Arthur Slade > Quotes

“The eye is always half-full.”
― Arthur Slade, Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules for Survival

“He had hours of paperwork ahead of him. All this paper would one day be the downfall of the Empire.”
― Arthur Slade, The Dark Deeps

“Sky was the first god. Robert knew that there was only one God and he had a Son who was also God, but there were gods who had vanished: the gods of thunder, of fire, of the wide oceans of the earth.”
― Arthur Slade, Dust

“I feel sorry for you. One morning you will get up and your dreams will stay in your pillow.”
― Arthur Slade, Dust

“know where these ‘singing’ giants are. So there isn't a certain immediate threat." "Just the existence of the giants is a threat," Brenna said. The harshness of her words reminded me she had grown up in this palace and been trained to look in every crevice for danger. Though, these giants were too big to hide in any crevice. "The existence of dragons is a threat, too," I said. "To the giants. And to mortals." "So you are refusing this mission?" she asked. Her voice was neutral. "I am not a dragon, as you know," I said. "Nor am I a citizen of this beautiful and dangerous land. And I am here with Brax. So my loyalties are with him." "And what if we paid you?" Brenna asked. "Once an assassin is paid, they have to complete the assigned mission, correct?" "We are paid to assassinate targets." I crossed my arms. "Not to work as spies. It would be better to find a spy." "Well, at least I know where you stand," she said. Her face was so calm it was hard to tell whether she was angry at me. "I thank you for your thoughts on the situation." "You're welcome," I said. "You've given me much food for thought and even a few ideas about what we can do." She glanced around the library. "Well, I can only spend so much time reading about the past. It makes”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin 4: Downfall

“clung”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin Omnibus: 1-3

“It was as if a giant paw of a dragon was resting on the earth.”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin 2: Royal Blood

“his”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin Omnibus: 1-3

“But I do know you need to clear out the old to make way for the new. See, isn’t that a wise saying? Won’t I make a good and clever king? I’m fit for the role.”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin 2: Royal Blood

“his hands as if her were”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin 4: Downfall

“uniformed”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin 1: Twin Fury

“But here, under the wide blue skies, the wind was the flood. Everyone drowned in it.”
― Arthur Slade, Dust

“It's like an icicle in my heart,”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin 3: Burning Empire

“One can never have too many books. Or read too many books.”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin 1: Twin Fury

“mage giant.”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin 4: Downfall

“the grim looks on their faces that they, too, didn't like leaving a battle unfought. I can feel your sadness, Brax sent the thought to me. It is understandable. But that is the unforgiving logic of war. Hard choices have to be made. I know, I sent back. The logic doesn't make the choice any easier. Pray choices like that never become easy.”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin Omnibus: 1-3

“Ilost my left eye during blades training at assassin school. My twin brother did the deed using a clever feint and a quick crosswise cut that caught me by surprise. “Well, Carmen, that’ll leave a scar,” Corwin had said. Then he’d laughed that snorty, snotty laugh that had grated on my nerves a thousand times since childhood. My vision had been too blurry to aim a cutting blow at him, and I wasn’t certain if I even wanted to. He was the only family I had. And despite his laughter, he may not have known how deep the wound was. He often made a silly joke when he’d done something stupid. But when I stumbled and fell toward the floor, Corwin dropped his blade and caught me. “Aw, sorry, sis,” he said, holding me against his chest. Then the healers rushed in with their bandages and salves and led me to the healing room. Maestru Alesius—my master—soon followed them, bringing the bad news: “You will lose that eye, Carmen.” I was thirteen. I’d been ahead of my brother on the honor roll—the top of the class. I often wondered if a bout of jealousy inspired my blinding. The blades were sharp, but we students weren’t supposed to cut each other—the idea was to keep the mind sharp as well. And I’d love to know where he’d learned the move. I’d never seen it before, and I was better with the sword than him. Did he have a secret teacher? Everything was harder with only one eye—the sword fights, the dagger throws, learning to avoid traps; even the poisons and potions were more difficult to pour. A half-blind assassin was a joke. I was pretty certain my fellow students had chuckled and celebrated as my position on the honor roll slipped. I had the knowledge and the skill. But the patch over my eye meant I had a weakness, and the school trained assassins to exploit weaknesses. I’d have quit, perhaps to be a scullery maid or to work in the massive wheat fields of the Akkad Empire, if only to get away from the other apprentice assassins who had once been beneath me and who now scorned me. I especially wanted to flee from the kinder ones who looked at me with pity. But Maestru Alesius had insisted I stay. “Adversity will toughen your mental bones,” he’d promised. His support and my perseverance had kept me in school. Three years had passed since the incident. Three years of struggling to keep my spot. I was finally sixteen, in my final week of classes. Corwin would graduate at the top of the honor roll. He was the best with bladed weapons, the best at hiding in shadows, the best assassin the school had seen in many years. He may even be better than the legendary Banderius. All the kings, queens, and archons would seek to hire Corwin. Maybe even Emperor Rima himself. I’d be lucky to get hired at all.”
― Arthur Slade, Dragon Assassin Omnibus: 1-3