Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Wizard School

Ged slept on Sombra that night, and bid farewell to his first sea comrades early the next morning.When he climbed onto the pier, everyone cheered and shouted their blessings behind him. The town of Syl was not big, with tall houses clustered on several narrow and steep streets, but in Ged's view, it was like a city, and he really didn't know where to go.He asked the first townsman he came across where he could find the guardian of Roke House, and the man looked him sideways at him for a moment, then said, "A wise man need not ask, but a fool does not." Then he walked down the street. open.

Ged had to go on up the hill until he came to a square.Three sides of the square are houses with sharp slate roofs, and the fourth side is the high wall of a majestic building. The few small windows on the high wall are higher than the tops of the chimneys of the houses, making the building look like It looks like a bunker or castle, built of solid limestone.There are some market scaffolds in the square area under the building, and there are people coming and going under the scaffolding.Ged went to ask an old woman carrying a basket of mussels, and the old woman replied, "The Guardian of the Academy is not where he is, but occasionally you can find him where he is not." went.

In one corner of the majestic building, there was a small, inconspicuous wooden door. Ged went to knock on it.An old man came to answer the door, and Ged said to him, "I bring a letter which Ogion the mage of Gont wants me to give to the guardian of the college on this island. I will seek the guardian, but I will not hear any more What a riddle or tease!" "This is the academy." The old man said gently, "I am the gatekeeper. If you can get in, come in." Ged moved back.He thought he had passed through the threshold, but he was still standing on the same pavement where he had been.

He moved forward again, only to remain standing just outside the threshold.The gatekeeper on the threshold looked at him peacefully. Ged was more annoyed than puzzled, for the situation was doubly tricking him.Then he stretched out his hand and spoke aloud, and cast the Opening, which his aunt had taught him long ago, the greatest of all his aunt's spells, and which Ged knew so well.But after all, it was just a spell cast by the Murano Witch, so the power that controlled the threshold was completely unmoved. The opening spell failed, and Ged stood on the sidewalk for a long time.Finally, he looked at the old man waiting in our pen and said reluctantly, "I can't get in unless you help me."

The gatekeeper replied, "Say your name." Ged stood still again.Because the average person would never say his name aloud unless he was in danger greater than his life. . "My name is Ged," he said aloud.Then he moved forward and entered the threshold.But he seemed to feel that although the light was behind him, a dark shadow followed him through the door. He thought the threshold was made of wood, but after entering the door, he turned around and found that it was actually a tooth threshold without joints.It was only later that he learned that the gate was made from a large tooth of a cutting dragon.And the door that the old man closed after he came in was made of shiny dragon horn.The daylight outside penetrated through the Longjiao Gate, slightly illuminating the interior of the house."Thousand leaf tree" is carved on the inside of Longjiao gate.

"Welcome, child," said the gatekeeper, and without another word, led Ged through many halls to a wide inner court far from the outer wall.There is no shelter in the inner courtyard, and part of the ground is paved with stone materials. There is a fountain on a piece of grass that is not paved with stone materials, and it is spraying water under several small trees illuminated by the sun.Ged waited there alone.Although he stood quietly, his heart was beating wildly, because he seemed to feel spiritual energy and power moving around him, and he also understood that this place was not only made of stone, but also made of magic stronger than stone.He was standing in the deepest space of the "House of the Wise Man", yet this place was open to the sky.Suddenly, he noticed a man in white looking at him through the flowing fountain.

When the eyes of the two met, a small bird was singing on the branch.In that instant, Ged understood the chirping of the birds, the words of the spring, the shapes of the clouds, and the way the wind moved the leaves.He himself seems to be a word poured out by the sun. Then, in that instant, he and the universe were back to their original state—or, almost, to their original state.He knelt before the Archmage, and handed over Ogion's own letter. Archmage Nymoore, patron of Roke, was an old man, and it was said he was the oldest man in the world.He greeted Ged graciously, his voice trembling like a bird's song.His hair, beard, and robe are all white, and it looks as if all the darkness and weight have been filtered out by the slow passage of time, making this mage seem to have drifted for a hundred years, leaving only whiteness and wear and tear.

