“Mage-taught wisdom reproached him: any gift of power was two-edged.”

“All things were formed of energy, arrangements of bundled light that were subject to natural law. The awareness of this truth, defined to absolute perfection, granted the mage-trained their influence. To know a thing, to encompass its full measure in respect was to hold its secrets in mastery. Life-force was the basis of all power.”

“As a spirit schooled to power, his perception stems from one absolute. Universal harmony begins with recognition that the life in an ordinary pebble is as sacred as conscious selfhood.”

“The miracle left him dumbfounded, that his heart had not yet shirked its weary task of pumping his bored blood through his brain.”

“Let her own shortfalls, and not your vindictive perfectionism, be the quality that throws her to destruction.”

“Were you going to tell me you usually kiss your one-night trollops in private?"He laughed. The free-ringing sound held a spark of pure pleasure, unforced and rich with surprise.”

“When hope dies, you breathe it back to life again! No matter how long it takes, or what time's required to heal the wound. Disappointment will not last a lifetime unless you lie down and give in.”