I'm not laughing at you. [...] I'm laughing at the whole stupid business. We face the biggest threat in our history and they give me a helmet too big… - David Gemmell

Life is sad enough, Magir. Laughter is a thing to be treasured.

You are the leader, Gaise. Men always tend to agree with the leader. It is the nature of things."
"This is not a game, Father."
"Of course it is: the oldest game in the world. You have proved yourself in battle, leading men in cavalry charges. This game is different. This game is unlikely to be won by a single heroic charge. This will be like the wolf pack hunting the stag. This will be about planning, movement, wearing down the enemy, bringing him to bay at exactly the point where he is at his weakest. This will be about subtlety and deception. Winter Kay is an excellent strategist. He thinks he is the wolf. He is right. We are the stag. To win you must make him the stag.

"Well lad, this is what you have chosen. Are you pleased with yourself?"
“I am alive," said Bane.
“And eight men are dead," said Landis. “Eight souls cast out of the world. More mothers to grieve, more children to know sorrow. Is this a life you want for yourself?”
“No it is not," Bane told him. “But we do what we must.”
“Not true! We do what we choose. And we face the consequences."