"My eyes are failing, so I can't read the letter written by your master." He said in a low voice, "Son, just read it to me." The letter was written in Hittite runes, which Ged read aloud after trying to decipher them.The content is very brief: "Your Excellency Nemo! If the situation is correct, the one I sent today will become the most outstanding wizard in Gont Island in the future." The unsigned letter is not Ogion's real name, but Ogion's talisman. Text: "Shut up."In fact, Ged had not yet known the name of his master. "Since it is the man who controlled the earthquakes who sent you here, we are doubly welcome. Ogion came here as a boy to study here from Gont, and is very close to me. Now, boy, tell me about your voyages and encounters something special."

"Master, the journey was smooth, except that there was a storm yesterday." "Which ship brought you here?" "The Sombra is a trading ship of Andro Island." "Who asked you to come?" "I mean it myself." The Archmage first looked at Ged, then looked away, and began to speak something Ged could not understand, like an old man with a dragon's bell, murmuring to himself as his mind traveled through the past years and the islands.However, between this murmur, there are interspersed with the earlier words of birds chirping and fountain flowing.The Archmage was not casting a spell, but something in the voice touched Ged's mind and made him panic, and for a moment he seemed to see himself standing alone among the shadows in a strange wasteland.But he has been standing in the sunny inner courtyard all day long, listening to the fountain falling.

A large black raven of Osskol roamed the stony and grassy fields of the courtyard.It came to the archmage's white robe and stood there, all black, with a beak like a dagger and eyes like pebbles, and glared at Ged.It pecked three times on the white wooden staff that Archmage Nymoore was leaning on, and the old wizard stopped talking and smiled. "Child, go and play." The archmage said suddenly, as if talking to a child. Ged knelt again to the archmage.When he got up, the archmage was gone, only the black bird stood and watched him, stretching out its beak, as if to peck at the wooden staff whose branches and leaves had disappeared.

The little bird spoke, and Ged guessed it was the words of Osskol. "Tie Ruoneng, Yusaba!" It yelled, "Tie Ruoneng, Yusaba, Ourico! "Then he left as proudly as when he came. Ged turned and left the inner court, not knowing where to go. Under the arcade, a burly young man walked towards him. He bowed politely and greeted Ged: "My name is Jasper. The son of Envi, the lord of Yogo on the island of Havnor. I will serve you today and take you Take a tour of the Great Hall and try to answer your questions. What should I call you, sir?" Ged, a boy from the mountain village, has never been with wealthy businessmen or the sons of high-ranking officials in his life. When he heard the guy in front of him mouthing "service" and "sir" and bowing, he just thought he was mocking him, so he couldn't help it. Replied politely: "Others call me Sparrowhawk." The other party waited for a moment, as if waiting for a decent gift in return.He couldn't wait for the next step, so he straightened his back, turned slightly, and began to lead the way.Jasper was two or three years older than Ged, tall, with a stiff grace in her movements, a dancer's pose (thought Ged).Jasper wore a gray cloak with the hood thrown back. At the first stop, he took Ged to the cloakroom.Now that he was an apprentice at the House, Ged could find a suitable cloak in the cloakroom and other clothing he might need.Ged put on the cloak he had chosen, and Jasper said, "You are one of us now." Jasper always had a faint smile when he spoke, so that Ged was forced to look for some irony in his kind words, and he replied unhappily, "Do wizards count by their attire?" "Not really." The older boy said: "But I have heard that you can know a person by watching the ceremony. Next, where shall we go?" "Whatever you want, anyway, I'm not familiar with Hongxuan Pavilion." Jia Shirui led Ged along the corridors of the Hongxuan Hall, showing him several spacious courtyards and halls with roofs. The "library room" is a place to collect folk books and volumes of secret language, and the spacious "home furnace hall" is a place where teachers and students of the school gather to celebrate festivals. The tower rooms upstairs are small rooms where teachers and students sleep.Ged slept in the South Tower, and his room had a window overlooking the steep roofs of the houses in Syl and the sea beyond.The room was the same as the other bedrooms, except for a straw bed in the corner, with no furniture.Jasper said: "We live very simply here, but I don't think you will mind." "I'm used to it," said Ged, wanting to show that he was not inferior to the polite but contemptuous boy in front of him, and went on: "I guess you must not be used to it when you first came?" Jia Sippe stared at Ged, her expression was self-evident: "I am the heir of Lord Yogo of Havnor Island, how could you know what I am used to and what I am not used to?" But what he said was only: "Go this way. " While they were still upstairs they heard the sound of the gong, and they went down to lunch at the long table in the dining room.There were about a hundred boys and youths eating at the same time.Across the food delivery port of the cooking room and dining room, everyone joked with the cook while scooping food from the steaming big bowl to their own plates, and then walked to the long table to find a favorite seat Down. Jasper told Ged, "I've heard that no matter how many people come to sit at this table, there will always be a seat." There seemed to be enough.There were groups of rowdy boys at the table, eating and talking big; and some older, with silver buckles at the collars of their gray cloaks.The older children were quieter, either alone or in pairs, each with a serious and pensive expression on their faces, as if they had a lot to think about.Jasper took Ged to sit with a tall lad named Fetch, who seldom talked but was absorbed in eating.He spoke with an Eastern accent, and was very dark, not the reddish-brown skin of Ged and Jasper and most of the Archipelago, but dark brown.Fei Qu was straightforward, and his demeanor was not pretentious.After he finished eating, he complained about the food first, then turned to Ged and said, "At least the food here isn't an illusion like many things in the academy, it's enough to support the ribs." Ged couldn't understand what he meant, but he liked it intuitively The boy, and glad he was willing to be with them after dinner. The three of them went into the town together to acquaint Ged with the surroundings.There are not many streets in Suier Town, and they are very short, but they twist and turn among the houses with high roofs, making it difficult for people to figure out and get lost.This town is weird, and the townspeople are also weird. Although they are the same as the residents of other towns, except fishermen, workers, artisans, etc., they are all too accustomed to the magic cast by this island of wise men, so they seem to be half magicians themselves. .Ged had noticed long ago that the people here talked like riddles.No one would blink if they saw a little boy turn into a fish, or a house fly into the air, because they knew it was a schoolboy prank.And even if they saw it, no one would worry, the shoe repairer would still repair the shoe, and the mutton cutter would continue to cut the mutton. After climbing up the hill past the back gate of the college and traversing several gardens of the Hongxuan Pavilion, the three boys walked across a wooden bridge across the clear stream of the Mioer River, passing woods and meadows, and continuing north.The path wound upward and led them through several oak groves.Because of the bright sun, the oak trees are especially dense in shade.There was a wood not far to the left, which Ged had never been able to see clearly, although it always seemed to be not far away, but there was no path leading to it.He couldn't even make out what kind of tree the grove grew.Fei Que caught a glimpse of Ged staring at the woods, and said softly, "That's the 'Forest of Hearts', we can't go in yet, but..." Yellow flowers are blooming on the sun-heated grass. "This is the star grass flower." Jia Sippo said: "In the past, when Eriabai bravely resisted the Lord of Fire's invasion of the inner ring islands, Irian Island was burned by a fire, and the ashes flew with the wind. Wherever it went, it grew. Star grass flower." Jia Sippo blew on a withered flower, and the loose seeds rose with the wind, like sparks in the sun. The trail led them uphill, around the foothills of a large green knoll.This green hill is round and treeless.Ged had come in a ship, and had seen the Green Hill from the ship when he entered the waters of the cursed Isle of Roke.Jia Sippo stopped at the foot of the mountain. "In Havnor's hometown, I used to hear the witchcraft of Gont Isle spoke with admiration, so I have long wanted to see it. Now we have a brother from Gont, and at this moment we happen to be standing in the circle of Roke The foothills of the hill. Because the roots of the round hill reach deep into the center of the earth, no matter what spell you cast here, it will be particularly powerful. Sparrowhawk, cast a spell for us and show your style." Ged, bewildered, froze, and said nothing. "Jia Sippo, take your time and let him be at ease." Fei Que said frankly. "If he had either spells or powers, the gatekeeper wouldn't have let him in. If that's the case, isn't he acting the same now as he'll be? Isn't it, Sparrowhawk?" "I know no spells, and I have no strength," said Ged; "show me what you have just said." "Of course it's magic tricks, tricks and tricks that look similar, like this!" Jia Sippo read the strange characters and pointed to the green grass at the foot of the mountain.I saw where he pointed, a trickle trickled down, and slowly expanded into a spring, flowing down the hill.Ged stretched out his hand to touch the spring, and it was wet and cool to drink, but it did not quench his thirst, for it was an unreal spring.After Jia Sippo read another word, the spring water disappeared immediately, and the green grass was still swaying in the sun. "Fei Qu, it's you." Jia Sippo showed her usual cold smile on her face. Fei Qu scratched his head, looking very troubled, but he just grabbed a handful of soil, began to chant to it, and squeezed it with his dark brown fingers. Suddenly, the handful of soil turned into a Small insects like bumblebees or hairflies buzzed over Roke Knoll and were gone. Ged stood looking dumbfounded and guilty.What else did he know but a few village witchcrafts, spells to gather goats, cure warts, mend pots, move things? "I don't play games like that," said Ged.Hearing what Ged said, Fei Qu gave up, because he didn't want to become stiff.Jia Sipo said, "Why don't you play?" "Spells are no game, and we Gont do not cast spells for fun or for praise," Ged answered proudly. "Then what is the purpose of your spellcasting?" Jia Sipo asked, "Is it for money?" "No!" But Ged could think of no other answer which would both conceal ignorance and salvage his pride.Jasper smiled, but without any malice.He led Ged and Fetch around Roke Hill and on.Ged followed disapprovingly, wanting to be angry, for he knew he had behaved like a fool, and he blamed Jasper for it. All was silent that night in the Great Hall of the Isle of Witchcraft and Wizardry on Roke, and Ged lay wrapped in his cloak on his unlit stone bed of straw.The place was foreign to him, and he was intimidated by the spells and enchantments that had been performed there in the past. Feelings and thoughts weighed heavily on him.Darkness hung over his body, and fear filled his heart, and he wished he were somewhere else, if not on Roke Isle. Unexpectedly, Fei Qu came to the door of his room at this time and asked if he could come in for a chat.He came here with the help of a small illusionary false light hanging above his head to illuminate his way.He chatted with Ged, first asking him about the Isle of Gont, and then talking nostalgically of his own Tombland in the East Reach.Fei Que talked about how the smoke from the fires in various villages in his hometown floated in the quiet sea among the small islands in the evening; the names of those small islands are also very interesting, such as Kouerpu, Kapu, Houpu, Fenwei , Feimi Market, Yifei Market, Goupi Market, Si Nai Ge and so on.In order for Ged to understand the shape of his home island, Fei Tzu traced it on the ground with his fingers, the traces glowed faintly, as if drawn with a silver stick, and gradually faded away after a while.Fei Qu has been at the academy for three years, and he will soon be promoted to a warlock.Performing those rudimentary magics was to him what flight is to a bird; but he had an even greater natural art, that of "friendliness."From that night on, what Fetch had often offered and bestowed upon Ged was a certain, open friendship, which Ged always reciprocated naturally. However, Fei Que was equally