Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The Dragon of Pandor

To the west of Roke, between Husk and Ansmore, were the Ninety Isles.Of the Ninety Isles, the nearest to Roke Isle was Sed; the farthest was Xipixu, almost in the Penny Sea.As for whether the total number of Ninety Islands is Ninety, it is always an undecidable issue.Because, if only the islands with fresh water springs are counted, there are about 70 of them. If you count each rock in detail, I am afraid that the sea water will turn tide before counting one hundred.In this area, the straits between the islets are very narrow, and the gentle tide of the Inner Pole Sea rises and falls as long as it is disturbed and stagnant.So when the waves are high, there may be three small islands in one place, but when the waves are low, they may merge into one.But despite the dangerous waves in that area, every child can paddle and has a personal boat. Housewives often cross the channel to meet their neighbors for a quick cup of tea.The roads there are all saltwater sea routes, which are quite accessible, and the only thing that may block the passage is the fishing net.Most of the local fishing nets cross the straits, from houses on one small island to houses on neighboring islands, and are specially used to catch a small fish called "squidbi". The fish oil of this small fish is the wealth of Ninety Islets.There are few bridges here, no big towns, and every islet is crowded with farm and fisherman's houses.A township is formed by the gathering of agricultural and fishery houses, and about ten to twenty small islands form a township.The westernmost one is called "Xia Tuoning", and it is not facing the polar sea, but the open ocean around it.That empty sea was a lonely corner of the Archipelago, and the only island in the sea was the dragon-ravaged island of Pendor.After passing Pando Island, it is the uninhabited waters of the Western Frontier.

Houses are ready for the new wizard.The house was isolated on a hill, surrounded by lush green barley fields, and on the west side there was a pandike forest to keep out the westerly wind, and the branches of the trees were full of red flowers at this time.Standing at the door of the house, you can see the roofs of other thatched houses on the island, as well as woods and gardens, and you can also see the roofs of houses, farmland, and hills on other small islands, and there are many winding and bright channels in between. .The wizard's dormitory was a shabby, windowless house with dirt floors, but it was better than the house Ged had been born in.The islanders of Lower Torning stood reverently before the Roke wizard, and begged him to forgive the humbleness of the house.One of them said: "We have no stones to build a house on." Another said: "None of us is rich, but none of us is hungry." A third said: "At least this house will be dry, sir, because I put that thatch myself." It seemed to Ged that the house was as fine as a palace.The eighteen did not leave until he frankly thanked the representatives of the islanders.They each rowed boats back to their own islands, and told their neighbors, Chungfu and his wife, that the new wizard was a strange and serious young man who didn't talk much, but his words were upright and without arrogance.

Perhaps Ged had little reason to be proud of being a wizard for the first time.The wizards trained by Roke Academy usually live in cities or castles to serve the lords who are in important places.And those lords naturally put wizards in mansions.According to the usual practice, the fishermen in Lower Tuoning only need to hire ordinary witches or almsmen, and it is enough to recite spells to protect the fishing nets, recite spells for new boats, and treat sick animals and people.But in recent years, the old dragon on Pando Island has given birth to offspring. It is said that including the old dragon, there are a total of nine dragons lurking in the dilapidated tower of Pando Haiye. Drag the master back and forth between the corridors.That dead island lacks food, and the little dragons grow up, and when they feel hungry, they fly away from the island and try to get there.Four baby dragons are said to have been seen flying over the southwestern coast of Housk Island, and instead of perching, they spied on sheep pens, barns, and villages.A dragon's hunger is slow to awaken, but difficult to satisfy.So the islanders of Lower Torning sent to Roke College to beg a wizard to come and protect the islanders from the giant beasts that writhed in the West.The Archmage judged at the time that the islanders' fears were not unfounded.

