“How do you do it? How do you stay so strong?”
"I fake it."
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 22
Quotes from book
The King Beyond the Gate
The King Beyond The Gate is a fantasy novel by British writer David Gemmell. It was published in 1985. It was the second book published by Gemmell, after Legend, published a year earlier. The book is set in the same fictional world as Legend, that of the Drenai, but is not a sequel in the usual sense as the events of the two books take place around a century apart. Thus the main protagonists of Legend are long since dead and play little part in The King Beyond the Gate, other than passing mentions. This set a precedent for the entire Drenai series, in which very few characters appear in more than one novel, the gaps between novels sometimes running to centuries, giving a more epic, historical flavour to the series.
“…love is in the eyes, and one woman knows when another woman is in love.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 22
“A man must stand against evil wherever he finds it and he must use all his talents.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 6
Context: Nothing in life is easy, Arvan. But it's what I'm trained for. To lead an army. To bring death and destruction on my enemies [... ] A man must stand against evil wherever he finds it and he must use all his talents.
“We are what we say only so long as our words are iron.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 19
Context: A man makes mistakes, but he lives by them. Foolish it may be on occassion. But in the main it is the only way to live. We are what we say only so long as our words are iron.
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 12
Context: I never worshipped anything but my sword and my wits; now I suffer for it. But I can take it, for am I not a man?... It is not hard to be a legend, Tenaka. It is what follows when you have to live like one.
“The waters run that we might drink of them, but they are also symbols of the futility of man.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 12
Context: All things in the world are created for man, yet all have two purposes. The waters run that we might drink of them, but they are also symbols of the futility of man. They reflect our lives in rushing beauty, birthed in the purity of the mountains. As babes they babble and run, gushing and growing as they mature into strong young rivers. Then they widen and slow until at least they meander, like old men, to join with the sea.
“Nothing in life is sure, my son. Except the promise of death.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 4
“All men are stupid. They are full of fear and insecurity—it makes them weak.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 13
Context: And now I am going to tell you a great truth, and if you are wise, you will take it to your heart. All men are stupid. They are full of fear and insecurity— it makes them weak. Always the other man seems stronger, more confident, more capable. It is a lie of the worst kind, for we lie to ourselves... How do you know? You do not! You listened to the voice of your inadequacy, and because you believed, you are in my power. If I draw my sword, you are dead!
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 2
“No matter how impossible this war, I shall fight to win. Whatever I have to do, I will do.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 8
“But judge us not by our number. Rather, watch the numbers of dead we leave behind”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 16
Context: One hundred only, Lord Earl. But judge us not by our number. Rather, watch the numbers of dead we leave behind.
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 8
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 13
Context: And now I am going to tell you a great truth, and if you are wise, you will take it to your heart. All men are stupid. They are full of fear and insecurity— it makes them weak. Always the other man seems stronger, more confident, more capable. It is a lie of the worst kind, for we lie to ourselves... How do you know? You do not! You listened to the voice of your inadequacy, and because you believed, you are in my power. If I draw my sword, you are dead!
“Life is sad enough, Magir. Laughter is a thing to be treasured.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 22
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 18
Context: "I had a teacher... He said there were three kinds of people in life: winners, losers and fighters. Winners made him sick with their arrogance, losers made him sick with their whining, and fighters made him sick with their stupidity." "In which category did he put himself?" "He said he had tried all three and nothing suited him." "Well, at least he tried. That's all a man can do, Lake. And we shall try."
“That is why men follow you, though they hate your blood. They trust you”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 8
Context: When responsibility is thrust upon you, can you run from it? No— you have never and you never will. That is what makes you as you are. That is why men follow you, though they hate your blood. They trust you.
“Evil is never truly strong, for it is born of fear.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 8
Context: Evil is never truly strong, for it is born of fear. Why did he fall so easily? Because he tested your strength and saw the possibility of death [... ] had he possessed true courage, he would have fought back. Instead he froze — and died.
“Evil lives in a pit. If you want to fight it, you must climb down into the slime to do so.”
White cloaks show the dirt more thank black, and silver tarnishes.
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 10
“We will all go down together—that's what makes us who we are.”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 24
Context: Come back and stand with us, lad. We will all go down together— that's what makes us who we are.
“I put my faith in me, and do you know why? Because I have never lost!”
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 18
Context: "We don't seem to be overflowing with luck." "You make your own. I put no faith in gods, Lake. Never have. If they exist, they care very little— if at all— about ordinary mortals. I put my faith in me, and do you know why? Because I have never lost!"