friendly to Jasper.Ged had been fooled by Jasper on his first day at the Academy, at the foot of Roketu Hill, and Ged had never forgotten it, and Jasper seemed not to forget it either.He had always spoken to Ged in a polite, mocking smile.Ged's pride could not be underestimated or slighted, so he swore that some day he would prove to Jasper and the band of brothers led by Jasper how powerful Ged was.Not one of these brothers, though clever in their tricks, had ever saved a whole village by magic; nor had any of them made Ogion write that he would be the greatest wizard of Gont. With self-esteem thus strengthened, G was able to complete the work given by the academy with strong willpower, as well as the various courses, crafts, history, techniques, etc. taught by the masters of the gray cloak.Those masters in gray cloaks, Otsuka used to call them "Nine Masters". There was a time each day when Ged studied heroic deeds and wise poetry with the Master Chanter.The first lesson is the oldest one: Oia's Creation Song.Then, Ged and twelve fellow disciples learned the wind and weather skills from the "Wind Key Master".All the spring and the first days, every clear day, they stayed in the boat in Roke Bay, and practiced sailing the boat with spells, and calming the waves, and speaking to the wind, and raising the great spell wind.These are intricate techniques, and Ged often gets hit in the head by the yard when the wind turns suddenly and the sails turn back; A sudden strike, accidentally sweeping the three boys in his boat out for a swim. Some days, the course is an adventure on a calmer shore.This kind of course is to learn from the "herb master", who will teach you the types of herbs and the way they grow. The "hand master" teaches them the basic spells of transformation or some tricks and techniques. Ged was proficient in all the courses, and in less than a month, he was already better than his brother who had been here for a year.He was especially quick at learning illusions, as if he knew them by nature and only waited for others to remind him.Master Shou is a kind and hearty old man with inexhaustible joy and wit, and the skills he teaches also contain the beauty of skills.So soon Ged was not afraid of him, and often asked him about this and that, and the master hand always smiled and taught him what Ged wanted to learn.One day, Ged wanted to make Jia Suppo look ugly, so he asked his master in the "Looking Like Garden": "Master, the spells you teach are very similar, and you can master them all once you know them. But often when Shi Hao's power relaxes, The illusion vanishes. Now, for example, I turn a pebble into a diamond," said Ged, twitching his wrist, and chanting a spell, and a diamond was conjured. "But how do I keep it like a diamond? How do I lock the Alteration spell so the diamond lasts?" The master hand watched the diamond gleaming in Ged's hand, as bright as a dragon's hidden treasure.The master master said the word: "Tuo", and the diamond in Ged's hand immediately turned into a rough gray pebble, and the diamond disappeared.The master took the pebble and held it. "In the 'Mantra', this kind of rock is called 'Tuo'." The old master looked at Ged gently and said, "It is a small stone made by Roke Island, and it is also a small group of stones that can allow humans to live on it." but it is itself, a part of heaven and earth. By illusionary transformation, you can make Taku look like a diamond, or a flower, or a fly, or an eye, or a flame." The little rock followed the old The name uttered by the master changed shape again and again, and finally turned back into rock. "But these are just 'similarity'. The illusion fools the senses of the viewer. It is the illusion that makes the viewer 'see, hear, and feel', thinking that the thing seems to have changed, but the illusion does not change the substance itself. If we want to make this rock To become a diamond, you must change its real name. But, boy, when you do that, even if you change even a small part of the world, you change the world. There is a way to change it, and it is possible, right, That is the skill of "changing masters". After you have made the necessary preparations, you will learn that skill sooner or later. However, if you don't know what good or bad results will follow after changing, even if it is just one item, one Even a small pebble or a small grain of