Chapter 5 fourth quarter

Sparrowhawk watched as the alder repaired the pot-bellied, emerald-colored kettle that had been Tenar's favorite and had been brought all the way from Oak Farm all those years ago.One day when he took the jug off the cabinet, it slipped from his hand.He picked up the two large pieces and reglued the other small pieces, thinking that if they were no longer useful, they could at least be used for decoration.Whenever he saw the fragments in the basket, he was furious at his own carelessness. Now Sparrowhawk looked fascinated at Alder's hands.Slender, strong, dexterous, unhurried, holding the shape of a kettle, caressing, piecing together, placing pottery fragments, urging, caressing, thumbs coaxing and guiding the small fragments back to their original shape, combining, comforting.While working, Alder muttered a two-word, tuneless chant.Ged knew the ancient words, although he didn't understand their meaning.Chi Yang's expression is peaceful, stress and sadness disappear without a trace, a face so immersed in time and work, the tranquility across time and space is fully revealed.

Alder's hand moves away from the jug, unfolding like the bud of a blooming flower.The jug stands intact on the oak table. Alder watched, silent and satisfied. When Ged thanked him, Alder said, "No trouble at all. The cracks are clean. Well done, and the quality of the clay. Poorly made vessels are hard to repair." "I thought of how I could put you to sleep," said Ged. As soon as daylight broke, Alder woke up so that his master could go to bed and sleep until dawn, but this was obviously not a long-term solution. "Come with me," said the old man.Heading inland, the two walked on trails, along goat pastures, through low hills, half-wild patches of farmland, and forests.To Alder, Gonte looked deserted, a rough, undulating terrain, with knotted and craggy mountains forever frowning and overlooking.

"I think," said Sparrowhawk as the two walked, "if I can keep you off the wall and hill by just laying my hand on you like the herbalist, there might be something else that can help you." .if you don't mind animals." "animal?" "Because..." Sparrowhawk began, but stopped midway, interrupted by a strange creature jumping from the path.It is covered in skirts, shawls, feathers scattered in the hair, and high leather boots. "Oh, Eagle! Oh, Eagle!" it cried. "Shi Nan, hello. Slow down." Sparrowhawk said.The woman stopped, swayed, her feathers fluttered, and a big smile spread across her face. "She knew you were coming!" cried Heather, "and she showed the eagle's beak with her fingers, like this, you see, she was like this, and then she told me with her hand, go, go! She knew you were coming !"

"I'm here." "Look at us?" "To see you. Shinan, this is Lord Chi Yang." "Lord Chiyang." Shinan whispered, suddenly quiet, aware of Chiyang's existence.She took a step back, curled up in a ball, and looked at her feet. The woman was not wearing high leather boots.From the knees down, the bare legs were covered with a layer of smooth, dark brown, drying mud, and the skirt was wrinkled and tucked into the waistband. "Shi Nan, you went to catch frogs, didn't you?" The woman nodded dully. "I'm going to tell my auntie," she said, whispering at first, ending with a roar, and rushing back in the direction.

"She has a good heart," said Sparrowhawk. "She used to help my wife, and now she lives with our witch and helps the witch. I don't think you would object to going into the witch's house?" "Absolutely not, my lord." "Many will. From nobles to commoners, wizards to warlocks." "My wife Lily is a witch." Sparrowhawk lowered his head and walked forward in silence for a moment. "Chi Yang, how does she know she has talent?" "She was born with the ability. When she was young, she could reattach broken branches to the trunk, and other children would bring her broken toys to repair, but her father would beat her when he saw her doing it. hands. Her family is quite famous in the town, and they are famous people." Chi Yang said in a calm and gentle voice, "They don't want her to associate with witches, because families with similar backgrounds will not accept such a bride, so She could only teach herself. And even if she offered to ask for advice, the town witch would not have anything to do with her, because she was afraid of her father. Then a rich man came to court, as I said before, my lord, she is beautiful, More than words can describe, and her father told her that she must marry. She ran away from home that night and lived alone for several years, wandering the island. She was taken in by several witches, but she supported herself by her own magic. .”

"Dawn is not a big island." "Her father refused to seek her, saying that there were no such wandering witch daughters." Sparrowhawk bowed his head again. "So she heard about you and came to look for you." "But she taught me more than I can teach her." Chi Yang said seriously. "She has tremendous talent." "I believe that." The two of them came to a hut nestled in a small valley, or maybe it should be called a big hut.Witch hazel and gorse tangled all around, a goat stood on the roof, and a flock of black and white hens clucked nearby.A lazy female collie stands up to bark, then changes her mind and wags her tail instead.

