He came like the wind, like the wind touched everything, and like the wind was gone. -from The Dragon Reborn. By Loial, son of Arent son of Halan, the Fourth Age.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the transient nature of existence and the impact one can have on their surroundings, even if they are only present for a short time.
The quote describes a character whose arrival and departure are as fleeting and impactful as the wind. It suggests that, like the wind, a person's presence can affect all they touch, leaving an imprint on the world around them, yet they may be just as ephemeral, reminding us of the importance of appreciating moments and the influence we can have, even if briefly.
In practice
During a speech about the importance of cherishing moments and relationships.
Fantasy is an area where it is possible to talk about right and wrong, good and evil, with a straight face. In mainstream fiction and even in a good deal of mystery, these things are presented as simply two sides of the same coin. Never really more than a matter of where you happen to be standing.
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.
Til shade is gone, til water is gone Into the shadow with teeth bared Screaming defiance with the last breath To spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day.
The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.
Duty is heavier than a mountain, Dai Shan.' That time, Lan did flinch. How long had it been since someone had been able to do that to him with mere words? He remembered teaching that same concept to a youth out of the Two Rivers. A sheepherder, innocent of the world, fearful of the fate laid out before him by the Pattern.
Moiraine: It seems Ryne was wrong as well as a Darkfriend. You were better than he. Lan: He was better. But he thought I was finished, with only one arm. He never understood. You surrender after you're dead.
The central function of imaginative literature is to make you realize that other people act on moral convictions different from your own.
Use justice to rule a country. Use surprise to wage war. Use non-action to govern the world.
Throughout history many nations have suffered a physical defeat, but that has never marked the end of a nation. But when a nation has become the victim of a psychological defeat, then that marks the end of a nation.
I’m not clear enough in the head to feel anything but varieties of dull anger and arrows of sadness.
I deplore the horrible crime as child murder....no matter what the motive, love of ease, or desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent,the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed...but oh, thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which compelled her to the crime.
Society tames the wolf into a dog. And man is the most domesticated animal of all.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.