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Warriors of the Storm

Book by Bernard Cornwell · 7 quotes · Battle, Shield Wall, Belonging

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Warriors of the Storm Quotes

“Oh the madness of battle! We fear it, we celebrate it, the poets sing of it, and when it fills the blood like fire it is a real madness. It is joy! All the terror is swept away, a man feels he could live for ever, he sees the enemy retreating, knows he himself is invincible, that even the gods would shrink from his blade and his bloodied shield. And I was still keening that mad song, the battle song of slaughter, the sound that blotted out the screams of dying men and the crying of the wounded. It is fear, of course, that feeds the battle madness, the release of fear into savagery. You win in the shield wall by being more savage than your enemy, by turning his savagery back into fear.”

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“Thirty paces, twenty, and you can see the eyes of the men who will try to kill you, and see the spear-blades, and the instinct is to stop, to straighten the shields. We cringe from battle, fear claws at us, time seems to stop, there is silence though a thousand men shout, and at that moment, when terror savages the heart like a trapped beast, you must hurl yourself into the horror. Because the enemy feels the same. And you have come to kill him. You are the beast from his nightmares.”

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“He drew his seax instead and nodded to Sihtric who still guarded Brida. ‘Let her stand.’ Sihtric stepped away. Brida hesitated, then suddenly scrambled to her feet and lunged at Sigtryggr as if trying to snatch the seax from his hand, but he held her at arm’s length with contemptuous ease. ‘You would have blinded my daughter,’ he said bitterly. ‘I would have given her wisdom!’ Sigtryggr held her with his left hand and raised the seax with his right, but Stiorra intervened. She touched his right arm. ‘She’s mine,’ she said. Sigtryggr hesitated, then nodded. ‘She’s yours,’ he agreed. ‘Give her the sword,’ Stiorra said. She still held Wasp-Sting. ‘Give her the sword?’ Sigtryggr asked, frowning. ‘Give it to her,’ Stiorra commanded. ‘Let’s discover who the gods love. Uhtredsdottir or her.’ Sigtryggr held the seax hilt first to Brida. ‘Let’s see who the gods love,’ he agreed.”

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