"There is no comfort there," the Archmage had said to Ged the day he was made a Wizard. "No fame, no riches, and perhaps no danger. Will you go?" "I would go," Ged's answer was not quite obedience.He had changed a lot since Night on the Knoll, and he was no longer driven by the lust for fame he used to have.Today, he always doubts his own strength and is afraid to test his strength.Furthermore, the rumor of the dragon also made him very curious.There had been no dragons in Gont for hundreds of years, and it was impossible for a dragon to fly within range of Roke's scent, or appearance, or spell.So on Roke, dragons are only a thing in stories and songs, to be sung about, never seen.Ged had studied all he could about dragons at the Academy.But it's one thing to read about dragons, it's another to face them.Now, with the opportunity in front of him, he replied enthusiastically: "I am willing to go."

Archmage Genser nodded, but his eyes were melancholy. "Tell me," he said a moment later, "are you afraid to leave Roke? Or do you long to go?" "Both." Gunther nodded again. "I don't know if it's right to send you away to safety," he said slowly. "I can't see your future, only darkness. And there's a power in the north that might destroy you. But what it is, where it is, whether it's in your past or on your way to the future, I don't know. Because I saw the shadows covering it. When the people from Lower Thornin came, I thought of you immediately, because there seemed to be a safe place from the road, and maybe you could recharge your energy there. But I really don't know which place is for you. It's safe, and I don't know where your future will go. I don't want to send you into darkness..."

It seemed to Ged at first that the house was a bright place under the blossoming trees.He stayed here, and often looked at the sky in the west, stretching the wizard's ears at any time to pay attention to the sound of the flapping wings of the Linjia.But no dragon came.Ged fished on his sea wall, and planted flowers and grass in his garden.It was summer, and he sat outside under the pandike tree, leafing through the folk books he had brought from Roke College, and often spent the whole day brooding over a page, a line, or a word.The Outakers either slept beside him or went rat-hunting in the woods where the grass and daisies were.He is at the service of the islanders at all times, and is their general physician and weatherman.It never occurred to him that it might be shameful for a wizard to carry out such a small trick, because he himself was a witch boy when he was a child, and the villagers he served were poorer than the people of Lower Torning Island.The islanders of Lower Thornin seldom asked Ged of anything, though, and feared him partly because he was a wizard from the Isle of the Wise, and partly because of his silence and his scarred eyelids.That was why, even a young man like Ged always made one feel uncomfortable with him.

Ged, however, had a friend, a shipwright, of Pevery, who lived in the neighboring island to the east.They met on the sea wall, when Ged stopped to watch him step on the mast of a small boat. He had already looked up at the wizard, grinning and said, "A month's work is almost done. If you do it, I will Guess you only need a minute and a spell, don't you, sir?" "Perhaps," said Ged, "but unless I keep the spell on, I might be down in the bottom of the ocean the next minute. But if you want to..." He didn't finish. "What, sir?" "Well, the boat is pretty well built and doesn't really need anything more. However, if you like, I can cast a binding spell to keep her smooth and safe, or a seek spell to get her out of the sea. When you return, you can go home safely."

Ged hesitated a little, not wanting to hurt the shipwright's feelings, but Peevere's countenance brightened. "Sir, this boat was built for my son. If you are willing to cast a curse on him, it can really be said to be the Great Dron." With that, he climbed up the embankment, took Ged's hand, and thanked him solemnly. Since then, they have often worked together.When building or repairing ships, Viry was responsible for the handiwork; Ged, in addition to providing spell skills, also learned how to build ships and how to steer ships without relying on spells, because the skill of sailing a ship purely by means of sails has almost disappeared on Roke Island. .Ged often drove different boats between the straits and lagoons with Pewery and his youngest son Ios. Later, not only Ged became a good sailor, but also his friendship with Peavery was firm. shift.

At the end of the autumn, the boatman's son fell ill, and the child's mother invited a witch who was good at healing from Tesk Island, and the situation seemed to improve for a day or two.But then, in the middle of the night when a storm raged, Pevelier came and knocked on Ged's door, begging him to save his son.Ged ran with him to the boat, and rowed hastily to the shipwright's house in the night and storm.Ged saw the child lying on the bed of straw, and the mother crouching beside it, and the Witch singing the Negisong, which was her best remedy, burning the roots of the grass.But she whispered to Ged, "My lord wizard, I think the boy has red fever, and won't last the night."