sand must not be transformed. The universe is in balance and is in a state of 'unity and balance'. A wizard's ability to transform or summon will shake the balance of heaven and earth. That kind of power is dangerous. It is very dangerous. Therefore, it must be done according to knowledge, and it must be done according to need. Light a candle, and cast a black shadow..." The old master looked at the pebble again. "You see, a rock in itself is easy," he said, less seriously: "If all the islands in Earthsea were made of diamonds, we'd have a hard time. For visions, my boy, Enjoy it, and let the rock be the rock." He smiled, but Ged was not satisfied.No matter who pressed the mage closely and wanted to find out the tricks of the spell, the mage would be the same as Ogion, talking about balance, danger, darkness and so on.However, any wizard who has transcended these phantom trifles to the real magic of summoning, transformation, etc., must have enough power to balance the world and use it as he likes, according to his own best state. The personal light drives the darkness back. He met Jia Syou at the corner.Since Ged's studies had begun to be widely admired throughout the House, Jasper seemed to speak to Ged with more kindness and politeness, but also with more irony. "You look unhappy, Sparrowhawk," he said, "is it because the spell has failed?" Ged, as usual, hoped this time to stand on equal footing with Jasper.So he answered the question, not heeding the jeering: "I'm tired of changing spells, and these vain tricks, for lords of Centipede loitering about their castles and estates." Roke Isle taught to My only real spells are false light, and a little weather spell. The rest are just bluffs." "Even a bluff is dangerous in the hands of a fool," Jasper said. When Ged heard this, he immediately took a step towards Jasper as if he had been slapped in the face.The older boy, however, smiled as if what he had just said meant no insult, nodded stiffly and gracefully, and went away. Ged stood where he was, looking at Jasper's back, filled with anger.His hairstyle must surpass his opponent, not only in illusion, but also in strength.He was going to prove himself and humiliate Jasper; he wasn't going to let the guy stand there and look down on him with grace, contempt, resentment. Ged had no possible reason why Jasper hated him, he only knew why he hated Jasper.Since entering the academy, other apprentices quickly discovered that whether it was sports or active study, they were rarely able to become Ged's opponents, so when everyone talked about Ged, they either praised or encouraged them. The brothers all said: "Ged You must be a natural wizard, and you will never defeat me." Jasper was the only one who neither praised Ged nor avoided him, but kept smiling with a look that really looked down on Ged.Since Jia Suppo is the only one against him, he must make Jia Sippo look bad. Ged clings to this opposing view, and cultivates it as a personal pride.What he has not figured out, or is unwilling to figure out, is that in this confrontation, there are all kinds of dangers and darkness that his master has gently warned about. When Ged was not driven by pure anger, he knew that he was far from being a match for Jia Sigji or the other brothers, so he kept his head down on work and studies as usual.At the end of summer, the work is slightly reduced, and there is more time to exercise.Brothers or sisters held spell boat races at the port, or held magic banquets in the courtyard of Hongxuan Hall, or used the long dusk to play hide-and-seek in the woods.During hide-and-seek, both sides are invisible, only the voices and laughter of each other can be heard moving among the trees, and everyone chases or dodges each other following the flickering illusion and false light.Fall is here and everyone is back at work practicing new magic.In this way, Ged's first month on Roke was full of enthusiasm and wonder, and the time passed quickly. Winter is different.Ged and his seven brothers were sent to the headland at the northern end of Roke, where the Tower of Isolation was. In the isolated tower lives alone the "Master of the Name", whose name has no meaning in any language: Krikamerik.There was not a single farm or home within miles of the Solitary Tower.It stands on the cliff at the North Cape, gloomy, and the clouds on the sea in winter are gray and gray; eight