Chapter 3 second quarter

The low stone wall on the top of the cliff near the house blocks the sun, and the cool shadow disturbs the sleepers.He sat up while shivering, and stood up a little stiffly and bewilderedly, with grass seeds still mixed in his hair.Seeing the owner busy fetching water from the well and dragging the bucket into the vegetable garden, he immediately went to help. "Three or four times should be enough." The former archmage said, pouring water on the fresh cabbage.In the dry and warm air, the moist soil smells more fragrant, and the golden sun shines all over the place. The two sat on the bench in front of the door, watching the sun go down.Sparrowhawk produced a bottle and two thick greenish wide-mouthed glasses. "My wife's son's wine," said Sparrowhawk, "from Midvale Oak Farm. Seven years ago, good vintage." The bright red warmed the alder.The sun was setting quietly and clearly, the wind died down, and the birds in the orchard sang the end of the day.

Alder heard from Master Roke Xingyi that the legendary Archmage Sparrowhawk, who brought the king back from the dead and flew away on a dragon, was still alive, and he was very surprised.Master Xingyi said that the Archmage is still alive and living in his hometown of Gongt Island. "What I'm telling you is something that few people know." Master Xingyi said at the time, "I think you need to know, and I think you will keep it a secret for the archmage." "Then, he is still the archmage!" Chi Yang said with a certain joy at that time.In all the years of King Lebannan's reign, the Wise Ones had not appointed any Archmage to replace Sparrowhawk on Roke Isle, the magical center and academy of Earthsea.This has puzzled and concerned all those who practice the art of Dharma.

"No," Master Xingyi said, "he is definitely not a mage." Master Xingyi once mentioned how and why the sparrow eagle lost its power, and Chi Yang also spent time carefully deliberating, but here, the man in front of him talked with the dragon clan, brought back the ring of Eriabah, and crossed the kingdom of the dead. He ruled the entire Earthsea kingdom before, so all the stories and songs gathered in Alder's mind.Although Alder found that the man was old and content to serve the vegetable garden, that mana no longer possessed or shrouded mana in or around him, but only the power that the soul can obtain after a long life of thought and action, he still saw a great man. mage.The fact that Sparrowhawk had a wife, therefore, disturbed him.

Wife, daughter, stepson...the mage has no family.Ordinary sorcerers like Alder can decide whether to marry or not, but men with real magic are abstinent.Chi Yang could easily imagine the man in front of him riding a dragon's back, but being a husband and father was another matter.He just can't do it.He continued to ask: "You... madam...she is living with her son now, isn't she?" Sparrowhawk was staring at the bay to the west, but came back to his senses when he heard the words from a distance: "No, she is in Havnor, where the king is." After a while, Sparrowhawk came back to his senses and continued: "Shortly after the Long Dance Festival, she went with our daughters, and Lebannin invited them to come to consult. Maybe the matter discussed is related to the one you came to see me. Same thing. I'll talk about it later... To be honest, I'm pretty tired tonight and don't feel like talking about big things, and you look tired too, so maybe you should have a bowl of soup, a glass of wine, and sleep? We'll meet again tomorrow morning talk."

"Except sleep," said Alder, "everything is welcome. It is sleep that frightens me, my lord." It took the old man a while to react, and he replied, "Are you afraid of going to sleep?" "Dream." "Ah." A sharp gaze shot out from the deep black pupils under the gray tangled eyebrows. "I think you took a good nap on the grass." "Sleepest sleep since leaving Roke. Thank you for it. Perhaps such a sleep will come again tonight, but if not, I'll be writhing and screaming and rousing in my sleep, and it's a blessing to those around me." burden. I would like to sleep outside if you will allow me."

Sparrowhawk nodded. "It's going to be comfortable tonight." It was indeed a comfortable night, the air was cool, the sea breeze was blowing softly from the south, and except where the broad mountain peaks stood, the sky was lit up by the white light of the stars in summer.Alder spread the mattresses and sheepskins given by his master on the grass where he had been lying before. Sparrowhawk lay in the small west alcove of the house.It was also Ogion's home, where he had slept as a boy when he was Ogion's apprentice.After Tehanu became his daughter, it had been her bed for the past fifteen years.Neither Tehanu nor Tenar were at home now, lying alone in the dark corner of the only room, and he and Tenar's bed had been so lonely that he had begun to sleep in the alcove.He liked the little couch, directly under the window, that jutted out from the thick wooden wall, and slept well there.Not so tonight.

