Baptism of Fire (The Witcher, #3)

by Andrzej Sapkowski

The tragic events on Thanedd, to which my thoughts return with regret and reluctance, proved that the effects of hundreds of years of apparently peaceful cooperation could be laid waste in an instant, as self-interest and inflated ambitions came to the fore. We now have discord, disorder, mutual hostility and mistrust.

This practice works among wolves, since it lets the healthiest and strongest individuals survive. But among sentient races selection of that kind usually allows the biggest bastards to survive and dominate the rest.

“The world turned upside down. A vampire’s teaching me how to deal with humans.

For a war is raging, and disinformation is a weapon whose blade must always be kept sharp.

They’ve placed whoever they wanted on thrones, created the marriages and dynasties they desired and which were convenient for them.