The Well of Ascension Quotes

“Elend: I kind of lost track of time…
Breeze: For two hours?
Elend: There were books involved.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“It's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Good men don't become legends," he said quietly.
"Good men don't need to become legends." She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "They just do what's right anyway.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“...A man can only stumble for so long before he either falls or stands up straight.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different," Sazed said. "Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“It was amazing how many books one could fit into a room, assuming one didn't want to move around very much.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“A man was defined not by his flaws, but by how he overcame them.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“I write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Vin isn't…like other women."
Tindwyl raised an eyebrow, her voice softening slightly.
"I think that the more women you come to know, Your Majesty, the more you'll find that statement applies to all of them.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“He ate my horse.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“I kind of lost track of time..."
"For two hours?"
Elend nodded sheepishly. "There were books involved.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Those who take lightly promises they make to those they love are people who find little lasting satisfaction in life. This is not an easy time in which to live. That does not mean that it has to be a difficult time to love, but it does mean that you will find unusual stresses upon your lives and your relationship.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“You know,” OreSeur muttered quietly, obviously counting on her tin to let Vin hear him, “it seems that these meetings would be more productive if someone forgot to invite those two.”
Vin smiled. “They’re not that bad,” she whispered.
OreSeur raised an eyebrow.
“Okay,” Vin said. “They do distract us a little bit.”
“I could always eat on of them, if you wish,” OreSeur said. “That might speed things up.”
Vin paused.
OreSeur, however had a strange little smile on his lips. “Kandra humor, Mistress. I apologize. We can be a bit grim.”
Vin smiled. “They probably wouldn’t taste very good anyway. Ham’s far too stringy, and you don’t want to know the kinds of things that Breeze spends his time eating….”
“I’m not sure,” OreSeur said. “One is, after all, named ‘Ham.’ As for the other…” He nodded to the cup of wine in Breeze’s hand. “He does seem quite fond of marinating himself.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Ham turned back, still smiling. "You make it sound so desperate, El."
Elend looked over at him. "The Assembly is a mess, a half-dozen warlords with superior armies are breathing down my neck, barely a month passes without someone sending assassins to kill me, and the woman I love is slowly driving me insane."
Vin snorted at this last part.
"Oh is that all?" Ham said. "See? It's not so bad after all. I mean, we could be facing an immortal god and his all-powerful priests instead.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“That's the point, isn't it? We have to live on, no matter how hard it gets. We'll win in the end.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Books have great value, actions have greater value.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Do not deride someone's faith simply because you do not share it, Lord Cladent," Sazed said quietly.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Great, Elend thought. I’ve filled my inner council with a bunch of thrill-seeking masochists. Even worse, I’ve decided to join them.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“You must love him enough to trust his wishes, even if you disagree with them. You must respect him - no matter how wrong you think he may be, no matter how poor you think his decisions, you must respect his desire to make them. Even if one of them includes loving you.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“The study's small ventilation window bumped open, and Vin squeezed through, pulling in a puff of mist behind her. She closed the window, then surveyed the room.

"More?" she asked incredulously. "You found more books?"

"Of course," Elend said.

"How many of those things have people written?" she asked with exasperation.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Vin snorted, kneeling in the low tent as she pulled her belt tight; then she crawled over to him. "I don't know how you read while riding," she said.
"Oh, it's quite easy - if you aren't afraid of horses."
"I'm not afraid of them," Vin said. "They just don't like me. They know I can outrun them, and that makes them surly.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“It is a time of change,'' Sazed said. ''Perhaps it is also time to learn of other truths, other ways.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Good men can make terrible kings,' Tindwyl noted.

'But bad men cannot make good kings.' Sazed said. 'It is better to start with a good man and work on the rest, I think.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“It was his ability to trust," she said. "It was the way that he made good people into better people, the way that he inspired them. His crew worked because he had confidence in them - because he respected them. And, in return, they respected each other. Men like Breeze and Clubs became heroes because Kelsier had faith in them.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“What a pair they were - a Mistborn who felt guilty wasting coins to jump and a nobleman who thought balls were too expensive.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“He found insanity no excuse, however, for irrational behavior.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“It seems that the rebels found the chaos of transition more difficult to accept than the tyranny they had known before. They joyfully welcomed back authority-even oppressive authority-for it was less painful for them than uncertainty.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“Other men are strong like bricks - firm, unyielding, but if you pound on them long enough, they crack. You... you're strong like the wind. Always there, so willing to bend, but never apologetic for the times when you must be firm.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

“There are two ways to stay safe, Reen's voice whispered to her. Either be so quiet and harmless that people ignore you, or be so dangerous that they're terrified of you.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension