The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1)

by Brian Staveley

You and Kaden will both be leaders someday, and when you are, remember this: Leadership isn’t just about giving orders. A fool can give orders. A leader listens. He changes his mind. He acknowledges mistakes.

When a man pays for a girl like cattle, you shouldn’t be surprised when he treats her like cattle.”

He looked over the assembled group. “Who wants to embarrass himself first? You’re all going to suffer. It’s only a question of when.

Obedience is a knife that cuts the cord of bondage. Silence is a hammer that shatters the walls of speech. Stillness is strength; pain a soft bed. Put down your basin; emptiness is the only vessel.

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

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

Believe what you see with your eyes; trust what you hear with your ears; know what you feel with your flesh. The rest is dream and delusion.