Before midnight, Sparrowhawk was awakened by a shout and noise outside the house, causing him to jump straight up and walk to the door.There were only alder trees outside, battling nightmares, and the cries were interspersed with the sleepy protests of the chickens in the chicken coop.Chi Yang yelled in a heavy dream language, woke up, sat up in panic and anxiety, apologized to the master, and said that he would sit under the stars for a while.Sparrowhawk went back to bed.Alder didn't wake him again, but he had a nightmare of his own. Sparrowhawk was standing by a stone wall, and nearby was a long, high slope covered with short gray dry grass that stretched into the darkness in the dim light.He knew he had been there, stood there, but not when, or where.Someone was standing on the hillside on the other side of the wall, near the foot of the hill, not far from him.He could not see the man's face, only that he was a tall man in a cloak.He knew he knew the man.The man called him by his real name: "Ged, you will be here soon."

Chilling to the bone, Sparrowhawk sat up, widened his eyes to see the house clearly, and wrapped himself in the reality around him like a quilt.He looked out the window at the stars.A sudden chill pierced my heart.Those were not the summer stars he loved and knew--not Carriage, Saker, Dancer, Heart of the Swan, but other stars, tiny still stars in the Drylands, never rising or setting .For a time he knew the real names of the stars, when he knew the real names of things. "Dispel disaster!" Sparrowhawk yelled, making the bad luck dispelling hand gesture learned when he was ten years old.Looking at the wide open door and the corner behind the door, I thought I saw the darkness gradually coalescing, condensing into a mass, and gradually rising.

The gesture had no power, but it awakened him.The shadow behind the door is just a shadow, and the stars outside the window are the stars of Earthsea, paler and paler in the first ray of dawn reflected. Sparrowhawk pulled the sheepskin wrapped around his shoulders, sat on the bed, watched the stars slowly sink and fade away, watched the sky gradually brighten, the morning glow colorful, and the new day show changes.There was a sadness in him, coming from nowhere, like an ache, a longing for something beloved but lost, lost forever.He's used to this, he's had a lot of things he loves, he's lost a lot, but the grief is so great it doesn't seem to belong to him.It was as if the sadness had been rooted at the core, still there even when the light came down, coming out of the dream, clinging to him, lingering when he got up.

Sparrowhawk lit a small fire in the great hearth, and went to the peach trees and henhouses to gather breakfast.Alder returned from the trail that had gone north on the top of the cliff, and said he would go for a walk at dawn.His face showed the exhaustion accumulated over the years, and Sparrowhawk was once again shocked by his sad expression, which mirrored the deep emotions left in his dream. They drank the warm barley porridge that the Gontites drank, and ate boiled eggs and peaches.The morning mists in the shade of the mountains were too cold to be outside, so they ate by the fire.Then the Sparrowhawks went out to tend the livestock: feeding the chickens, grain to the pigeons, herding the sheep into pasture.Back in the house, the two sat side by side on the bench in the front yard again. At this time, the sun had not yet climbed over the mountain, but the air had become dry and warm.

"Tell me, Alder, why you have come. But since you are from Roke, tell me first if all is well in the Great Hall." "My lord, I didn't go in." "Ah." The tone was calm, but accompanied by a sharp glance. "I only enter the Heart Forest." "Ah." Peaceful tone, peaceful glance. "How is Master Xingyi?" "The master said to me: 'On my behalf, I would like to express my love and admiration to the lord, and tell the lord: I hope we can walk together in the forest like in the past.'" Sparrowhawk smiled slightly sadly.When I was young, I said: "I see, but I think he asked you to come not just to say these things." "I'll try to keep it short." "A day is so long, and I like to hear stories tell from the beginning." So Alder began to tell his own story from the beginning. Alder was the son of a witch, born in the town of Eriny, the Isle of Musicians, the Isle of Dawn. Daun Island is located at the southern end of the Oia Sea, not far from Soria, which was submerged by the waves.There had been the old heart of Earthsea, and there had been kingdoms and towns and kings and wizards on Havnor when there were only fighting natives and Gont was a wild bear where wild bears ruled.People