Quotes from Trudi Canavan

You don't understand. I finally find something worth doing and you … you have to try to spoil it. Why can't you just wish me luck and be glad that I might achieve something with my life instead of sitting around getting drunk or taking roet?" - Lorkin

Dannyl nodded. "But there was only one talisman, wasn't there? Sometimes all it takes is one man and a little knowledge to do great things." The king smiled crookedly. "Yes. And sometimes it only takes one man and a little knowledge to do a great deal of harm.

You have made a difference, Rothen," she protested. "I'd have never become a magician if it were not for you. And what is this talk of your life ending? It's going to be years – decades – before you need to start planning a gravestone to outdazzle everyone else's.

La gente y la tierra son lo mismo - solia decir su padre- si desatiendes una de las dos, la otra acaba pagando las consecuencias

Teadmatus ei ole vabandus.

Todos somos esclavos, ama —replicó Vora—. Las mujeres. Los hombres, a su manera. No existe la libertad, solo diferentes tipos de esclavitud. Incluso un ashaki ve constreñidos sus actos por las restricciones que imponen la tradición y la política. Y el emperador es aún menos libre que ellos.

He had always believed that robes and swords did not go together well. There were already too many ways a magician could harm another person. Why add a non-magical one to the list?

There will be other ways you can make your mark. Ways that are as satisfying, with far less risk. You only need to be patient, and ready to grasp opportunities when they come." - Lord Rothen

If it's hard to like what one isn't good at, will I like it more when I am better at it?" - Sonea

Chari gave him a lofty look. "You really don't know? I've always wondered how it was that men in the rest of the world are in charge, when they're so perpetually thick." He snorted softly. "And I'm curious to know how Traitor women stay in charge when they're just as inclined to communicate by indirect hints and innuendo as women everywhere else.

Risk. Only when you know the other could easily leave you, do you appreciate when he stays. Only when it's not easier on them to like you than not, do you appreciate it when they do." - Achati

I'd rather be honest with myself when it comes to business. I wanted to be better off than most dwells. Don't want to die a beggar. I'm not pretending I got higher purposes than that." - Cery

Of course there are risks – there are risks to everything a magician does." - Lorkin

Some things are worth risking lives for," he said. "If you had seen what the Ashaki do – experienced it – you'd want to rid the world of them, too." - Lorkin

All we can hope for is that, whatever the outcome, the people we care about survive and escape." - Dannyl

The loved ones of a Thief are never safe. - Cery

All magic can be abused. All power can be abused. The Traitors are proof that a culture that does embrace higher magic doesn't necessarily turn into Sachaka – the Ashaki kind of Sachaka, that is." - Lorkin

When offering a person a chance at redemption, you can't force them to take it." - Savara

Being friends with the enemy certainly complicates matters." - Dannyl

The most important attribute of a magician is knowledge." He paused, then looked at each of the novices who had spoken in turn. "Without it his strength is useless, he has nothing to be skilled or talented in, despite his best intentions.

Sonea era más cínica. Había observado que las mujeres solían pasar por alto cuando estaban enamoradas porque, en algún momento, el amor tendía a desvanecerse. Era mejor casarse con un hombre que te gustara y en quien confiaras

I'm beginning to sound like a novice repeating formulas," he muttered to Dannyl irritably. "Perhaps you should write a report on your progress every evening and nail it to your door.

A magician four centuries ago described his magic as a constant companion. It can be a helpful friend, he said, or a deadly adversary.

You need a good memory to use the library. How else do you find a book again after you've read it?" - Tayend