Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Shadow

Ged thought that as an apprentice of the Archmage, he would be able to plunge into the mystery of power immediately; he would understand the language of beasts and leaves in the forest; You can turn into a stag and run with your master, or spread eagle wings and fly over Mount Gongte to the town of Reyabai. But the reality is far from hoped.They walked forward at a leisurely pace, first walking from the mountain to the valley area, then slowly going south around the mountain, and then heading west. Their mentors and apprentices are no different from ordinary poor wandering warlocks, tinkerers, and beggars. They stay in small villages along the way, or spend the night in the wild.They have not entered into any mysterious realm.Nothing happened.When Ged first saw the mage's oak staff, he was filled with longing and awe, but it was not long before he saw that it was only a thick staff for walking.Three days passed, and four days passed, and still Ogion had not taught him a single spell, nor taught him any name, rune, or spell at all.

Ogion was very peaceful, though silent, and Ged was soon no longer afraid.So within a day or two, he dared to ask his master with confidence: "Teacher, when will I start learning art?" "It has begun," said Ogion. Ged was silent, as if swallowing the words of his heart.After a while, he still said: "But I haven't learned anything!" "That's because you haven't realized what I'm teaching you." The mage replied, while continuing to walk forward with long legs.They were walking on the mountain road between Owak and Weiss.The master, like most Gontites, was dusky, copper-brown, gray-haired, lean and strong like a hound, and resilient.He doesn't talk much, eat less, and sleep less, but his eyes and ears are extremely sharp, and his face often shows a listening attitude.

Ged didn't answer.Answering a mage is not always easy. After a while, Ogion, who was striding, said: "You want to operate the spell, and frankly, you have drawn too much water from that spring. Wait. It takes patience to grow a man, and spells need patience. times that. What kind of herb is that by the roadside?" "Yellow grass flower." "What about that?" "do not know." "People call it a four-leaf clover." Ogion paused, pointing at the weeds by the roadside with the copper tip of his staff.Ged looked closely at it, and plucked a dried pod.Since Ogion said nothing more, he asked, "Master, what is the use of this herb?"

"I don't know anything about it." Ged carried the pod on for a while, then threw it away. "After you understand the four-leaf clover's roots, leaves, and flowers in the four seasons from the appearance, smell, and seeds of the four-leaf clover, you will know its real name and understand the essence of its existence. This is better than knowing it. What is your use? What is your use? What is my use? Is it the Gont mountain or the open sea?” After walking about half a mile, Ogion said: To listen, you must first be silent." The boy frowned. He didn't like being told that he felt like a fool.But he pushed back his displeasure and impatience, and tried to appear submissive, hoping that by doing so Ogion would teach him something, for he was eager to learn, eager to gain power.Yet Ged also seemed to be beginning to think that he could learn more by taking a walk with any herb-man or village-manager.When the two of them traveled westward around the mountain road, passed Weiss, and entered the remote forest, Ged became more and more confused about the greatness of Ogion, the great mage, and what kind of magic he possessed.Because whenever it rains, Ogion doesn't even mention the move rainstorm spell that every weather master knows.On islands like Gont or Enlad, where sorcerers gather, it is often possible to see dark clouds slowly falling from here to there and rolling from here to there, because the magic will continue to push the dark clouds to another place, Until two places above the sea surface where you can rest assured to fall.But Ogion let the rain fall where it liked, and he would find a good fir-tree and lie under it.Squatting wet and sulking among the dripping bushes, Ged wondered what was the use of strength if he was too wise to use it?He would rather follow the old weather master in the valley area, and be his apprentice, at least he can still work and sleep.Ged said nothing, did not speak of what was in his heart.His master smiled, and then fell asleep in the rain.

After returning from the day, when the first heavy snow fell on the top of Gont Mountain, the master and apprentice arrived at the home of Ogian in Dariyabai Town.The small town of Ruiyabai is located on the edge of the rock in Gaoling, and the name of the town means "Falcon Eagle's Nest".Entering the town high on the hills, you can see the deep harbor and port towers in the distance, and you can also see the ships entering and leaving the bay gate between the majestic double cliffs.To the west, across the sea, the blue mountains of Aurenia can be vaguely seen.Aurenia is the far eastern island of the Inner Ring.