beginners follow the name master, and the compulsory homework is endless rows of names. In the high room of the tower, the head of Korika Moricor, who was in the same room with all the apprentices, wrote a row of names. Those names must be memorized before midnight, otherwise the ink will fade away automatically, leaving only the empty parchment .The tower is cold and dark, and it is silent all year round. The only sound is the sound of the master writing and drawing, and occasionally a sigh comes from a certain apprentice.Lousou, a small island in the Penny Sea, must learn the names of each headland, island tip, bay, sound, estuary, strait, harbor, sandbar, reef, and rock.If the apprentice complains, the master may say nothing but add more names; or he may say: "To be a master of the ocean, one must know the true name of every drop of water in the sea." Ged sighed sometimes, but never complained.To learn the true name of every place, every thing, and every being was tedious and difficult, but in this study Ged saw the power he could wish for, lying like a jewel at the bottom of a dry well , because magic resides in the real names of things.The first night they arrived at the Isolation Tower, Kerrishmerikl told them this, and although he never mentioned it again, Ged never forgot: "Many mages of great strength spend their lives trying to find The name of a thing--a name that has been lost, or hidden. Despite this, the existing name is still incomplete, and will not be complete even at the end of the world. If you listen carefully, you will understand why . In this world under the sun, and in the other world without the sun, there are many things that have nothing to do with man or human language, and beyond our mass there are other forces.But magic - real magic - can only be performed by those beings who speak the 'Dehikh language', or the 'Prime Language' from which the Dehehi language was derived. "That is the language of the dragon, the language of the Xiguoyi people who created the islands of the world, and the language used in our poems, spells, spells, and sorcery. But to this day, the ancient language is hidden in our He language, and it has produced For example, we call the foam on the waves 'Sukeen', which is composed of two large words: 'Suke'--feather, and 'Inion'-ocean. 'Ocean's feather' is' Bubble'. However, if you say 'Su Keen', you still can't manipulate the bubble. You must use its real name in the ancient language, 'Jesa', to cast its magic power. Any witch knows a few words in the ancient language, and the mage knows more. But we don't know more, some are lost due to the age, some are hidden and not visible, some are only connected by dragons and the primordial force in the ground; Who can learn them all, because the language is infinite. "That's the reason. The name of the ocean is 'Inion', everyone knows it, there is no problem. However, the ocean we call 'Inner Pole Sea' also has its own name in the ancient language. Since there is no Things have two real names, so the meaning of 'Inion' can only be: 'all oceans except the Inner Pole Sea'. Of course, its meaning is not limited to this, because there are countless oceans, bays, and straits , each has its own name. So if any sea mage is crazy enough to cast a spell on a storm, or calm down all the seas, his spell must say not only 'Inion', but all the archipelago , the Four Frontiers, and many nameless places, every piece, every piece, every side of the entire ocean. Therefore, what gives us the power to cast magic also limits the scope of this power. Therefore, the mage can only control Those things in the neighborhood which he can name with exactness and completeness. That's good, because if it weren't for this, the powerful wicked or the foolish among the wise must have tried to change the immutable things long ago, then The Balance of One will collapse, and the out-of-balance seas will drown the islands in which we venture, and in the ancient silence all voices and names will disappear." Ged pondered these words long, and saw them clearly.But the majestic nature of the course did nothing to make a year of long study in the Isolation Tower any easier or more interesting.At the end of the year Koreka Merrick said to Ged, "You have done well in your first lessons," and said no more.Wizards told the truth; and those name-manipulation skills that had taken a year of hard