â i fear i make you uneasy. â
â knowledge is a weapon. arm yourself well before you ride forth to battle. â
â go on. show your steel. give me cause to do the same. â
â fear is what keeps a man alive in this world of treachery and deceit. â
â these woods are not as empty as you think. â
â promise me that you will never turn against me. i could not bear that. promise me. â
â the only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid. â
â if i must die, i will die with an axe in my hand and a curse upon my lips. â
â tales are told of you. i hear them everywhere. people fear you. â
â go too far down that road, and mistrust can poison you, make you sour and fearful. â
â you mistake me. that was a command, not an offer. â
â sorcery is a sword without a hilt. there is no safe way to grasp it. â
â prophecy is like a half-trained mule. it looks like it might be useful, but the moment you trust in it, it kicks you in the head. â
â it is not the foes who curse you to your face that you must fear, but those who smile when you are looking and sharpen their knives when you turn your back. â
â i rose too high, loved too hard, dared too much. i tried to grasp a star, overreached, and fell. â
â they think that this will break my pride, that it will make an end to me, but they are wrong. â
â tell me of the things that make you happy, the things that make you giggle, all your sweetest memories. remind me that there is still good in the world. â
â one war ends, another begins. there is always someone fighting someone somewhere. â
â this is what i was made for. the dance, the sweet steel song, a sword in my hand and a foe before me. â
â my enemies have told you i am dead. those tales are false, as you can see. â
â not all that a man does is done for gain. â
â i know that you believe me weak, frightened, feeble. â
â it takes a man to rule. kill the boy, and let the man be born. â
â do you mean to spend your whole life running away? â
â kingdoms are at hazard here. our lives, our names, our honour. this is no game weâre playing for your amusement. â
â however gentle the words, there are always darker motives underneath. i do not trust you. â
â a good honest face, but you should smile more. â
â my throne is made of burned bones, and it rests on quicksand. â
â you are so radiant today i fear to look on you. â
â prove yourself more trouble than you are worth, and you can go your own way. â
â you need not look so pale, i was only playing with you. â
â this is not the day i die, i promise you. â
â i wanted you from the first time i saw you. â
â was i so blind, or did i close my eyes willingly, so i would not see the price of power? â
â men should not go wandering in this place. â
â hold your tongue and do as you are told, or you will soon wish you had. â
â you wonât try. you will obey. â
â kneel and live. or go and die. itâs your choice to make. â
â are you so blind, or is it that you do not wish to see? â
â that is not a place you want to go to. â
â i will not go back without doing what i came for, no matter how hopeless it may seem. â
â the fairest woman in this worldâĻi am drunk with the sight of you. â
â secrets are worth more than silver and sapphires. â
â we have come too far to turn back now. â
â what have i done to make you hate me so? â
â you meet so few men who value friendship over gold these days. â
â it is true, i am a bolder man than most. â
â i cannot go home. but i dare not stay here much longer. â
â foes and false friends are all around me. â
â the fewer folk who will know of this, the better. â
â all you have i gave you. remember that. â
â will you make me say it twice? go and do as i commanded you. â
â love is madness, and lust is poison. â
â i feel safe when iâm with you. â
â have you no smile for me? am i as fearful as all that? â
â why did i ever allow myself to be talked into this farce? â
â donât think i donât see what youâre doing. â
â i will tell you nothing. do me the same favor. â
â if i look back i am lost. â
â a crown should not sit easy on the head. â
â we must show a little trust, you and i. â
â trust only your companions, and do your best to avoid attracting notice. â
â youâre not going to try to kill me again, i hope. â
â if you will forgive me for saying so, you lookâĻweary. are you sleeping? â
â your clothes are stained with blood. take them off. â
â every fool loves to hear that heâs important. â
â my father used to tell me that a man must know his enemies. â
â you are a harmless creature, to be sure. as innocent as a lamb. â
â till then, let us drink and dream. â
â you will be tempted to betray me. to run or fight or join our foes. iâll not hear you deny it. â
â soon enough you may have grave need of me. do not refuse my friendship. â
â it is best that no man knows that you are here. â
â i kill kings, havenât you heard? â
â should any ill befall you, this world would lose its savor. â
â some will look at you and see only another doomed pretender. â
â i think life is a jape. yours, mine, everyoneâs. â
â i will forgive those wordsâĻonce. but never presume to threaten me again. â
â your father would be so proud if he could see you. â
â just once you might try to give me an answer that would please me. â
â they love me well. none would betray me. â
â i have sins enough to answer for; iâll have no part of this one. â
â i mean you no harm, you know. â
â i do not trust you, but i need you. â
â weâll both sleep, and dream of sweeter days. close your eyes. â
â since you ask so nicely, how can i deny you? â
â no wine is half so intoxicating as your beauty. â
â why should i beg for what is owed me? â
â a lord may love the men he commands, but he cannot be a friend to them. â