born in Oia, Abia, Enlad Island, or Daun Island, even if they are only the daughters of ditch diggers or the sons of witches, consider themselves descendants of ancient mages, and warriors who died after Yephran in the Dark Ages Department of homology.They are polite, occasionally overly arrogant, have a broad mind and speech, and are above mediocrity and rhetoric, but they are also widely suspected by merchants. "Like a kite without a string." The rich merchant of Havno described the people there, but he did not dare to let King Lebanon, who came from the Yinglad clan, hear such thoughts. The best harps in Earthsea come from Daun Island, and there is also a music academy on the island, where many famous ballad singers were born or studied here.However, Alder said, Ellini was just a market town in the mountains, not immersed in music, and his mother, Baiberry, was a poor woman, but she couldn't eat three meals a day.She has a birthmark that extends prominently from her right eyebrow and ear to her shoulder.Many men and women with such marks or eccentricities have become witches or sorcerers as a result, and it is generally believed to be "manifested".Baiberry practiced conjuration, and also manipulated ordinary witchcraft. She lacked real talent, but she also had some extraordinary ability, which was almost as useful as magical talent.She made a living by it, trained her son as best she could, and saved enough money to send him to the sorcerer who gave him his real name. About his father, Chi Yang didn't say a word and knew nothing about him.Baiberry never mentioned it.Witches are seldom abstinent, but they seldom maintain more intimate relationships with any man than dewy marriages, and even fewer marry men.It is more common for two witches to spend their lives together, which is called "witch marriage" or "women's oath".So a son of a witch would have one or two mothers, but no father.Needless to say, Sparrowhawk didn't ask, but asked about Alder's training process. The sorcerer "Gannet" imparted to Alder the few words of mantra he knew and a few spells of search and vision, neither of which the child had any talent for.But Gannet still takes pains to discover Alder's true talent—he's the tinkerer who can reassemble and restore things back to their original condition.Whether it was a broken tool, a broken blade or axle, or a shattered clay bowl, he reassembled the pieces from piece to piece, leaving no blemish, seam, or chip.So the master sent Alder to search for repairing spells all over the island. He probably got them from witches, and learned the art of repairing by studying the spells by himself. "It's a kind of healing," Sparrowhawk said. "It's no small talent, and it's not an art that comes easily." "For me, it's a joy," Alder said, with a ghostly smile on his face. "Unraveling spells, and sometimes discovering how to use a certain true word to get the job done... Reassembling a dry, cracked barrel with the pieces of wood falling off the iron cage... Seeing the barrel whole again, returning to the arc it should be, The base is solid, and the wine is poured in, I'm satisfied... There was a harpist from Meone - a great harpist, and when he played, oh, like a storm on a high mountain, the sea The tsunami storm——he was quite rough on the strings, and he would always play and pull hard when he fell into the passion of playing. When he breaks a string, I fix it right before the next note and let him keep playing." Sparrowhawk nodded and listened eagerly, as if talking professionally among colleagues, and asked, "Have you ever repaired glass?" "I did it, but it was a long, hard job," Alder said. "There's a whole bunch of tiny pieces of glass." "However, a large hole in the heel of a sock may be more difficult to fill," Sparrowhawk said.The two continued to talk about tinkering for a while, before Alder continued with his story. Alder became a tinkerer and then a moderately paid warlock, a talent for magic that made him a minor local celebrity.When he was about thirty, he accompanied the harpist to Meone, the great island city, as wedding musician.A woman visited the place where she was staying. She was a young woman who had not received any training as a witch, but she claimed to have magical talents, just like Alder, and hoped that Alder could teach her.The woman's talent is even better than his. Although she doesn't know a word of the mantra, she can repair broken pots and broken ropes only with the movement of her hands and a song without words whispered in a low voice; Limbs, this is something Alder himself never dared to try. Therefore, instead of letting Alder teach, the two teach each other in skills instead of