Ged knelt down, put his hands on the child, and drew back from the same conclusion.In the last months of his own serious illness, the herbal master taught him many folk remedies, no matter how deep the remedies are, the principle is the same, that is: wounds can be cured, diseases can be cured, and the dying soul can only go by it. Seeing Ged step back, the mother understood the meaning, and immediately wailed in despair.Pewery bent down beside her and said, "Mistress Sparrowhawk will save him, don't cry! Now that he's here, there's a way." Hearing the mother's wailing, seeing the father's trust in him, Ged could not bear to let them down.He overturned his own judgment, thinking that if the fever could be subsided, maybe the child could be saved."I'll do my best, Peveri," he said.

The couple brought fresh rainwater from outside, and Ged used it to bathe the child in cold water, while saying a heat-relieving charm.But the spell had no effect, and suddenly Ged thought the child was going to die in his arms. Ged, not caring for himself, gathered his strength at once, put his soul into motion, and went after the child's soul, to bring it back to the grave.He called the child's name "Ios!" He heard a faint response from his inner hearing, so he called again, continuing the chase.He saw the boy trotting ahead of him, about to run down a steep, dark slope off the side of a hill.The surrounding area was silent, and the stars above the hills were things he had never seen with his naked eyes, but he knew the names of those constellations, namely Bundle Star, Gate Star, Turner Star, and Tree Star.They are the kind of stars that don't sink, and don't fade when a certain day comes.He chased the dying boy too far. As soon as Ged perceived this, he found himself standing alone in the dark foothills.It was very difficult to turn around and go back, very difficult. He turned around slowly, first slowly took one foot to climb up the hillside, and then took the other foot, climbing the mountain step by step with willpower, each step was more difficult than the previous step. The stars did not move, and there was no wind on the barren steep slopes. In this vast dark kingdom, he was the only one walking and climbing slowly.He climbed to the top of the hill, where he saw a low wall.On the other side of the wall, a dark figure faced him. That shadow had neither human nor animal form.Though shapeless and barely visible, the shadow whimpered silently at Ged, and approached him.The shadow was on the side of the living, and Ged was on the side of the dead. Either he descends, into the realm of the desert and the ignorant city of the dead, or he crosses that wall to regain his life, but there is something invisible waiting for him!His "spirit staff" was in his hand, and Ged held it aloft.This movement restored his strength, and when he faced the black shadow and was about to jump over the low stone wall, the staff immediately emitted white light, becoming a blinding light in the darkness.He jumped, felt himself fall, and couldn't see anything after that. What Pervery, his wife and the witch saw was that the young mage stopped halfway through the spell, hugged the child, stood still for a while, and then gently put little Ios back on the grass bed, holding the baby in his arms. Raise the staff and stand still.Suddenly, he held up the wooden staff, and the wooden staff emitted white flames, as if holding a lightning rod.In the blink of an eye, everything in the room jumped strangely.When they could see clearly, they saw the young mage lying curled up on the dirt floor, with the dead child lying beside him on a straw bed. Pevery thought the mage was dead too.His wife was crying, and he was completely bewildered.Fortunately, the witch had heard it from the hearsay, so she knew a little bit about witchcraft and the way of death of real wizards.She saw Ged lying there, and though his body was cold and lifeless, she knew he was not dead, but to be treated as sick or in a trance.So they sent him home, and had an old woman watch over him, to see if Ged was sleeping, or awake, or not at all. When Ged was unconscious, the little otaker hid on the rafters of the house, as when the stranger came.He stayed there until the rain beat on the walls, and the fire was silent, and the night fell, and the old woman dozed by the fire, and then he crawled down to Ged, who was lying stiff and motionless, and stretched out his hand. The dry tongue like a dead leaf began to slam his hands and wrists patiently, then squatted beside his head to lick his temples, scarred cheeks, and then lightly licked his tight eyes.Under its gentle touch, Ged slowly moved.When he woke up, he didn't know where he had been or where he was now, and he didn't know that the faint light in the dark sky was the light of dawn coming to the world.The Outak nestled on his shoulder as usual, and fell asleep. Ged looked back on that night afterward, and he knew that if nothing had touched him and called him back as he lay unconscious, he might never have come back.Thanks to the beast, with its silent, instinctive intelligence, licking its wounded companion and soothing him.In that wisdom, however, Ged saw something parallel to his inner power, something as deep as witchcraft.From that time on, Ged believed that a wise man must not be separated from other life, whether it has language or not.In the following years, he tried his best to learn what he could learn from silence, from the eyes of animals, from the flying of birds and beasts, and from the slowly swaying posture of trees. That was the first time he had crossed the dead city and returned unscathed. It was something only a wizard could do when he was conscious, and even the greatest mage would have to risk it.However, although he returned safely, he was not without sadness and fear.To be sad is to be sad for your friend Peveri, and to be afraid is to be afraid for yourself.He understood now why the Archmage was afraid of him leaving, and how the Archmage had cast a shadow over his vision of Ged's future.Because what is waiting for him is darkness itself, that nameless thing, an existence that does not belong to the world, and it is also the shadow he released or created.It has been waiting for him for a long time on the boundary between life and death in the spiritual world.Now it has Ged's thread, and it is waiting to get close to him, trying to take away his strength, devour his life, and hide in Ged's flesh. Presently Ged dreamed of the thing, which looked like a big bear without a head and a face.In the dream, it seemed to search along the wall outside the house, looking for the door.It was the first time Ged had dreamed of it since he had been healed of being scratched by it.When he awoke Ged was weak and cold, and the scars on his face and shoulders throbbed tight. The bad times have begun.Every time he dreamed of the shadow, or even thought of it, he felt the same cold fear.As a result of fear, his senses and strength gradually lost, and he became dull and confused.He was angry at his cowardice, but anger didn't work either.He wanted to seek protection, but there was no barrier.That thing was not flesh, nor living, nor soul, nor name, nor existence, but Ged gave it existence.It is a terrible power, not controlled by the laws of the sun shining on the earth.It came at his will, to exercise its will through him, to become his creation.That's all Ged knew about it.However, it still doesn't have its own real shape, so he doesn't know what shape it will come in, how it will come, and when it will come. Ged placed magical barriers around his dwelling and around his island.This spellcasting had to be constantly renewed, and he soon realized that if he spent all his energy on these defenses, he would be of little use to the islanders.What if a dragon flew over from Pendor Island and he was caught between two great enemies?He dreamed again, but this time, the shadow was in the house, by the door, approaching him through the darkness, whispering words he couldn't understand.Ged woke up frightened, and there was a false light in the sky, and it shone in every corner of the room until there was no shadow anywhere.Then he added wood to the fire pit, sat by the firelight and listened to the autumn wind blowing against the thatched roof and whistling among the bare branches.He sat and meditated for a long time, and an old anger awakened in his heart; he no longer waited helplessly like this, and stopped sitting on the island like this, reciting useless locking and defense techniques.However, he couldn't just walk away and escape this confinement. To do so would not only damage his own credibility, but also make the islanders defenseless against the dragon.There is only one way to go. Early the next morning, he went down the mountain to the main direction of Lower Tuoning, found the representative of the islanders, and told him. "I must leave this place. Because the danger I am facing will bring you into danger too. I must go, so I ask you for leave to eradicate Bendoron. Then, my task for you will be completed, and I will I can leave freely. If I fail, then when those dragons come here, I will also fail, so it is better to know sooner than later." The representative of the islanders stared at Ged in amazement. "Lord Sparrowhawk," he said, "there are nine dragons over there!" "It is said that eight are still young." "But the old one..." "I tell you, I have to get out of here. So I ask you for leave, to get rid of the danger of the dragon for you first, if I can." "Sir, as you wish," said the island representative gloomily.All who were present and heard of Ged's plan thought that their young