The world could bring you poison in a jewelled cup, or surprising gifts. Sometimes you didn't know which of them it was.
Guy Gavriel KayA 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 Kay