Although the mage's wooden house is large and well-built, the heating inside is the same as the thatched hut in Shiyang Village, with fireplaces and chimneys instead of fire pits.The whole house is just one room, and a sheep shed is built outside one side.There was an alcove-like recess in the west wall, where Ged slept.There was a window above the straw bed, which looked out over the sea, but the shutters were often closed to keep out the strong winds that blew all winter from the west and north. Ged passed a long, dark and warm day in this house, and every day he heard either the wind and rain blowing outside, or the silence when it snowed.He began to learn to write and read "Six Hundred Runes of Hittite".He was very happy to learn this knowledge, because without this, those rote spells and spells cannot give a person real abilities.The Hittite language of the Archipelago is not more magical than other human languages, but it has its roots in the ancient language.In the ancient language, the names of all objects are their real names. If you want to understand the ancient language, you must first learn runes, which are symbols that were written as early as when the universal islands emerged from the ocean.

Still no miracles or magic happened.All winter was nothing but turning the heavy pages of the Runebook, falling, and snowing; Ogion might come home after roaming the icy woods, might come in after tending the sheep, and stamp the snow off his boots, quietly Sit quietly by the fire.Then the mage listened for a long time without speaking, and the silence would fill the room, fill Ged's mind, until even Ogion seemed to have forgotten what words were; and when Ogion finally spoke, it was as if he had just invented words It seemed, however, that Ogion did not speak of great things, but such simple things as bread and water, weather and sleep.

When spring comes, it brightens up in a blink of an eye.Ogion often sent Ged to gather herbs on the grassy slopes above the town of Riaby, and told Ged to stay as long as he liked, and leave him to himself all day, walking the banks of the rain-filled streams and through the woods in the sun and wet green fields.Ged went out happily every time, and did not come back until evening; but he did not forget about the herbs. When he climbed mountains, wandered, forded streams, and explored, he looked for them carefully, and always brought back some.Once, he walked to a meadow between two streams, which was covered with a wild flower called "White Sacred Flower".As the flower was so rare and highly prized by the healers, Ged went to pick it again the next day, but someone else arrived before him, a girl.He had seen the girl before and knew she was the daughter of the old town lord Reya Bai.Ged didn't want to talk to her, but she came over and said hello to him happily: "I know who you are. You are Sparrowhawk, the master student of our mages. I hope you will tell me some spells!"

Ged looked down at the white flowers that touched the hem of her white dress, and at first he felt shy and displeased, and made little answer, but the girl went on, and Ged gradually felt the same in her generous, carefree, spontaneous manner. Take it easy.The girl was tall, about Ged's age, with a sallow complexion so pale it was almost white.It was said in the village that her mother was from Osskor or some Outer Isle who knew it.The girl's long straight hair hangs down like a black waterfall.Ged thought she was ugly, but even as they talked a desire grew within him to please her and win her admiration.The girl prompted him to tell the whole story of how he used to defeat the Karg warriors with tricks and mist shadows.When she listened, she seemed fascinated and admired, but she didn't say any words of praise.After a while, she changed the subject and asked, "Can you call the birds and beasts to your side?"

"Yes," said Ged. He knew that there was a falcon's nest in the cliff above the meadow, so he called the falcon's name and called it down.The falcon came, but refused to perch on Ged's wrist, obviously retreating because of the girl's presence.Hearing the falcon hawk's loud cry, it flew into the sky after flapping its wide, striped wings. "What's the name of this spell that makes Falcon Eagle come here?" "Summoning." "Can you also call the undead to your side?" Ged thought she was teasing him with the question, as Falcon had not fully obeyed Ged's call just now.He didn't want her to make fun of her, so he said calmly, "If I want to summon, there is a way."

