There are many wizards born on the island, and they are well-known far and wide. Many men on the island, no matter they were born in villages and towns in high mountains and deep valleys, or in narrow and dark fjord ports, most of them left their homes and went to various cities in the archipelago to serve as wizards or mages. Serving the Lord, or wandering the islands of the Earth Sea, playing magic and pursuing adventure.Some people say that among the many wizards, the most remarkable and indeed experienced the greatest adventure is a mage named "Sparrow Eagle".The deeds of his life are widely sung in many ballads such as "Ged's Friendship"; but the story to be told in this book is his experience before he became famous and before people wrote and sang about his deeds.

The mage was born in Shiyang Village.This remote village stands alone on the top of the slope facing the North Valley, with grassland and cultivated land below, and gradually descends to sea level layer by layer.There are other villages and towns on this hillside, scattered in the bend of the Aer River.Above Shiyang Village is a lush mountain forest, climbing along the school youth to the snow-covered mountain top and stone ridge. The mage's baby name, Dani, was given by his mother.This baby name, as well as his life, are all given by his mother, because his mother passed away when he was one year old.His father was a coppersmith in the village, and he was stern and taciturn.Dani has six older brothers, all of whom are much older than him. One by one, they left home one after another. Some went to other villages and towns in Chatan to farm or forge iron, and some went to sea for long voyages.Therefore, no one in the family could bring up such a child with tenderness and love.

So, Dani grew up like a weed, tall, loud, agile, arrogant and violent.On weekdays, the little boy and the village boys herded sheep on the steep slope above the source of the Aer River. His father waited for him to grow up and have enough strength to push and pull the sleeve of the blast furnace, so he would be sent as an apprentice. Indispensable.Don't expect to squeeze much work out of Dany, though, because he's always away from home, kicking around in the woods, or swimming in the swift, icy river Aar—the rivers on Gont are all swift. cold.Otherwise, it is to climb over the cliffs and steep slopes, through the forest to the top of the mountain, looking north to the vast sea without any islands north of Pejrogao Island.

Dani's mother who died young had a younger sister, who lived in the same village as Dani and was taken care of by this aunt when she was a baby.But she had her own affairs, so once Dani was old enough to take care of himself, his aunt left him alone.However, when Dani was seven years old, before anyone taught him the "skills" and "powers" in the world, one day he heard his aunt yell at a goat that jumped onto the roof of the hut. At first the goat refused. Come down, but after the aunt sang a series of rhymes to the goat aloud, the goat jumped down. The next day, when Dani was grazing the long-haired goats in the grassland on the high cliff, he imitated his aunt and yelled the same words to the goats.

He didn't understand the meaning and usage of those words, so he just read it aloud: Nahan Moman Ho Ha Mohan!After he shouted the rhyme, all the goats ran over, moving quickly and in unison, silently, squinting their yellow eyes, watching Dani. The rhyme gave him strength to command the goats, and he laughed and called the rhyme again.This time, the goat came closer, cuddling around him.Their thick horns, strange eyes, and eerie silence all of a sudden frightened Dani.He wanted to get rid of the goats and run away, but when he ran, the sheep ran with him, always encircling Dani.Finally, the goat and Dani went down the mountain together and entered the village.The sheep were still close to each other, as if they were tied by a rope. Dani, who was trapped inside, could only cry out in fear.Villagers ran out of their cottages, cursing at the goats and laughing at Dani.The little boy's aunt was caught among the villagers but she didn't smile, she just said a word to the sheep.The spell on the goat was lifted, and it bleated, looked around, and dispersed.

"Come with me," my aunt said to Dani. She took Dani into the hut where she lived alone.She used to not let children into the house, so everyone in the village was afraid of that place.The thatched hut was low and dark, without windows.Herbs hang from the diagonal beams of the roof and let them dry in the shade. There are mint, wild garlic, thyme, sage, rush, paramo, king leaf grass, shovel, tansy, bay, etc., which emit fragrance.Sitting cross-legged by the fire pit in the house, my aunt squinted at Dani from behind her tangled black hair.She asked Dany what he had said to the goat, and if he knew the rhyme.When she found out that Dani didn't know anything, but could subdue the flock of sheep and make them come closer and follow him back to the village, the aunt immediately understood that Dani must have the quality of "force" inside.