Alder giving one-way.She returned to Alini with Alder, and lived with Alder's mother, Baiberry. Baiberry taught her several costumes, effects and methods to enhance the customer's impression, although she did not have much knowledge about real witches.The woman's name is Lily.Lily and Alder worked together in Erini, their reputation spread far and wide, and their deeds gradually spread to all the nearby mountain towns. "I gradually fell in love with her." Alder said.As soon as Lily was mentioned, Alder's voice gradually changed, receding hesitant intonation, becoming more eager and richer in rhythm. "Her hair is dark, with a reddish-blonde sheen," Alder said. Chi Yang couldn't hide his love, and Lily responded the same when she noticed it.Lily said that it doesn't matter whether they are witches or not, the two are born to belong to each other, regardless of work or life.Lily loves him and is willing to marry him. The two got married, and their lives were extremely joyful in the first year of marriage, and also in the next six months. "Before the baby was born, everything was the same," Alder said, "but the baby was still not born after a long time. The midwife tried to bring it to life with herbs and spells, but it seemed that the baby would not let her have it, would not let her have it." Separated from her, unwilling to be born in the world. As a result, the child was not born and took her away." After a long time, Alder said: "We have shared great joy." "I see." "And therefore my grief is equally deep." The old man nodded. "I can bear it," Alder said. "You know how. I can't find a reason to live, but I can bear it." "That's true." "But in the winter, two months after she died, a dream appeared and she was in the dream." "tell me." "I was standing on the hillside. There was a low wall extending from the top of the hillside to the foot of the hill, like a partition between sheep pastures. She stood at the foot of the hill, facing me through the wall. It was darker there." Sparrowhawk nodded, his face as hard as a rock. "She called me. I heard her call my name, and I went towards her. I knew she was dead, I knew it in my dream, but I went with joy. I couldn't see her clearly, so I walked towards her, to see her, to be with her, and she put her hands over the wall, the wall that only reached my chest. I thought the baby would be with her, but no. She held out her hands to me, I reached out to her and took hers." "You touched?" "I wanted to go to her, but I couldn't get over the wall, my legs couldn't move. I tried to pull her towards me and she wanted to come over and seemed to be able to get by, but the wall was blocking us. We couldn't get over the wall. So she leaned to me, kissed my mouth, and said my name. She said, "Set me free! " "I thought if I called her by her real name, I'd be able to set her free and lead her over that wall, so I said, 'Mayfury, come with me! ’ But she said, ‘Harry, that’s not my real name, that’s not my real name anymore. I tried to grab her, but she let go of my hand. She yelled, "Ha Rui, set me free!" "But walking back into the darkness. The hillside beyond the wall was dark. I called her real name, her common name, and all the intimate nicknames I called her, but she drifted away. So, I woke up." The Sparrowhawk gazed at the visitor long and intently. "You gave me your real name, Hari." Chi Yang was slightly shocked, took a few long breaths slowly, and raised his head with gloomy courage. "Who else is more worthy of my trust and my real name?" Sparrowhawk solemnly thanks. "I will try my best to live up to your trust. Tell me, do you know where that place, that wall...is?" "I didn't know then. Now, I know you crossed." "Yes. I have been to that hill, and with the power and skill I once possessed, I have also crossed that wall, entered the city of the dead, and talked with people I knew in life, and sometimes they would answer. But, ha Of all the great mages on Roke or Parn or the Enlad Isles, you are the first I know or ever hear of, Rae, who can cross that wall to touch and kiss a lover." Alder sat with his head bowed, his hands clasped. "Will you tell me: what is her touch like? Are her hands warm? Is she cold air, a shadow, or a living woman? Please excuse my question." "My lord, I wish I could answer you. In Roke, the Summoner asked the same question, but I can't really answer. I long for her so much, I long for her... Maybe it's because I long for her as she was alive .But I don't know. In dreams, not everything is clearly discernible." "It is true in the dream. But I have never heard of anyone going to that wall in the dream. If the wizard has learned the path and has the power, he can