“I could wish for nothing more than to die for a childish dream in which I truly believed.”

“I could have sworn that the man's eyes were no longer watching his daughter dying in agony, that instead the gorgeous colors of flames and the sight of a woman suffering in them were giving him joy beyond measure.”

“A man sometimes devotes his life to a desire which he is not sure will ever be fulfilled. Those who laugh at this folly are, after all, no more than mere spectators of life.”

“Great robber though he was, Kandata could only trash about like a dying frog as he choked on the blood of the pond.”

“..he understood far more deeply than anyone else the loneliness that lurked beneath his jaunty mask.”

“Still more horrible was the color of the flames that licked the latticed cabin vents before shooting skyward, as though - might I say? - the sun itself had crashed to earth, spewing its heavenly fire in all directions.”

“I have heard unsavory rumors about you and the umbrella-maker's daughter”