The Sunlit Man

by Brandon Sanderson

Get dragged through the dirt enough times—get beaten to within an inch of your life, to the point where you barely remembered your own name—well, that did wonders for your sense of humor. All you had left at that point was to laugh at the joke you had become.

He didn’t like who he’d become. But he didn’t miss who he’d been either—not really. He’d lived, grown, fallen, and…well, changed.

“Conquest doesn’t remove countries,” Nomad said. “It removes lines on a map. Unity requires something else.”

The strength of someone who had bowed to the years, but not yet surrendered to them.

Human souls are resilient things, Aux. Like our bodies, they self-repair.”

He doesn’t attack with glowing eyes or a deadly touch. He uses sarcasm instead, and it’s far more painful.”