wizard was pure valor.Otsuka watched him leave with a sullen face, thinking that once he left, he would never come back.Some people hinted that the wizard meant to go to the Inner Sea by way of Housk Island, leaving them to die in Lower Torning.Peevere was one of the others who thought Ged was mad and killed himself. For four generations, all sailing ships have avoided the coast of Pando, and no mage has ever gone there to fight dragons, partly because the island of Pando is on a sea route that no one passes by, and partly because the owner of Pando has always been a pirate. People who live in the southwestern part of Earthsea deeply resent them.Therefore, when the old dragon suddenly flew over from the west, breathed fire, smothered the owner of Pando Island and the islanders who were feasting in the tower, and drove all the screaming islanders into the sea, the neighbors No one on the island wants to seek revenge on the dragon.Since no one seeks vengeance, Pando Island has of course become the domain of dragons, and the corpses, towers, stolen jewels, etc. on the island are all handed over to the old dragon.The jewels of the island were stolen from the shores of Parn and Housk, and the princes and nobles who were stolen were long dead. Ged knew all this well, and since he had come to Lower Torning he had turned over in his mind all the dragons he had learned.When he sailed west, he didn't row the boat or use the sailing skills that Pevery taught him, but he sailed with witchcraft, using the magic wind to hold the sail, and using spells to stabilize the keel and bow to keep the right direction--he Watching the sea, waiting for the dead island to show itself on the edge of the sea.He wished to be quick, and that was why he used the spell, because what was behind him frightened him more than what was in front of him.But as the day passed, his impatience had changed from fear to intense relief that at least he had come out of his own volition to meet the danger, and the closer he got to Pendor the more certain he was, although this might be the time he was about to face. A moment before his death, but at least for this moment he was free.That black shadow definitely didn't dare to follow him and throw himself into the dragon's mouth.The sea is gray and white, the waves are surging, and the north wind carries gray clouds across the sky.Traveling westward with the swift spellwind, he could already see the rocks of Pendor, the quiet streets of the town, and the ruined and crumbling towers. The port of Pendor Island was a half-moon-shaped shallow bay, and Ged undid the wind spell at the entrance, so that the boat calmed down and lay quietly with the waves.Then he spoke and summoned the dragon, "Whoever takes the Isle of Pendor, come out and defend your private possession!" The waves beat against the pale rocky shore, and broke Ged's cry.But dragons are keen creatures of hearing, and soon Ged saw one flying out of the ruined roof of the port.It was shaped like a huge bat, with thin wings and stabbing back, and it flew straight towards Ged with the north wind in its arms.Ged felt his heart swell when he saw with his own eyes the animal that his people had always regarded as a scorpion, and he laughed and shouted: "You little bug in the wind, go and call that old dragon out!" This young dragon was born of a female dragon that flew over from Xizhen many years ago.It is said that when the mother dragon hatched with her claws tightly holding a few giant leather-like eggs in the broken tower room under the sun, she flew away again, leaving the old dragon Pando to look after these newly hatched, poisonous lizard-like eggs. Like a crawling young dragon. The young dragon did not answer Ged.It is small in size, only about a long boat with forty oars.The membranous black wings are as thin as insect wings when opened.It seems that this dragon is not yet fully developed, its voice is also low, and it does not have the cunning of a dragon.It opened its long, toothed jaws, aimed at the rocking boat in which Ged was in, and swooped down from the sky like an arrow.A sharp spell from Ged, binding its limbs, and immobilizing its companions, was enough to send it plummeting like a rock into the gray water. The other two dragons flew out from the bottom of the tower just like the first one, and flew straight to Ged's boat just like the first one, so Ged bound them and subdued them to fall into the sea and drown, and he didn't even have the witch's staff back. Didn't lift it up. After a while, three more dragons flew towards him from the island.One of them was very large, with flames blowing from its mouth.Two flew straight at him, but the bigger one came round behind him, very fast, belching fire to burn Ged and the ship.Binding cannot subdue three dragons at the same time, because two came from the north