This chapter's epigraph comes from a famous speech by a famous poet, Henry David Thoreau. In the speech, Thoreau says that he is tired of living and that he wishes he were dead so that he could live again. He also says that if he were alive today, he would not want to live because he would have to leave his family and friends behind. In this speech, he says, he is saying that he would rather die than live because his family owes him the debt of his blood. He then goes on to say that if his family had not owed him this debt, then all of his family members would have died. He says that in a month's time, the selection of the martial houses will begin.