Sparrowhawk went to the low door and leaned his head in. "Auntie, so you are there! I brought a guest to you. Alder, the son of Jufa from Daun Island. Jufa is repairing. I can guarantee that he is a master in this area. I just saw him fix Tian Na's green kettle, you know, is the one that my thick-handed old fool slipped and dropped that day." The sparrowhawk entered the hut, and the alder followed.An elderly woman sat on a pile of upholstered chairs by the door so she could see the sunlight outside.Feathers were scattered in the thinning white hair, and a piebald chicken nestled on its lap.The old woman gave Sparrowhawk a charming sweet smile and nodded politely to the visitor.The hen woke up, quacked twice, jumped off and left.

"This is Moss," said Sparrowhawk, "a witch with many skills, the best of which is kindness." Archmage Roke should do the same to introduce a great mage to the lady, Chi Yang thought.Alder bowed, the old woman nodded and laughed twice. The old woman made a circle with her left hand and looked at Sparrowhawk questioningly. "Tenar? Tehanu?" asked Sparrowhawk. "They're still with the king in Havnor, as far as I know. They'll have fun there, and they'll be able to see the city and the palace." Walk." "I made crowns for you all!" cried Heather, hopping out of the depths of the smelly, dark, cluttered room. "Like kings and queens. Like this?" She proudly stroked the feathers in her bushy hair.Aunt Moss finally found her peculiar hair ornament, and slapped the feathers with her left hand feebly, making a grimace.

"The crown is heavy," said Sparrowhawk, gently twirling feathers one by one from his thinning hair. "Master Ying, who is the queen?" Shinan shouted, "Who is the queen? Bai Nan is the king, who is the queen?" "Heather, King Lebanon has no queen." "Why not? He should have. Why not?" "Maybe he's still looking." "He will marry Tehanu!" the woman screamed happily, "He will!" Alder watched as Sparrowhawk's expression changed drastically, and he closed up like a rock. All Sparrowhawk said was, "I don't think he will." He held the feather he had plucked from the moss hair and stroked it tenderly. "Aunt Moss, I'm here to ask you for help again."

Moss stretched out her free hand, and held Sparrowhawk's hand, the tenderness in her movements touched Alder deep in her heart. "I want to borrow one of your puppies." Moss looked sad.Shinan, who was beside him with his mouth open and a dazed expression, thought for a moment in confusion, and then shouted, "Puppy! Aunt Moss, puppy! But it's gone!" The old woman nodded, showing a lonely expression, and patted Sparrowhawk's tanned hand. "Anyone want to feed them?" "The biggest escaped maybe into the woods and an animal killed it and it disappeared and then the old man, he came up and said he needed collies so he took both for training and the auntie gave him the little one Dogs because they go after the chicks that the snowflakes hatch, and they all eat outside the house and home."

