Never Die (The Mortal Techniques)

by Rob J. Hayes

The difference between the rich and the powerful was always made so much clearer by walls. The rich hid behind them, the powerful tore them down.

There were monsters in the world, Cho knew that well enough, but none were nearly so monstrous as man.

Yet the tree people are not the only ones who call the forest canopy home. There are other things up there, older than Hosa, older than man, older than time itself. For there is a problem with reaching so high. The stars are distant for a reason. In the darkness monsters hide."

knowledge helps to better all of man, and there are few things that should not be shared.

"The thing about this world, the way to survive, is you either become the worst monster you can be, or you find someone else willing to be an even worse monster and make yourself useful. I learned early in life there are some things I'm just not willing to do, to others and to myself. So, I found someone who was."

"It takes a lifetime of evil to be a villain, and only one moment of good to be a hero."

"Immortality is subjective. Your stories will always be told. Your legend will never die. But your body can.

That was the problem with real heroes, which The Emerald Wind was certainly not, they stood up for the weak instead of preying upon them. Heroes called for justice while people like Zhihao cried vengeance. Heroes fought to satisfy honour, as though it were somehow more important than filling their pockets. Heroes were little more than fools waiting to find the one battle they couldn't win.

Honour can be lost a dozen times, and regained. Life can only be lost once, and never regained.

Strengthened by your qi, pushed out from your belly, it makes your skin unbreakable. But a person's eyes are not skin, they are windows from which they see out and others may see in. Windows can be broken."

"One can either let their losses define them, or define those losses by what is left to them."

"For you cannot find yourself, if you do not first lose your way."

"Sometimes peace is no more than oppression in disguise."