Coming together and building a deep and abiding friendship in times of pain
The first short story in Swords and Deviltry shows the main characters of the novels, the Gray Mouser and Fafhrd, becoming friends with each other after they have to deal with the unimaginable losses of their wives. Though they found each other in a time of profound sadness and loss, they created something magnificent: an unbreakable friendship with each other.
There is an important lesson in the Gray Mouser and Fafhrd coming together: in times of pain and grief, one must channel their grief and rage into something much more productive and healthy. In the case of the first short story: creating a friendship with someone whom one could share everything with (and with whom the Mouser and Fafhrd, respectively) and could go on adventures with.
Chance encounters can result in good
One of the most significant themes in the novel - and separately, in each short story - is chance encounters can result in good things. In "The Snow Women" and "The Unholy Grail," for instance, the main characters of the novel meet their future spouses by happenstance. For example, Fafhrd meets his future wife Vlana Lefay at a trade show that he and his tribe go to every year - and trade shows that he didn't want to go to in the first place. Typically, they go there to do business and nothing more - and most times, they don't even want to do anything else.
Separately, in "The Unholy Grail," the Gray Mouser ironically meets his wife during his battles with her father, the Duke's daughter. The Mouser never intended to get close to the Duke, let alone to the Duke's daughter. But the two meet in a chance encounter in the forest, where she finds the Mouser injured and close to death. From their encounter, the Mouser's life - as well as the life of his future wife - is forever and irrevocably changed.
The lesson in this theme: in a situation in which a person never expected something to happen (i.e. finding a love interest), that very thing may happen.
