In Her Own Words
She doesn't give speeches often. When she does, the army remembers them word for word.
On command
“I do not command from behind because the view is better from the front. I command from the front because that is where the truth is.”
“You want to know if your orders are good? Give them, then stand where your soldiers stand when they carry them out.”
“A delayed answer is a decision made by neglect, and I do not neglect.”
On honor
“They call me honorable to a fault. The fault, I have decided, is theirs for finding it remarkable.”
“Do the honorable thing when it costs you. Anyone can afford honor when it’s free.”
“I have never regretted keeping a promise. I have regretted, precisely once, the afternoon I spent considering breaking one.”
On mornings
“The kingdom wakes when I do. This is not a boast. It is a schedule, and I keep it.”
“Dawn is the only hour of the day that belongs entirely to the prepared. I like to be there when it arrives.”
On war
“I have stormed one fortress in my life. It taught me everything I needed to know about patience, which is why I have never stormed another.”
“Count the cost before the battle, not after. After is just arithmetic with grief in it.”
“The best victory is the one the enemy’s grandchildren read about and shrug at, because nothing much seemed to happen. That means everyone went home.”
On her soldiers
“Learn their names. All of them. If you cannot be bothered to learn a name, you have no business spending the life attached to it.”
“They lend me their courage on the days I need it most. The least I can do is be worth the loan.”
Source notes
- All lines are character-voice creative interpretation. See methodology.
- For the maxims she teaches, see Leadership Maxims.