The brightest flame casts the darkest shadow.

I knew a man once who told me that I smiled at the wrong things." "Do you? "Only by the light of those who smile at nothing.

A lord may love the men that he commands, but he cannot be a friend to them. One day he may need to sit in judgement on them, or send them forth to die.

Catelyn had never liked this godswood. She had been born a Tully, at Riverrun far to the south, on the Red Fork of the Trident. The godswood there was a garden, bright and airy, where tall redwoods spread dappled shadows across tinkling streams, birds sang from hidden nests, and the air was spicy with the scent of flowers.

People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up.

I like grey characters; fantasy for too long has been focused on very stereotypical heroes and villains.

In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining.