Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Letting Shadows Out

In the spring of that year, Ged seldom saw either Fei Qu or Jia Sippo, because they had been promoted to art masters and could study with the "Master of Xingyi" in the secret Xincheng Forest.Apprentice-level students cannot enter the Forest of Hearts, so Ged stays in the Hongxuan Pavilion and learns the skills required by warlocks from the masters. A "warlock" is a student who has learned magic but has not yet wielded a cane.The required skills for warlocks are: wind exhalation, climate control, search and binding, spell fabrication, spell composition, fortune-telling, chant, spiritual healing, and herbalism.When Ged was alone in his bedroom at night, he would always place a lamp or candle above the books, conjure up a small ball of false light, and study the "Advanced Runes" and "Oia Runes"--these runes It is used in grand and deep Dafa.

Ged learned these tricks so quickly that the apprentices ran rumors of masters who said that young Ged was the swiftest student Roke had ever seen.The rumor grew bigger and bigger, and even the Otak was brought into it, as an elf in disguise, who would whisper wisdom into Ged's ear.It was even rumored that when Ged first arrived at the Academy, the archmage's raven had saluted Ged with the vision of a "mage-to-be." Whether Otsuka believed these rumors or not, and whether they liked Ged or not, most of the students admired Ged and were eager to follow him when he led the competition for fun. There is also a time for wildness to flourish.Ged, however, was mostly occupied with his lessons, and tried to keep his pride and temper, so he seldom joined the games of the others.Although Ged was among his brothers and sisters, he had no friends without Fetch, and it never occurred to him that he wanted to have a friend.

Ged was fifteen years old.He is still young to learn the great skills of a wizard or mage.But Ged learned all kinds of illusions so quickly that the young "transformer" soon began to teach Ged alone, teaching the true method of transformation.The Transformer explained why, when one thing was actually transformed into another, it had to be renamed in order to maintain the spell's effect; how affected.He also mentioned the dangers of transforming spells, the greatest danger of which is: after a wizard changes his personal shape, he is likely to be immobilized by his own spells.Because of Ged's self-confidence in understanding, the young transformation master couldn't help but be driven to teach more little by little; gradually, he not only taught Ged the transformation technique, but even instructed Ged to "transform the great method", and put " The Book of Metamorphoses was lent to him for study.The archmage didn't know about these things, and it was an unwise move to change the master, although it was done unintentionally.

Ged also followed the "summoner master" to study together.Master Summoner is a serious elder, and he has been infected with depression because of the difficult and gloomy witchcraft taught for many years.What he taught was not illusion, but real magic, that is, the calling of energies such as light and heat, and the force that pulls magnetism, and those forces that humans understand as weight, form, color, sound, and so on.Those are real "forces" that originate from the profound cosmic energies.That kind of power, no matter how humans cast spells or use it, they cannot be exhausted or unbalanced.Although the apprentices had already known the skills of the weather master and the sea master, he was the only one who showed them why a real wizard only used this kind of magic when he needed it: because summoning these earthly powers was equivalent to Changed the world, and these earthly forces are part of the world.He said: "When it rains on Roke, it may cause drought on Osskol; the East End is calm, and the West End may be flattened by a storm. So don't do anything unless you know the effect of the spell."

As for summoning entities and living people, awakening gods and dead souls, invoking the invisible, etc., those spells are the peak of summoning human art and the power of the archmage, and he seldom talks about it to his students.Once or twice, Ged tried to induce the master to reveal a little of this secret art, but the master was silent, but looked at Ged for a long time with a stern expression, so that Ged gradually became uneasy, and said no more. It was true that Ged occasionally felt uneasy when he worked the lesser spells the Summoner had taught him.There are a few pages in that folklore book and some runes seem familiar, but I don't remember which book I saw it in.He also didn't like to say certain phrases that must be said when performing summoning.All these things always reminded him of the shadows in the dark room and the closed door, the shadows approaching him from the corner by the door.He hastily put these thoughts and memories aside and continued to cast the spell.He told himself that he had come across this moment of fear and darkness purely as a shadow of his own ignorance.The more he learned, the less he had to fear; and when at last he had all the power of a wizard, he had nothing to fear.

