A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time, #14; A Memory of Light, #3)

by Robert Jordan

He shook his head. He could hear the land breathing, could sense a beetle on a leaf half a league away, but sometimes he could not fathom Aiel. Or maybe it was just women.

“Being in charge isn’t always about telling people what to do. Sometimes, it’s about knowing when to step out of the way of people who know what they’re doing.”

Light protect the wetlander who dared tamper with ji’e’toh.

The key to leadership is in the rippling waves. You could not find stillness on a body of water if there was turmoil underneath. Likewise, you could not find peace and focus in a group unless the leader himself had peace within.

The surest way to be thought of as a youth was to act like one.

Men or women could not know themselves, not truly, until they were strained to their absolute limit. Until they danced the spears with death, felt their blood seeping out to stain the ground, and drove the weapon home into the beating heart of an enemy.

“A man who thinks all day about the catch he missed because of stormy weather ends up wasting time when the sky is clear.”

“Annah, go beg that Imperial monster of a Seanchan leader if she’d be ever so kind as to lend us some of her bloody cavalry.”

He respected her as much as he could someone he occasionally wanted to throttle and toss off a cliff.

“A little honest work wouldn’t kill you, Mat.” “Now, you know that’s not true. Soldiering is honest work, and it gets men killed all the bloody time.”

I’ve only time for one last lesson… “I have you,” Demandred finally growled, breathing heavily. “Whoever you are, I have you. You cannot win.” “You didn’t listen to me,” Lan whispered. One last lesson. The hardest… Demandred struck, and Lan saw his opening. Lan lunged forward, placing Demandred’s sword point against his own side and ramming himself forward onto it. “I did not come here to win,” Lan whispered, smiling. “I came here to kill you. Death is lighter than a feather.” Demandred’s eyes opened wide, and he tried to pull back. Too late. Lan’s sword took him straight through the throat. The world grew dark as Lan slipped backward off the sword. He felt Nynaeve’s fear and pain as he did, and he sent his love to her.

Let go, Rand. Let us die for what we believe, and do not try to steal that from us. You have embraced your death. Embrace mine.

It was about a woman, torn and beaten down, cast from her throne and made a puppet—a woman who had crawled when she had to. That woman still fought. It was about a man that love repeatedly forsook, a man who found relevance in a world that others would have let pass them by. A man who remembered stories, and who took fool boys under his wing when the smarter move would have been to keep on walking. That man still fought. It was about a woman with a secret, a hope for the future. A woman who had hunted the truth before others could. A woman who had given her life, then had it returned. That woman still fought. It was about a man whose family was taken from him, but who stood tall in his sorrow and protected those he could. It was about a woman who refused to believe that she could not help, could not Heal those who had been harmed. It was about a hero who insisted with every breath that he was anything but a hero. It was about a woman who would not bend her back while she was beaten, and who shone with the Light for all who watched. Including Rand. It was about them all.

This is our last chance at the forge. This is the morning that the big piece is due. Today, you just keep working until it’s done.” “But if I collapse…” “Then you gave it your all.” “I could fail because I’ve run myself out of strength.” “Then at least you didn’t fail because you held back.

Never be expected. When people start to expect you—when they started to anticipate your flourishes, to look for the ball you had hidden through sleight of hand, or to smile before you reached the twist line of your tale—it was time to pack up your cloak, bow once more for good measure, and stroll away. After all, that was what they’d least expect you to do when all was going well.

He shook his head. He was as much a fool as any man or woman. He just had enough experience to recognize it. It took a few seasons before a man could put that together.