"Isn't it difficult and dangerous to summon a soul?" "It's hard, but is it dangerous?" Ged shrugged. This time, he was sure that the girl had admiration in her eyes. "Can you cast a love spell, too?" "That is not a superb skill." "That's right," the girl said, "any village witch can do it. Then can you change spells? Can you change your appearance at will like the wizards everyone talks about?" Again Ged wasn't sure if she was teasing him with the question, so again he answered, "I can change if I want to." The girl began to beg Ged to change into any shape he wanted, an eagle, a bull, a flame, or a tree.Ged was able to put off the girl for a while with some flashy words from his master, but he didn't know how to refuse her flattery if she tried to persuade her;He reasoned that Master Fa was waiting for him to go home, so he left, and did not return to the grass the next day. However, the next day he went again.He told himself that he should gather more flowers while the flowers were in full bloom.When I went there, the girl was there, and the two of them stepped on the wet grass together with bare feet, pulling out the white holy flowers on the ground.The spring sun was shining brightly, and the girl was as cheerful as the shepherdess of Gond when she spoke to Ged.She asked about Ged's nightmares again, and listened with wide-eyed eyes to what he said, which made Ged boast again.Then the girl asked him if he would not cast the Changing spell, and when Ged refused again, the girl watched him push the black hair back from his face, and said, "Aren't you frightened?" "I'm not afraid." She smiled slightly contemptuously and said, "Probably you are too young." It was too much for Ged to swallow.He didn't say much, but he was determined to prove his ability to her.He told her that if she wanted to see it, she would come back to the meadow tomorrow, and then left.When Ged came home, the master was not back.He went straight to the bookshelf and took down the two "Folk Custom Books" on the shelf.Ogion hadn't flipped through those two books in front of him. He searched for the records of his Transfiguration, but because the runes were slow to read and he couldn't understand them, he couldn't find them.These two books were very old, and Ogion had them from his master Hare the Far-Watcher; and the Far-Watcher Harley in turn got it from his master, the Archmage Pejorgal, so it can be traced back to the age of mythology.The characters in the book are small and strange, and have been rewritten and supplemented by different handwritings in the past dynasties. Now the people who wrote those handwritings have returned to dust.Ged, however, managed to read, and understood here and there here and there.Since the girl's questions and teasing kept circling in his mind, he stopped as soon as he turned to the page of summoning the dead. Just as Fugger had to read and decipher those runes and symbols one by one, a wave of fear rose in his heart.His eyes seemed to be nailed and could not be moved until the entire spell was read. He raised his head and found that the room was dark.He had been without a cigarette just now, and had been reading in the dark.Now that he was looking down at the pages, the runes could no longer be read, and yet the fear grew within him, as if binding him to the chair.He felt chilly, and when he turned his head to look around, he seemed to see something crouching against the closed door, a shapeless black shadow darker than darkness.The black shadow seemed to be approaching him, and whispered, calling him softly, but he heard more than just those words. At this time, the door suddenly opened wide, and a man with white light all over entered the room.The huge, bright figure spoke suddenly and violently, dispelling the shadows, and the small voice of the call died away. Although the fear in Ged's heart passed away, he was still extremely disturbed - because the mage Ogion stood at the door shining all over, and the oak staff in his hand also emitted a dazzling white light. The mage said nothing. He passed Ged, lit the lamp, and put the book back on the shelf.Then he turned to the boy and said, "Casting that kind of spell will definitely put your strength and life in danger. Did you read those two books because of that kind of spell?" "No, master." The boy murmured before telling Ogion what he was looking for, and why, in shame. "Don't you remember what I told you? The girl's mother is the town lord's wife and a witch." Ogion did say it once, but Ged paid little heed.He knew now that there was good reason for everything Ogion told him. "The girl herself is already a half-witch. Maybe it was the mother who sent her daughter to talk to you. Turned the page you were reading just now, and maybe it was her too. She does not serve the same forces as I do. Yes, I don't understand her thoughts, but I know she has no kindness for me. Listen, Ged, has it never occurred to you why danger must surround power as shadow must surround light? Magic is not us A game played for fun or to be admired. Think of every word we say and every action we do in our spells, either for good or for evil. So before opening your mouth or acting, you must know the afterthought price!" Ged cried out in shame, "You have taught me nothing, how should I know these things? I have done nothing and seen nothing since I lived with you—" "You have seen something