“Don't you knowThis is precisely what I seek, mad myselfTo envelope every last drupe and pearl shaped ovule,Every nip and cry and needle-fine boring, every drooping,Spore-rich tassle of oak flower, all the whistling,Wing-beating, heavy-tipped matings of an entire prairieOf grasses, every wafted, moaning seed hookYou can possibly manage to bring to me,That is exactly what I contrive to take you into my armsWith you, again and again.”

“Give me kisses! Nay, 'tis true I am just as rich as you; And for every kiss I owe, I can pay you back, you know. Kiss me, then, Every moment, and again.”

“Sometimes, challenges and struggles are exactly what we need in our lives...May you welcome every effort, every struggle, and every challenge...May you open your wings and fly!”

“Every road ends in death. Or worse. Every friendship. Every love. Torment, betrayal, loss, suffering, pain, age, indignity, and hideous lingering illness. All with a single conclusion. For you and for every one and every thing that you have chosen to care for. There's the true brotherhood. The true fellowship. And everyone is a member for life. You tell me that my brother is my salvation? My salvation? Well then damn him. Damn him in every shape and form and guise. Do I see myself in him? Yes. I do. And what I see sickens me. Do you understand me? Can you understand me?”

“I remember it all: every word, every breath, every tick of the clock . . . everything that happened is with me forever.I can never forget it.But that dosen't mean I can live it again. You can't live what's gone, you can only remember it, and memories have no life. They're just pale reminders of a time that's gone - like faded photographs, or a dried-up daisy chain at the back of a drawer. They have no substance. They can't take you back. Nothing can take you back.Nothing can be the same as it was.Nothing is.All I can do is tell it.”

“I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I'd realize that you weren't there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me why we don't belong together," he said fiercely.”