Page 281 (1/2)

And every event that led, ultimately, to Fener’s extremity, his sudden, brutal vulnerability, would have had to have been known to the Elder Gods, down to the last detail

Thus, unless we are all playing out roles that are predetermined and so inevitable -- thereby potentially knowable by such beings as the Elder Gods -- unless that, then, what each and every one of us chooses to do, or not to do, can have profound consequences Not just on our own lives, but on the world -- the worlds, every reals of historians who had asserted precisely that The old soldier Duiker, for one, though he’s long since fallen out of favour Any scholar who accepts an Imperial robe is irity and bias Still, in his early days, he was a fierce proponent of individual efficacy

The curse of great e that invariably assails it, then, finally, standing guard on the ra after the war’s over, weapons dull in leaden hands daain

So, he was to be the fulcruo, the unassailable belief in his own efficacy That’s the last thing I’ued by uncertainty, scepticism, by all the flaws inherent in someone who’s chronically without purpose Who under its own roots, if only to prove its gri choice

A scuffling sound alerted Paran to the presence of soloo, armoured in tarnished coins

The captain cleared his throat ’Paying a last visit?’

The Barghast warrior straightened

His face was fa man ’Cafal, isn’t it? Brother to Hetan’

’And you are the Malazan captain’

’Ganoes Paran’

’The One Who Blesses’

Paran frowned ’No, that title would better fit Itkovian, the Shield Anvil-’

Cafal shook his head ’He but carries burdens You are the One Who Blesses’

’Are you suggesting that if anyone is capable of relieving Itkovian’s… burden … then it’s ht Obviously more complicated than that The power to bless? Bern fend

’Not forin the torchlight ’You can’t bless soht to do so’