Luck is only my lover, not my wife, replied Bahktiaan easily. He drew his saber. If ever I wed, it will be skill and intelligence. Tedious bedfellows, said Sergi.

A man gets used to riding on at the break of day. Comes to think that movement and noise is where life is, when after all there's life in stillness and quiet too.

Listen, my father had written. Listen to hear if they are telling the truth or only part of the truth, for that is the lesson of history: that the victors tell the tale of their triumph in a manner to grant accolades to themselves and heap blame upon their rivals. Ask yourself if part of the story is being withheld by design or ignorance.

We are bound to our ancestors and to those who made us, whether we want to be or not. What matters is what we make of what we are.