Chapter 4 3. Terns

There is a wise man on our mountain, know how to get what you want; He changes shape, he changes name, But the rest never changes. The water just flows and flows, The water just flows like this. On a winter afternoon, on the bank of the Onefah River extending to the shallow bay north of Havnor Great Bay, a man stood up on the muddy ground, with ragged clothes and torn shoes, a thin and brown body, dark eyes, and slender hair. Thin and thick enough to let rainwater slide off.It was raining in the estuary shallows, a cold, dreary drizzle on a gray winter's day.His clothes were soaked, he arched his shoulders, turned around and walked towards the distant smoke from the shore.Behind him are the four footprints of the river otter climbing up from the water, and the two footprints of the man leaving the water.

Where he went afterward, the song does not detail, except that he was wandering: "He wandered far away, land after land." If he followed the coast of the Big Island, he could find the knot of knowledge in many villages. Midwife, wise woman, or sorcerer at hand signal, for assistance, but with hounds behind him, so he probably hastened away from Havnor, turned into a sailor, and boarded a fishing boat bound for the Straits of Ibanor, or a merchant ship bound for the Inner Pole. . Between the Isle of Ark, Orome and the Ninety Isles of Housk, there are stories of how a man came to find a place where kings and wizards still remembered, and he called that land the Isle of Mored .We have no way of knowing if these stories are about Medra, as he uses many aliases and rarely, if ever, calls himself a river otter.The death of Gelluk did not bring Rosen down. The Pirate King hired other wizards, one of whom was named Zaosheng, and he really wanted to find a junior who could defeat his master Gelluk.Zaosheng might well find out about Medra, for Lawson's power over Havnor and the North of the Inner Sea was increasing with time, and the hound's nose was as sharp as ever.

Either to avoid hunting, or because of the rumors about the daughter of the knotted daughter of Housk Island, Medra came to Pando in the far west of the Inner Sea.Before the dragon Yevad burned and plundered, Pendor was a rich island.Everywhere Medra had been was an island like Havnor or worse, plundered by war, infested by pirates, fields overgrown with grass, and towns full of thieves. He thought he had found it in Pendor. The island of Morad, because the city is beautiful and peaceful, and the people are prosperous and healthy. Here, Mi Zhuo met an old mage named Gao Long, whose real name had been concealed by time.After Gao Long heard the story of Morid Island, he smiled and shook his head sadly: "It's not here, it's not. Pan Duo Sea Lords are good people, remember the king's way, and don't seek war or plunder, but they send their sons to hunt in the west. Dragon. It’s fun! If you kill the dragons in the west border like wild ducks and geese, there will be no good end!”

Gao Long was grateful and accepted Mi Zhuo as his apprentice. "A sorcerer taught me all I could, but I couldn't find anyone to pass it on. Finally, you came." He told Mizhuo, "Young people came to me, and they asked, "What's the matter?" use?Can you find the gold? ’ said: ‘Can you teach me to turn a stone into a diamond?Can you give me a dragon-slaying sword?What's the use of saying a bunch of Dahua balance?No profit. ’ They said, no benefit! "Old men talk about the stupidity and corruption of the young. When it comes to teaching and solving doubts, the old man is tireless, generous and meticulous.It was the first time for Mizhuo to see the true face of magic: it was not a weird talent or nonsensical behavior, but an art, a craft, which could only be learned through long-term study, and could be used correctly only through continuous practice.But even so, the strangeness of the magic never fades.Gao Long's mastery of incantations and techniques is not much better than that of the students, but he has a clear concept of something bigger in his mind - complete knowledge.This makes him a mage.

Mizo listened, thinking about how he and Anieb walked in the dark rain, with the faint light, only seeing the next step to go; thinking about how they looked up and saw the red mountain ridge in the dawn. "Every mantra is closely related," Gao Long said, "Any movement of a leaf can move every leaf of every tree on every island in the Earth Sea! Everything has form and meaning, and this is what you must look for and pay attention to. .Only by becoming a part of Xingyi is the right way. Only in Xingyi can one be free.” Mi Zhuo studied with Gao Long for three years.After the old mage passed away, Lord Pando asked Mizhuo to inherit the position of mage.Although Gao Long constantly criticizes and scolds the dragon hunters, he has always been respected on the island, and his successors will also enjoy respect and power.Perhaps Medra couldn't help thinking that this was the closest thing to the Isle of Morad, so he stayed in Pando for a while longer.He and the young lord set sail on the same boat, passing through the Thorin Gap, and went deep into the west to find the dragons.He longed to see a dragon, but the weather was bad in those days, and storms came and went, driving the ship back three times to Ingat, and Medra refused to let the ship go west to the hurricane again-from the days of the small sailboats in Havnor Harbor Since then, he has learned a lot of weather techniques.