work were only the beginning of what Ged would have to continue to learn throughout his life.Because of his quick learning, Ged left the Isolation Tower one step earlier than the other brothers who went with him; this is Ged's only compliment. In early winter, Ged walked alone, along the deserted road, to the islands of South Vietnam.When night came, the rain fell, but he did not cast a spell to drive the rain away, because the weather on Roke Island was in the hands of the Windkey Master, and I am afraid that it would not be possible to change it.Ged took shelter from the rain under a huge pandike tree.He lay wrapped tightly in his cloak, thinking of Maester Ogion.He guessed that the master might still be wandering in autumn in Gont Heights at this time: sleeping in the open air, using leafless branches as roofs and raindrops as walls.Ged smiled at this thought, for he found it comforting to think of Ogion.He fell asleep peacefully, the rain murmuring in the cold darkness.When dawn came and the rain had stopped, Ged saw a small animal curled up in the folds of his cloak for warmth and sleep.Ged wondered at the animal, for it was a rare beast called an otak. Outaks are found only in the four southern islands of the Archipelago: Roke, Ansmore, Paddy, and Vasor.The body is small and strong, with a broad face, big and bright eyes, dark brown or brown spots on the coat.They can't bark or make any noise, but their teeth are ruthless and their tempers are fierce, so no one keeps them as pets.Ged stroked the crouching one, and it woke up and yawned, showing its little brown tongue and white teeth, not at all afraid of Ged. "Outake." Ged called out, recalling the names of thousands of beasts he had learned in the Isolation Tower. Finally, he called the animal by its real name in the ancient language: "Brother Houye! Do you want to come with me?" Outak sat down in Ged's open hands and began to lick and wash his fur. Ged put it in the hood at his shoulder, and let it straddle there.During the day, it sometimes jumped down and darted off into the woods, but it always came back in the end.Ged laughed once when he came back with a wood-mouse he had caught, and told him to eat it, for that was the night of the Ritual Festival, and his fasting.Thus Ged passed Roke Knoll in the wet evening, and saw many false lights shining in the rain above the roof of the Great House.When he entered the Hongxuan Pavilion, all the masters and brothers welcomed him in the brightly lit hall.Ged, who was homeless, felt as if he had come home, and was glad to see so many familiar faces again, especially when Fetch came forward to welcome him with a deep smile on his dark brown face.Only then did Ged realize how much he had missed his friend this year.Fei Qu had been promoted to a master of arts in autumn and was no longer an apprentice, but this did not become an obstacle between the two of them, and they chatted freely as soon as they met.Ged felt that he had said more in the first hour of his reunion with Fetch than in a whole year in the Isolation Tower. The Otak still straddled Ged's shoulders as they all sat down at the long table in the hearth hall for the celebratory dinner.费蕖看见这只小动物，很惊奇，一度伸手想抚摸地，但瓯塔客张开利牙咬了他一下。费蕖笑了起来，说道：“雀鹰，听说受野生动物青睐的人，连岩石、流泉等太古力也会用人类之声对他们说话。” “人家说，弓忒岛的巫师常驯养动物，”坐在费蕖另一边的贾似珀说：“我们倪摩尔老师傅就养了只渡鸦。诗歌中也曾提到，阿尔克岛的红法师用一条金链子牵著野猪。但我还没听过有哪个术士会在帽兜里养老鼠。” 听了这番话，大夥儿都笑起来，格得与大家一同欢笑。那一晚是欢乐的节庆之夜，与同伴们共度节庆，置身在温暖和快活中，格得很开心。不过，贾似珀这次讲的笑话，与他以前讲的笑话一样，都让格得不快。 那天晚上，偶岛岛主是光临学院的宾客之一，岛主本人也是知名术上，曾是柔克岛大法师的徒弟，所以有时会在日回节庆或夏季长舞节回来。他偕同夫人一道来作客，偶岛夫人苗条又年轻，亮丽如新铜，乌黑的秀发上戴著镶猫眼石的冠冕。由於难得见到女子坐在宏轩馆的厅堂内，有几位老师傅不以为然地斜目注视她；但年轻的男士都张大了眼凝视。 费蕖对格得说：“我愿意为了这样的美人，全力施展宏伟的魔法……”他叹口气，笑了起来。 “她只不过是个女人呀。”格得回答。 “叶芙阮公主也只是个女人，”费蕖说：“但由於她的缘故，英拉德岛全部变成废墟，黑弗诺岛的英雄法师辞世，索利亚岛也沈入海底。” “那都是老故事。”格得虽这么说，却也开始注视偶岛夫人，揣想古代故事所讲的世间美人，是不是就是这个样子。 诵唱师傅已经唱完《少王行谊》。接著，在场师徒齐唱《冬日颂》。贾似珀利用众人站起来之前的短暂空档，迅速起身，走到最靠近炉边那张坐著大法师、众师傅与贵宾的桌子旁，拜谒偶岛夫人。贾似珀已是个青年，长得魁梧俊秀，斗篷领口有银色环扣，因为他也是今年升为术士，银色环扣就是术士的标记。夫人冠冕上的猫眼石让黑发一衬托，熠熠生辉。她微笑静听贾似珀讲话，在场师傅也都慈祥领首，同意贾似珀为夫人表演一段幻术。贾似珀让一棵白树由石地板里冒出来，枝干向上延伸，碰到高高的屋梁。每根树枝上的小树枝都挂著发亮的金苹果，每颗苹果都是一个太阳，因为这棵树是一棵“年树”。忽然间，枝干间飞出一只小鸟，全身雪白，尾巴有如白雪瀑布。接著，所有的金苹果光泽渐暗，变成种子，每颗种子都是一小滴水晶，由树枝落下，发出如雨的声音。 霎时飘来一阵香气，树叶在摇摆中变成玫瑰般的火焰，白花也好似星辰……幻术至此便逐渐淡去。偶岛夫人开心地叫了起来，她那耀眼的头频频向这位青年术士颔首，赞赏他的法力。“你来我们偶岛居住吧--可以吧，老爷？”夫人孩子气地询问严肃的丈夫。但贾似珀只说；“夫人，等我把师傅们传授的技巧练习精通，当得起您的赞美时，我会乐意前往，而且永远甘心为您效劳。” 贾似珀取悦了在场所有人--只有格得除外。格得出声附和众人的赞美，但内心却没有附和。“我还可以施展得比他更好。”格得在酸酸的妒意中对自己说。从那刻起，当晚所有的欢乐便在他心中为之黯淡阴沉。