John Flanagan Quotes

Evanlyn opened her mouth to scream. But the horror of the moment froze the sound in her throat and she crouched, openmouthed, as death approached her. It was odd, she thought, that they had dragged her here, left her overnight and then decided to kill her. It seem such a pointless way to die.

Fighting positions, please, ladies...' 'That's debatable,' Halt said in an undertone to Will as they stood watching... 'The 'fighting' part or the 'ladies' part?' Will replied with a grin. Halt looked at him and shook his head. 'Definitely the 'ladies,'' he said. 'There's no debate about the 'fighting.'' Will shrugged. He knew there was an edginess to the girls' relationship and that it had something to do with him. Why that should be so was beyond him.

There are always risks in battle. It's a dangerous business. The trick is to take the right ones.' [said Halt]. 'How do you know which are the right ones?' Shigeru asked. Halt glanced at his two younger companions. They grinned and answered in chorus, 'You wait and see if you win.

She knew more about these situations than she realized, he thought. She'd spent years at Duncan's side. "When in doubt," he added, "be pompous.

Evanlyn smiled grimly as she thought how once she might have objected to the cruelty of the bird's death. Now, all she felt was a sense of satisfaction as she realized that they would eat well today. Amazing how an empty belly could change your perspective, she thought.

You spoil your horse, Halt said. Will glanced at him. You spoil yours. Halt considered the thought, then nodded. That's true.

You may believe you're an excellent rider," he called, "but there are a score of Temujai back there who actually are.

‎Halt looked up at the trees above him. "Why does this boy ask so many questions?" he asked the trees. Naturally, they didn't answer.

Don't concentrate on the obvious. They might want you to miss something else.

King Duncan looked up and swept his gaze slowly around the room. Cassandra, he saw, was defiant as ever. Arald's face was set and determined. Halt and Crowley's faces were inscrutable in the shadows of their cowls. The two younger men were both a little wide-eyed- obviously uncomfortable at the emotions that had been bared in the room. There was still a hint of admiration in Will's eyes, however, as he continued to stare at the Baron. Rodney was nodding in agreement with Arald's statements, while Gilan made a show of studying his nails.

I said, names aren't important," he repeated. There was a silence between them for some seconds, then the Ranger said: "Do you know what is important?" Will shook his head. "Supper is important!

Maybe we should have gone with him," he said, a few minutes after his friend was lost to sight. "Three of us would make four times the noise he will," Halt said. Horace frowned, not quite understanding the equation. "Wouldn't three of us make three times the noise?" Halt shook his head. "Will and Tug will make hardly any noise. Neither will Abelard and I. But as for you and that moving earthquake you call a horse..." He gestured at Kicker and left the rest unsaid.

Let's face it, she can't have simply disappeared...can she?" Horace shrugged. "That's what I keep telling myself," he said morosley. "But somehow it looks as if she has.

Who are you, gaijin? What do you know about honor?' 'I'm called Chocho,' Will said... 'Chocho?' Arisaka shouted, goaded beyond control. 'Butterfly? Then die, Butterfly!

But what if I make a mistake?' Will asked. Gilan threw back his head and laughed. 'A mistake? One mistake? You should be so lucky. You'll make dozens! I made four or five on my first day alone! Of course you'll make mistakes. Just don't make any of them twice. If you do mess things up, don't try to hide it. Don't try to rationalize it. Recognize it and admit it and learn from it. We never stop learning, none of us.

...at the time, King Herbert felt that to remain safe, the kingdom needed an effective intelligence force." "An intelligent force?" said Will. "Not intelligent. Intelligence. Although it does help if your intelligence force was also intelligent.

Mikeru was still puzzling over Horace's last remark. He frowned. 'Kurokuma, these shenanigans... What are they?' 'Shenanigans are what Rangers do. They usually involve doing things that risk breaking your neck or your leg.' Mikeru nodded, filing the word away. 'I will remember this word,' he said. 'Shenanigans. It is a good word.'

Halt Halt," said Gilan stepping out into the open.

In a month, the passes into Teutlandt and Skanida will be open and my companion and I will be on our way." He paused and Philemon frowned, trying to understand what he was being told. You want us to come with you?" he asked, at last. "You expect us to follow you?" Halt shook his head. "I have no wish to ever see any of you again," he said flatly.

If they invent a four legged chicken," Will said, "Horace will think he's gone to Heaven.

Yes, I'm back," he said, "And look who I ran into." Horace grinned at him. "i hope you ran into him hard." "As hard as I could.

