A hard truth: that courage can be without meaning or impact, need not be rewarded, or even known. The world has not been made in that way. Perhaps, however, within the self there might come a resonance, the awareness of having done something difficult, of having done . . . something.
Guy Gavriel KayIt was different, though, knowing something in your thoughts and then hearing it confirmed, made real, planted in the world like a tree
Guy Gavriel KayMy youngest brother had a wonderful schtick from some time in high school, through to graduating medicine. He had a card in his wallet that read, โIf I am found with amnesia, please give me the following books to read โฆโ And it listed half a dozen books where he longed to recapture that first glorious sense of needing to find out โwhat happens nextโ โฆ the feeling that keeps you up half the night. The feeling that comes before the plotโs been learned.
Guy Gavriel KayOne man sees a riselka: his life forks there. โTwo men see a riselka: one of them shall die. โThree men see a riselka: one is blessed, one forks, one shall die. One woman sees a riselka: her path comes clear to her. โTwo women see a riselka: one of them shall bear a child. โThree women see a riselka: one is blessed, one is clear, one shall bear a child.
Guy Gavriel Kay