I'll tell you what it is. It's a goddam miracle, that's what it is." "Come, now," the older man murmured. "I don't believe in miracles—neither do you. - Stephen R. Donaldson

The bluff stone of the tower, with Revelstone rising behind it like the prow of a great ship, answered his gaze in granite permanence as if it were a prophecy by the old Giants—a cryptic perception that victory and defeat were human terms which had no meaning in the language of mountains.

All you need to avoid despair is irremediable stupidity or unlimited stubbornness.

Then why do you delay? Why do you fear?"
Because I am mortal, weak. The way is only clear—not sure. In my time, I have been a seer and oracle. Now I—I desire a sign. I require to see.