and one came from the south.As soon as Ged figured it out, he immediately cast "transfiguration", and in an instant, a dragon leaped out of his boat. Spreading its wide wings and outstretched claws, the dragon first tackled the two young dragons oncoming, burning them with flames, and then turned to face a third dragon, which was bigger than himself and also breathed fire.Above the gray sea waves, two dragons turned, leaped, attacked, and sprinted in the wind, spouting fire, filling the surrounding area with fireworks.Suddenly, Gedron flew upwards, and the enemy dragon followed closely below.In the middle, Gedron paused with his wings raised high, and then swooped down like an eagle, stretching his claws downward, attacking the neck and flanks of the enemy dragon below.The black wings of the attacked dragon fluttered in panic, and the thick black blood of the dragon dripped onto the surface of the sea.Pan Duolong broke free from the attack, flew down to the island weakly, and hid in a dry well or cave in the ruins. Immediately Ged returned to the ship and changed back into his original form, for maintaining the dragon form longer than the situation required was most dangerous.His hands were blackened by the sloshing dragon's blood, and his head was burned by the fire, but now, these were all right.He waited until his breathing eased, and then shouted: "It is said that there are nine dragons, I saw six, I killed five, and the rest come out!" For a long time, there was no movement of creatures on the island, and no sound was heard, only the waves crashing against the shore loudly.Then Ged noticed that the tallest tower on the island was slowly changing shape, and one side of it was slowly protruding as if it had grown an arm.He is afraid of dragon magic, because the old dragon can conjure magic, which is comparable to human magic, not only powerful but also cunning.But, after a while, he realized that it was not the dragon juggling, but that he had been fooled by his own eyes.It turned out that what he thought was the protruding part of the tower was actually the shoulder of the old dragon Pandu, which was standing up straight and slowly. When it fully raised its scaled and armored dragon head, raised its fringe crown, and stretched out its genus, its body was taller than the dilapidated tower.The clawed front hooves rested on the rubble of the ruins, and the gray-black scales reflected the sunlight, looking like a cracked stone.It was lean as a hound and as big as a hill.Ged gazed at it in awe, and found no poem or story in his memory to describe the sight.He almost got caught looking into the dragon's eyes, because a man is not allowed to look into a dragon's eyes.He looked away from the gaze of the oily green eyes that gazed at him, and held up before him his cane, which now looked like a broken log, a twig. "Little wizard, I have eight sons." The dragon's hoarse voice said loudly, "Five sons are dead, and one son is dying. That's enough, don't kill them to get my treasure." "I don't want your treasure." Yellow smoke is sprayed from the dragon, that is its way of laughing. "Little wizard, don't you want to go ashore and have a look? It's worth a look." "I don't see it." Wind and fire are blood relatives of the dragon clan, but wind and fire are not conducive to fighting at sea. This has been Ged's advantage until now, and he has maintained it well.But the waterway between him and the giant gray claw no longer seemed to be in his favor. It's hard not to look into those watching green eyes. "You are a very young wizard," said the Dragon. "I did not know that Men gained power at a young age." It was in the Old Tongue, as was Ged, for the Dragons still speak that language.While humans must speak the truth when they speak the Ancient Tongue, dragons don't have to.The ancient language of man is their language, so they can lie in it, or twist the truth at will to achieve improper purposes, and make the unwary listener fall into the maze of mirror language.In that language of mirror images, each mirror image reflects reality, but none of them is sure.This was a warning Ged had heard so often before, so when the dragon spoke he listened with distrustful ears, ready to doubt.But the words of the giant dragon seem to be frank: "Little wizard, did you come to Pando Island to ask me for help?" "No, Dragon." "But I can help you. You will need help soon, against that which hunts you in the dark." Ged froze. "What is it that is hunting you? Tell me the name." "If I could name it..." Ged broke off. Yellow smoke coiled above the long dragon head, and the two nostrils were on fire. "Perhaps you can control it by knowing its name, little wizard. I may be able to tell you its name when I see it passing by. If you wait near my island, it will come close. Whatever It will follow you wherever you go. If