R.A. Salvatore Quotes & Sayings

Drizzt, trying to play it calm, trying to hold fast to his principles, could not hide his grimace at the mention of his dead father, reputably the finest weapons master ever to draw swords in Menzoberranzan. — R.A. Salvatore

Ah, but would we not all be the fools to attack an armored turtle through its shell? — R.A. Salvatore

Also, there are authors and publicists using the Internet to manipulate opinion, both positively for a work and negatively against the competition. I don't do this and can't stomach it, honestly. — R.A. Salvatore

Matron Malice, her belly swollen in the final hours of pregnancy. — R.A. Salvatore

He who remains alive, remains alive to write the histories in a light favorable to him and his cause. — R.A. Salvatore

I will always love you Drizzt Do'Urden my life was full and without regret because I knew you and was completed by you. Sleep well, my love. — R.A. Salvatore

It was a night where the rogue drow felt tiny, and yet grand, a part of something ancient, eternal, and as vast as his imagination and as warm as the love among these five freinds surrounding him ... — R.A. Salvatore

I don't have to prove my worth and value to any but those I love, and that I do by being who I am, with confidence that those I love appreciate the good and accept the bad. Does anything else really matter? — R.A. Salvatore

She paused when she got to Drizzt, studying his handsome features. "Who have we here?" she asked, not losing her calm monotone. "I had not heard of your arrival, but I am sure that many will desire an audience with you before you go! We have never seen one of your kind. — R.A. Salvatore

Perhaps the greatest evil I see in this existence is when supposedly holy men prey upon the basic fears of death of the common folk to take from them. "Give to the church!" they cry. "Only then will you find salvation! Even more subtle are the many religions that do not directly ask for a person's coin, but insist that anyone of goodly and godly heart who is destined for their particular description of heaven, would willingly give that coin over. — R.A. Salvatore

The dagger belonged to Artemis Entreri. Pasha Pook's prime assassin. — R.A. Salvatore

This is my fear, of a life wasted, of a cause misbegotten, of a belief that is, in the end, an empty and unattainable ideal, the foolish designs of an innocent child who believed there could be more. — R.A. Salvatore

Save us a day and more! Bruerior repeated stubbornly. Wulfgar wasn't convinced. — R.A. Salvatore

Because of the friends I have known, the honorable people I have met, I know I am no solitary hero of unique causes. I know now that when I die, I will live on. That which is important will live on. This is my Legacy; and by the grace of the gods, I am not alone. — R.A. Salvatore

Kessell tried to goad the sweat out of him. The wizard swayed the deadly candle tantalizingly about, causing the rays to shift back and forth. When he finally realized that he would not hear any whimpering or begging out of the proud ranger, Kessell grew tired of the game. "Farewell, fool," he growled and puckered his lips to puff on the flame. Regis blew out the candle. Everything seemed to come to a complete halt for several seconds. The wizard looked down at the halfling, whom he thought to be his slave, in horrified amazement. Regis merely shrugged his shoulders, as if he was as surprised by his uncharacteristically brave act as Kessell. Relying on instinct, the wizard threw the silver plate that held the candle through the glass of the mirror and ran screaming toward the back corner of the room to a small ladder hidden in the shadows. — R.A. Salvatore

In the heart, there is no sting greater than watching the struggles of one you love, knowing that only through such strife will that person grow and recognize the potential of his or her existence. — R.A. Salvatore

So, while I gave up the notions of publishing at that time, I never stopped editing and refining that book. A few years later, in 1987, I thought I had it ready to go out again. — R.A. Salvatore

Catti-brie continued to stare at the drow as the wizards walked up. The woman did not know what to make of Drizzt's cryptic answers. Drizzt had let Tarnheel win, she figured, or at least had allowed the man to fight to a draw. For some reason the young woman did not understand, she didn't want to think that Tarnheel had actually beaten Drizzt; she didn't want to think that anyone could beat Drizzt. — R.A. Salvatore

I never intended to be a professional writer; as the story developed, the one thing I had in my hopes was that this would be something tangible to separate me from the nameless, numbered masses. — R.A. Salvatore

Of all the crowns that Bruenor had worn or would, none was more important than that of Father. — R.A. Salvatore