Afterwards, he left Pando and was drawn south again.Maybe head to Ansmore Island.With some kind of disguise, he finally came to Jis Island in Ninety Islets. To this day, the local people still live on whaling, and the ships and towns are extremely smelly.Mi Zhuo had no intention of engaging in this business. Although he didn't like to take slave ships, the only ship that left the port eastward from Jis Island was a ship carrying whale oil to Oi Port.He had heard talk of the closed seas to the south and east of the Isles, where rich islets were little known and had no trade with the Inner Sea Islands.The place he was looking for might be there.So he boarded a ship drawn by forty slaves as a weatherman.

The weather turned fine for a while, the wind was favorable, the blue sky was full of white clouds, and there was a warm sunshine in late spring.The ship sailed away from Guis Island smoothly.Later in the afternoon he heard the captain say to the helmsman, "Keep the ship south tonight and don't disturb Roke." He had never heard anyone speak of the island, so he asked, "What's there?" "Death and desolation," replied the captain, who was short in stature, with the sad little eyes of a whale that sees the world. "War?" "Years ago. Plague, black magic. Cursed around the waters."

"Maggots," said the helmsman, who was the captain's brother, "fishing near Roke and you'll find fish full of maggots like dead dogs on a dunghill." "Does anyone still live there?" asked Medra, and the captain replied "Witch," and his brother said, "Worm eaters." There are many such islands in the Archipelago, where the ravages and curses of hostile wizards have left the land barren and barren, and evil is invited even to pass through them.Medra didn't think much of Roke until that night. He slept on the deck, with the starlight on his face, and dreamed a simple and vivid dream: during the day, the clouds flew across the bright sky, and beyond the ocean, there was a tall and green hill, whose ridge was bathed in sunlight.When he woke up, the image was still clear in his mind.Ten years ago, he had also seen this scene in the tented prison cell locked by spells in the Samory mine.

He sat up.The surface of the dark sea is very quiet, and the backside of the slow and long waves reflects the stars.Oared boats seldom sailed far from the edge of land, and seldom sailed through the night, more often than not in bays or ports.But there was no anchorage for this voyage, and since the weather was so mild, they erected their masts and square sails.The ship drifted softly on, the oarsmen asleep on the benches, and all the crew asleep except the helmsman and the night watch, and even the night watch dozed.The water whispered against the edge of the ship, the timbers creaked softly, the slave's chains clanged and cracked again.

"I don't need a weatherman on such a night, and they haven't paid me yet." Mi Zhuo said to his conscience.He awoke from the dream with the word Roke still in his mind.Why has this island never been mentioned, never seen on a nautical chart?Maybe it is as rumored, cursed and desolate, but shouldn't it be drawn on a nautical chart? "I can turn into a tern and be back on the boat before dawn," he said to himself, but his mood was lazy.His destination is Port Ou, the ruined land is too common, there is no need to fly to find it.He made himself lie between the ropes and looked at the stars.The four stars in the Western Iron Smelting Furnace are bright, hanging low above the sea.The light was a little blurry, and under his gaze, the stars went out one by one.

