not that we don’t trust you, Royce said as Hadrian prepared the bow. It’s just that we’ve learned over the years that honor among nobles is usually inversely proportionate to their rank. As a res...
If given a choice between a potentially great hardship and doing nothing, people gravitated toward what was most familiar and comfortable. That was why leadership was needed.
I think running from responsibility breeds self-loathing and despair. I think people can, and do, rise to the occasion, and even a single person can make an incredible difference. What they need are l...
I knew him, you know, your beloved Novron. Ah, but yes, you already discovered that little fact. Here’s something the books won’t tell you. He was an ass.
How did you sleep? Cutting through the quiet with total disregard, came Arcadius’s voice...I don’t know, I just sort of put my head down and closed my eyes. The old man smiled. You should be a student...
Heroes are those who refuse to create or become victims. I failed to see it then, but I lived among many heroes. I think maybe everyone does. --THE BOOK OF BRIN
Hadrian had always felt that cats were picky, untrusting things. Being fragile, they had to be. Whenever a cat sat on him, Hadrian felt special, as if the animal approved, and their acceptance was som...
Hadrian gestured toward the sentinel. So, what’s going on between you and Thranic, anyway? He appears to really hate you—even more than most people.Royce did not look in his direction. He sat nonchala...
Hadrian drew two swords from his sides in a single elegant motion. He flipped one aroundletting it spin against his palm once. Need to get a new grip on this one. It’s starting to fray again. He looke...
Guy’s eyes narrowed. So you are saying that you traveled all the way out here alone— passing through, as you put it—and just happened to join up with the Pickerings?Hadrian smiled at the sentinel. It...
From a nearby doorway, a sweaty, shirtless man with a bald head emerged carrying a large copper pot. He unceremoniously cast the pot’s contents, the bony remains of several stewed animals, into the st...
Freedom, he discovered, had built a greater prison than his family or clan had.
Ferrol’s Law was created for ordinary Fhrey, not the Miralyith, Gryndal said. The Art has elevated us, and we cannot be bound by the law of a god when we have become gods ourselves.Arion saw Mawyndulë...
Fear made all the difference between rational and insane and could even masquerade one for the other. Once a herd starts stampeding, only a fool stands in the way.
Everyone stared in shock at the pool of white robes and the bright-red blood that began to stain them.Behind her, holding a rock in both hands, stood Malcolm.—We really need to talk about this habit o...
Every life is a journey filled with crossroads. And then there are the bridges, those truly frightening choices that span what always was, from what will forever be. Finding the courage, or stupidity,...
Enough of the lessons, Mauvin said, clearly irritated at being the illustration of a fencing mistake. Let’s show him a real demonstration.Looking for a rematch? Hadrian asked.Curious if it was luck.Ha...
Do you think the Gilarabrywn knows we’re still in here?Esrahaddon said it was intelligent, so I presume it can count.Then it will come back and find us. We have to reach the castle. The distance acros...
Do you see the butterfly? Suri grinned with enthusiasm. Yes, I see it, but— So stunning and delicate; it’s marvelous. No one can see a butterfly and not stop to admire it. I’d love to be one. To go to...