Of War and Ruin (The Bound and the Broken, #3)

by Ryan Cahill

“Where I come from, there is nothing more important than your honour. But honour is not determined by the perception of others. It is in how you see your own deeds.

“How… how can they still go on?” “For the same reason you do,” Yana said, resting her hand on Ella’s arm. “Because we are more than what we think we are. We are more than the sum of our parts.”

“This world chews us up and spits us out. It doesn’t care if we live or die. It doesn’t care who we love or who we hate. It is filled with misery, death, and loss. It cares little for us. But that is precisely why we must care with all our hearts, fight for the ones we love, and stand for what we believe in. Because in a world where nothing matters, what matters to us means everything. If we forget about the ones we love, everything loses meaning.”

“You don’t have that control, Calen. If we die, we die. The beauty of life is in the living of it.”

‘The past is the tapestry from which we learn the steps we should not take,’ Verathin had said. ‘Study it, learn from it, know it. Then and only then can we hope to avoid repeating the mistakes of those who came before us. Ignore it and doom yourself to being the story the next generation learns from.’

“I don’t think losing the ones you love ever gets easier. It is the only pain your body truly remembers.

What does get easier is carrying on. The weights on our shoulders rarely get lighter, but we can get stronger.”

“Prepare for the demon you know, instead of fearing the one you don’t.”

“Nothing has ever been done, until the day it is,”

“Because, Sureheart, mastering a craft does not require a series of steps that must be completed in a particular order. It requires perseverance and determination in the face of failure.

“Death is the only thing we are assured of in life. It’s not how we die that matters, it’s how we live.”

‘My people believe that what is grown in the womb is simply a vessel. It is our gift to the soul that will one day become our child. When our children are born still, we believe the soul has chosen to wait for a different vessel, one that aligns with their hearts. In some cases, we cannot build the vessels our children need. But that does not mean there is not a soul out there that needs our love. It is said that life is a gift from the gods, but love is what gives life meaning.’

‘The power of words is in the choosing of them, my son. Not just in the choosing of which words to speak, but in choosing when not to speak at all. The man who speaks rarely but wisely is heeded far more often than the man who can’t hold his tongue.’

“Dragons are fire and flame. They are fury incarnate. After the wars of creation, Varyn himself, in his wisdom, realised that kind of power was too great and that the dragons were wrought of too much rage to wield their flames with true consideration. And so, he took it from them. He took their fire, and he created the bond. The Draleid would gain access to the Spark, long life, and strength to wield as guardians in Varyn’s name. In return, the dragons would be re-gifted their fire, their fury and rage tempered by the blending of souls. Through the bond they gained compassion, understanding, sorrow, happiness, grief, love.

Mastery is not something you achieve based on the speed at which you improve, but due to your ability to persevere in the face of failure. It is repetition, dedication, and consistency.

The moment we believe we are safe, fat, and happy is the moment a knife will open our throats.

‘There is nothing more important in the darkness than a ray of light.’