Now I know that if you wait until you think you are ready, you'll wait your whole life

He had lost control over his own body, he realized dully.

Never give up because, if an opportunity arises, you have to be ready to take it.

What was that, Kurokuma?' asked one of the escorts riding near him. The others chuckled at the name. 'Nothing important,' Horace said. Then he looked at them suspiciously. 'What's this Kurokuma business?' The Senshi looked at him with a completely staight face. 'It's a term of great respect,' he said. Several others within earshot nodded confirmation. They too managed to remain straight-faced. It was a skill the Nihon-Jan had perfected. 'Great respect,' one of them echoed.

You're an Apprentice! You're not ready to think!" Gilan and Halt. The Ruins of Gorlan.

I'm not really interested in being king. I prefer to work for a living

[Will]'d barely been asleep a few minutes when Halt's voice woke him. 'Will? Are you asleep?'... 'I was,' he said, a little indignantly. 'I'm not now.' 'Good,' Halt replied, a trifle smugly. 'Serves you right.

They have terrified my poor wife and threatened my very person!" Halt eyed the man impassivley until the outburst was finished. Worse than that," he said quietly, "they've wasted my time.

Idiots, Halt muttered. If we were here to cause trouble, we could simply ride them both down

Best way then is to be waiting for them to bring Halt and the others out of that prison,” he said, almost to himself. “There’s only one reason I can think of that they might do that,” Umar said. “That’s if they are going to execute them.” Will lookd at him for several seconds before speaking. “Well, that’s a big comfort.

He could bear the dying, but not the disappointment.

You should have left him to wander,” Svengal said coldly. Erak looked at him, eyebrows raised. “Would you?” he asked, and Svengal hesitated. At the end, Toshak had fought well and that counted for a lot of Skandians. “No,” he admitted.

What are you looking at, foreigner?” the guard demanded roughly. The smile was a little unsettling. A prisoner shouldn’t smile at his captors like that. “I’m just making sure I can remember you,” Gilan told him. “Never know when that might be useful.

Sometimes, life threw up problems that even the wisest, most trusted mentor couldn't solve for you. It was part of the pain of growing up. And having to stand by and watch was part of being a mentor.

And with his arm around the younger man's shoulders still, he led him away from the bow and back to the small group by the tiller. Halt glanced up as they approached, caught a look from Gilan and had a pretty good idea what they had been talking about. "Where have you two been?" he asked, his tone light. admiring the view," Gilan told him. "Thought you might need a hand from the two wisest heads on board.

Halt shook his head. "You warriors don't do much geography in Battleschool, do you?" Horace shrugged. "We're not big on that sort of thing. We wait for our leader to point to an enemy and say, 'Go whack him.' We leave geography and such to Rangers. We like you to feel superior." "Go whack him, indeed," Halt said. "It must be comforting to lead such an uncomplicated life.

Horace normally didn't need anyone else to save his life. He was pretty skilled at doing it for himself.

Keep practicing," he told her."Until I get it right?" she said. But he corrected her."No. Until you don't get it wrong.

There's nothing honerable in a man who hides behind a blue woman's hanky.

Halt regarded him. He loved Horace like a younger brother. Even like a second son, after Will. He admired his skill with a sword and his courage in battle. But sometimes, just sometimes, he felt an overwhelming desire to ram the young warrior's head against a convenient tree. "You have no sense of drama or symbolism, do you?" he asked. "Huh?" replied Horace, not quite understanding. Halt looked around for a convenient tree. Luckily for Horace, there were none in sight.

Take one more step and I'll put an arrow through you." Will tried to model his voice on the quiet, threatening tone Halt had used. He had retrieved several of his arrows from the nearest target and now he had one of them ready, laid on the bowstring. Halt glanced around approvingly. "Good idea," he said. "Aim for the left calf. It's a very painful wound.

I will remember this word," he said. "Shenanigans. It is a good word.

You're right, Halt,' she said, and he nodded acklowledgement of her backing down. 'Nice to hear someone else saying that for a change,' Will said cheerfully. 'Seems like I've said those words an awful lot in my time.' Halt turned a bleak gaze on him. 'And you've always been right.

Fanatics," Halt said. "Don't you just love 'em?

Remember, this thing is small. It's not like the wolfships. It'll ride over the waves, not crash through them. So we're safe as houses." He wasn't sure about the last two statements, but they seemed logical to him.

Don't worry, chief. We've got these Tualaghi surrounded - from the inside." "Exactly," Erak replied dryly.

It's the Kalkara. they're hunting.