In the second month of that summer, all the teachers and students of the school gathered again in the Hongxuan Pavilion to celebrate the Moon Night Festival and the Long Dance Festival.That year, the two festivals occurred on the same day, so the festivities would last two nights.This happens only once every fifty-two years.The first night of the festival is the night of the full moon, the shortest night of the year.There were flutes playing in the wilderness, drums and torches all over Suil, and singing over the moonlit waters of Roke Bay.At sunrise the next morning, the master chant master at Roke College began to sing the long poem "The Friendship of Eriabah".The verse tells of the building of the White Tower on the Isle of Havnor; and how Eriabah went from the Isle of Iia, through the Archipelago and the Borderlands, to the westernmost point of the Westmarch, and met Omron at the edge of the Open Sea.In the end, his skeleton was covered with broken armor, lying between the keels of the Omron, and was abandoned on the lonely shore of Keledo Island, but his sword hung high on the top of the tallest tower on Hevwy Island, and it is still there. Still glowing red in the setting sun over the Inner Pole Sea.After the hymn is sung, the long dance begins.Townsfolk, masters, students, farmers, and all, men, women, and children thronged the streets of Roke, dancing together in the hot dust and twilight, to the beat of drums and pipes and pipes, all the way to the beach and sea.The full moon hangs high in the sky, and the sound of music merges with the sound of breaking waves.When the east was white, everyone climbed onto the beach and walked back to the street. The drums stopped, and only the flute whispered softly.This is how each island of the Archipelago celebrates that evening: a dance, a music, uniting the many islands separated by the sea.

After the Long Dance Festival ended, many people slept all day long the next day, and gathered together to eat and drink in the evening.There was a group of young lads, apprentices and warlocks, who brought out the food from the dining room and gathered in the courtyard of the Hongxuan Pavilion for a private dinner.These were: Fetch, Jaspa, Ged, and six or seven apprentices, and a few children who had been temporarily released from the Tower of Isolation, for this festival also brought Kerikamerik out of the Tower. It's over.The young people romped, ate and drank, and, for sheer amusement, performed magic tricks like a royal fantasy show.A boy conjured a false light and made a hundred stars to illuminate the courtyard. The lights, jewel-like in color, scattered in the air between the group of apprentices and the real stars in the sky, moving slowly in clusters.The other two apprentices turned the bowl into a ball of thread-colored flame and a round roller, which bounced away whenever the fireball approached.As for Fei Qu, he sat with his legs folded in the air, gnawing on the roast chicken desperately.A younger apprentice tried to pull him to the ground, but Fei Qu floated higher, out of his reach, and sat calmly in the air smiling.From time to time, he threw chicken bones to the ground, and the thrown chicken bones turned into owls in an instant, cooing among the false light stars.Ged turned the crumbs into arrows, shot them into the air, and caught the owl.As soon as the owl and arrow hit the ground, they turned into chicken bones and breadcrumbs again, and the illusion disappeared.Ged also flew into the air to accompany Fei Que, but because he hadn't learned the secret of this spell, he had to keep flapping his arms to float in the sky.Everyone laughed when they saw his strange appearance while flying and shooting.In order to keep everyone laughing, Ged continued to play tricks and have fun with everyone.After two long nights of dancing, moonlight, music, and spells, he was in high, wild spirits, ready for whatever came his way.

Finally, he finally stood gently beside Jasper.Jasper, who never laughed out loud, shifted her position and said, "A flightless sparrowhawk..." "Is Jasper a true gem?" Ged turned and grinned. "O Jewel of the Warlock; O Jewel of Havnor, shine for us!" The boy who manipulated the fake starlight to make the light jump in the air moved a beam of light, and it danced around Jia Sippo's head.Jasper, though less ruthless than usual that night, frowned, waved his hands, and sniffed the stars away. "I've had enough of little boys' loud, stupid tricks!"

"Young man, you are almost entering middle age." Fei Que commented in the air. "If you want silence and gloom now," interposed a younger boy, "you can go to the Isolation Tower anytime." Ged said to Jasper, "Then what do you want, Jasper?" "I want to have someone who is comparable to me." Jasper said, "Fei Que, come down quickly and let these little apprentices play with toys by themselves." Ged turned to Jasper, and asked, "What does a warlock have that an apprentice lacks?" His voice was calm, but all the boys present were suddenly silent, for Ged and Jasper's tones could hear the tension between them. Hatred, at this time, is as clear and distinct as a sword drawn out of its sheath.

"Power," Jasper replied. "My strength is no less than your strength, we are evenly matched." "You challenge me?" "I challenge you." Fei Qu had already landed on the ground, and now he hurriedly ran between the two of them, his face pale. "The academy forbids us to use magic duels. You all know the rules of the academy, let's settle this matter!" Ged and Jasper stood speechless, for indeed they both knew Roke's rules, and they also knew that Fetch's behavior was out of friendship, and the two of them out of hatred.Their anger only stopped for a while, and it didn't cool down.I saw Jia Sippo moved a little bit to the side, as if he only wanted Fei Qu to hear him, and said with a cold smile: "You'd better remind your shepherd friend that the college's regulations are to protect him. Look at him With an angry face, does he really think that I will accept his challenge? A duel with a guy who has a goat and an apprentice who doesn't know the 'advanced transformation technique'?"

"Jasper," said Ged, "you know what I know?" In an instant, without anyone hearing what Ged said, Ged disappeared out of thin air.Where he stood, a falcon was circling and screaming with its beak open.In an instant Ged was again standing in the flickering candlelight, staring darkly at Jasper.Jasper took a step back in shock, but now he just shrugged and said two words: "Illusion." Everyone else whispered.Fei Que said, "This is not an illusion, it's a real body transformation. That's enough, Jasper, listen to me—" "This trick is enough to prove that he sneaked into the "Book of Transformations" behind his master's back. Huh, so what if it will change? Shepherd, you continue to change. I like the trap you set for yourself. The more you try to prove that you If you are my opponent, the more you show your true nature." After hearing these words, Fei Que turned his back to Jasper, and said to Ged in a low voice, "Sparrowhawk, will you be a man, stop immediately and come with me—" Ged looked at his friend with a smile, and only said, "Will you keep an eye on Brother Hou for a while, please?" He reached out and grabbed the little otak that was straddling his shoulder, and put it in Fei Qu's hand.The Outak was never to be touched by anyone but Ged, but now it turned to Fetch, climbed up his arm, and curled up on his shoulders, never leaving its master's bright eyes. "Okay." Ged spoke to Jasper calmly, "Jasper, what are you going to do to prove that you are better than me?" "Sheep, I don't have to show anything. But I will, I'll give you a little hope, a chance. Jealousy eats you like a worm in an apple. Let's just let that worm out. Once On Roke Knoll you boasted that Gont wizards don't take tricks lightly. Let us go to the Knoll now and see what the Gonts who don't play tricks do. After reading it, maybe I will perform a little magic trick for you to see. " "Well, I'd like to see it," answered Ged.His violent temper erupted at the slightest sign of insult, and the other brothers were used to it, so they were surprised by Ged's calmness at this time.Fei Qu was not surprised, but became more and more worried and frightened.He tried to mediate again, but Jasper said, "Faye, let go of this matter. Shepherd, how are you going to take advantage of the opportunity I gave you? Are you going to perform illusions for us to see? Or fireballs? Or Cure ringworm in goats with a spell?" "What would you like me to do, Jasper?" The older boy shrugged and said, "I'm not interested in anything, but since that's the case, you can summon an undead." "I'll call." "You can't summon it," said Jasper, looking directly at Ged, rage suddenly blazing with his contempt for Ged. "You can't summon, you don't know how to summon, and you keep bragging..." "I swear by my name, I will summon it!" Everyone stood still for a while. Fetch tried his best to pull Ged back, but Ged broke free from his pull and strode out of the yard without looking back.The false light that danced over everyone's heads has disappeared.Jasper hesitated for a second, then followed Ged. The others followed scatteredly, without saying a word, curious and afraid at the same time. The steep ascent of Roke Knoll plunged into the darkness of the summer night before moonrise.Many thaumaturgies have been performed on this hill before, so the atmosphere is heavy, as if there is a weight on the air.When the group of them gathered at the foot of the mountain, they couldn't help thinking how deep the foundation of the hill was, deeper than the sea, and even as deep as the ancient, mysterious, and unseen flame in the core of the world.Everyone stopped on the east slope. Above the dark grass on the top of the mountain, you could see the stars hanging high, and the surroundings were calm and windless. Ged climbed a few steps up the slope, and after leaving the crowd a little, he turned and said in a clear voice, "Jasper! Whose spirit shall I summon?" "As you like. No one will listen to your call anyway." Jia Sipai's voice was a little trembling, probably due to anger. Ged answered sarcastically, "Are you frightened?" Even if Jia Sippo answered, he would not listen carefully, because he no longer cared about Jia Sippo.Standing on the knoll of Roke, resentment and anger were gone, replaced by absolute certainty.He has no reason to be jealous of anyone, standing on this dark and enchanted land at this moment, he knows that his power is stronger than ever, and that power fills his body, making him tremble almost uncontrollably.He knew that Jasper was far behind him, and perhaps he was only sent to bring Ged here tonight; he was not Ged's opponent, but a servant to fulfill Ged's destiny.Below his feet Ged could feel the roots of the mountains plunging into the darkness of the center of the earth, and above his head he could watch the dry, distant twinkle of the stars.In the world, everything obeys his commands and orders.He stands at the center of the world. "You needn't be afraid," said Ged, smiling. "I'm going to summon the spirit of a woman. You needn't be afraid of women. I'm going to call upon Yevran, the beauty sung in Enlad's Friendship. "She died a thousand years ago, and her bones lie in the depths of the Oia Sea. Besides, there may not be such a woman at all." "Do years and distance have anything to do with the dead? Can poetry lie?" Ged was still a little sarcastic.He went on to say: "Pay attention to the air between my hands." He turned and stood still after leaving the crowd. He stretched out his arms in a very slow gesture, a welcome gesture to begin the convocation.Then he began to chant the mantra. He read the runes of the summoning spell from Ogion's book, two years ago or more, and he hadn't seen them since.At that time, he was reading in the dark; now, he is in the dark, as if going back to that night, re-reading the runes on the pages unfolded in front of him.The difference was that this time he could understand what he was reading, and not only could he read it aloud word by word, but he also saw some marks, knowing that this summoning technique must combine voice and body and hand movements to operate. The other students stood and watched without talking or moving, only trembling a little - because the great spell had already begun to be cast.Ged's voice, which had remained soft, became a deep chant, but the words he sang were incomprehensible.Then Ged fell silent.Suddenly, the wind picked up in the meadow.Ged fell to his knees, and cried out, and then he bent forward, as if embracing the earth with outstretched arms.When he stood up, there seemed to be something dark in his tense arms. The thing was heavy, and he struggled to stand up.The hot wind blew the black grass on the hills to this side.If the stars are still shining, no one can see them. Ged spoke a spell between his lips, and when he finished, he yelled clearly and loudly: "Evruan!" "Ye Furuan!" he shouted again. The shapeless black mass he had just lifted split in half.The black mass shattered, and a faint, spindle-like light flashed between Ged's open arms.The faint light was vaguely oval, extending from the ground to the height of his hand.In that elliptical twilight, a human figure looms for a moment: a tall woman, looking back.Her features were beautiful, but her expression was sad and full of fear. The soul appeared only for a moment in the twilight, and then the gray oval of light between Ged's arms grew brighter and wider, forming a gap between the ground and the night, a part of the whole fabric of the world. gap.A blinding glare flashed through the fissure, and through the bright and misshapen fissure climbed something like a shadowy mass, swift and terrifying, and jumped straight into Ged's face. Ged staggered under the weight of the thing, and gave a growl of panic.The otak was watching over Fetch's shoulder, it couldn't make a sound, but now it yelled loudly and jumped up and down as if to attack. Ged fell to the ground, struggling and wrestling desperately.The great light in the darkness of the world widened and spread above him.All the watching boys fled, and Jasper knelt on the ground, not daring to face the frightening glare.Fetch was the only one who ran to his friend, so he alone saw the black mass clinging to Ged and tearing Ged's muscles.It looks like a black monster, the size of a child, but the child seems to expand and shrink, and has no head or face, only four clawed palms, which can scratch and tear.Fetch whimpered and whimpered in terror, but he still stretched out his hands, trying to pull the thing off Ged.But just before he touched the thing, his