By the Sword
Author: Greg Costikyan
Release: January 1, 1993
Tagline: Magic of the Plains, Vol. 1
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Sword & Sorcery
ISBN-10: 0312854897
ISBN-13: 978-0312854898
Main Character(s): Nijon, Brother, Nlavi, Mika Nashram
Synopsis: Nijon, a young barbarian and son of the god Mongoose, performs heroic deeds–such as killing a lioness barehanded, outsmarting a dragon, rescuing a princess, and outwitting a king
Declassified by Agent Palmer: Early Internet Offers Practical Fantasy in Magic of the Plains: By the Sword
Quotes and Lines
“People prefer scandal to credulity.”
Sarcastically, Nijon mouthed Tsawen’s words to himself: “All men are at the mercy of their weird; all freedom is delusion.” How many times had his father said that? He loathed the sentiment.
“In the legends–”
“The legends be damned! Do you think heroes of legend failed to lay the groundwork for their deeds? Ballads sing of the glory of battle, not of the untold hours of tedium that lead up to it, but never doubt that tedium existed. Success in every human endeavor requires relentless effort.”
Dekh sat with arms folded over knees, his head between his legs. “But that’s why I left the farm,” he said miserably.
Nijon looked up. “To avoid relentless effort?”
“Yes.”
Nijon snorted. “My friend,” he said. “You will likely die tomorrow. I may, too, for I am a hero; but if I do, my death shall be heroic. You, on the other hand, are a peasant. If you die, it will be the brief incineration of a little life. To find your death, you have braved forests, deprivation, and mighty mountains. This strikes you as easier than hoeing dirt?”
“More interest,” said Dekh.
“Ah!” said Nijon, pausing momentarily to consider this. “Perhaps so.” He took up scraping the tree again, then said, “But the hours are lousy.”