"The One Who Is Hidden will in anger cast the gods down into the Realms. The gods will walk among men, amid chaos of Art and nature, and there will be strife in Faerun."
- From the Prophecies of Alaundo the Seer; called "the Wise."



"For if there is storm on high, there must surely be chaos below."
- Saying of the priests of Helm



"All Fangs And Tail, Let Us Hail That Which Slithers In The Grass."
- old High Moor saying of the Realms



"I Hope my old eyes never see, Worse horror than The Killing Tree."
- from an old Cormyrean folk-song



"Any rogue can craft a spell - but it takes a really reckless fool to write one down."
- Elminster of Shadowdale



"’Hail and well met’ is a greeting I reserve for precious few dwellers in the dark halls of Undermountain. Indeed, most inhabitants are best met with the edge of a blade or worse. Still, I speak from experience that friends may be found in the most unlikely of places within Halaster’s home. Provided, that is, you can crawl over those who fell before you and survive to meet them…"
- Mirt the Moneylender



"Cormyr? Please, I’m not interested in such a place. Who wants, or needs a place that has been so tamed by good agents of law? Really now, they’ve driven out all of the elements that make life so interesting, and replaced them with a pack of boring, predictable, and yes, arrogant and self-righteous, cattle. Give me someplace where I can be free to be who I am, and life has some of that delicious uncertainty that makes it worth living."
- Mendryll Belarod, bard extraordinaire



"Anyone who thinks that Cormyr no longer has any challenges left either is a fool or has not looked hard enough. Perhaps both."
- Elminster of Shadowdale



"What is known of Hellgate Keep and the Upvale tells us much of how evil took hold there and what was done to combat the same. What is not known to the populace at large gives even me and mine pause, for it shows how deeply and subtly corruption worms its way through even the noblest of hearts and realms."
- Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, the Year of the Dragon



"Undermountain? Ah yes. A great place to have fun, the most famous battlefield in which to earm a reputation as a veteran adventurer - and the largest known mass grave in Faerun today."
- Elminster of Shadowdale



"Not all trails lead to Waterdeep - but all who travel often seem to find their way there."
- Samatcho Ahonu, My Travels In the Curious West, The Year of the Turret



"The Sword Coast is a sprawling mosaic of people and places all eking out little niches of so-called civilization by sword point and gold. It is a wild region, though not so brutal and harsh as its ‘Savage Frontier’ environs, capable of producing the unlikeliest diamonds in the most unexpected of spots. Without any arguments, the prize gem of the Sword Coast is her City of Splendors, fair Waterdeep."
- Ulmas Hriistoros, human explorer circa 1356 DR



"There shall come a time when our city and its deepwater bay shall grow in fame and fortune across many realms and many worlds. Folk shall know of Waterdeep, our City of Splendors, and sing its praises. I have seen it thus, and I endeavour to make it true."
- Ahghairon, the first Open Lord of Waterdeep, circa 1032 DR



"Looking for danger and excitement, are you? Well, don’t be so eager to hunt it down - it often finds you soon enough in this city. If you ever want to ever live to see your first gray hair, you’ll learn to not rashly seek out peril at every opportunity. I don’t mean you should stop seeking adventure, but Waterdeep provides enough amusement and thrills for men and gods alike all on its own without stirring any more up."
- Durnan, circa 1352 DR



"Working for good and maintaining balance are often matters of small degrees. If you wish to shape a bush, you must prune it gently, not take a scythe to it."
- Danilo Thann, speaking to Master Harper Bran Skorlsun just before he was offered a Harper pin, Year of the maidens



"Harpers live - and die - to keep the Balance."
- Harper saying (anonymous)



"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die, and all your songs be unsung."
- Harper curse (origin unknown)



"Had I known quite how bad a harpist I’d turn out to be, I’d have chosen some other symbol. But by then, of course, it was too late. It almost always is."
- Elminster of Shadowdale, Address to the Lords’ Alliance, Year of the Turret



"What makes a Harper? Well, different folk’ll tell ye a lot of high and grand things, but t’me it seems the only crucial talent - the one they all have - is the ability to turn up at the wrong time in a place where they’re neither wanted nor expected, and plunge right into whatever trouble’s afoot…"
- Darblin Melorinrose, Master Merchant of Neverwinter, Year of the Leaping Dolphin.