The faintest sigh trembles through the slow smooth waves. Mi Zhuo immediately stood up: "Captain, wake up." "What's wrong?" "There is a witch wind blowing, the direction of the wind. Quickly unload the sail." There was no wind blowing.The air was still soft, the great sails hung limp, and only the western stars faded and disappeared with the rising silent shadows.The captain watched the scene. "You said it was Wu Feng?" He asked reluctantly. Tricksters use the weather as a weapon, sending hailstorms to destroy enemy crops and hurricanes to sink enemy ships.This kind of storm is repeated and frantic, and can even travel far away from the destination, disturbing the farmers or sailors harvesting the crops hundreds of miles away. "Leave the sails down," Medra ordered.The captain stretched, cursed twice, and barked orders.The crew slowly climbed up and slowly put in the heavy sails. After the captain of the oars asked a few questions to the captain and Medra, he began to yell at the slaves, strode between them, and swung the knotted whip from side to side. Chop to wake them up.The sails were only half undone, the oars were only half gripped, and just as Mi Zhuo recited the stabilizing mantra, the witch wind attacked. In the sudden darkness and violent storm, Wufeng began to attack with a thunderstorm.The boat raised its nose like a horse, then rolled so heavy and far that the mast snapped at once, but the stays held on.The sail fell into the sea, filled with water, and pulled the ship straight down.Huge rows of oars slid back and forth on the oarlocks, and chained slaves stood struggling and screaming on benches.Barrels of fuel were scattered everywhere, rumbling and rolling.The sails pulled the ship straight to the bottom of the sea, and the deck stood sideways on the sea surface. A row of huge storm waves rushed onto the ship and submerged it, causing the ship to sink to the bottom of the sea.Everyone's shouts and screams were silent for a moment, leaving only the roar of the rain hitting the sea, which gradually weakened as the strange hurricane moved eastward.Through the hurricane, a white seabird flapped its wings from the black sea, flitting northward, vulnerable and desperate. In the first twilight of dawn, the long and narrow sandy beach under the cliff printed the traces of seabirds landing, followed by the footprints of men walking and roaming, and continued for a long distance on the beach between the cliff and the ocean, which became narrower and narrower.There was no trace after that. Medra knew the danger of changing shape repeatedly, but the shipwreck and last night's long flight left him shaken and weak, and the gray beach only led him to the bottom of a steep cliff that could not be climbed.He spelled and chanted again, and on the fast, tired wings of a tern, he flew to the top of the cliff.At this moment, flying dominated his mind, and he flew over the land shrouded in the shadow before sunrise.Far ahead, a towering emerald green hill, the ridge of which is bathed in the first-born sunlight. There he flew, landed, and reverted to human form when he touched the ground. He stood there for a while, confused.He vaguely felt that he did not return to human form due to actions or choices, but as soon as he landed on this land, on this hill, he changed back to himself.Greater magic resides here. He looked around curiously and warily.On the entire mountain, starflowers are in bloom, and the slender petals are burning golden among the green grass.All the children of Havnor knew the plant as the starflower, named after the plague of Zhurong in Irian.At that time, God of Fire attacked the islands, and Eriya went to meet the enemy and defeated them.Standing on the top of the mountain, the stories and songs of the heroes of the past emerged in Mijo's memory.Eriabah, and the heroes before him: Heru the Falcon Queen, Akenbar who drove the Kargs back to the East, Seliel the Peacemaker, Yephran the Soria, and the much-loved King Mered, known as the White Mage.The brave and the wise came as if summoned, as if he had called them.But he did not call, he saw them.They stood among the tall grass, among the flame-shaped flowers lightened by the morning wind. Then they all disappeared, leaving him standing alone on the top of the mountain, shocked, confused and uneasy. "I have seen the kings and queens of Earthsea," he thought, "and they are but vines growing on this hill." Mizhuo slowly walked towards the east of the mountain, and the sun on the horizon, which was only a few fingers high, had already illuminated the place brightly and warmly.Looking below the sun, he saw that the roofs of villages and towns were clustered on the top of the bay facing east, and the line across the sky was the edge of the ocean half a world away.Turning to the west, he saw fields, pastures, and roads.To the north are long green hills.There is a clump of tall trees in a low-lying mountain in the south, which attracts and captures his gaze.It seemed to him the entrance to a great forest, like Falien Glade in Havnor, and he did not know why he thought so, for he could see bare moors and pastures beyond the grove too. He stood for a long time before he pushed aside the tall grass and star flowers and walked down.A path at the foot of the mountain led him past farmland, which looked well-kept