The true secret in being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. The swineherd cannot already be wed to the princess when he embarks on his adven… - Peter S. Beagle

Heroes know that things must happen when it is time for them to happen. A quest may not simply be abandoned; unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever; a happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.

The true secret in being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. … Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.

What I forget not only ceases to exist, but never really existed in the first place.

...because in a way it happened to someone else. I don't really speak that person's language anymore, and when I think about her, she embarrasses me sometimes, but I don't want to forget her, I don't want to pretend she never existed. So before I start forgetting, I have to get down exactly who she was, and exactly how she felt about everything. She was me a lot longer than I've been me so far.

"I didn't know unicorns had names," I said. "I didn't know they ever loved people."
"They don't. Only this one." He turned and walked away swiftly, saying over his shoulder, "Her name was Amalthea."