now," said the Archmage, "by the dark door when I came in." Ged was silent. Ogion knelt by the hearth and lit a fire, as it was cold in the room.Still on his knees he said calmly to Ged: "Ged, my little falcon, you need not bind me or serve me. It was not you who came to me, but I to you. You were too young to make that choice, But I can't choose for you. If you really want to learn so much, I will send you to Roke Island, where all the good spells are taught, and there You can learn any art you set your mind to, Because your strength is great - but I hope that is stronger than your pride. I would also like to keep you here with me, because what I have is what you lack, but I will not keep you either, Against your will. Now you decide for yourself whether you will stay in Riabai or go to Roke Island. " Ged stood stupefied, bewildered.He had grown fond of this Ogion in these days, and he had healed him at a touch without anger.Ged did not realize now that he loved him.He stared at the wooden stick leaning against the corner of the chimney, and thought of the light that the wooden stick had just bloomed, driving away the evil in the darkness.He longed to stay with Ogion, to go on walking through the forest with him, long and far to learn how to be still.However, another kind of longing was also throbbing in his heart. He looked forward to glory and wanted to act.To be skilled in spells, following Ogion seems to be a long road, an unnamed path that takes time, but he may actually sail directly to the Inner Sea against the wind, and land on the "Isle of the Wise", where the air is transformed by magic. And bright, there is the archmage walking in miracles. "I'm going to Roke, Master," he said. So, some days later, on a sunny spring morning, Ogion and Ged strode down the steep slopes of the High Hills, and walked fifteen miles to the great port of Gont.The guards guarding the Diaolong Gate of Gongtuo City raised their swords and knelt down to greet He Lin when they saw the mage He Lin.The guards knew Ogion, and they had always treated him as their honored guest, partly by order of the castellan and partly of his own free will, for Ogion had saved the city from an earthquake ten years before.If it hadn't been for Ogion, the earthquake would have leveled the towers of the rich and knocked down rocks to block the channel between the mighty cliffs.It was by good fortune that Ogion spoke to Mount Gont, and pacified it, as of a frightened beast, and the trembling of the cliffs of the High Ridge was stilled.Ged had heard it mentioned before, and he remembered the anecdote only now, when he saw the guards kneeling before his silent master. He glanced up at the man who had subdued the earthquake, and was almost afraid, but Ogion's face was as calm as ever. They went down to the pier, and the harbor master hurried over to welcome Ogion, and asked if there was anything he could do for him.The mage explained the situation, and the port master immediately said that there was a ship going to the Inner Pole Sea, and Ged could take the ship as a passenger. "If he knew spells, they might have made him a Windcatcher, because there's no Weathermaster on that ship." "The boy knows how to make fog, but not the sea wind," said the mage, putting his hand lightly on Ged's shoulder. "Sparrowhawk, you are still a landman, and don't mind the sea and the sea wind. Harbor Master, What's the name of that ship?" "Called Sombra, loaded with furs and ivory from the Andro Isles, bound for Hott. A good ship, Master Ogion." The Archmage's face darkened when he heard the name of the ship, but he said, "Take that ship, Sparrowhawk, and take this letter to the guardians of Roke. Good luck, and farewell!" Ogion's parting words ended there.As soon as he had finished speaking, he turned and strode up the street from the pier, while Ged stood alone, watching his master go. "Young man, come with me." Said the port master, and took Shide to the pier where "Shadow" was about to set sail. It seemed strange for a child to grow up on an island fifty miles wide, in a village under a cliff facing the sea all the time, who had never boarded a boat or put his finger in salt water.But it is what it is.This landman had been a farmer, a shepherd boy, a cowherd boy, a hunter, and a craftsman, and he regarded the sea as a salty and impermanent realm that had nothing to do with him.Another village two days away from his own village is a strange place; another island one day away from his own island is purely a rumor, and the vast hills overlooking the sea are not like the solid land he walks on. So to Ged, who had never come down from the mountains, the port of Gont was a place both forbidding and amazing.There are about half a hundred ships in the wharf, dock, and Dianbo port. Some are moored by the port, some are towed for repairs, and some are settled at the port with sails and paddles; sailors speak loudly in strange dialects; Workers carry heavy loads on their backs and run quickly past buckets, boxes, cables, oar piles, etc.; bearded businessmen in plush robes walk carefully on the sticky stone road while talking The fish catches; the barrel maker knocks and knocks, the boat builder beats and beats; the crab seller yells and sells;Beyond the stillness of all this lies the bay of waves.Ged, whose eyes, ears and brain were deeply shocked, followed the port master to the wide