Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)

by Brandon Sanderson

It’s politics. The annoying kind.” “There’s another kind?”

“Being betrayed by someone you trust is painful beyond explanation,” Rysn whispered. “But that is never a reason to pretend it can’t happen.”

“So . . . why make these? Why set this place up to appear so rich?” “I’m wondering the same thing,” Rushu said. “They wanted to wow us, maybe?” Lopen said. “Perhaps they thought we’d be so distracted by the riches that we’d be stunned and confused. They did not know that I am accustomed to such incredible sights, for I experience something even more impressive each morning after I awake.” “Is that so?” “When I look in the mirror.” “And you wonder why you’re still single.” “Oh, I don’t wonder,” he said. “I’m fully aware that so much of me is difficult for any one woman to handle. My majesty confuses them. It’s the only explanation for why they often run away.”

“Most people who are different from us are frightening at first,” Rysn said. “But one thing Vstim taught me was to see past my own expectations. In this case, it meant looking past what I assumed made someone a person, and seeing the humanity—and the fear—in what appeared to be a nightmare.”