body was restrained and he couldn't move. The blinding and unbearable glare gradually weakened, and the edge of the world was slowly closed.There was a voice nearby, speaking as softly as the whispering of treetops or the flow of a fountain. The stars are shining again, and the green grass at the foot of the mountain is whitened by the rising moon, healing the night, and the balance of light and darkness is restored and stable.The shadow monster was gone.Ged lay on his back, arms outstretched, as if in a welcoming and evocative posture.His face was blackened and his clothes were stained.The otak huddled on his shoulders and trembled.Above him stood an old man, whose cloak shimmered pale in the moonlight: it was Archmage Nymor. The end of Nymor's staff spun silvery over Ged's chest.Once it touched Ged's heart lightly, once it touched Ged's lips, and at the same time Neymour was still muttering something.Presently Ged moved, parted his lips and breathed in, and the archmage raised his staff and lowered it to the ground.He lowered his head and leaned on his cane, looking so heavy that he hardly had the strength to stand up. Fei Qu found that he could move.He looked around and saw that the Summoner and Transformer were also there.When performing grand witchcraft, it is impossible not to alarm these masters, and when necessary, they also have their own way to rush there.However, no one came faster than the archmage.At this time, the two masters had sent someone to seek help.Some of the visitors accompanied the archmage away, and some (Feiqu was one of them) carried Ged to the herbalist. The Master Summoner stayed at the Knoll all night, watching and watching.Just now the world was torn apart at the foot of this mountain, but now there is no sign of trouble: no shadow will crawl here in the moonlight, looking for a crack to crawl back to its own borders.The shadow had escaped Nymor, and the mighty wall of spells that surrounded and protected Roke, but it was in the world now, hidden somewhere in the world.If Ged had died that night, he might have managed to find the door that Ged opened, and follow him into death, or sneak back to where he came from; wait.But Ged survived. They put Ged on a bed in the treatment room.The herbal master first treated his eyelid, throat, and shoulder injuries.Those wounds were deep and uneven, showing that the wounders were extremely vicious.The black blood from the wound kept flowing, and the herb master had cast a spell on it, and covered the netted herb leaves, so the blood was still oozing.Ged lay there blind and deaf, with a fever like a smoldering stick.No spell could cool what burned Ged. Not far away, in the open-air courtyard where the fountain flowed, the Archmage also lay motionless, but his whole body was cold, very cold, and only his eyes were still moving, watching the fountain dripping and the leaves shaking under the moonlight.Those around him neither cast spells nor healed, only occasionally talking quietly and then turning their heads to look down at their archmage.The archmage lay quietly, his aquiline nose, high forehead, white hair, etc., were bleached by the moonlight, and all took on a bone-like color.In order to stop Ged's reckless spell and drive away the black shadow attached to Ged, Nymor exhausted all his strength, his physical strength was lost, and he lay dying.However, a noble mage like him has interfered countless times in his life, and the kingdom of death has withered suddenly, so it is very strange when he dies: because these dying noble mages are not blind, but set foot on death clearly the road.When Nemo looked through the leaves, none of those present knew whether he saw the faint stars of the dawn of summer, or alien stars that had never twinkled above the hills and never seen the dawn. The ravens of Osskol, Nymore's pet for thirty years, were nowhere to be seen.No one saw where it went. "It flew away before the archmage." Master Xingyi said so when everyone was watching the night. It was dawn, and the next day was warm and sunny.The streets of Hongxuan Pavilion and Jun'er Town were silent, without any bustling sounds. It was not until noon that the iron bell of the Chanting Tower rang harshly. The next day, Roke Nine Venerables gathered under the shade somewhere in the