â let them try and trouble us, weâll show them what weâre made of. â
â a leader should be feared, by friend and foe alike. if men think me cruel, so much the better. â
â the enemy of my friend is my enemy. â
â a book can be as dangerous as a sword in the right hands. â
â i am an old man, grown weary of this world and its treacheries. â
â these are desperate days, and like to grow more desperate. â
â we need to find shelter before nightfall. â
â there are footsteps behind us. we are being followed. â
â this is no common fog. it stinks of sorcery. â
â i am glad you came to me. it is good to see you again, my friend. â
â the man who does nothing also takes a risk. â
â the women are the strong ones. â
â afraid, are you? i would be if i were you. â
â tell me a tale. some tale of valor with a happy ending. â
â iâll have a cup of wine as well. to clear my head. â
â we may lose our heads, itâs trueâĻbut what if we prevail? â
â keep your swords sharp. weâll have us a real fight soon. â
â this is going to end badly. â
â what are you doing here? how did you get past my guards? â
â it is so hard. to be strong. i donât always know what i should do. â
â let us instead speak of love, of dreams and desire. â
â you wound me, wandering off like this. have you grown tired of my hospitality so soon? â
â with this sword i defend my subjects and destroy those who menace them. â
â it is too late for such misgivings. you made your choice. â
â in times as confused as these, even men of honor must wonder where their duty lies. â
â why? what did i ever do to you? â
â we must be certain that we do not choose the losing side. â
â dream sweet dreams. there are no monsters here. â
â i know who you are. i know what you are. â
â a little honest loathing might be refreshing, like a tart wine after too much sweet. â
â a bloody sword is a beautiful thing. â
â a ruler belongs to their people, not to themself. â
â if the ones i killed come haunt me, i will kill them all again. â
â you shine so brightly, you will blind every man who dares look upon you. â
â a fair bargain leaves both sides unhappy, iâve heard it said. â
â thereâs blood on your hands, aye, same as mine. â
â i have done wicked things, i know, but i could not bear for you to hate me. â
â it is good to see you smiling again. â
â i have doubts enough without you throwing oil on the fire of my fear. â
â blood pays for blood, a life for a life. â
â go home, if that is what you want. i am staying. â
â a manâd think thereâs no trust between us. â
â i would choose freedom over comfort every time. â
â you are even lovelier than i was told. â
â stay. i do not wish to be alone. â
â treachery on treachery. is there no end to it? â
â dreams and prophecies. why must they always be in riddles? â
â one wrong word, and this could turn to blood in half a heartbeat. â
â you lie. i can see the truth in your eyes. â
â throw down your steel and stand aside, and no harm need come to you. â
â you are supposed to be my friend. why must you mock my hopes? â
â it is better to die with honor than to live without it. â
â it does no good to brood on lost battles and roads not taken. â
â i see you are deaf to sense. â
â you are no better than me. weâre just the same. â
â a man should never draw his sword unless he means to use it. â
â you kill men for the wrongs they have done, not the wrongs that they may do someday. â
â close your eyes. close your ears. turn away. you do not need to see this. â
â the sooner we are gone from this place, the better. â
â i am sorry my actions have displeased you. i did as i thought best. â
â you do not need to trust a man to use him. â
â if you cannot do this thing, you need only say so. there is no shame in that. â
â never wound a foe when you can kill him. dead men donât claim vengeance. â
â this is what i wanted, what i worked for. so why does it taste so much like defeat? â
â honest men should never need to hide their faces. â
â i am not the trusting fool you take me for. â
â menâs lives have meaning, not their deaths. â
â heâs dead. he wonât bite. â
â if this is the price for peace, i pay it willingly. â
â it makes me wonder whose side you are on. â
â dreams and prophecies. why must they always be in riddles? â
â i will not say that you are welcome. nor will i deny that i have hoped that you might come. â
â you have the eyes of a wolf and a taste for blood. â
â men are mad and gods are madder. â
â one war ends, another begins. there is always someone fighting someone somewhere. â
â not all risks lead to ruin. â
â is there some place with fewer eyes and ears? â
â i need you now as i have never needed you before. â
â tell me, is there any fight left in you? â
â it was the wind that you heard screaming. â
â crying? i was not crying. why would i cry? â
â are you some butcher of the battlefield, hacking down every man who stands in your way? â
â rain. a storm is coming. â
â that was simple. simpler than i dared hope. simpler than it should have been. â
â see that you do not speak of this. iâll not have this tale spread. â
â how could i be so blind for so long? â
â you had a bad dream, that was all. â
â are you prepared to defend that boast with sword or lance? â
â i will do it. i said i would. i will. â
â think that. believe that. tell yourself itâs true. â
â you have more enemies than you know. â
â i have no heart. i only have a hole. â
â it has been too long since iâve killed a man. â
â words are wind. words cannot harm me. â
â have you forgotten who i am? â
â too many good men died that day. â
â it is so good to see your face, your sweet face. â
â it is still not too late to abandon this folly. â
â i will not stay here to be insulted. â