find the way to go there if necessary. If the knowledge and power are lacking , only the dying can..." Sparrowhawk stopped talking, recalling last night's dream. "I thought it was a dream," Alder said. "It bothered me, but I cherished it. When I thought about the dream, it was like plowing a wound in my heart, but I still clung to the pain and hugged it tightly. I long, I wish to dream again." "Did you dream again?" "Yes, I had another dream." Alder stared blankly at the blue sky and ocean in the west.On the tranquil sea, lie the low hills on the sun-soaked island of Kanbo.Behind the two of them, the sun was rising brilliantly over the north shoulder of the mountain. "It was the ninth day after the first dream. I was in the same place, but on a higher ground. I saw the wall below, across the slope. I ran down the hill and called Lily, sure I would see her. There was a man , but when I got closer, I found that it was not Lily. It was a man, bent over the wall, as if he was mending. I asked him, "Where is she, where is Lily?" He didn't answer and didn't look up. I saw what he was doing. He wasn't mending the fence, he was tearing it down, digging a big rock with his fingers. The rock didn't budge, and he said, "Help me, Hari!" "I found out that it was the master who named me, Gannet. He had been dead for five years. He kept digging and pulling the boulder with his fingers, and called my name again: "Help me, set me free." He stood up, stretched out his hands over the wall to me, and took my hand like a lily. But his hand gave me a kind of burning sensation, I don't know whether it was heat or cold, but his touch burned. Burned me, I pulled my hand away, and the pain and fear woke me from a dream." As Alder spoke, he stretched out his hand, revealing a black mark like an old bruise on the back and palm of his hand. "I learned not to let them touch me," Alder whispered. Ged looked at Alder's mouth, which also had a black mark on it. "Ha Rui, you were on the verge of life and death." Ged also said softly. "It's not over yet." Alder's voice broke the silence and continued with the story. The next night, falling asleep again, he found himself standing on the dark hill again, and saw the stone wall stretching from the top of the hill, across the slope, and down.He walked towards the stone wall, hoping to find his wife there. "Even if she can't cross it, or I can't cross it, I don't care, as long as I can see her and talk to her." But even though Lily was standing in the crowd, Chi Yang didn't see her. He approached the wall and saw A group of shadowy people are on the other side of the wall, some are clear, some are blurred, some seem to have known each other, and some have never met before.As soon as he approached, everyone held out their hands to him and called out to him by their real names: "Ha Rui! Let us go with you! Hari, free us!" "It's scary to hear your real name called by a stranger," Alder said, "and it's scary to be called by the dead." Alder tried to turn around and climb up the hill, away from the stone wall, but his legs fell into the usual dream-like weakness and couldn't support his body.He dropped to his knees so as not to be dragged against the wall; although there was no one around to help him, he cried out for help and woke up in terror. Since then, every night of deep sleep, he would find himself standing on the hillside among the long dry grass, facing the stone wall below, where the dead gathered darkly and unreally, begging and crying to him. Shout, call his real name. "I wake up," Alder said, "in my room, not on the hillside, but I know they're there. I still have to sleep. I've tried to keep myself awake, falling asleep during the day when time permits, But I have to sleep. I'll go back there again, and they're there. I can't climb the hill. When I move, I have to go down the hill, toward the wall. Sometimes I can turn my back on them, but I think I'm in the crowd Hearing Lily's voice in the sky, calling out to me, I turn around and look for them, and they will reach out to me." Alder looked down at the clenched hands. "what should I do?" Sparrowhawk said nothing. After a long time, Chi Yang said: "The harpist I mentioned to you is my good friend. After a while, he saw that something was wrong with me. I told him that he dared not sleep because he was afraid of dreams of the dead. He urged me Help me take a boat to Oia, and talk to a gray wizard there." Alder was referring to a man trained at Roke Academy. "When the wizard heard of my dream, he told me I must go to Roke." "What's his name?" "Berry. He serves Prince Oia, lord of the Isle of Dawn." The old man nodded. "Barry said there was nothing he