In her eyes, this little boy was only her sister's son, and had always been insignificant; but from then on, she treated him differently. In addition to praising Dani, she also said that maybe there are other rhymes that Dani would like more, like a word that can make a snail look out of the valley, and a name that can call a falcon in the sky. "Okay! Teach me that name!" Dani said, forgetting the fear that the goat had brought to him just now, and feeling elated because his aunt praised him for being smart. The witch said to him, "If I teach you the spell, please don't tell any other children."

"I promise." Dani's childish innocence without thinking made my aunt smile. "Very good. But I have to restrain your promise, which is to keep your tongue from moving until I decide to lift the restraint. But even if the restraint is lifted, as long as you can speak in a place where people can hear you, you will not be able to speak." Tell me the mantra I taught you. We have to keep all the secrets of this line of secrets." "Okay." The little boy replied.He always likes to do things that everyone doesn't know or know, so he won't tell other toys.

Dani sat obediently.Aunt tied up her messy hair, fastened her belt, and sat with her legs crossed again.She threw a handful of leaves into the fire pit, and a puff of black smoke spread out, filling the dark room.Then she began to sing, her voice rising and falling, as if another voice was humming through her.She kept singing like this, and the little boy gradually couldn't tell whether he was asleep or awake.During this time, the witch's old black dog, which never barked, with eyes reddened by the smoke, sat beside the little boy. Then the witch spoke to him in a language Dany could not understand, and he couldn't help saying certain rhymes and words following his aunt.After thinking about it, finally, the magic overwhelmed Dani.

"Speak!" In order to test the effectiveness of the spell, the aunt ordered Dani. The little boy couldn't speak, but laughed. At this time, my aunt felt a little afraid of Dani's inner strength.Because the spell she cast just now was the strongest spell she could concoct. She originally hoped to not only use this to control Dani's ability to speak, but also to subdue Dani to serve her.However, although the spell restrained Dani, he still smiled. My aunt said nothing.She poured clean water over the fire until the smoke died away.Then she gave the little boy a drink of water.When the air in the house became clear and Dani could speak again, she taught him Falcon's real name.As long as you say that real name, Falcon will come to you.

This is just the first step.In the future, Dani will write about his lifelong pursuit of this magic path, which will eventually lead him to chase a shadow across mountains and seas, and reach the dark and ignorant coast of the kingdom of death.However, judging from the first few steps, the path of magic seems to be an open and glorious road. Dani found that as soon as he called out, the wild falcon would fly down, flap its wings, and perch on his wrist like lightning.This situation made Dany even more eager to know more calling names, and he ran to his aunt and begged to teach him the calling names of sparrowhawk, goshawk, vulturehawk, and so on.In order to learn those words with power, no matter what Aunt Witch asks, even though some of them are not so easy to do and easy to learn, Dani will follow them all. There are two common sayings among the Gont people: "The magic of a woman's house is so incapable of being good", and "The magic of a woman's house is so vicious".The witch in Shiyang Village is not an evil witch, she has never touched advanced spells, nor has she dealt with Taikoo Li.She has always been just an ordinary woman among ordinary men and women. Although she has skills, she is mostly used to deceive this and bluff that.True wizards understand the principles of "great balance" and "the form and meaning of all things", and they all stick to them. Unless necessary, they will never cast spells at will; but this village witch doesn't understand those principles.It's just that no matter what the situation, she has a set of spells to deal with, and she is always busy making up new spells, but her set is mostly a useless cover.As for the authenticity of the spell, she really doesn't know how to identify it.She knew a lot of methods of cursing, probably summoning sickness is better than curing sickness.Like any village witch, she could also make concoctions, but she had several recipes more insidious than aphrodisiacs if men's jealousy and hatred were needed.However, these skills, she did not pass on to the young apprentices, but taught as faithful spells as possible. At first, Dani's joy in learning these spells and skills came from the power and knowledge of