I had built this bubble around us. Around all of us-you, me, Chewie, the kids, Luke, Mara, even Lando. Heck, even the stupid droids. We were all in it, you know. In it and safe, a cozy family. Nothing could hurt us - could really hurt us."
-Han Solo — R.A. Salvatore

They waded around the circle of battle, cautiously stalking and measuring each other for hints of weakness. Wulfgar noted the impatience on Heafstaag's face, a common flaw among barbarian warriors. He would have been much the same were it not for the blunt lessons of Drizzt Do'Urden. A thousand humiliating slaps from the drow's scimitars had taught Wulfgar that the first blow was not nearly as important as the last. — R.A. Salvatore

Fantasy is like an idealized reality, and the core of fantasy is the one person can make a difference. — R.A. Salvatore

How long lived our memory of you when you are gone? Because in the end, that is the only measure. In the end, when life's last flickers fade, all that remains is memory. Richness, in the final measure, is not weighed in gold coins, but in the number of people you have touched, the tears of those who mourn your passing, and the fond remembrances of those who continue to celebrate your life. - Drizzt Do'Urden — R.A. Salvatore

What place is this that is my world; what dark coil has my spirit embodied?" he whispered the angry disclaimer that had always been a part of him. "In light, I see my skin as black; in darkness, it glows white in the heat of this rage I cannot dismiss. — R.A. Salvatore

A king is a man strong of character and conviction who leads by example and truly cares for the suffering of his people,not a brute who rules simply because he is the strongest. — R.A. Salvatore

I don't often know exactly what's coming next, and that makes it more fun. And you know, for me, this entire genre is all about that; it's all about having fun and getting away from the mundane world for just a little while. — R.A. Salvatore

To think that all we've known to be true is not necessarily an absolute is unsettling and almost incomprehensible, and so to walk the road of acceptance and peace often takes more courage than the way of the warrior. — R.A. Salvatore

Take us to the guildhouse of Pasha Pook," Drizzt said, getting to the point, wanting to be done with his business and out of Calimport, "then you are dismissed." Sali Dalib paled at the request. "Pasha Poop?" he stammered. "Who is dis? — R.A. Salvatore

They live with the belief that anything is acceptable if you can get away with it, that self-gratification is the most important aspect of existence, and that power comes only to she or he who is strong enough and cunning enough to snatch it from the failing hands of those who no longer deserve it. Compassion has no place in Menzoberranzan, and yet it is compassion, not fear, that brings harmony to most races. It is harmony, working toward shared goals, that precedes greatness. — R.A. Salvatore

This is my spiritual journey through life, my way of making sense of the world. I don't need permission from anyone or accolades from anyone; it is completely internal. — R.A. Salvatore

He's not wanting to fight," she assured the captain.
"He is driven by curiosity?" Deudermont asked.
"By loyalty," Catti-brie answered. "And nothing more. Drizzt is bound by friendship to ye and to the crew, and if a simple contest against the man will make for an easier sail, then he's up to the fight. But there is no curiosity in Drizzt. No stupid pride. He's not for caring who's the better at swordplay."
Deudermont nodded and his expression brightened. The young woman's words confirmed his belief in his friend. — R.A. Salvatore

Because in fantasy perhaps more than in any other genre, the character is rewarded for making the right choices and punished for making the bad.
Ask Boromir. — R.A. Salvatore

No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith. — R.A. Salvatore

It is a valuable lesson that should often be reinforced - that many who are faced with impending death, a disease that will likely take them in a year's time, for example, quite often insist that their affliction is the best thing that ever happened to them. It takes the immediacy of mortality to remind them to watch the sunrise and the sunset, to note the solitary flower among the rocks, to appreciate those loved ones around them, to taste their food, and revel in the feel of a cool breeze. — R.A. Salvatore

Time to hunt? Cattie-brie cried, satisfied that she had gotten her point across. She rose beside Wulfgar and headed for the door, but she turned her head over her shoulder to face Drizzt one final time, giving him a look that told him that perhaps he should have asked for more from Cattie-brie back in Icewind Dale, before Wulfgar had entered her life. — R.A. Salvatore

A nice landing, boys," Bruenor called as he broke free of the fall. "Give the rocks a big kiss for me! — R.A. Salvatore