forest of hearts.Even there, they put nine Walls of Silence around them, so that when they chose a new Archmage from all the mages of Earthsea, no one or power could come to talk to them or hear them discuss.Mage Gunther of the Isle of Way was chosen.As soon as they were chosen, a ship was sent across the Inner Sea to the Threat, to bring the new Archmage back to Roke.The Windkey Master stood at the bow of the ship, raised the spell wind into the sails, and the ship sailed away in no time. Ged knew nothing of these things.In that hot summer, he was bedridden for four weeks, blind, deaf, and dumb, and only occasionally moaned and roared like an animal.Finally, under the patient care of the herbal master, the treatment began to take effect, his wounds gradually healed, and his high fever gradually subsided.Although he has not spoken, it seems that he can gradually hear.One crisp autumn day, the herb master opened the door and window of the room where Ged lay in bed.Ged had known only darkness since that night in the darkness of the Knoll. Now, he sees the sun, and he sees the sun shining.He covered his face and wept, and what was buried in his hands was the scarred eyelid. Until winter came, he could only stammer and speak.The herbal master has been keeping him in the treatment room, trying to guide his body and mind to recover slowly.It was not until early spring that the Herbal Master released him at last, sending him first to show his loyalty to the new Archmage Gunther, for Ged was sick when Genther came to Roke and could not join them in this duty. During his illness, the college did not allow any of his classmates to visit him.Now, when he walked by slowly, some classmates whispered to each other, "Who is that?" Before, he walked lightly, softly and strongly; Pale with scars.Regardless of whether those people knew or not, he avoided them all, and walked all the way to Yongquan Court like this.There he waited for Nemor; now Gunther waits for him. The new mage wore the same white cloak as the previous archmage, but like Way Island and other Eastlanders, he had dark brown skin, and his complexion was black under the bushy eyebrows. Ged kneels in a token of loyalty and obedience.Gunther was silent for a moment. "I know your past behavior." He finally said, "But I don't know your character, so I cannot accept your loyalty." Ged stood up and steadied himself with one hand on the trunk of the little tree that stood by the fountain.Still very slowly he found his words: "Master, shall I leave Roke?" "Do you wish to leave Roke?" "In no mood." "Then what do you want?" "I want to stay, I want to study, I want to subdue...evil spirits..." "Omor himself can't subdue... Don't worry, I will not let you leave Roke. Only the strength of the masters on the island, and the defenses placed on the island, can protect you and keep those evil things away. If you Leave now, and the thing you released will immediately find you, enter your body, and take possession of you. In this way, you will become a corpse puppet, a puppet that can only act according to the will of the shadow. You must stay on the island , until you regain strength and wisdom enough to protect yourself, it is up to you. Even now it is waiting for you. It must be waiting for you. After that night, did you see it again?" "I saw it in a dream." After a while, Ged went on, sadly and ashamedly: "Master Gunther, I really don't know what it is, that thing that jumped out of the spell and stuck to me--" "I don't know either. It doesn't have a name. You are born with a powerful internal force, but you use it in the wrong place to cast a spell on something you can't control, and you don't know how that spell will affect the balance of light and darkness, life and death, good and evil. .You cast the spell driven by pride and resentment.Is there anything unexpected in the result of destruction?You summon an undead, but out comes a force that is neither born nor black, and emerges from a nameless place without summoning Evil works through you, and you call upon its power to give it power over you: you are joined. It is the shadow of your pride, the shadow of your ignorance, and the shadow you cast. Do shadows have names?" Ged stood there, miserable and haggard, before he said, "It would be better if I