"Brys, how big do you want to make your escort?" "Two brigades and two battalions, sire." "Is that reasonable?" Tehol asked, looking around. "I ha… - Steven Erikson

Peace did not serve order; order served peace, and when order became godlike, sacrosanct and inviolate, then the peace thus won became a prison, and those who sought their freedom became enemies to order, and in the elimination of such enemies, peace was lost.

Those whom the gods choose, ’tis said, they first separate from other mortals — by treachery, by stripping from you your spirit’s lifeblood. The gods will take all your loved ones, one by one, to their death. And, as you harden, as you become what they seek, the gods smile and nod. Each company you shun brings you closer to them. ’Tis the shaping of a tool, son, the prod and pull, and the final succour they offer you is to end your loneliness — the very isolation they helped you create.

Fear bespeaks of wisdom. Recognition of responsibility.