but strangely lonely.He was looking for a trail leading into town, but none of them were heading east.There was no one in the fields, some of which had just been plowed.There was no dog barking at him along the way, only at a fork in the road, an old donkey chewing on the barren pasture came to the wooden fence and poked its head out, longing for company.Mizhuo stopped to caress the gray-brown thin face.He grew up in the city and by the sea, and didn't know much about farms and livestock, but he felt that the donkey had kind eyes. "Where am I, Donkey?" he asked it. "How do I get to the town I see?" The donkey pressed its head hard against his hand so that he could continue scratching between the eyes and ears.Its long right ear flickered as he scratched, so Medra left the donkey and took the right side, even though that seemed to lead to the top of the hill.Before long the houses were visible, and he took the streets and finally reached the town at the top of the bay. The farmland is eerily quiet.No sound, no trace.Such a sweet spring morning and such an ordinary town made him comfortable, but such a stillness made him wonder whether he was in a plague-stricken land or a cursed island.He moved on.Between the house and an old plum tree, a clothesline was tied, and the clothes flapped in the clear breeze.A cat came to a corner of the garden. It was not a hungry and abandoned cat, but a cat with white paws, clean whiskers, and a peaceful life.He walked down the steep rock, and finally heard the voice of people. He stopped to listen, but couldn't hear anything. He walked down the street.The alleys developed into small bazaars, where people gathered, few in number, not buying and selling items, and not setting up trellises or stalls.Those people are waiting for him. Medra felt relieved ever since he walked past the blue hill above the town and saw the vivid phantom among the green grass. He was looking forward with all his heart, full of a certain sense of wonder, but not afraid.He stood still, looking towards the person who came to greet him. Three of them came forward, a tall and burly old man with dazzled white hair, and two women.Wizards knew wizards, and Medra knew they were the Daughters of Strength. He raised his clenched hand, turned it around and offered it to the visitor with the palm facing up. "Ah." said the taller woman, and smiled, but did not respond to the gesture. "Tell us who you are," the white-haired man said, with a polite tone, but without greeting or welcoming first, "how did you come here?" "I was born in Havnor, and I was trained as a shipwright and a sorcerer. I took a ship from Gith to Port Ou. Last night, the witch wind came, and I was the only one who escaped drowning." He was silent.The memory of the ship and those chained in it engulfed his mind as the dark sea engulfed them.He gasped, as if rising from his sinking. "How did you get here?" "It came as a bird... as a tern. Is this Roke Isle?" "You transformed?" Mizuo nodded. "Who do you serve?" the smaller, younger woman spoke for the first time.She had a sharp, resolute face, and long black eyebrows. "I have no master." "What is your errand in Hong Kong?" "Years ago I was enslaved in Havnor. Those who freed me told me of a place where there was no master, and where Seliel's kingship was still remembered, and where skills were revered. For seven years I sought that place, The island." "Who told you that?" "The daughter of the knot." "Anybody can make a fist and spread their palms," said the tall woman kindly, "but not everyone can fly to Roke, or swim, sail, and so on. So we must ask you how to come." Mizuo didn't answer right away. "Luck favors Jiuyuan." He finally said, "It wasn't skill or knowledge that brought me here. I think I've reached the place I'm looking for, but I don't know; I think you may be the ones Ayou and the others mentioned, but I don't know; I think there are great secrets hidden in the groves I saw from the mountain, but I don't know. All I know is that from the moment I set foot on that mountain, it was like hearing Yingluck chanted for the first time as a child. Like Virtue and Friendship, lost in the unbelievable magic." The white-haired man looked at the other two women.The rest of the people also came forward and talked a lot. "If you stay here, what are you going to do?" the black-browed woman asked him. "I can build ships, mend ships, steer them, and search. If you need them, I can also manipulate the weather. I'm willing to learn the arts from anyone who will teach me." "What do you want to learn?" the taller woman asked in a kind voice. At this time, Mi Zhuo felt that no matter whether this life is right or wrong, this question will determine his life.He stood silently for a long time again.He hesitated to speak, and finally said: "I can't save anyone, not one, not even the person who saved me. Everything I know can't set her free. I don't know anything. If you know How to be free, please, teach me!" "Freedom!" said the tall woman, her voice was like whipping a whip.She looked at her companion, smiled slightly after a moment, turned to Medra, and said, "We are prisoners, and freedom is the subject of our study. You came through our prison walls, and you said you were looking for freedom, but you must know, Leaving Roke may be more difficult than coming