"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm



"Stand back, lads, if ye’ve any brains - the best and the brightest blades have arrived. Stand back, and mayhap we’ll live, to tell our younglings how once we saw great deeds done by the famous…"
- Guldark Orthorm, warrior of the Blacktalons mercenary company, to colleagues on a battlefield, Year of the Turret



"A hero? Someone too foolish or stubborn to be a coward. Thank the gods we have ‘em, though - these days, they’re needed all too often."
- Zosker Anthalar, Sage of Escalant, speech to that city’s Council, Year of the Shadows



"Never cross spells with gods, archmages, liches - or Harpers. Of all these, Harpers are the most persistent and the most unpredictable."
- Gulden Thorlb, High Gnome of the Council of Amry, the Year of Blue Flame.



"Ye have enemies? Good, good - that means ye’ve stood up for something, sometime in thy life…"
- Elminster of Shadowdale, speaking to a young Harper, Year of the Wyvern



"Glad to have you, lad. The blades of our foes are always thirsty, and we old ‘uns haven’t blood enough to satisfy ‘em all…heh-heh…"
- Gadult Shorm, mercenary of the Red Raven company, to a new recruit, Year of the Wyvern



"Survival is a war, but it is a war that can be won, so long as we struggle against nature instead of each other."
- Inum, Iulutiun philosopher



"Again and again, the pattern of history reveals a simple truth - that history has no pattern."
- Inum, Iulutiun philosopher



"There’s a good reason for my decision to retire to Shadowdale, lad; they know how to mind their own buisness in the Dales. Ye would be wise to follow their example. Good Day!"
- Elminster of Shadowdale, to an unidentified adventurer



"An old neighbor is a good neighbor."
- Old Mulhorand saying



"Master the sea, or be mastered by it."
- Moonsea sailor’s saying



"Zhentil Keep? Hillsfar? Who can tell which is the lesser of two evils?"
- Moonsea saying



"Next time the city is rebuilt, I think the natives should just knock the buildings down again and save the next invaders the trouble."
- Orgil, Captain of the Devawing, speaking on the subject of the city of Phlan



"Why are ye happy that Zhentil keep is undone? Now Mulmaster will rise to fill the vacancy. Believe me, that is scarcely cause for celebration!"
- Elminster of Shadowdale



"If you spend all your time worrying about whether or not certain rumors are true, you will never have time to leave your house in order to find out for yourself."
- Graffiti on the latrine behind the Wave and Wink



"Kill a lone enemy, and bury your troubles; kill a member of a group, and look over your shoulder for the rest of your life."
- Selwyn Brokeshield, one day before his untimely death



"No one’s history is intentionally written in blood. Mighty houses rise and fall, and this is the way of the world. But some, a small few, whether by curse or ill fortune, find a dark destiny. There is nothing, I submit, nothing, that can turn these families from their fate. Not love, nor money, nor the peace of a green day in the forest - nothing moves these ships from their courses. As an example, I direct you to learn the lament of the Spellseers…"
- Professor Dommingart of Hillfort, The Sand Empires History Lectures



"Welcome to the greatest treasure-house in all the Realms. Oh, and welcome to your deaths."
- The great green wyrm Athauglas to The Company of the Gauntlet, Year of the Trembling Tree



"Many come seeking, armored in greed. But few return again from fair, fey Myth Drannor, broken city of beauty, lair of lurking death. The pride and splendor of long ago still lure foolish and brave alike - and the grinning skulls of those who’ve gone before coldly watch another band of fools find a waiting grave."
- Tanthlin Starshann, Bard of Berdusk



"Adventurers? They do make a wonderful snack!"
- Manxam the Beholder



"Ye can tell much about a parent by looking at the offspring."
- Elminster of Shadowdale



"Someday I’ll have to do something about Manshoon and his insignificant Zhentarim."
- Cyric, Prince of Lies



"Death is the ultimate equalizer, for it strikes low the peasant and the lord, the rich and the poor, the good and the evil. They say that justice is blind. Not so. Death is."
- Elminster of Shadowdale



"He’s dead? Right, like being dead would slow him down."
- Olive Ruskettle

Back to the Library


Back to the Courtyard