Let us say that we did battle, and I emerged the victor. By your reasoning, I would thus become the rightful King of Vaa-oh, wait. I see now. That would not serve, since I haven't the proper bloodline. What a cunning system you have there. You and all the other self-proclaimed royalty of Faerun. By your conditions, you alone are kings and queens and lords and ladies of court. You alone matter, while the peasant grovels and kneels in the mud, and since you alone are 'rightful' in the eyes of this god or that, then the peasant cannot complain. He must accept his muddy lot in life and revel in his misery, all in the knowledge that he serves the rightful king. — R.A. Salvatore

Such a typical misunderstanding. He is broken. Something within him is damaged. You can no more expect Drizzt to clearly unwind his twisting thoughts than you could expect a man with shattered legs to run. Just because you cannot see the injury does not mean that it isn't there. Nor is it one that can be cured by force of will, any more than simple determination could mend shattered bones." Jarlaxle — R.A. Salvatore

A man who lives a lie will soon enough be consumed by it, — R.A. Salvatore

No one will ever write a fantasy novel better than The Hobbit. — R.A. Salvatore

The unusual experiences are those that create the memories, and a tenday of memories is more life than a year of routine. I — R.A. Salvatore

Hindsight, I think, is a useless tool. We, each of us, are at a place in our lives because of innumerable circumstances, and we, each of us, have a responsibility (if we do not like where we are) to move along life's road, to find a better path if this one does not suit, or to walk happily along this one if it is indeed our life's way. Changing even the bad things that have gone before would fundamentally change who we are, and whether or not that would be a good thing, I believe, it is impossible to predict.
So I take my past experiences ... and try to regret nothing.
-Drizzt Do'urden — R.A. Salvatore

He was born a slave, but he was not born to be a slave. — R.A. Salvatore

Who are these gods we serve, this pantheon of the Realms, so rich and powerful and varied? If there is a universal truth, how then are there so many realizations of that truth, many similar, but each with rituals or specific demands to separate one from the other, sometimes by minute degree, sometimes by diametric opposition? How can this be? Yet there is universal truth, I believe - perhaps this is my one core belief! - and if that is so, then are not the majority of the pantheon claiming themselves as gods and goddesses truly frauds? — R.A. Salvatore

A sense of accomplishment. It is the most important ingredient in any rational being's formula of happiness. It is the element that builds confidence and allows us to go on to other, greater tasks. It is the item that promotes a sense of self-worth, that allows any person to believe there is value in life itself, that gives a sense of purpose to bolster us as we face life's unanswerable questions. — R.A. Salvatore

The future is made of the actions of the present, each and every one, the choices of the moment inadvertently strung together to produce the desired trail. To live each and every day in the best possible manner would afford her a life without regret, and a life without regret was the key to an acceptance of inevitable death. And — R.A. Salvatore

Tell us of this Calim Desert," said Wulfgar. "What is a desert?" "A barren land," replied Deudermont grimly, not wanting to understate the challenge that would be before them if they chose that course. "An empty wasteland of blowing, stinging sands and hot winds. Where monsters rule over men, and many an unfortunate traveler has crawled to his death to be picked clean by vultures." The four friends shrugged away the captain's grim description. Except for the temperature difference, it sounded like home. — R.A. Salvatore

Richness, in the final measure, is not weighed in gold coins, but in the number of people you have touched, the tears of those who mourn your passing, and the fond remembrances of those who continue to celebrate your life. — R.A. Salvatore

Joy multiplies when it is shared among friends, but grief diminishes with every division. That is life. — R.A. Salvatore

I do not know why I care," Drizzt answered honestly. His eyes turned back to his ancient homeland, where loyalty was merely a device to gain an advantage over a common foe. "Perhaps I care because I strive to be different from my people," he said, as much to himself as to Bruenor. "Perhaps I care because I am different from my people. I may be more akin to race of the surface ... that is my hope at least. I care because I have to care about something. — R.A. Salvatore

The finest leaders are those who listen more than they talk. — R.A. Salvatore

I won't hold any illusions of changing the world or any such nonsense. But maybe, just maybe, I'm helping someone else change his or her life a little bit for the better, even if it just means giving someone a magical place in which to hide. — R.A. Salvatore

