The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)

by James Islington

All that I wanted, I received All that I dreamed, I achieved All that I feared, I conquered All that I hated, I destroyed All that I loved, I saved And so I lay down my head, weary with despair For all that I needed, I lost.

“Everyone has a darker nature, Caeden. Everyone. Good men fear it, and evil men embrace it. Good men are still tempted to do the wrong thing, but they resist those urges.

“The point is, he’s not losing—he’s already lost. What you see are his death throes. Shammaeloth was bound to this world in the Genesis War, and thus bound by time. He was trapped here, and now all he fights for is souls to serve him in his prison.”

That’s the natural arrogance of man, sadly. We want to believe that free will means complete independence from the plans of our creator.”

“Because it strikes me that a man needs to know what he believes before he can really know who he is.”

“We each have our temptations, Tal’kamar. We each have our own battles that must be fought.” He paused. “But you must fight them, my friend. You cannot hide from them. Otherwise you will never be more than you are.”

The decisions you make tomorrow are the same as those you made yesterday—still your choices and still with consequences, but unalterable. The only difference is your knowledge of the decisions you made yesterday.”

“Such is the way of weak men,” he murmured. “Daring to believe only in what can be seen, touched, and measured.”