"Well, Manbo needs to spend some time on training." Sparrowhawk said with a half-smile, "I'm glad he can raise a puppy, but it's a pity that the dog is gone, because I want to borrow one from you, Borrow it for a night or two. The dog will sleep in your bed, won't it, Moss?" Mosi nodded, still feeling sad, then with a slightly cheerful expression, raised her head, and meowed twice to the side. Sparrowhawk blinked in bewilderment, but Heather understood. "Oh! kittens!" she shouted, "little gray gave birth to four, and we killed one before we could stop old black, but there are two or three here, and now the puppies are gone, and they follow each other every night Auntie still sleeps with brother Bi. Mimi! Mimi! Mimi! Where are you, Mimi, Mimi?" After a lot of noise, panic, and ear-piercing meows came from the dark inner room, Shinan reappeared, holding a struggling and screaming little gray cat in his hand. "Here's one!" she yelled, throwing the kitten to Sparrowhawk.The Sparrowhawk grabbed awkwardly, and the cat immediately bit him. "Baby, baby," Sparrowhawk told the kitten. "Calm down." The cat let out a small growl that rumbled like thunder, and wanted to take another bite.Moss gestured, and Sparrowhawk placed the kitten on Moss' lap.She stroked the kitten with slow, heavy hands, and the kitten immediately collapsed, stretched itself, looked up at her, and purred. "Can I borrow it for a while?" The old witch respectfully raised her hand from the cat, clearly saying: This is yours, you are welcome. "Because Uncle Alder has nightmares, I thought having an animal with him at night might help soothe the problem." Moss nodded gravely, looked up at Alder, slipped a hand under the kitten, and held out the kitten.Alder stiffly took the kitten.Instead of roaring or clawing, it ran straight up Alder's arm and nestled in the side of Alder's neck, hiding under the loose locks of hair at the nape of his neck. The two walked back to the old mage's house, where the kitten was nestled in the alder shirt.Sparrowhawk explained: "When I first started practicing the art, I was once asked to heal a child who had a red fever. I knew the boy was dying, but I just couldn't let go. I tried to follow to bring the boy back, From the other side of the stone wall... So, here my body lay limp beside the bed, as if dead. There was a witch, who guessed what was going on, took me back into the house, and put me on the bed. At home, I have a little animal that befriended me on Roke when I was a boy, wild, but came to me willingly, and stayed by my side. An otak. Do you know that animal? I don't think there are any in the North." Chi Yang hesitated for a moment, then said: "I only know that it was said in the friendship...that the mage arrived at Tieroneng Palace on the island of Osskol, and Outak tried to warn the mage that there was a corpse puppet following him. He Break free from the control of the corpse puppet, but the little animal was caught and killed by the corpse puppet." Sparrowhawk walked twenty steps without saying a word. "That's right, that's it. My own stupidity has me stuck on the other side of the wall, where the body lies and the soul is lost there. The Outak also saved my life. It came to me and licked me. , like licking and washing yourself and your young, like a cat, dry tongue, touching me patiently, bringing me back with touch, bringing me back to the flesh. The gift that animal gave me is not It's just life, and it's a knowledge as important as what I learned in Roke...but you understand, I forgot all the things I learned then. "I call it knowledge, but it's also a mystery. How are we different from animals? Language? All animals have a way of communicating, saying 'come', 'careful', and many other things, but not Tell stories, don't lie. We'll..." "But dragons can talk. Dragons speak the truth, they speak the language of creation. There are no lies in it. If you tell a story, you make it true! But we call dragons animals..." "So, maybe the difference is not in the language. Maybe it's because animals don't do good or evil, they act according to nature. We may see animals as harmful or beneficial, but good and evil belong to us, because humans can choose their own behavior. Dragons are dangerous, yes; dragons are dangerous, yes, but not evil. Dragons, like animals, fall short of our moral standards—if that's the case. Or perhaps exceed our standards. Dragons It has nothing to do with our morals." "We had to choose again and again. I was thinking that witches always have a mate, and a tamer. My aunt had an old dog that never barked, and she called him 'Forward'; when I first went to Roke Isle, Archmage Nymor had a raven, who was inseparable from him; and I thought of a young woman who always wore a dragon lizard, the Herezlizard, as a bracelet. Finally, I thought of my Outak. I thought, if Alder needs the warmth of a touch to stay on this side of the wall, so why not animals? Animals see life, not death, and maybe a dog or cat would do as well as Master Roke..." That's right.Kitty is clearly happy to be away from the family of dogs, tomcats, roosters, and unpredictable heather, and tries hard to present herself as a dependable and hardworking cat who patrols the house and catches mice.When Alder allowed it, she nestled on his shoulders and hid it under his hair, and when he lay down, she immediately nestled under his chin snoring, ready to fall asleep.Alder fell asleep all night without any dreams he could recall. When he woke up, he found the cat sitting on his chest, washing his ears peacefully. However, Sparrowhawk growled and struggled as he tried to determine the sex of the kitten. "Well, as you please." Sparrowhawk said, quickly pulling his hand away from the danger zone. "Alder, it's either a male or a female, I'm sure of that." "Anyway, I don't know how to name the kitten." Alder said, "The kitten is like a candle, it goes out as soon as it goes out. If you name it, you will mourn even more." That day, at the suggestion of Alder Yang, the two repaired the fence.Walking by a fence in a goat pasture, with sparrowhawks inside and alder outside, whenever a fence shows signs of rotting, or a tie rope is torn loose, alder will slide his hand across the board and press down with his thumb. He said, pulled, followed, and held tightly with his hands, and issued a series of semi-clear chanting from his throat and chest, with a relaxed and focused expression. Sparrowhawk watched and muttered to himself at one point: "I used to take these things for granted!" Alder, who was immersed in his work, did not ask what Sparrowhawk meant. "Okay," Alder said, "that's it." The two continued, closely following the two curious goats, bumping against the repaired fence, as if trying to test whether it was secure. "I was thinking," said Sparrowhawk, "that you might go to Havnor." Alder watched Sparrowhawk in horror. "Ah, I thought, maybe, if there is a way to get away from... that place... I can go home, to Dawn Island." As he said, he lost confidence in his own words. "You could do that, but I don't think it's a smart way." "It's a lot to ask for a kitten to defend a person from an army of the dead," said Alder reluctantly. "yes." "But what am I... what am I supposed to do in Havnor?" Then, suddenly, with hope, "Will you come with me?" Sparrowhawk shook his head. "I'm staying here." "But, Master Xingyi..." "He wants you to come to me, and I want you to find someone who should hear your story and find out what it means... I must say, Chi Yang, I think Master Xingyi still thinks that I am the same Me. He believed that I was just hiding in the Gont Forest, and would reappear in the most critical time." The old man lowered his head, looked at the sweat-stained, patched clothes, and gray shoes, and said with a smile: "Appeared in high spirits. .” "Baa—" said the gazelle behind him. "But even so, Alder, the master was right to ask you to come, for, if she had not gone to Havnor, she would be here." "Lady Tenar?" "Hama Gonden—that's what Master Xingyi called her himself," said Sparrowhawk, staring at Alder through the fence with unfathomable eyes. "The woman of Gont Island, the Gont woman, Tehanu .”