summoning strange birds and beasts, and this kind of innocent childishness accompanied him throughout his life.When he was herding sheep on the plateau, there were always birds of prey flying around him. When other village boys saw him, they began to call him "Sparrowhawk".Thus, while his real name was unknown, the accidental name "Sparrowhawk" became his common name. During this period, the witch aunt often talked about how capable warlocks are, and how they can possess extraordinary glory, wealth, and power. Dani listened and decided to learn more practical folklore knowledge.He learned quickly and was often praised by his aunt, but the village boys gradually became afraid of him.This convinced him that he would soon be a master. In this way, he followed his aunt to learn word by word and art by art. When he was twelve years old, he had already learned most of the spells that his aunt knew.Although my aunt didn't know much, a witch in a small village had those enough to use; as for a twelve-year-old child, those spells alone were too much.What my aunt taught Dani was all the herbal medicine she knew, and all the techniques of searching, binding, mending, untying, and exposing.The stories, songs and heroic deeds she knew were sung to Dani one by one.She taught Dani all the mantras she learned from the sorcerer in the past.In addition, Dany learned many different tricks, illusions, and sideshows from the weather masters and jugglers who roamed the villages of Chatan and East Woods.Dany's first opportunity to use a spell to prove that he had power within him was one of the above-mentioned little spells. At that time, the Karg Empire was rich and powerful.They ruled the four major islands between the northern frontier and the eastern frontier, Karigu, Etuan, Huerhu, and Ernini.The language of the Kargs is not the same as that of the archipelago or other frontier peoples.They are uncivilized barbarians, with white skin and yellow hair, ferocious nature, love to see blood, and love to smell the smell of burning cities.Last year, they attacked the Tuolikou Islands and the mighty Tuohewen Island. The fleet composed of a large number of red sailboats was an important force for their invasion.In fact, news of the attack had already spread north to Gont Island, but the owners of Gont Island were busy with their private affairs and did not pay much attention to the disasters on neighboring islands. After Vittorikou and Tohovin, Spevi Island was next ravaged and its people reduced to slavery.To this day, it remains an island of ruins.Following the greed of conquest, the Kargs continued to sail to the island of Gont. Thirty longships sailed to Donggang in a mighty manner, and began to attack the whole town of Donggang.One battle was won, but it was set on fire when the battle was over.Afterwards, they left their ships at the mouth of the Aer River and sent troops to guard them. Then they marched up the valley, burning, killing and looting, not letting people or animals be spared;The islanders who managed to escape in the catastrophe brought the warning to the high ground.Within a few days, in Shiyang Village, you can see the black smoke covering the sky in the east.The villagers who fled to the high cliff that night saw thick smoke and flames in the valley below.The harvest fields were set on fire, the orchards were burned, the fruit on the trees was scorched, and the barns and farmhouses were slowly burning to gray and black ruins. Some villagers lived on the mountain and fled into the canyon and hid in the woods; some villagers made preparations to fight to save their lives;The witch was one of the escapees. She ran to the cave in Capodine Cliff, sealed the entrance of the cave with magic, and hid in it alone.Dany's father, a coppersmith, was one of those left behind, because he would not leave behind the furnace and boiler that had served him for fifty years.He rushed to work all night, and made all the available metals into spear points. The villagers who stayed with him didn't care about further trimming, so they quickly tied those spear points to the wooden handles of hoes, rakes and other agricultural tools, because there was no time to make suitable ones. The wooden handle is gone.Ten Yang Village has always had no combat weapons except for ordinary hunting bows and short knives.After all, Gongtuo mountain people are not warlike people, they are not famous as warriors but as sheep thieves, pirates, and wizards. At sunrise the next day, there was a thick white fog on the highlands, just like the usual autumn on the island.On the streets extending in all directions of Shiyang Village, the villagers held hunting bows and newly forged spears one by one, standing among the huts and houses waiting.They didn't know whether the Kargs were far or near, so they could only stare