Chapter 18 second quarter

Tenar had asked Ged many times about the forest of hearts, and liked to hear Ged describe it: "At first glance, one would think it was just like any other forest. The forest of hearts is not very big, with fields to the north and east, hills to the south, and woods to the west Usually it's also... It doesn't look very eye-catching, but it attracts attention. Sometimes from the top of Roke Knoll, you can see the Heart Forest as a continuous forest, even if you look through it, you can't see the end, stretching straight to the west... ...and it is very ordinary to walk in, and the trees there are mostly a species that only grows there, tall, brown trunks, a little bit like an oak, a little bit like a chestnut."

"What is your name?" Ged said with a smile: "The ancient language is Ahada, and the Hit language is a tree... a tree with a heart... The leaves don't all change color in autumn, but change a little every season, so the leaves are always green and golden .Even in overcast weather, the trees seem to contain sunlight; at night, it is not completely dark under the trees, but there is some kind of shimmering light in the gaps between the leaves, like moonlight or starlight. There are willows, oaks, firs, etc. species, but deep down there is only A forest of trees. The roots of those trees go deeper than the roots of the island, some are huge, some are slender, but there are very few fallen dead trees, and very few small trees. The trees are very, very old." Ged's tone became soft and dreamy, "You can keep walking in the shadows under the trees and in the light, but you can never reach the end."

"But is Roke so big?" Ged looked peacefully at Tenar, and smiled. "The forest on Mount Gont is that forest, and all the forests are." Now she sees her heart becoming a forest.A group of people followed Lebanon through the cunning and changeable streets of Suier Town, leading a group of townspeople and children to come to appreciate and welcome the king.The visitor left the town by a path through the undergrowth and the farm, and the jubilant followers dispersed, and the path faded away into a footpath through the tall, round Roke Knoll. Ged had told Tenar about the Knolls too.In the Knoll, he said, all magic is strong, and all things are as they really are. "There, our witchcraft and the ancient power of the earth meet and become one."

The wind blew through the half-dried long grass on the mountain. A small donkey ran awkwardly across the stumped field, flicking its tail, and the cattle walked slowly in file along the fence that crossed the creek.There were trees ahead, dark trees, full of shadows. The crowd followed Lebannin over a ladder, crossed a small bridge, and came to the sunny meadow at the edge of the forest.There was a hut in disrepair near the creek.Yi Rui'an left the team, ran across the grass to the front of the house, patted the door frame, and greeted the beloved horse or dog that he hadn't seen for a long time. "Dear hut!" She turned to the others and smiled, "I used to live here when I was called Dragonfly."

Irian looked around, searched the depths of the woods, and ran forward again. "Azifor!" she called. A man steps from the shadow of a tree into the light, his hair glistening like silver foil in the sun.Irian ran towards him, he stopped, raised his hands towards her, she squeezed them tightly. "I won't burn you, I won't burn you this time." Irian said, crying and laughing, but didn't shed a single tear, "I covered the fire!" The two drew close to each other and stood facing each other, and he said to Irian, "Daughter of Karazim, welcome home."

"Azif, my sister is with me." Master Xingyi turned his face and looked straight at Tehanu, and Tenar saw the pale, resolute face of Karg.He came to Tehanu and knelt down before him. "Hama Gonden!" Then again, "Daughter of Kerasim." Tehanu stood still for a moment, and finally, he slowly stretched out his hand, his right hand, the burnt withered claw.Azifu held it, bowed his head, and kissed. "It is my honor to prophesy your coming, Daughter of Gont," he said in delightful tenderness. He got up, turned at last to Lebannin, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, welcome."

"Master Xingyi, I am so happy to see you again! But I brought a group of people to disturb your solitary life." "My solitary life is already crowded," said Master Xingyi. "A few living people may help maintain balance." His gray-blue-green eyes looked around at everyone, and he smiled suddenly, full of warmth, which was particularly surprising on such a resolute face. "But here are my women," he said in the Karg language, and went to Tenar and Setheraki, who stood side by side. "I am Etuan...Tenar of Gont. Beside me is the First Princess of Karg Continent."