were dead then." "For you, Ni Moore gave up his own life. Who are you to judge your own life and death? Since it is safe here, you can stay here and continue to receive training. They told me that you are very smart, so you should continue to study Come on, study hard. That's all you can do for now." After Genser finished speaking, he disappeared suddenly, as is the case with archmages.The fountain danced in the sun, and Ged looked at it for a while, listening to the sound of the water, and remembering Neemore.In this courtyard Ged had felt like a word poured out by the sun.Now, the darkness has also spoken: said a word that cannot be taken back. He left Yongquan Court, walked towards the South Tower, and returned to his former dormitory, which the courtyard had always reserved for him.He was alone in it.When the supper gong sounded, he went to eat, hardly speaking to or looking up at the other apprentices at the long table, not even those who greeted him most tenderly.So after a day or two, everyone left him alone.It was solitude that Ged longed for, for he feared that he would be unwise, and might speak evil or do evil. Fetch and Jasper were not there, and Ged did not ask where they were.He was several months behind, so that the juniors he had led or dominated were now ahead of him, and Ged studied with the younger apprentices that spring and summer.Among them Ged no longer distinguished himself, for the incantations of every sorcery, even the simplest illusion charms, stopped on the tip of his tongue, and his hands were powerless to operate them. In autumn, Ged was going to go to the Isolation Tower again to study with the "Master Named".The homework he once dreaded, now he faces it with joy, because silence is what he seeks, and there is no need to cast spells for the long-term study here, and during this period, he knows that the power still in his body will never Called to act. The night before he left for the Isolation Tower, a visitor came to his bedroom.This guest wore a brown traveling cloak and carried an oak staff with an iron-tipped end.Ged rose and stared at the wizard's staff. "sparrow hawk……" Hearing this voice, Ged raised his eyes. Standing there was Fetch. He was as solid and stable as ever, his blunt black face was slightly more mature, but his smile remained the same.Crouching on his shoulder was a small animal: piebald coat, bright eyes. "During your illness, it has been with me, and now I am really reluctant to part with it. But I am even more reluctant to part with you, Sparrowhawk. However, I am going back to my hometown. Alright, Brother Houye, I will find you The real master!" Fetch patted the otuck and put it on the floor, and the otuck went to Ged's grass bed and began to scrub his fur with his earth-colored tongue like a leaf.Fetch laughed, but Ged could not.He stooped to hide his lids, and stroked the otak. "Faye, I thought you wouldn't come to see me," said Ged. He didn't mean to blame, but Fei Qu replied: "I can't come to see you, the herbal master forbids it; moreover, since winter, I have been with Xin Chenglin's master, which is like locking myself up. I have to wait until I get it You can only be free when you come to the wooden staff. Listen to me, when you are free, come to the east, and I will wait for you. The town over there is very interesting, and wizards are also very polite." "Freedom..." Ged muttered, shrugging slightly, trying to smile. Fetch stared at him, not quite like the way he used to stare at Ged. His love for his friend hadn't diminished, but he had become more of a wizard.Fei Que said gently: "You will not be bound to Roke Island for the rest of your life." "Well... I've thought about it, maybe I will go to work with the master of the Isolation Tower, and be one of the members who search for the lost names in books and stars, then... then even if I don't do good things, I won't Do more harm." "Maybe..." Fei Que said, "I'm not a prophet, but I see your future, not rooms and books, but distant oceans, dragon flames, and city towers. When you fly high and far, you can see." "But behind me... do you see what's behind me?" on the ground.Then Ged turned his head to one side, and stammered, "Tell me where you are going and what you intend to do." "I'm going home to see my brothers and