silently at the white mist that hid the shape, distance and danger in front of them, preventing them from seeing clearly. Dani was also among the villagers who stayed behind to fight.The whole night before, he kept operating the blast furnace, busy pushing and pulling the two long sleeves, constantly blowing air into the blast furnace, so at this time in the morning, his arms were already shaking with pain, and even the one he had chosen Spear, can't hold it well.He didn't know how to fight like this, or how it would help himself or the villagers. Thinking that I am only a child, but will be stabbed to death by the spears of the Kargs; I still don't know my real name, which represents the real name of an adult, and I will report to the underworld, and I can't help but panic .He lowered his head to look at his thin arms, which were already wet due to the cold fog.He knew that he had always been arrogant, so the powerlessness at this moment made him angry in vain.His inner strength is powerful, as long as he knows how to use it.He scoured all the spells he'd learned, weighing which ones would come in handy -- or at least give him and his fellow villagers a chance.Unfortunately, "need" alone is not enough to unleash power, "knowledge" is needed. In the bright sky, the sun hangs high, illuminating the mountain tops without any shade.The heat of the sun caused the surrounding fog to drift away, and the villagers could see clearly that a team was climbing up the mountain.They wore helmets and greaves of brass, and breastplates of leather, and carried shields of wood and brass, with swords and kargs on them.Along the twisting and dangerous bank of the Aer River, the team formed a procession with spears, feathers and kuangdang paintings, and moved forward meanderingly.The distance between them and Shiyang Village was so close that the villagers could see their white faces and hear their voices shouting their dialects to each other.The invading army in front of us is about a hundred people, not many; but the men and boys in Shiyang Village only have eighteen people in total. At this time, "need" called out "knowledge": seeing the thick fog on the path ahead of the Kargs gradually clearing, Dani thought of a spell that might work.Previously, an old man in the valley area who was good at weather arts taught him several spells in order to win Dani to be his apprentice, one of which was called "fog creation", which was a binding technique, which could bind the fog and make the gather somewhere for a while.Not only that, but those who make good use of this illusion can also shape the cloud into a ghostly ghost, and let it last for a while before dissipating.Dany doesn't know that kind of illusion, but his intentions are different, and he has the ability to turn this spell to his own.With the idea in place, he immediately announced a few locations and areas of the village out loud, then recited the fog-making spell, and added the spell of concealment to the spell, and finally, he shouted out the spell to activate the magic. Just when he finished casting the spell, his father came from behind and hit him hard on the side of the head, causing him to fall to the ground. "Stupid, be quiet! If you don't have the skills to fight, just close that mouth that keeps reading and find a place to hide!" Dany stood up on his legs, and he could hear the Kargs at the end of the village, by the tall yew tree by the tanner's front yard, talking clearly, as well as the clang of harness and weapons. You can see, but you can't see people.The thickening fog enveloped the whole village, diluting the brightness of the sun, and the surroundings were misty. In the end, you can't see your fingers when you stretch out your hands. "I've hidden everyone in the fog," Dani said in displeasure, because his father's knock gave him a terrible headache, and with the addition of two sets of spells, his strength gradually weakened. "I will try my best to hold on to this thick fog, and you tell them to lead the enemy to the high cliff." The coppersmith saw his son standing in the eerie thick fog, looking like a ghost, and it took him a minute to understand what Dani meant.He immediately ran quietly, knowing every hedge and every corner of the village.After running quickly to find the villagers, he quickly explained the method of action.Now there was a faint red light in the gray fog that looked like the Kargs had set fire to the thatched roof of a house.However, the Kargs have not yet climbed up the mountain and entered the village. Instead, they pause outside the village, hoping to wait for the thick fog to clear before entering the village to slaughter and plunder. The Moutai that was burned was the house of the leather craftsman.The tanner made his two sons flee outside the house, shouted insults at the Kargs, and