could do, but his orders were as secure as a deposit to the captain, and I went back to sea again. It was a long voyage, far round the island of Havnor, into the Inner Pole. I thought maybe On the boat, getting farther and farther away from the island of Daun, I can leave the dream behind. The wizard of Oia called the place where I was in the dream dryland, and I thought maybe I could get out of it when I was at sea. But every night I must Back to the mountain, as time passed, even several times a night. Twice, three times, or even closing my eyes, I stood on the side of the mountain, looked at the stone wall below, and listened to the voice calling me. I was like a wounded The aching and mad man finds the only peace that remains in sleep, and sleep is my torment, full of the wretched souls that gather around the wall, their pain and sorrow, and my fear of them." Soon, Alder said, the sailors were avoiding him, day and night, because he would wake up the sailors with yells and screams, and the sailors thought he was cursed, or that there was a corpse inside him. "Have you no peace on Roke?" "Except for Xinchenglin." Chi Yang's expression changed immediately when he mentioned Xinchenglin. For a moment, the same expression appeared on Sparrowhawk's face. "Master Xingyi took me under the tree, and I finally fell asleep, even at night. During the day, if the sun shines on my body, like when I was here yesterday afternoon, if I feel the warmth of the sun and the red light shines through my eyelids, I will not be afraid of dreaming." .but there is no fear in the forest, and I can love the night again." "Tell me about when you came to Roke." Although fatigue, sorrow, and awe hindered Alder's narration, he still had the eloquent nature of the Dawn Isle. Although the narrative was a little simplified for fear of being too long or repeating things that the Archmage already knew, Sparrowhawk could understand. Imagine, remembering how it felt when you first arrived on the Isle of the Wise. When Alder disembarked from the ship at the pier in Suir Town, a sailor drew a closed account rune on the bridge board to prevent Alder from returning to the ship again.Alder finds out, but takes the sailor's actions for granted.He felt doomed, felt a certain darkness within him, and was more shy than usual when he entered a strange town.Suil in particular was a strange town. "The street misled you," said Sparrowhawk. "My lord, that's really the case! I'm sorry, I'm just expressing what's on my mind, not you..." "It's okay. I'm used to it. If you can tell it with peace of mind, you can just treat me as the shepherd. Go on." Whether it was because the subject of the inquiry misunderstood the meaning, or Alder misunderstood the direction indication, he roamed in the hilly, small maze-like town of Syl. The college never left his sight, but he couldn't get close.Finally, in desperation, he came to an unremarkable square with an empty wall and a plain wooden door.After staring at it for a while, Chi Yang found that it was the wall that he had always wanted to reach.He knocked on the door, and a man with a peaceful face and peaceful eyes opened the door. Alder was about to say that the Barry wizard of Oia had sent him, and had a message to convey to the summoner, but he had no chance to speak.After staring at him for a while, the gatekeeper said gently, "My friend, you can't bring them into this room." Chi Yang didn't ask the master who he couldn't bring into the house.he knows.For the past few nights he had barely closed his eyes, sleeping for a moment and waking up in terror, and even when he fell asleep during the day he would see hillside gray grass on the sun-drenched deck and stone walls on the waves.When he woke up, the dream remained in his body, accompanied by surrounding, misty, he could always faintly hear the voice calling his real name among the wind and tsunami.He didn't know whether he was asleep or awake now.Pain, fear and exhaustion drove him into madness. "Keep them out," Alder begged, "let me in, have pity on me, let me in!" "Wait here." The man said softly as before, "There is a bench over there." He pointed in the direction and closed the door. Alder sat down on the stone bench.He remembered the incident, and some young boys of about fifteen who looked at him curiously as they walked in and out of the gate, but for a long time afterwards he only remembered fragments of what happened. The Master Gatekeeper returned with a young man in a cloak with the wizard Roke's staff in his hand, and Alder entered a room, knowing it was a guest room, and summoned the Master to come, and tried to speak to Alder, but he was speechless by then .Between