The master bowed courteously, and Setheraki curtseyed stiffly as usual, but the Karg sprang forth. "Oh, my lord priest, I'm so glad you're here! If it weren't for my friend Tenar, I'd have gone mad, thinking no one in the world could speak human except those idiot maids from Avabas...but I'm learning to talk like them... and I'm learning courage, and Tenar was my friend and mentor. But last night I broke the taboo! I broke the taboo! Oh, my lord priest, please tell me how to atone! I stepped on the dragon Got it!" "But you are on board, Princess," said Tenar. "I dreamed about it." Saiseraqi said impatiently.Tenar said again, "Master Xingyi is not a priest, but a... sorcerer..."

"Princess," Azifor said, "I think we have all stepped on the dragon road, and all taboos will be shaken and broken, not only in dreams. We will continue to talk under the tree later, don't be afraid. If you want, Can I greet my friend first?" Seseragi nodded respectfully, and Azifor turned to meet Alder and Obsidian. The Princess looked at him and said to Tenar in Karg contentedly, "He is a warrior, not a priest. Priests have no friends." Everyone walked forward slowly and came to the shade of the tree. Tenar looked up into the criss-crossing of branches, into the cascades of leaves, and saw oaks and a great jacaranda, but most of them were trees of hearts.The oval-shaped leaves sway in the wind, like aspen and tulip tree leaves; some leaves have turned yellow, and gold and brown are scattered around the roots, and the leaves in the morning light are summer green, full of shadows and Deep glow.

Master Xingyi led the crowd to walk along the path among the trees.Tenar thought of Ged, and remembered the tone in which he had described the place.She had never felt so close to him since Chuxia and Tehanu had said goodbye to Ged at the gate, and had come down to Gond Harbor to board the royal ship for Havnor.A long time ago, Ged lived here with Master Xingyi and walked here together. She knew that Xincheng Forest was the king of all things, the sacred place, and the center of tranquility to Ged. Ged could be seen at the end of the long, sunny clearing.The thought reassured her. Tenar had been disturbed by the dreams last night, and Tenar was horrified when Setheraki told the dreams that broke the taboo.In her own dreams, too, she breaks taboos, transgresses, and climbs the last three steps to the empty throne, the forbidden steps.The Etuan Mausoleum has long belonged to the past and is located in the distance. Perhaps the earthquake has already destroyed the place where her real name was taken away, and there is no throne or steps left.Although the ancient force of the earth is there, it is also here, and has not changed or moved. The ancient force is exactly the earthquake and the earth, and its justice is not the justice of man.She walked across Roke Knoll, knowing she was walking where all the forces met.