you don't want it to come close, you have to run, keep running, and avoid it. But it will follow you from afar. Do you want to know its name? " Ged was silent again.He couldn't figure it out, how did the dragon know about the shadow he released?How could it know Sombra's name?Archmage Gunther said that the shadow had no name.But dragons have their own unique oath of wisdom, and they are also a group that is older than humans. Few people can guess what the dragon knows and how to know it. The few who can guess it are the "Dragon Masters".Ged could only be sure of one thing: though the dragon might be right in what he said, though it might have some way of telling Ged the name of the shadow, so that he might have power over it.But all the same, though it tells the truth, it is entirely for its own sake. "It is rare for a dragon to ask a man for help," said young Ged at last. "But it's very common for cats to play with mice before killing them," Long said. "But I'm not here to play or to be played with. I'm here to make a deal with you." The tip of the dragon's tail arched like a scorpion, sticking out on the back of the armor, hanging high above the tower, like a sharp sword, five times as long as any sword.The dragon said indifferently: "I don't talk about deals, I only take things. What can you offer that I love to take but can't take away?" "Safe, your safety. You swore you would never leave Pendor and fly east, and I swear you will be safe." A loud rattling sound came from the dragon's throat, like the roar of boulders rolling down the mountain after an avalanche in the distance.Flames danced on the dragon's three-pronged tongue, and it raised its body again, entrenched on the ruins. "Provide me with safety! You're threatening me! Why?" "By your name, Yevad." Ged's voice trembled when he said the name, but he said it loudly. Facing the pronunciation of the name, Lao Long was stunned, completely stunned.A minute passed, and another minute passed.Ged stood in the swaying boat, smiling.He put all his eggs in one basket, bet the adventure and his own life, and made a bold guess.Based on the legends and ancient histories of the various dragons he had learned on Roke, he guessed that this Bendor dragon, together with Yephren and Morad, had been raging in the west of Ossk when they were alive, and was killed by Walter, a wizard who knew the name well. The dragon that drove away from Osik was the same dragon. Ged guessed right. "Yevad, we are a match. You have the strength and I have your name. Are you willing to make a deal?" The dragon still didn't answer. This dragon has been on this island for many years, gold breastplates and emeralds are scattered among the dust, bricks, and bones. Crawling, test flying on the edge of the cliff, and taking a long nap in the sun, the sound of people or passing sailboats can't wake it up.It is old, and now facing this young mage, who knows that he is a weak enemy, can't help but shrink back when seeing the opponent's cane, so of course it is difficult to be presumptuous. "You can pick nine gems from my collection," it said at last: "Pick the best gems at will, and let's go!" "Yevad, I don't want your gem." "Where is the greed of man? Man loves shining gems, long ago in the North. Oh, I know what you want, wizard. I can also provide you with safety, because I know what can save you. I Know the only way to save you. There is a fear that follows you, and I will tell you its name." Ged's heart pounded.He clutched his staff, and, like the dragon, stood motionless, wrestling for a moment with the unexpected startling hope. The deal he was negotiating was not his own life.To surpass the dragon in front of him, there is only one trick, and it is the only one.So, putting aside his hopes, he resolved to do what he had to do. "That's not what I want, Yevad." When he uttered the dragon's name, it was as if a thin, delicate leather strap had been bound around the gigantic being, tightening its throat.From the dragon's gaze, Ged could sense the age-old malevolence and sophistication of man.He could see its steel claws, each as long as a human forearm.He could also see its stone-hard hide and the flames going in and out of its throat.Still, he tightened the belt. He repeated: "Yevad, by your name, you and your sons will never fly to the Archipelago." Suddenly the dragon spewed bright flames loudly between its jaws, and said, "I swear by my name!" Silence fell over the island, and Yevad's huge head bowed. When it looked up again, the wizard was gone.The sail of the boat was a tiny white speck on the easterly waves, heading for the dotted islands of the Inner Sea.The aged Bendoron stood up angrily, rolling and destroying towers wantonly, and flapping his huge wings against overturned towns.But its oath stopped it, so since then, it has not flown to the archipelago.