Icewind Dale. Windswept passes and forbidding glaciers stand at the top of the world. Below them, in the cold valley, an evil force broods: the magic of Crenshinibon, the Crystal Shard.
Now dwarf, barbarian, and drow elf join to battle this evil. Tempted in the furnace of struggle, they form an unbreakable friendship.
A legend is born. — R.A. Salvatore

Driest displayed the intricate hand and facial combinations of the silent drow code, and he briefly entertained the notion of teaching the language to Belwar. The deep gnome promptly burst into loud and rolling laughter. His dark eyes looked incredulously at Drizzt, and he led the drow's gaze down to the ends of his arms. With a hammer and a pickaxe for hands, the svirfneblin could hardly muster enough gestures to make the effort worthwhile. — R.A. Salvatore

I do not deal with denizens of the lower planes, — R.A. Salvatore

I measure my success in life by the added value my presence brought to those whom I loved, and who loved me. — R.A. Salvatore

There is no pain greater than this; not the cut of a jagged-edged dagger nor the fire of a dragon's breath. Nothing burns in your heart like the emptiness of losing something, someone, before you truly have learned of its value — R.A. Salvatore

It is easy to miss the possibility that every person who crosses your path can become an event and a memory, good or bad, to fill in the hours with experience instead of tedium, to break the monotony of the passing moments. — R.A. Salvatore

Every day is a chance to start over. Any day can be bad, surely, but any day can be good, can be great, and that promise, that potential, is a beautiful thing indeed. — R.A. Salvatore

I have heard, as well, by those who have seen Drizzt Do'Urden at fight and at play, that he is brilliant even considering the standards of his dark kin. — R.A. Salvatore

If we act in a goodly way because we are afraid of how we will feel if we do not, then we have not truly come to separate the concept of right and wrong. — R.A. Salvatore

To lose is to die! You may win a thousand fights, but you can only lose one! — R.A. Salvatore

Writing a book for me, I expect, is very similar to the experience of reading the book for my readers. — R.A. Salvatore

There is no way of truly knowing where a road will lead until it is walked. — R.A. Salvatore

Perhaps we will meet again and do battle, and if I kill him, I will shed no tears for him. Not for who he is, at least, but quite possibly, I will cry for who this marvelous warrior might have become. If I kill him, I will be crying for myself. — R.A. Salvatore

I've spared with demons from the Nine Hells themselves, I shall barely break a sweat here today. — R.A. Salvatore

In my stubborn youth, I believed that I could stand alone, that I was strong enough to conquer my enemies with sword and with principles. Arrogance convinced me that by sheer determination, I could conquer helplessness itself. Stubborn and foolish youth, I
must admit, for when I look back on those years now, I see quite clearly that rarely did I stand alone and rarely did I have to stand alone. Always there were friends, true and dear, lending me support even when I believed I did not want it, and even when I did
not realize they were doing it. — R.A. Salvatore

When you live with death so close, you come to appreciate life all the more. — R.A. Salvatore

Writers always have confidence issues - it comes with the territory. We never know where we fit in, or what the actual value of our work might be. So we hit lulls, or slogs. Throw in the idea that many creative people are somewhat manic-depressive, and it can get pretty dark at times. — R.A. Salvatore

To view current events as a historian is to account for all perspectives, even those of your enemy — R.A. Salvatore

When all is a facade, wound within webs of deception, the truth is what you make of it. — R.A. Salvatore

Change is not always growth, but growth is often rooted in change.
Drizzt Do'Urden — R.A. Salvatore

Do not worry so much of the future that you let today pass you by. — R.A. Salvatore

verybody has an imagination. There's the construction worker who can close his eyes and imagine a Hawaiian vacation. There's the corporate executive with visions of that next big promotion. There's the stay-at-home mother and her perfectly built "cabana boy" who will sweep her off her feet. For a small group of us, we've been fortunate enough to be able to use our imaginations to make a living. — R.A. Salvatore

I don't desire glory. Glory brings fame, and fame brings jealousy, and jealousy brings danger. — R.A. Salvatore

Loss of empathy might well be the most enduring and deep-cutting scar of all, the silent blade of an unseen enemy, tearing at our hearts and stealing more than our strength. Stealing our will, for what are we without empathy? What manner of joy might we find in our live if we cannot understand the joys and pains of those around us, if we cannot share in a greater community. — R.A. Salvatore

