Legend (Drenai Saga, #1)

by David Gemmell

That our defense will fail is no reason to avoid the battle. For it is the motive that is pure, not the outcome.

To have may be taken from you; to have had, never. Far better to have tasted love before dying than to die alone.”

“A man needs many things in his life to make it bearable. A good woman. Sons and daughters. Comradeship. Warmth. Food and shelter. But above all these things he needs to be able to know that he is a man. “And what is a man? He is someone who rises when life has knocked him down. He is someone who raises his fist to heaven when a storm has ruined his crop—and then plants again. And again. A man remains unbroken by the savage twists of fate.

He was angry as he walked, feeling the stares on his back as the inn emptied to watch him go. He was angry because he knew his speech had been a falsehood, and he was a man who liked the truth. Life, he knew, broke many men.

Each man had a breaking point, no matter how strong his spirit. Somewhere, deep inside him, there was a flaw that only the fickle cruelty of fate could find. A man’s strength was ultimately born of his knowledge of his own weakness, Druss knew.

“Liberty is valued only when it is threatened; therefore, it is the threat that highlights the value.

“We were at the pass for many days, holding out against everything they could throw at us. Tribesmen, chariots, infantry, cavalry. But always the threat of the Immortals hung over us. Never beaten! Old Druss stood at the center of our first line, and as the Immortals marched toward us, we froze. You could feel panic in the air. I wanted to run, and I could see the same feeling reflected on the faces around me. Then old Druss lifted his ax in the air and bellowed at the advancing line. It was wonderful. Magical almost. The spell broke. The fear passed. He raised his ax for them to see, then he shouted. I can hear him now: ‘Come on, you fat-bellied whoresons! I am Druss, and this is death!’

“I am unused to casual conversation. Unskilled.” “Most people are when it comes down to it. It’s an art,” said Rek. “The thing to do is relax and enjoy the silences. That’s what friends are all about; they are people with whom you can be silent.”

“Gods, a man can die but once in a lifetime! Surely it’s worth celebrating.” Hogun grinned and shook

“All things that live must die,” said Vintar. “Man alone, it seems, lives all his life in the knowledge of death. And yet there is more to life than merely waiting for death. For life to have meaning, there must be a purpose. A man must pass something on—otherwise he is useless. “For most men that purpose revolves around marriage and children who will carry on his seed. For others it is an ideal—a dream, if you like. Each of us here believes in the concept of honor: that it is man’s duty to do that which is right and just, that might alone is not enough. We have all transgressed at some time. We have stolen, lied, cheated—even killed—for our own ends. But ultimately we return to our beliefs. We do not allow the Nadir to pass unchallenged because we cannot. We judge ourselves more harshly than others can judge us. We know that death is preferable to betrayal of that which we hold dear.