Ruin Quotes

“Family. Friendship. Loyalty. These things have been my guiding stars, my light in these dark times.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Two for vengeance. One for love.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“It was no dream. The Ben-Elim, he gave me a choice. Go forward or go back. I wanted to cross over, to be with my kin, my friends. To find peace.´

´Why did you come back, then?´Fidele asked him.
´Three reasons. Three people. Jael. Lykos. You.´He paused and looked up into her eyes. ´Two for vengeance. One for love.´
She stared at him a long, timeless moment, then she leaned forwards and kissed him. Page 273 (Fidele and Maquin)”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“We are what we choose to be. What makes a king a king? Is there something different about him? Does special, sacred blood run in his veins? No. He is chosen; he believes it, and the people believe. He rises to the task, or he fails it.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“My da used to tell me, don’t hit if you can help it, but if you have to, hit fast, and hit hard.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“He does not want to lead, and that is a good start. Only the vain and foolish crave such a responsibility.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Sometimes it is just best to accept what is, and get on with doing.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Life should be lived, and what is life without heart and passion?”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“How fickle are these men, who are swayed so by a little flattery.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Keep a close watch on the path you follow, my friend, else one day you will look about you and not know where you are.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Family is politics, the hottest forge you'll find.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“the blow that ends the fight is the one your opponent doesn’t see coming. Make them look somewhere else, then make your move.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“YUK -Craf”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“I may not be the great warrior prophesied to come and save the world that I once thought, but I am a man who has lost his mam and da to war. Lost my home, my King, my friends. I will not just walk away from that. Calidus and Nathair are still a great evil, and they still need to be stopped. I will not turn my back on that fight, avatar of a lost god or not.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“We are what we choose to be. What makes a king a king? Is there something different about him? Does special, sacred blood run in his veins? No. He is chosen; he believes it, and the people believe. He rises to the task, or he fails it.’ He shrugged. ‘It is no different with you. And you have risen to the task, of that there is no doubt, surpassed it in every way. You are a testament to the power of belief. To what can be achieved through combining belief with will.’ He smiled, a faint, rueful thing. ‘What you have done is truly staggering.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“They’d reached the wall just as Corban had begun his duel with the black-clothed warrior, one of the Jehar obviously. Within moments Haelan was certain that Corban was going to die. Tears had blurred his eyes long before the end, and then he had cried fresh tears, these ones of joy when Corban had sent his enemy’s head spinning through the air. And then such treachery, Jael setting his shieldmen to ride Corban down, after what he had just survived, just achieved. And then the running mount. When he saw Shield and Storm pounding across the open space he had cheered, screamed, exhorted them to greater speed, the voices of Swain and Sif mingling with his own. If there had been any doubt in Haelan’s mind that Corban was the greatest hero the Banished Lands had ever known, that succession of events had confirmed it beyond all question. He’d fight anyone who dared to say differently.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“I have a bad feeling about this. ‘Charge them, charge them, kill them!’ Jael was screeching close to Ulfilas’ ear. The warband was moving, but sluggishly. They are still reeling from what we have just witnessed. And in truth I do not blame them for being hesitant about joining battle with these people. Ulfilas was still coming to terms with what he’d seen. The greatest duel between two men that I have ever witnessed–maybe that has ever happened. I cannot believe that Sumur lost.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Jael stared at him, something between awe, fear and rage flitting across his features, then he snapped a command to the mounted warriors around him. They looked at him, seeming to hesitate, but Corban guessed what was going to happen. Jael barked his command again and first one warrior kicked his horse and snapped his reins, then another and another, until a score of them were riding towards him. Corban looked back at the gates of Drassil, knew he’d never make it in time, so he set his feet and held his sword high with two hands. ‘Come on, then,’ he said. And then, louder, he bellowed, ‘TRUTH AND COURAGE,’ more rage spilling from his voice than he knew he felt.