Warbreaker

by Brandon Sanderson

The rage that came from knowing that something horrible was coming, and from being unable to do anything at all about it.

She wanted to run, hide, flee as far as she could. Did all women feel this way, or was it only those who were being washed, primped, and sent to please a deity with the power to destroy nations?

this was where all her “independent” sense of freedom came to an end. No matter what she claimed or how she felt, in the end, she had to bow to authority. Just like anyone else.

“Mocking a woman is like drinking too much wine. It may be fun for a short time, but the hangover is hell.”

But he’d found that imaginary things were often the only items of real substance in people’s lives.

It’s not so uncommon for others to have more faith in someone than he has in himself.”

“You don’t have to believe in my miracles. You can call them accidents or coincidences, if you must. But don’t pity me for my faith. And don’t presume that you’re better, just because you believe something different.”

Unknowing ignorance is preferable to informed stupidity.”

“What I’m trying to say is that you don’t understand a man until you understand what makes him do what he does. Every man is a hero in his own story, Princess.

The truth is, most people who do what you’d call ‘wrong’ do it for what they call ‘right’ reasons. Only mercenaries make any sense. We do what we’re paid to do. That’s it. Perhaps that’s why people look down on us so. We’re the only ones who don’t pretend to have higher motives.”

Yet she was beginning to think that she—along with many others—had taken this belief too far, letting her desire to seem humble become a form of pride itself. She now saw that when her faith had become about clothing instead of people, it had taken a wrong turn.

she felt frustrated at her frequent helplessness. And that felt like part of whom she really was. The woman who would do anything to be sure she wasn’t helpless.

She wanted to be capable. That might be arrogant, but it was the truth. She wanted to learn everything she could

“Priests are always easy to blame. They make convenient scapegoats—after all, anyone with a strong faith different from your own must either be a crazy zealot or a lying manipulator.”

“The value in something relates to how it is treated, Your Grace. If you see these items as junk, then they are, regardless of what someone else would pay for them.”