wharf where 'Shadow' was moored, and then the port master angrily went to see the captain. Since it was a matter entrusted by the mage, without a few words, the captain agreed to allow Ged to go to Roke Island as a passenger.The harbor master then left the boy alone with the captain. Sombra's captain was tall and stout, in a red cloak trimmed with fur, like most of the Android Isles merchants.He didn't even look at Ged, but asked, "You know how to control the weather, boy?" "meeting." "Can you call the wind?" Ged could only say no. As soon as he said no, the captain asked him to find a place out of the way. At this time, the oarsmen boarded the boat one after another.The ship was scheduled to sail to the berth outside the harbor before the evening, and planned to take advantage of the low tide at dawn to set sail. Ged couldn't find a place out of the way, so he crawled as far as he could to where the cargo was piled up in the stern, and clung to it, watching everything.The oarsmen jumped into the boat, all strong men with strong arms.The dockworkers waved the buckets to the dock and installed them under the oarsmen's benches.This well-built ship has a large load capacity and a deep draft, but it will tremble a little when pushed and pushed by the waves on the shore.The helmsman takes his position to the right of the stern post, awaiting the captain's order.The skipper sat on a support plank where the keel met the bow, which was carved with the ancient serpentine form of Andro.After the captain yelled the order to sail, the "Shadow" was unmoored and pulled away from the dock by two rowboats.Then, the captain shouted: "Open the oar eyes!" Fifteen large oars on each side clicked and started to row simultaneously.A little boy next to the captain was in charge of playing the drums, and the oarsmen arched their backs and rowed to the sound of the drums.Like a seagull spreading its wings, the boat rowed out with ease.The turbulent and noisy voices of the harbor city were left behind at once and entered the quiet waters of the bay.The peak of Gongte Mountain juts out of the water, as if suspended in the sea. The boat was thrown out in a shallow bay on the south side of Xiongwu Shuangya by mistake, and the boat was moored in the night. Several of the seventy sailors on board were as young as Ged, but they had all had their bar mitzvah.The young men invited Ged to come and dine with them.The sailors, though rough and taunting with their jokes, were friendly. They called Ged "the sheep-herder"--of course, for Ged was a Gont.But other than that, there was nothing disrespectful about the sailors.Ged's appearance was as tall and strong as a fifteen-year-old boy's, and he was quick enough to be praised or teased by others, so he was quite popular on the ship.Even on the first night he got along with everyone and started to learn the work of the ship.This was very much to the liking of the officers on board, for there was no room for idle passengers on board. Crowded with men and rigging and cargo, there was little space for the crew, and no comfort at all, in an undecked ship, but what was Ged's comfort?That night, lying on the stern of the boat in bundles of North Island raw furs, he looked up at the spring night sky above the harbor and at the yellow lights of the city in the distance, waking and sleeping, full of joy.Before dawn, the tide receded, and they lifted the anchor, and gently rowed the boat out of the sea from between the two majestic cliffs.As the sun rose reddening the hills of Gont behind them, they hoisted their mainsails and sailed southwest across the Sea of ​​Gont. A gentle wind carried them past Banisque and Tohowin.The next day, the Great Isle of Havnor, the "heart" and "hearth" of the Archipelago, was in sight.For two whole days afterward they could see the green hills of the island as they drove along the eastern shore of Havnor, but they did not land.In a few years Ged would have a chance to set foot on this land, or behold the white towers of the great harbor of Havnor in the center of the world. They stayed overnight at the mouth of Kember, a harbor on the north shore of Way Island; on the second day, they spent the night at a small town at the mouth of Fakeway Bay;There they lowered the sails and changed to oars, because there is always land on one side of this area, and they must be able to greet other ships, whether they are large or small ships or merchants. The goods come from the outer frontier region; some jump like sparrows, only traveling between the islands of the Inner Pole Sea. After turning from the bustling city of Ivanor Strait, they sailed with their backs to Havnor Island, passing two islands of only medium size, but with many cities, Ark and Irian.Then, on the voyage from the Inner Pole to Roke, two gale began to fall. At night, when the wind picked up, they lowered sails and masts.Paddle all day the next day.Although the long ship lay flat on the waves and moved majesticly forward, the helmsman at the helm at the stern could see nothing but torrential rain as he watched the rain beating the sea.Guided by the magnet, they turned to the southwest. Although they still knew how to drive, they didn't know that they were crossing the Shiqing waters.The sailor spoke of the sandbanks to the north of Roke, and the Rock of Poliles to the east of Roke.Ged listened quietly.It has been argued that they