Crownbreaker Quotes

“See, I wasn’t born to be an outlaw. Probably wasn’t built for any of this. But whatever life lay ahead of me was mine, paid for in full, and every point of light in the sky above was another path for me to follow. And there sure are a lot of stars up there.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“But power – and here’s the lesson you get for free, boy – power without humility is an arrow that destroys everything in its path, piercing one life after another until only at the very end does it return to slay the archer who fired it.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“Trust your memory to tell you where the target is. Trust your hand to remember how to throw. And most of all, trust your heart to lead you straight.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“It's like walking through the gates of the greatest city in the world. The one that can’t exist because no architect could ever conceive of it. The one you’d never think twice of giving your life to protect, because though you know that once you’ve died defending its walls, your spirit will always be part of it.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“Before I could thank her, Seneira stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. ‘Remember this one thing always, Kellen: you have friends, and our love for you far outstrips the malice of your enemies.’

For the life of me I couldn’t think of a reply to the startling depth of her generosity. My rhetorical skills lean towards sarcastic quips, and for once I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut.

She kissed me on the other cheek before she turned and walked back up the road, leaving me standing there contemplating the dreams of a hundred futures I would never see, feeling nonetheless grateful for all of them.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“Durral came over to us, his arms out. 'Give her to me, Rosie.'
'I am the Path of Thorns and Roses,' she said as she gave over Ferius.
'Yeah, well today I'm the Path of I Do Not Give A Crap.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“Is that what all human civilisation leads to?' I asked. 'Are we destined for nothing more than endless wars and bloodshed?”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“How long've you been keeping this resignation letter in your pocket to blackmail me with?'
'Wrote it the day after I took the job.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“His birthday comes in thirty-three days,' Ke'heops said. 'The viziers have already announced their gift; they will present him with the severed head of the blasphemous Queen Ginevra of Darome.'
…
'Who is he?'
…
'God.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“There was a bitter taste in my mouth. Something about those words, no matter how loyal and determined they sounded, no matter how close they were to the ones I’d said myself just a couple of weeks ago, struck me as cowardly. If Ferius had taught me anything, it was that courage meant seeking the right path no matter how high the cost. Duty could excuse all kinds of atrocities if you let it deafen your conscience.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“Somehow those words cut me deeper than any rebuke.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“My last thought a question I could never seem to answer.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“He was dressed in austere grey robes of the sort mages wear during meditation and struck me as remarkably plain given the ostentatious surroundings. Still he projected a kingly demeanour, as if destiny was a glow that emanated from beneath his skin.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“Most Beloved of All Twenty-Nine Squirrel Cat Gods, and Bearer of … “The Coolest Shadowblack Markings Ever”, Reichis The Terrible!”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“In their place a shadowblack realm, the sky above cut from ebony and the ground beneath me carved from onyx. All was black and yet I could see every detail of the landscape surrounding me with perfect clarity.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker

“See, squirrel cats, with their tubby feline bodies, big bushy tails, coats that change colour depending on their mood and furry flaps that stretch between their front and back limbs enabling them to glide from the treetops (or ‘fly as well as any gods-damned falcon’ as Reichis would insist), can – if you stare at them, squinty-eyed, from a distance and preferably through a drunken haze – look almost cute. They’re not. Puppy dogs are cute. Bunny rabbits are cute. Poisonous Berabesq sand rattlers are cute to somebody. Squirrel cats, though? Not cute. Evil.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Crownbreaker