sleep and waking; between the sunlit room and the dark gray hill; between the voice of the Summoner and the call from the other side of the wall; in the world of the living, he cannot think, cannot move, but there is a voice In the gray world that is calling, if you want to walk down a few steps to the wall, let those outstretched hands pull him and hold him, but it is so easy.If they joined in, maybe they'd let him go, he thought. Then, in memory, the sunlit room disappeared altogether, and he stood on the gray hill beside Roke's Summoner, a tall, broad-shouldered, dark-skinned man, holding a stout A yew wand, gleaming in the gloom. The voice stopped calling, and the figure by the gathering wall also disappeared.As those figures walked back into the darkness and gradually moved away, Alder heard distant rustling and some kind of sobbing sound. The master summoner walked to the wall and covered it with his hands. Some rocks have been loosened, and a few even fell on the dry grass.Alder thought he should pick up the stone, put it back, and repair the stone wall, but he didn't. Master Summoner turned to face Chi Yang and asked, "Who brought you here?" "My wife, Maurice." "Call her." Alder was speechless.Finally, he opened his mouth, but what he said was not his wife's real name, but a common name, the name he called in the living world.He said aloud: "Lily..." The name didn't sound like a white flower, just a dusty pebble. Everything was silent.Tiny stars glow steadily in the dark sky.Alder never looked up at the sky from here, and couldn't recognize the stars. "Mary Berry!" the Summoner called out, reciting a few ancient words in a thick voice. Alder felt his breath leave his body, and it was difficult to even stand, but there was no movement on the long hillside leading to the hazy darkness. Then, there was movement, and a brighter figure began to walk up the hill, approaching slowly.Trembling with fear and longing, Alder whispered, "Oh, my love." But the figure approaching was too thin to be Lily.Chi Yang saw that it was a child about twelve years old, he couldn't tell whether it was a boy or a girl, he ignored Chi Yang or the summoner, and didn't look to the other side of the wall, just sat in the corner.Alder approached, looked down, and saw the child grasping at the stones, trying to loosen one stone after another. The Summoner is whispering the ancient language.The child glanced up impassively, and continued to pull at the stone with thin, seemingly limp fingers. This scene was so terrible in Alder's eyes, it made him dizzy, he tried to turn around and leave, and he had no memory of it until he woke up in a sunny room, lying on the bed, weak, sick and cold. There were people to tend Alder: a distant, smiling woman who cleaned the guest house, and a stocky, brown-skinned old man who had come with the gatekeeper.Alder thought it was a healer, but when he saw the olive wood wand, he realized it was the herb master, the healer of Roke College. The master herb brings comfort, and even bestows the alder with a peaceful sleep.He brewed a pot of herbal tea for Alder to drink, and lit the slow-burning herbs that smelled of the dark earth of the pines.Sitting nearby, the master begins a long, soft recitation. "I can't sleep," Alder protested, feeling sleep sweeping like a dark tide.The warm hand of the herbal master covered the back of Alder's hand, giving Alder peace, and made him fall into a peaceful sleep without fear.Just a therapist's hand covering him, or pressing on his shoulder, keeps him away from dark hillsides and stone walls. After waking up, Alder ate a little, and the herbal master quickly brought a pot of lukewarm, mild herbal tea, lit the smoke that exudes the earthy aroma, recited in a flat tone, and touched Alder's hands, so that Alder could rest. The herbalist had duties in the academy, so he could only be with Alder for a few hours each night.Alder got enough rest within three nights to be able to eat and drink during the day, walk around town, and think and talk sanely.On the morning of the fourth day, the Herb Master, Gatekeeper and Summoner entered Alder's room. Alder bowed to the Summoner with fear, even disbelief.The herb master is a great mage, and his art is slightly similar to Chi Yang's own skill, so the two can communicate with each other, and the master's hand represents great mercy.However, the art of summoning a master has nothing to do with physical objects, but with souls, thoughts and wills, ghosts, and meanings.This technique is treacherous and dangerous, full of dangers and threats. The summoner can even leave his body, go to the border of the stone wall, and stand beside Chi Yang.He brought