sisters, you've heard me talk about them. My sister was little when I left home, and now it's going to be a naming ceremony—strange to think about it! Then, I'll be at those Somewhere between the islands, find a job as a wizard. Well, I wish I could stay and talk to you, but no, my ship sails tonight and the tide is turning. Sparrowhawk, if someday you pass by Dongfeng, just come to me. Also, if you ever need me, just send someone to tell me, my name is Esthero.” Hearing this, Ged lifted his scarred face to meet his friend's eyes. "Esthero," he said, "my name is Ged." Then, the two said goodbye to each other quietly, Fei Qu turned and walked down the stone corridor, and left Roke Wizard Academy. Ged stood for a moment in silence, like a man who has just received great news and has to cheer up to receive it.What Fei Qu gave him just now was a big gift; let him know his real name. No one knows a person's real name except himself and the person named it.He may decide at last to tell his brother, or his wife, or his friends, but even those few will not be called by their real names as long as a third party may hear them.在别人面前，他们就像其他人一样，以通称或绰号来称呼，例如雀鹰、费蕖、欧吉安（意思是“枞树球果”）。要是一般人都把真名藏起来，只告诉几个他们锺爱且完全信任的人，那麽，巫师这类终日面对危险的人就更须隐藏真名了。知道一个人的名字，就掌握了那人的性命。所以，对已经丧失自信的格得而言，费蕖送的是只有朋友才会相赠的礼物：那是一项证明，证明末曾动摇、也不可动摇的信赖。 格得在草床上坐下，任顶上假光像耗尽一阵微弱的沼气般，慢慢熄灭。他抚摸瓯塔客，瓯塔客舒服地伸展四肢，伏在他的膝上睡著了，就像没在别的地方睡过一样。宏轩馆静悄悄的，格得突然想起：今天，是他个人的成年礼前夕。成年礼那天，欧吉安授与他具名。如今四年过去了，他仍记得当时赤身无名地走过山泉时那股寒意。他开始回想阿河里其他鲜亮的水池，他曾经在那些水池里游泳；他也怀念山间大斜坡林下的十杨村，怀念早晨走过村里灰尘飘扬的街道时太阳投射的影子；怀念某个冬天下午在铜匠家里，熔炉内风箱下跳跃的火焰，怀念女巫幽暗芳香的茅屋内，弥漫著烟雾和咒语盘旋的空气。 他很久没有想起这些点点滴滴了，在他十七岁的这个夜晚，这些事又重回记忆里。他短暂破碎的人生所历经的岁月和处所，一时又全都浮现心头，成为一个整体。经历了这段漫长、苦涩、荒废的时期，格得然於再度认清他自己是谁，他身在何处。 然而，未来方向如何，他却见不著，也畏惧一见。 次日，他启程穿越岛屿，瓯塔客和以前一样跨骑在他后头。但他这次花了不止两天，而是三天的时间，才走到孤立塔。格得半岛屿北端的淘淘白浪上见到孤立塔时，已疲累到骨子里去了。塔内一如他记忆般幽暗，也如他记忆般阴冷。坷瑞卡墨瑞坷在他的高座中，正在书写长串名字。他瞥一眼格得，没说什么欢迎之辞，彷佛格得根本没离开过。“去睡吧。疲倦使人愚拙。明天，你可以翻阅《创作者的体会》那本书，研习里面的名宇。” 冬季结束，他重返宏轩馆，并升为术土。耿瑟大法师也接受他呈示的忠诚。从那时起，他开始学习高等技术与魔法，超越幻术的技巧，迈入真正的法术，也是获授巫杖必要的学习项目。经过这几个月，已渐渐克服念咒时的困难，双手的技巧也恢复了。不过，他也不像以前一样学得那麽快，因为他已由恐惧中学到漫长艰辛的教训。幸而，施行创造及变形的宏深大法时，已经没有邪恶势力或险恶会战了，因为那是最危险的状况。所以，他有时不由得想，那个被他释放出来的黑影，是否变得衰弱了；或者已经设法逃离人间界，因为已经有颇长一段时间，黑影不复出现在梦中。 然而，他心里明白，那种希望是愚思妄想。 由众师傅及古代民俗画里，格得尽可能了解他释放出来的“黑影”这种存在体，但能学到的不多。都没有直接描述或提到这种存在，顶多只在事物书里零零星星看到一些暗示，说可能像一种“黑影兽”。它不是人类鬼魂，也不是地底太古力的产物，但看起来可能与两者有点关联。格得非常仔细阅读《龙族本质》那本书，里面讲到古代一只龙王的故事，说它受到一种太古力给制，那太古力是一块位於遥远北方的“能言石”。书上说：“在那块石头操纵之下，那只龙王果真开口，将一个灵魂从死亡之域举升上来。但由於龙王误解石头的意思，结果竟除了那个死灵以外，把某样东西也召唤了出来。那东西後来吞噬龙王，并假借龙王的身形出没人间，危害世人。”但书上没有说明那东西是什麽，也没说故事结局如何。众师傅都不晓得这样一个黑影由何而来。大法师曾说，由无生界而来；变换师傅说，从世界错误的一边而来；召唤师傅乾脆表示：“我不知道。” 格得生病期间，召唤师傅常来陪伴格得。他每次来，照例是沈郁严肃的样子，但如今格得领会了他的慈悲，所以十分敬爱他。“我不清楚那东西，我知道的只有一点：惟有巨大的力量能够召唤这样一种东西。说不定，靠的只是一种力量：一种声音--你的声音。 但这样到底代表什麽意思，我就不懂了。不过，你会明白的，你非明白不可，不然就得死，甚至比死更不堪……”召唤师傅说话的语气祥和，但他注视格得的目光却很沉郁。 “你还年幼，以为法师无所不能。我以前也这么认为。我们每个人都曾经有那种想法。 但事实是，一个人其正的力量若增强，知识若拓宽，他得以依循的路途反而变窄。到最後他什麽也不挑拣，只能全心从事必须做的事……” 十八岁生日过後，大法师派格得去和形意师傅学习。在心成林研习的功课，在其他地方很少人谈起。据说那里不施法，但那地方本身就是魔法。那片树林的树木有时可以看见，有时却看不见，而且那些树木并非老是在相同的地方、也非总是属於柔克岛。有人说，心成林的树木都有智慧。有人说，形意师傅是在心成林修练得到极致法术的，所以，要是那里的树木死去，师傅的智慧也会随之消亡；届时，海水将升高并淹没地海所有岛屿，淹没所有人与龙居住的陆地而这些岛屿和陆地是早在神话时代以前，由兮果乙人从海水深处抬升起来的。 凡此种种均为传闻，巫师皆不愿谈起。 又数月过去了。在春季的某一日，格得终於返回宏轩馆。院方接下去将安排他做什麽，他心中一点谱也没有。穿越旷野之後，在通往圆丘的小路上那扇门的门口，有个老人在等他。起初格得不认得这老人，凝神一想才回忆起来：这老人就是五年前他初初柔克时，让他进入学院的人。 老人微笑著先叫出格得的名字，做为招呼问候，然後问道，“你晓得我是谁吗？” 格得回答之前先想一想。人家都说“柔克九尊”，但他只认得八位：风钥师、手师、药草师、诵唱师、变换师、召唤师、名字师、形意师。一般人好像把新任大法师称为第九位师傅。可是，遴选新任大法师时，是九位师傅集合选出的。 “我想，你是守门师傅。”格得说。 “格得，我是守门师傅没错。几年前，你讲出自己的名字，才得进入学院。现在，你得说出我的名宇，才能获得自由离开。”老人微笑说著，静候答覆。格得怔立无语。 当然，他已经晓得千百种找出人事物名字的方法和技巧，他在柔克巫师学院学习的每件事情，都含有这种技巧。倘若没有这项技巧，那麽，能够施展的有效魔法，就没有几个。然而，要找出法师和师傅的名字，是截然不同的情况。论隐藏，法师名字比上海腓鱼藏得高明；论防卫，则比龙穴防卫得紧实。如果你施展探寻咒语，对方会有更强的咒语来应对，你用妙计，妙计会失败；你拐弯抹角采问，会被拐弯抹角挡回；你使蛮力，那蛮力会回头反击自己。 “师傅，你看守的这扇门好窄，”格得终于说：“我想，我必须坐在外头这片矿野里斋戒，一直到瘦得挤得进去为止。” “随你喜欢。”守门人微笑说。 於是，格得走离门口一点，在绶尔溪岸边一棵赤杨树下落坐。他让瓯塔客跑到溪里玩耍，在河泥里寻猎溪蟹。夕阳西下，时候虽晚，但天色仍明，因为春天已经来临了。宏轩馆的窗户有灯笼和假光在发亮，山坡下的绥尔镇街道漆黑一片。猫头鹰在屋顶咕咕叫，蝙蝠在溪河上方的暮色中翻飞。格得坐著一直想：要如何用武力、计谋或巫术，获知守门人的名字。他越是思索，寻遍这五年来在柔克巫师学院习得的全部技艺，越是发觉，没有一个技巧可以用来捕捉这麽一位法师的这么一个秘密。 他在野地里躺下睡觉。星空在上，瓯塔客安顿在衣袋内。日升之後，他仍然没有吃东西，起身去门口敲门，守门人来开门。 “师傅，”格得说：“我还不够强大，所以无法强取你的名字，也还不够明智，所以无法骗得你的名字。所以我甘心留在这儿，听从尊意，学习或效劳除非你刚好愿意回答我一个问题。” "Just ask." “师傅大名？” 守门人莞逊一笑，说出自己的名字。格得仿著重说一遍，才得以最後一次踏进那扇门，进入宏轩馆。 再离开宏轩馆时，格得穿了件厚重的深蓝色斗篷，那是下托宁镇镇方赡送的礼物，他正要前往下托宁镇，因为当地需要一名巫师。格得还带了一根手杖，手杖长度与他身高相仿，以紫杉木雕成，杖底是黄铜制的金属套。守门人向他道别，为他打开宏范馆的後门，那道龙角和象牙切割制成的小门。出了门，格得往下走到绶尔镇，一条船就在早晨波光粼粼的海面上等候他。