“Coordinating the retreat was important too, so important that Jiaan had assigned Aram as Fasal's assistant, to be sure he didn't overlook anything important. Like the fact that they were supposed to retreat.”
“Fasal liked to fight; Jiaan was good at planning. Together, Jiaan thought sourly, they almost made a whole officer. And if you added Jiaan's eighteen years to Fasal's seventeen, you had someone old enough to command an army as well.”
“I felt how important the simplest things were, like feeling proud, finding something funny, stretching yourself, retreating into yourself.”
“One of man's greatest flaws is assigning far too much importance to what he does.”
“Don’t be afraid if things seem difficult in the beginning. That’s only the initial impression. The important thing is not to retreat; you have to master yourself.”
“For me, beauty is always retreating from one’s grasp: the only thing I consider important is what existed once, or ought to have existed.”