[speaking hatefully of the captured soldier he has brought] "I caught this on the west side of the Great River, with a company of his fellows and their beasts. And you know what they were looking for."

"The time has come. We must wield the power of the Immortal Sun ourselves, or we will see it fall into enemy hands. The sun will tumble from the sky, the waters will run cold, and this land that has cradled us will become our grave. Unless we act now, decisively. We have no choice!"

[trying to prove a point as he conjures a storm to smash an invading ship] "We can conjure a thousand storms a thousand times, or we can raise a city only once. Which is the better expenditure of our energy? Which is better stewardship, Tishana?"