slipped away, their figures completely lost in the fog.And my lord crawled away from behind the hedge, ran past the cottages, and when he was almost at the end of the village, he aimed his arrows and spears at the assembled enemy fighters.A Karg rolled through his body with a freshly forged spear, still hot in many hands, and rolled to the ground in pain.The rest of the soldiers who were wounded by the arrows were furious and rushed forward, trying to chop off these attackers who were so weak that they couldn't even look at them, but they found that there was a thick fog all around, and only the voices of people were heard, but no one was seen.They could only swing the huge spears in their hands that were decorated with feathers and stained with blood, and stab forward following the sound.These foreign fighters just ran along the street roaring, unaware that they had crossed the entire village.In the gray fog, empty huts loomed and disappeared.The villagers scattered and ran, and most of them kept running in front of the enemy, because the village belonged to them, of course the road was hot.Only a few boys and old men ran slowly, and the Kargs stepped them on the ground, picked up their swords and spears, and slashed wildly, shouting the name of the Shuangbai God of Etuan Island: "Uluo! Ava!" Some warriors stopped when they noticed that the ground was getting rough under their feet; but others kept going, chasing shapes that swam but couldn't catch them, hoping to find the ghostly village they wanted to attack.The whole fog seemed to be alive because of the many dodging, flickering shapes flying in all directions.A group of Karg soldiers chased the ghost until it reached a high cliff—the cliff above the source of the Aer River. Who knew that the ghost suddenly disappeared in the thinning mist when they chased here, but they themselves passed through the fog and the sudden The sun that came out screamed and fell down a hundred-foot high cliff, into the rock and into the water of the pool.The soldiers who arrived later and did not fall stood on the edge of the cliff and listened. Now fear crept into the hearts of the Kargs, and they stopped chasing the villagers and began to search for their comrades in the strange fog.They gathered at the foot of the mountain, but there were always strange figures entangled around them, or figures with spears and knives stabbed from behind and then disappeared.The Kargs hurried down the mountain, stumbled and did not dare to make a sound. They did not stop until they escaped from the mist and saw clearly the river and canyon below the mountain village bathed in the morning light.When they looked back, they saw that the path was completely covered by a floating gray wall, and everything behind the gray wall was completely hidden.From the gray wall, two or three soldiers appeared one after another, with spears across their shoulders, and although they staggered, they still rushed forward.The Kargs who got out of the thick fog, no one looked back for a second time, and all hurriedly fled this magic land. When they arrived at Mianbei Valley at the foot of the mountain, those soldiers faced a tough battle.All the men of the towns of the East Wood, from Owak to the shore, gathered all their men against the invasion of Gont.They came down the slope in groups, and on the same day and the next day, the Kargs were tightly packed and driven to the beach north of Donggang.There the Kargs found their ships all burnt, with no way out, and having fought back to sea, they were all annihilated.The sand at the estuary of the Aer River was stained brown with black blood, and was washed away only when the tide came. That morning, the mist lingered in Shichang Village and the high cliffs for a while, and then disappeared in a flash.After the fog cleared, the villagers stood in the beautiful sunshine blown by the autumn wind and looked around, unable to figure out why.Here on the ground lay a dead Karg soldier with disheveled yellow hair and blood; The house that was set on fire in the village continued to burn.Since it was the village side that won the battle, everyone ran to put out the fire.Near the yew tree in the street, the villagers found the coppersmith's son standing alone, unmarked, but as silent as a frightened man.So, everyone realized what Dani had done just now, and immediately took him into his father's house, and quickly went to find the witch out of the cave, and tried their best to heal the child who saved everyone's life and property.In total, only four villagers were killed by the Kargs in this battle, and only one house was burned. The little boy didn't have a weapon wound on his body, but he didn't eat or sleep and didn't speak, as if he couldn't hear others talking to him at all, and he couldn't see the people who came to visit