How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"None of them, of course, had a thing to do with the Old Ones, for nearly every tale that men tell of magic and witches and such is born out of foolishness and ignorance and sickness of mind—or is a way of explaining things they do not understand. The one thing of which they know nothing, most of them, is what we are about." (6.60)
Ouch, dude. Merriman explains just how foolish humans are, and the assessment stings a little. The guy's point is that real knowledge comes from facts or experience, not from tall-tales you find in fantasy novels. And since this is one such novel, here the book is poking fun at itself.
Quote #5
"The moment you came into your power on your birthday, you could speak as an Old One. And did, not knowing that you were doing so. That was how the Rider knew you, when you met him on the road—you greeted John Smith in the Old Speech, and he therefore had to answer you in the same, and risk being marked as an Old One himself even though the craft of a smith is outside allegiance." (6.76)
Merriman explains to Will how everyone knew he was an Old One: He was speaking their language, whether he knew it or not. Will's ability to go bilingual without even trying shows the type of knowledge that his brain holds as an Old One. Head on over to the "Language and Communication" theme to learn more about his mother tongue.
Quote #6
Will was never able afterwards to tell how long he spent with the Book of Gramarye. So much went into him from its pages and changed him that the reading might have taken a year; yet so totally did it absorb his mind that when he came to an end he felt that he had only that moment begun. It was indeed not a book like other books. (7.1)
If only there were a book that contained the answers to everything in our world. For Will, that book is the Book of Gramarye, and once he reads it, he knows everything it contains. The answers he's looking for are complex and lengthy, but somehow the book manages to explain everything to him. Can we get a copy?