Her anger, so useful just moments before, was getting the…

“Men tend to die when you slide steel beneath their skin and wiggle it around. Even priests.”

— Brian Staveley

“This is what we are for, Alin,” the older guardsman said, turning to his companion. Adare had never heard anyone use Birch’s first name.…

— Brian Staveley

“Pain is suffering because we want to be free of it, and pleasure is suffering because we fear to lose it.”

— Brian Staveley

“among a soft folk obsessed with words, choosing the right word is nearly as important as doing the right thing.” The”

— Brian Staveley

“There’s no blade as keen as surprise.”

— Brian Staveley

“Often there is no good path. That does not mean we should not walk.”

— Brian Staveley

“It’s built into the job. Bakers have flour, fishermen have nets, and leaders have lies.” Adare”

— Brian Staveley

“every son should have a chance to know his father, not as a child knows his protector, but as a man knows another man.”

— Brian Staveley

“Resist faith. Resist trust. Believe only in what you touch with your hands. The rest is error and air.”

— Brian Staveley

“The process is the goal,” Kaden responded innocently, trying not to feel smug. It was about time one of those Shin maxims worked in…

— Brian Staveley

“You squint hard enough, and everything starts to look suspicious.”

— Brian Staveley

“Assume nothing,’” he said. The first chapter of the Tactics. “If we figure everyone might be a murderer, we’re less likely to be disappointed.”

— Brian Staveley

“We all have our hobbies,” Kaden replied. He could have been discussing farming techniques.”

— Brian Staveley

“The ablest swordsman, Hendran wrote, the consummate tactician, the peerless general: All seem invulnerable until luck turns against them. Make no mistake—place a man…

— Brian Staveley

“Triste lay in a heap, her dress hitched up around her thighs, whimpering and shuddering until Gwenna shifted to kick her ungently in the…

— Brian Staveley