him.None of the reasons that led to his death were cured by the witch doctor.My aunt said: "It's the relationship between excessive use of internal force." However, she has no magic power to heal. Dani was lethargic and bedridden.But he frightened away the Karg warriors by playing with fog and shadows, and immediately spread the story to ten or ten, and the islanders in North Valley, East Forest, the top of the mountain and the end of the mountain, and even the islanders in Gont Harbor, all heard the story.So, on the fifth day of the massacre at the mouth of the Aer River, a stranger walked into the village of Shichang.The stranger was neither young nor old, cloaked and hatless, easily holding a long oak staff as tall as him, walking slowly.However, when most people go to Shiyang Village, they usually go up the Aer River, but this stranger came down from the forest on the mountain.When the women in the village saw him, they knew that this man was a wizard, and after hearing what he said that miscellaneous diseases could be cured, they led him directly to the coppersmith's house. The stranger dispersed the villagers, leaving Dani's father and aunt alone. He bent down to look at Dani lying on the crib, then pressed his hand on the boy's forehead and touched the boy's lips at the same time. Dani sat up slowly and looked around.After a while, he spoke, and gradually his strength and hunger returned. They gave Lennie something to eat and drink, and Dany went back to bed after eating, but his dark eyes kept looking suspiciously at the stranger beside the bed. The coppersmith said to the stranger, "You are not ordinary." "In the future, this boy will not be an ordinary person." The other party replied: "I live in Reyabai Town, and the story of this boy manipulating the thick fog has spread to our town. If everyone is right, this boy is still alive." There is no coming-of-age ceremony, and I am preparing to enter adulthood, so the purpose of my trip is to give him his real name." The witch whispered to the coppersmith: "Brother, this man must be the mage of Reyabai Town, Ogion the Reticent, the mage who once subdued the earthquake..." The coppersmith never wanted to be intimidated by his fame, so he said, "Sir, my son will only turn thirteen this month. We originally planned to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for him at the Sunday Hui Banquet this year." "It would be better to give him his real name as soon as possible," said the mage, "because he needs his own name. Now, I have other things to do, but I will come back on the day you choose. If you think it is appropriate, the ceremony is over. I will take him back with me. If he is suitable, I will accept him as an apprentice, or send him to a place of study that suits his aptitude. Because the mind of a mage is born, it is dangerous to stay in the dark .” Ogion spoke very softly, but his intentions were firm, and even the hard-headed coppersmith was persuaded to agree. The day the child turned thirteen was a bright early autumn day, and the leaves were still fresh on the branches.Ogion came back from his travels on Mount Gont, and the coming-of-age ceremony was being held.The aunt witch took the name "Dani" from the boy's mother when he was born.Without his name, he stepped naked into the cool spring of the Aer River--the source is located among the rocks below the high cliff.When he stepped into the water, the cloud covered the sun, and a large black shadow covered the water around the boy.The boy walked across the pool to the farther bank.Although the water made him shiver with cold, he still walked slowly through the icy running water with his body upright according to the ritual.Ogion, who was waiting there, put his hand on the boy's arm, and whispered to him his real name: "Ged." This is how a wise man who knew the efficacy of power gave him his true name. At that time, it was still early for the feast to end.The whole village had fun, because the food was rich and there was also beer to drink. They also invited singers from the valley area under the mountain to sing the ballad "Dragon Lord's Friendship" during the banquet.Ogysey the mage said to Ged in a quiet voice, "Come, boy, say goodbye to your people, and let them continue the feast." Ged took his things with him: a fine brass knife, which his father had made for him; a fur coat, which the widow of the tanner had made for him; Cheng, equal to him, and blessed by his aunt.These three things are all his belongings except clothes and trousers.He said goodbye to everyone: these villagers are all he knows.After glancing back at the village of Ten Poplars crouching below the cliffs above the headwaters, Ged and his new master set out on the road through the steep woodlands of the Lonely Island and through the foliage of a bright autumn day.