“Once upon a time, man had a love affair with fire.”

“They had been at the center of something vast, but as usual with the affairs of the Powers, no one knew quite what had happened, nor the result of the strivings."A Fire Upon the Deep”

“Once upon a time, there lived a boy, and he had to risk everything to keep what he loved. But really the story was: Once upon a time, there lived a boy, and his fear ate him alive.”

“My whole life, I had thought that my story was, again and again: Once upon a time, there was a boy, and he had to risk everything to keep what he loved. But really, the story was: Once upon a time, there was a boy, and his fear ate him alive.”

“Once upon a time, the sky knew the weight of angel armies on the move, and the wind blew infernal with the fire of their wings.”

“Once upon a time I met a man who saved me.”