By Moradin's arm and Clangeddin's horn, by Dumathoin's tricks and Delzoun true born, open I tell ye, open yer gates! Me name's Athrogate, me blood's Delzoun, and I'm told me home awaits! — R.A. Salvatore

Come an' play, stupid dogs, Bruenor chuckled wickedly — R.A. Salvatore

Drizzt Do'Urden had followed a line of precepts based upon discipline and ultimate optimism. He fought for a better world because he believed that a better world could and would be made. He had never held any illusions that he would change the world, of course, or even a substantial portion of it, but he always held strongly that fighting to better just his own little pocket of the world was a worthwhile cause. — R.A. Salvatore

A world without dragons is a world not worth living in. — R.A. Salvatore

Escape was impossible. Victory even more so. Wulfgar's only thought and desire at that moment was to be spared the indignity and anguish of lycanthropy. Then Drizzt entered the room. — R.A. Salvatore

Tazmikella hated wearing clothes, and could never understand the need of humans to hide their natural forms. She always thought that level of shame and modesty to be reflective of a race that could not elevate itself above its apparent limitations, a race that insisted on subjugating itself to more powerful beings instead of standing as their own gods in proud self-determination. — R.A. Salvatore

Just agree, you stubborn child." "Secondboy!" Drizzt corrected, his voice again a growl, and his arms defiantly back over his chest. — R.A. Salvatore

Conscience does not always adhere to rational judgment. Guilt is always a self-imposed burden, but is not always rightly imposed. — R.A. Salvatore

Friends help when they are not asked." Entreri — R.A. Salvatore

One of the most common truths of life is that we all take for granted things that simply are. Whether a spouse, a friend, a family, or a home, after enough time has passed, that person, place, or situation becomes the accepted norm of our lives. It is not until we confront the unexpected, not until the normal is no more, that we truly come to appreciate what once we had. I — R.A. Salvatore

Gods, rather than being outside entities, are personifications of what lies in our hearts. If this is true, then the many, varied gods of the human sects - deities of vastly different demeanors - reveal much about the race. — R.A. Salvatore

The world is not static, and if the roots of our perceptions, traditions, hold static, then we are doomed, I say, into destructive dogma. — R.A. Salvatore

Play for the day," he told himself. "Win the day, each day, and so you will win the war. — R.A. Salvatore

pushing away his breakfast plate of mushrooms and moss sauce. — R.A. Salvatore

Make yer laughs where ye can, little one, because yer tears'll chase ye and catch ye where they will. — R.A. Salvatore

To learn how to use a sword, one must first master when to use a sword. — R.A. Salvatore

Only in very rare circumstances will you see something cut out of my first drafts. Maybe it's because of the way I write. I'm very focused on the logical progression of the story, and every character has a role to play. — R.A. Salvatore

I am dying. Every day, with every breath I draw, I am closer to the end of my life. For we are born with a finite number of breaths, and each one I take edges the sunlight that is my life toward the inevitable dusk. — R.A. Salvatore

I have learned that the ambition of those who follow selfish precepts is no more than a chaotic waste, a finite gain that must be followed by infinite loss. For there is indeed a harmony in the universe, a concordant singing of common weal. To join that song, one must find inner harmony, must find the notes that ring true. There is one other point to be made about that truth: Evil creatures cannot sing. — R.A. Salvatore

No, I say. Because I cannot. I cannot dismiss that which is in my heart and conscience. I am a creature of intelligence and reason. I know what actions please me and put me at ease, and which pain me. — R.A. Salvatore

The world is full of ruffians. The world is full of people of good character. Both of these statements are true, I believe, because within most of the people I have known lies the beginning points of both seemingly disparate paths. — R.A. Salvatore

I think I'm a pretty well-kept secret. — R.A. Salvatore

Cook another feast,' Bruenor grumbled. 'Suren the elf has his eye fixed on another wedding.
Drizzt let it go at that. Maybe there was a ring of truth in Bruenor's words for some distant date. No longer did Drizzt limit his hopes and desires. He would see the world as he could and draw his choices from his wishes, not from limitations he might impose upon himself. For now, though, Drizzt had found something too personal to be shared.
For the first time in his life, the drow had found peace. — R.A. Salvatore