Long ago she betrayed Taikoo, escaped from the grasp of the tomb, stole the treasure, and fled to the west.But here they are, at the foot, in these roots, in the roots of this mountain. At the center where the forces of the earth meet, so do the forces of man: kings, princesses, masters of sorcery.And dragons. And a priestess-thief-turned-peasant woman, and a heart-broken village sorcerer... She turned to look at Chi Yang, who was walking beside Tehanu, and the two talked quietly.He was the person Tehanu spoke to most often, even surpassing Irianu, and Tehanu seemed at ease with him.Looking at the two of them relieved Tenar, and she continued walking under the great tree, letting her consciousness slide into a half-meditation filled with green light and waving leaves.She couldn't walk very far, and Master Xingyi stopped, which made her very regretful, and hoped that she could walk in the forest of hearts forever. The crowd gathered in the green grassy forest glade, where the branches and leaves did not meet, and opened wide to the sky.A tributary of the Suier River flows on one side, and willows and alder trees grow beside the river.Not far from the small river, there is a low house built of stone and grass mud, which is unremarkable in appearance. Next to the wall is a taller lean-to hut built with wicker and woven reeds. "My winter palace, my summer palace," said Azifor. Obsidian and Lebannen stared at these houses in surprise, and Irian said: "I never knew you had a house!" "Not before," said Master Xingyi, "but now the bones are old." After several trips between the ship and the forest, the bed was settled, the house was for the ladies, and the single-slope hut was for the men.The boy shuttled between the kitchen of Hongxuan Pavilion and Xincheng Forest, full of food.Xiang Wan, Master Roke was invited by Master Xingyi to meet Wang and the others. "Do they gather here to choose the Archmage?" Tenar asked Blacky, since Inged had mentioned the secret woodland. Black Yao shook his head: "I don't think so, the king knows. The king was there when they gathered last time, but perhaps only Master Xingyi can answer, because everything in this forest will change. You know, the position of things is not absolute. I guess the path isn't always the same." "It sounds horrible," Tenar said, "but I don't seem to be afraid." Obsidian smiled: "Indeed." Tenar watched as the Masters entered the clearing, led by the Summoner, as tall as a bear, and Abe, the Young Weathermaster.Obsidian introduces the others: Transformation Master, Chanting Master, Herb Master, Hand Master, all gray-haired.The transformation master used the witch's stick as a crutch due to his aging years; the gatekeeper with smooth skin and almond eyes was neither young nor old; the last name master who entered the open space was about forty years old, with a calm and unpredictable face, and introduced himself to the king, Calling herself Kerrika Merrak. Upon hearing this, Yi Rui'an burst out angrily: "You are not!" Master Name looked at Yi Rui'an, and said peacefully, "This is Master Name's real name." "Then my Kerrikamerik is dead?" The master nodded. "Oh!" cried Irian, "it's unbearable! He was my friend when I was alone here!" She turned her head away from the Master of Names, and lost herself in grief without tears. .She greeted the herb master and gatekeeper intimately, but said nothing to the others. Tenar saw the masters looking at Irian uneasily from under their gray brows. They turned their eyes from Irian to Tehanu, looked away again, and glanced back out of the corners of their eyes.Tenar began to wonder what they had seen when they looked at Tehanu and Irian with wizard eyes. So she urged herself to forgive the Summoner for his crude, articulate dislike when he first saw Tehanu.Maybe it wasn't hatred, but awe. After everyone introduced each other, they sat down in a circle. Those in need sat on cushions and benches, while the rest used the grass as a blanket and the sky and leaves as a curtain.Master Xingyi said in a voice with a Karge accent: "Masters, if the king is willing, let the king speak." Lebannen stood up to speak, and Tenar watched with uncontrollable pride: he was so handsome and wise in his youth!At first she didn't hear every word clearly, only the carelessness and enthusiasm in the words. Lebannen told the masters briefly and clearly what made him come to Roke: dragons and dreams. He concluded: "As each night passes, these things seem to point more and more towards something, and a certain result converges. If here, in this land, with the help of your knowledge and power, we can foresee , to meet that event, and not let it go beyond our comprehension. The wisest mages have predicted that some great change is coming to us, and we must unite to understand what is the change, the cause, the development, and prevent the following The resulting disputes and destruction, do not allow it to affect the harmony and peace of the world, because I rule with harmony and peace." Summoner Rod rose to his feet, saluted solemnly, and especially welcomed the arrival of the first princess, saying: "Master Roke and wizards agree that human dreams, and even not only dreams, warn of great changes. There is an even more serious threat of being overrun. But we doubt that anyone but a magician can understand or control the disturbance? Also, can we trust that dragons, whose life and death are completely different from humans, are willing to give up their wild rage for the benefit of mankind and jealousy?" "Master Summoner," said Lebannen before Irian could speak, "Om Ambar died for me in Keledo, and Kelasim carried me back to claim the throne. In the circle sat Karg The three races of the Hittites, the Hittites, and the peoples of the West." "These people used to be of the same race." The master named said flatly. "This is not what it used to be." The Summoner said, the words were heavy and clear, "Your Majesty, the words are hard to hear! I respect the truce agreement you concluded with the Dragon Clan. After the immediate danger is over, Roke will assist Havnor to find a conclusion with the Dragon Clan. The law of eternal peace, but the dragon race has nothing to do with the crisis that befalls us, and neither do the eastern races, who forgot their immortal souls when they forgot the language of creation!" "Ers Amra." Tehanu stood up and said in a soft and breathy tone. Master Summoner stared blankly at her. "Our language." Tehanu repeated in Hittite, responding to his gaze. Irian laughed, "Ers Amra." "You are not immortal," said Tenar, who had not intended to speak, to the Summoner. She did not get up, and the words exploded like sparks on a rock. "We are! We die to rejoin the world of immortality." , it is you who give up eternal life!" Everyone was suddenly quiet, because Master Xingyi made a small gesture just now, and moved his hands gently. With a focused and calm expression, he sat cross-legged on the grass, studying the figure made up of twigs and leaves in front of his legs, raised his head, and looked around the crowd: "I think we will go there soon." After another silence, Lebannin asked: "Where are you going, Monsieur?" "In the dark." Master Xingyi said.