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“As Sumur moved, so did he, flicking his wrist to spray dirt from his blade-tip into Sumur’s face, blinding him for a moment. Sumur took a step back, raising his sword in front of him to defend against the blow that he presumed would come at his head, at the same time Corban spun in a circle to his right. He came out of his spin to Sumur’s left, ending up almost behind the Kadoshim, Corban’s sword chopping into the back of Sumur’s neck, landing perfectly at the spot where the skull ends and the back and shoulders begin. There was the wet sound of an axe splitting damp wood and Sumur’s head flew through the air, a trail of dark blood arcing in its wake. The body collapsed, feet twitching, and a great black mist poured from the open wound, forming into a winged creature above the corpse. Corban stood, feet planted wide, chest heaving, not quite believing what had just happened. What he had just done. Then he noticed the silence, heightened all the more by the thump and roll of Sumur’s head as it hit the ground and came to a rolling stop.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Veradis paused and looked back. ‘Brother, please. Come with us,’ Krelis pleaded. Veradis shook his head. ‘I cannot. But I will join you if I can.’ ‘Why? Why will you not come with us now?’ ‘Because I am going to kill Calidus.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Corban ben Thannon,’ Meical cried out in a voice that swept the room like the north wind, ‘our Bright Star, the Kin-Avenger, Giant-Friend, Lightbringer, Rock in the Swirling Sea, will you bind yourself to these people, be their sword and shield, the defender of their flesh, their blood, their honour, unto death?’ Cywen stared at Corban. Saw him look around the room and straighten with pride and resolve. ‘I will,’ Corban said. His voice trembled. He gripped the blade of his sword, his blood dripping down the cold iron, finding the fuller to flow into. ‘People of the Bright Star,’ Meical cried out, ‘will you bind yourselves to Corban ben Thannon, become his sword and shield, the defender of his flesh, his blood, his honour, unto your dying breath?’ ‘We will,’ they cried, Cywen raising her voice with the rest of them, the sound of their voices like a clap of thunder, making the flames in the fire-pits flicker.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“A moment’s hesitation and then Akar took it. A roar of approval rose up from about the ring, even the giants bellowing their approval, Corban’s voice lost in the din of it. Then Akar dropped to one knee before Gar and kissed his hand. Other Jehar dropped to the ground, Gar looking about at them with a slightly embarrassed expression upon his face. Now he knows how I feel. Hamil stood and strode to Gar, gripped Gar’s wrist and raised his arm in the air. ‘Garisan ben Tukul,’ Hamil cried in a great voice, ‘Lord of the Jehar.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Lykos scrambled on the ground, fists pulling up chunks of grass and dirt. Maquin’s face loomed over him, standing over the corpse of Kolai. He was scared, and angry with himself for being scared, but the fear was winning out over any thoughts of revenge, screaming at him to get away.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Gar, my beloved son,’ Tukul whispered, ‘you are my joy.’ Tears dripped from Gar’s nose. ‘Never forget that. I’ll see you again, on the other side,’ Tukul breathed, then with a sigh he was gone.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Dath’s no coward,’ Corban said. ‘He just screams louder than the rest of us, that’s all.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“Keep a close watch on the path you follow, my friend, else one day you will look about you and not know where you are,’ Nathair said quietly.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“There was the sound of beating wings again. Craf glided down onto the dying hawk, pinning it with his talons. Even now the hawk’s beak lashed out, trying to strike Craf, but there was no power and Craf brushed off the blow. He raised his head and struck down with his own beak, straight into the hawk’s head. Again and again. When he stopped the hawk lay still. ‘For Fech,’ Craf squawked, looking up, his beak dripping red. ‘For Fech,’ Corban echoed.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“My head tells me to choose Drassil,’ Corban said. ‘For all of the reasons that you state. Mostly because Meical tells me to, and, as you say, he is Ben-Elim, so he should know. But my heart whispers to me of my oath to Edana. I can’t get her out of my mind.’ There was a loud crack. Coralen was sitting with two halves of a stick in her hands. She was glaring at it. They all stared at her. After a few heartbeats she must have felt their eyes, for she looked at them. With a snort of disgust she threw the two halves of the stick into the stream, then rose and stalked away. ‘What’s wrong with her?’ Corban asked. Brina laughed.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“It was no dream. The Ben-Elim, he gave me a choice. Go forward or go back. I wanted to cross over, to be with my kin, my friends. To find peace.’ ‘Why did you come back, then?’ Fidele asked him. ‘Three reasons. Three people. Jael. Lykos. You.’ He paused and looked up into her eyes. ‘Two for vengeance. One for love.’ She stared at him a long, timeless moment, then she leaned forwards and kissed him.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin

“So Corban’s part of it. Why not? And that would explain a lot of things: like why we’re here, with giants and Jehar all around us and Kadoshim a dozen leagues behind us. Besides, if anyone is going to be this Seren Disglair, I, for one, am happy it’s Corban.’ ‘What do you mean?’ Cywen asked him. She noticed Coralen was staring hard at Farrell. ‘He’s the best of us,’ Farrell said with a shrug. ‘Honest, brave, fair. Loyal. I’d follow him into any fight.’ Voices drew her attention then–Corban and Meical. Without thinking she rose and strode towards them, seating herself beside Corban.”
― John Gwynne, Ruin