darkness and fear back to Alder. The three mages were silent at first.If the three have anything in common, it's the ability to endure silence. So Alder spoke first, trying to speak the truth from the bottom of his heart - there was no other way. "If it's because I've done something wrong that I'm going to be there - let my wife lead me or some other soul - to that place, if I can make it up or undo what I've done, I'd like to. But I don't know I did what." "Or don't know what kind of person you are." Summoner said. Alder was speechless. "Seldom do we know who or what we are," said the Gatekeeper. "We only have a glimpse." "Tell us, how did you first get to Stonewall?" asked the Summoner. Alder retells. The mage listened silently, and after Chi Yang finished speaking, there was no response for a long time, and then the summoner asked, "Have you ever thought about what it means to cross that wall?" "I know there will be no turning back." "Only a mage can cross that wall as a living being when most necessary. A herb master may go all the way to the wall with a suffering patient, but if the patient has crossed the wall, he will not follow him." Summoner was so tall and strong, with dark skin, that when Chi Yang looked at him, he thought of a bear. "My summoning skills give us the power to temporarily recall the dead from across the wall if necessary, but I question why it is necessary and worth breaking the laws and balance of the world so severely. I have never cast this spell, and I myself The wall was not crossed. The Archmage did, taking the king with him, to heal the wounds of the world caused by the sorcerer named Kabu." "But the Archmage didn't come back, the summoner Thorian went into the dry land to look for the Archmage," said the herbal master, "Thorian came back, but his whole person has changed." "There is no need to mention this matter," said the Summoner. "Perhaps," said the herb-master, "maybe Alder needs to know about it. I think Thorion was overconfident of his own power. He stayed there too long, thinking he could call himself back to the living world, but when he came back Only his craft, his strength, his ambition—a lifeless will to live. But we trusted him because we loved him, and he ate us until Irian destroyed him." Far from Roke, on the Isle of Gont, Alder's listener interrupted. "What name did you just say?" Sparrowhawk asked. "The master said it was Irian." "Do you recognize the name?" "I don't know, my lord." "I don't know either." After a moment of silence, Sparrowhawk continued softly, as if reluctantly. “但我在那里看到了索理安，在旱域。他甘冒危险前来寻我。看到他在那里，我无比心痛。我告诉他，他可以跨越墙回去。”雀鹰脸色变得深沉、严肃。 “我说了不当的话。在生者与亡者间，所有言谈都不恰当，但我也曾挚爱他。” 两人在静默中坐着。雀鹰突然站起，伸展双臂，按摩大腿。两人一起活动活动筋骨。赤杨从井里打起点水来喝；雀鹰拿出铁锹与待换装的新手把，开始打磨橡木棍，修细要插入凹槽的一端。 雀鹰说：“赤杨，继续说。”因此赤杨继续说故事。 药草师傅提起索理安后，另两位师傅沉默一晌。赤杨鼓起勇气，询问长久以来一直挂记心头的事：死者如何去到那道墙，法师又如何抵达那里。 召唤师傅立即回答：“灵魂的旅程。” 老治疗师则比较迟疑：“跨越墙的，不是肉体，因为往生者的肉体会留在此处。如果法师出窍去到那儿，沉睡的肉体也还是在这里，活着，所以我们称之为『旅人』……我们将离开肉体启程的部分称为灵魂、精神。” “但我妻子握住了我的手。”赤杨说，无法再次提起百合吻了他的唇。 “我感受到她的碰触。” “你是这么以为。”召唤师傅说道。 “若他们实体接触，形成某种连结，”药草师傅对召唤师傅说，“或许正因为此，所以其余亡者能去到他身边，呼唤他，甚或碰触他？” “所以他必须抗拒。”召唤师傅瞥了赤杨一眼，说道。召唤师傅眼睛细小、眼神炙热。 赤杨觉得这是不公平的指控，说：“我曾试着抗拒，大人，我试过了，但他们人数众多……而百合是其中之一……他们正在受苦，对我呼唤。” “他们不可能受苦。”召唤师傅说，“死亡终结一切痛苦。” “也许痛苦的虚影亦是痛苦。”药草师傅说，“位于那片大地上的高山，名字正是『苦楚』。” 截至目前，守门师傅几乎完全没开口。他以平静和善的口吻说：“赤杨是修复者，不是破坏者。我想他不会截断那道联结。” “如果是他造的，他就能断得了。”召唤师傅说道。 “是他造的吗？” “我没有如此技艺，大人。”赤杨辩驳。众师傅言及的内容令他如此害怕，引出他的愤怒回应。 “那我必须去到他们之间。”召唤师傅说道。 “吾友，不可。”守门师傅说。老药草师傅道：“最不该去的便是你。” “但这是我的技艺。” “也是我们的。” “那该谁去？” 守门师傅说：“赤杨似乎能当向导。他来寻求协助，或许正可协助我们。让我们跟着一同进入他的幻界……到石墙边，但不跨越。” 当晚深夜，赤杨畏惧地让睡意征服，发现自己再度站在灰丘上，其余人同在；药草师傅是冰冷空气中的一股温暖，守门师傅一如星光虚幻、银光闪闪，还有壮硕的召唤师傅，宛如黑熊，拥有黑暗的力量。 这次他们并非站在朝向黑暗下倾的山地，而是在附近山坡，抬头看着山顶。这一部分的墙顺着山顶而建，墙甚矮，勉强过膝。寒星点点的夜空完全漆黑。 Nothing happened. 爬坡走到墙边会很困难，赤杨心想。墙以前都在下方。 但如果能去那里，或许百合也会在那里，一如当初。也许能握住她的手，而法师会将她一同带回；或者自己能跨越这么低的围墙，走向她。 赤杨开始朝山坡走去，非常轻松，毫不困难，即将抵达。 “哈芮！” 召唤师傅浑厚声音宛如围绕颈项的绳圈，将赤杨唤回。赤杨绊跌了一下，踉跄前行一步，在墙前不远处跪倒，向墙伸出手。赤杨正哭喊：“救救我！”对谁呢？对法师，还是墙那头的幻影？ 这时有双手按上肩头，活生生的双手，强健温暖，而赤杨也回到自己房中，治疗师的双手实实在在按着双肩，伪光在两人周围映照着白光，四名男子在房内相陪，不只三人。 老药草师傅陪着赤杨在床边坐下，安抚他一会儿，因他正不断抖嗦、战栗、啜泣。“我办不到。”他不断重复，但依然不知自己是对着法师或亡者说。 随着恐惧及痛苦逐渐减轻，一股难以抗拒的疲累袭来，赤杨近乎不感兴趣地看着进入房间的男子。男子眼瞳呈冰雪之色，发肤色皆浅白。来自恩瓦或别瑞斯韦，从远方来的北方人，赤杨想。 这名男子向众法师问：“朋友，你们在做什么？” “冒险，阿兹弗。”老药草师傅答道。 “形意师傅，边界有了麻烦。”召唤师傅说。 众人对形意师傅简述问题时，赤杨可以感到他们对此人的敬重，以及因他到来而安心。 “如果他愿跟随我，你们愿让他走吗？”陈述完后，形意师傅问道，接着转向赤杨：“在心成林里，你无须害怕梦境，而我们也无须害怕你的梦境。” Everyone agrees.形意师傅点点头，消失。师傅本人并不在房内。 形意师傅不在此处，来的只是个传象、呈象。那是赤杨首度见识师傅展现伟大力量，而若非已经历惊奇与恐惧，这必定让赤杨惴惴不安。 赤杨跟随守门师傅进入黑夜，穿过街道，经过学院围墙，横越高大圆丘下的田野，沿着在两岸黑影中轻声低唱潺潺水歌的河流。眼前是座高耸森林，树梢冠着银灰星光。 形意师傅在小径上迎接两人，外表与在房内时别无二样。他与守门师傅交谈一会儿，之后赤杨跟随他进入心成林。 “树间很黑，”赤杨对雀鹰说道，“但树下却一点不黑。那里有某种光……某种轻盈。” 听者点点头，略略微笑。 “我一到那儿，便知可以安睡。感觉自己之前好像一直睡在邪恶梦境中，而在那里，我真正苏醒，所以能真正安眠。师傅带我去到某处，在巨树树根间，层层叠叠的落叶让地面柔软，他告诉我，可以躺在那里。我躺下，睡着。我无法对您形容，那睡眠是多么甜蜜。”