Mariva

“The old gods know more for being ancient than they do from being gods”
― Brien Feathers, Warlock of Muscovy

“But in all fairness, when I first met you, I thought you were-"
"A dried-up old stick of a Cassiline Brother," he finished, shooting me an amused glance. "I remember. I remember it very well."
"No." I gave his hair a sharp tug and smiled at him. "That was before I met you. Once I did, I thought you were a smug, self-satisfied young prig of a Cassiline Brother."
He laughed at that, a real laugh. "You were right. I was."
"No, I was wrong. The man I thought you were would have given up and died of humiliation in Gunter's kennels. You kept fighting, and stayed true to yourself.”
― Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Dart

“Loyalty was a fine word until it began to taste like servitude, and by then, it was already too late to spit it out.”
― Katja Knox, We Were Made of Fire

“There are forms and ceremonies to be gone through, not so much to satisfy oneself, as to stop the world's mouth, without much stoppage there would be little satisfaction in life.”
― Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South