Sailing to Sarantium (The Sarantine Mosaic, #1)

by Guy Gavriel Kay

Philosophy could be a consolation, an attempt to explain and understand the place of man in the gods’ creation. It couldn’t always succeed, though. There were times when comfort could only be found in a woman’s laughter, a friend’s known face and voice, shared rumors about the Antae court, even something so simple as a steaming bowl of pea soup at a table with others. Sometimes, when the shadows of the half-world pressed too near, one needed the world.