may have been in open water south of Komery Island long ago by now. The sea breeze became stronger and stronger, and the huge waves that were blown into pieces turned into splashes of water.Although they still paddled to the southwest, everyone's paddling hours were reduced, because paddling was very hard in the wind and rain.Even younger oarsmen are assigned two people to take charge of one oar.Ged had been rowing the oars in shifts like the rest of the sailors since sailing from Gont.Those without oars asked for water, for the sea was driving heavily into the boat.The waves blown by the strong wind are like smoky mountains running wildly.Everyone let the wind and rain hit their backs. Although it was painful and cold, they never stopped.The drumbeat cut through the rumble of the storm like a heartbeat. A sailor ran to replace Ged's oarsman and told him to go to the bow and find the captain.On the hem of the captain's cloak, despite the rain, he stood firm like a cask on the deck.He looked down at Ged, and asked, "Can you make the wind less, lad?" "No, sir." "Can you deal with iron?" What the captain meant was, could Ged turn the needle of the compass so that it pointed in the direction of Roke—that is, in the direction they wanted, not north.That skill was one of the sea-master's tricks, but Ged still insisted he couldn't. "In this case you must wait for us to reach the town of Hult, and find another boat to take you to Roke Island. For now, Roke Island must be west of us, but such wind and rain, only by witchcraft can take us to sail this sea to Roke Isle. And our ship must keep going south." Ged didn't like the captain's arrangement, because he had heard the sailors talk about Hult Town, and he knew what a lawless place it was: the ships doing bad things, and many people were captured and bought as slaves to the South End. He returned to his original rowing position and joined forces with his partner, a sturdy android teenager.His ears heard the drum beat; his eyes watched the lantern hanging by the stern dance with the wind: that lantern was a tormented gleam in the twilight rain.Ged looked as far west as he could, as long as there was room in the rhythm of the oars.Once, when the boat was lifted high by the waves, on the dark and misty sea, between the clouds, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a little light, which looked like the afterglow of the setting sun, but it was not the red of the setting sun, but a clear light. His paddling partner didn't see the light, but he yelled that it did.Every time the ship was lifted high by the waves, the helmsman looked desperately, and finally saw the light that Ged said, but he roared back that it was the afterglow of the setting sun.So Ged asked a young man who was drawing water to draw a prize for him, and managed to walk through the narrow space between the benches.When walking, he had to hold on to the edge of Diaolong's boat so as not to fall overboard.At the prow he called to the captain, "Sir! That light to the west is Roke!" "I don't see any light!" shouted the captain.Ged hurriedly stretched out his hand, and as a result, on the west side of the stormy sea with huge waves, everyone saw the bright spot shining clearly. Immediately the captain shouted to the helmsman to sail west, towards the light.He is not for his passengers, but for keeping his ship from another storm.He said to Ged, "My dear, you talk like a sea-wizard. But I tell you, if you take us in the wrong direction in this wretched weather, I'll throw you out of the boat and make you swim." To Roke Isle!" Now, instead of racing ahead of the storm, they had to row across the wind.This was difficult because the water was always pushing the ship south of the new course because the waves were pounding the ship's beam.Moreover, the sea water poured into the boat again and again, and the action of pumping water could not stop for a while.And the oarsmen must also be careful, lest when the boat is struggling to move forward, the oars they push out will be eaten into the sea water, and then they will be thrown between the benches. Because of the storm, the sky was darkened by dark clouds, but they could sometimes see the light in the west, which was enough to adjust their course accordingly and push forward.Finally, the wind weakened slightly, and the light gradually grew larger.They kept paddling, and it seemed that with each stroke they avoided the storm a little more and entered the clear air a little more.It was like passing through a curtain into a clear world where the sky and the sea glow red after sunset.Looking over the top of the waves, they could see not far away a high round green hill, and just below the hill was a small town built in a small bay, where the ships were anchored quietly. Leaning on his long oar, the helmsman cried out, "Sir! Is that real land? Or is it witchcraft?" "You mindless fool, keep going! Come on, you spineless slaves! Any fool can see that it's Suir Bay, and the Yuanzheng of Roke Isle Yah! Row!" So the oarsmen wearily rowed the boat into the bay with the sound of drums.The bay was very quiet without wind or rain, so they could hear the town's market and bells, far away from the loud roar of the storm.North, east, and south, about a mile around the island, dark clouds hung high; but above Roke, in the calm, cloudless sky, stars were breaking out and shining.