There was nothing he could do unless he accepted what was real. - Tad Williams

You have something that might be more use to me than either gold or power—something that in fact brings both in its train."
"And what is that?"
The count leaned forward. "Knowledge.

Things are not always as old songs tell them to be—especially when it is concerning dragons.

When you stopped to think about it, he reflected, there weren’t many things in life one truly needed. To want too much was worse than greed: it was stupidity—a waste of precious time and effort.