here. There are prisons within prisons, some of which we built ourselves." She looked at the others, and asked, "What do you say?" They said little, almost silently seeking consensus.Finally, the shorter woman looked at Mi Zhuo with sharp eyes: "If you want, just stay." "I need to." "What do we call you?" "Tern," he replied, and they called it that. What Medra found in Roke was both more and less than the hopes and rumors he had sought so long.They say Roke is the heart of Earthsea.At the beginning of time, Xiguoyi raised the continent from the sea, the first piece was Bright Oia in the North Sea, and the second piece was Roke.That green hill was Roke Knoll, and its foundations were deeper than the rest of the isles.And the forest he had seen before, sometimes on this side of the island, sometimes on the other side, was the oldest forest in the world, and it was also the source and center of magic. "If the big forest is cut down, the witchcraft will be ineffective. The roots of those trees are the roots of knowledge. The shapes and meanings formed by the leaf shadows in the sun are the words spoken by Xi Guoyi when he created the world." Yu Jin said so.She is Mi Zhuo's master, with sharp black eyebrows. All the magic arts masters on Roke are women.There are no sons of strength on the island, not even ordinary men. Thirty years ago, the Pirate Kings of Vasor Island sent their fleets to conquer Roke, not for small fortune, but to break the famous magic.A wizard in Roke betrays the island to the Vasor tricksters, lowering the island's defenses and warning spells.The spell was broken, and the pirates captured the entire island not by witchcraft, but by brute force and fire.The bay of Suir was full of large ships, the army burned, killed and looted, and the slave traders took away men, boys, and young women.They slaughtered young children and old people, and burned every house and field wherever they went.A few days later, the pirates boarded the ship and left. Not a single village was left intact, and the farmland was also destroyed and barren. The town of Syl on the top of the bay also has some peculiarities of the round hills and the big forest. Although the looters chased the town to search for slaves and robbed the fire, the fire was extinguished at once, and the narrow streets also attracted bandits.Most of the surviving islanders are wise women and children, hiding in the town or in the woods.The men on Roke Isle now are all the children left behind, now grown up; and there are also a few old men.The place was governed by no organization but the Daughters of the Hand, whose spells had long guarded Roke, and were now more tightly bound. The Knotted Daughter rarely trusts men, because a man betrays and a group of men attack the place.It is male ambition, they say, that twists skill for personal gain. "We don't interact with them." The tall and slim Fusha said kindly. Ember, however, said to Medra: "We are bringing our own destruction." More than a hundred years ago, the Sons and Daughters of the Knotted Hands gathered in Roke and formed the wizarding alliance.Proud and trusting in their strength, they taught others, formed secret factions, and resisted warriors and slavers before they could openly revolt.Women have always been the leaders of the alliance, Yu Jin said, women disguised themselves as plaster sellers and net weavers, etc., left Roke and went to the Inner Extreme Sea to organize a wide and tight resistance network.To this day, there are still some links left in that web.Medra first met one of these trails in the village of Anieb and has followed them till now, but they did not lead him there.After that plunder, Roke was completely enclosed in the powerful ward that the wise woman wove again and again, and had no further dealings with the rest of the people. "We can't save them," said Ember, "we can't even save ourselves." Although Fusha has a gentle voice and a smile, she is uncompromising.She told Medra that she had agreed to keep him at Roke to keep an eye on him. "You got past our defenses once, and you may or may not be telling the truth. Can you tell me something that makes me trust you?" It was agreed to give him a cabin by the harbor and a job to assist the shipwright of Syl, who had only taught herself how to build a ship, and was happy to accept Medra's craft.Fusha was not on the way to make things difficult for him, and always greeted him kindly, but she said "Can you tell me something so that I can trust you", and he couldn't answer. Yujin mostly responded to his greeting with a frown.She would ask questions abruptly and listen for answers without saying a word. He once timidly asked her what Xinchenglin was, because when he asked others, they all said: "Yujin can tell you." She refused to answer, her attitude was not arrogant, but clear.She said: "You can only learn from Dalin in Dalin." A few days later, Yujin came to the beach of Suier Bay, where Mi Zhuo was repairing fishing boats.She tried her best to help and asked about shipbuilding, and he tried his best to let her know about shipbuilding.It was a peaceful afternoon.But then she suddenly left.He has a certain awe of Ember, because she is unpredictable.Soon, unexpectedly, Yujin said to him: "I will go to Dalin after the Long Dance Festival. You can come if you want." From the top of Roke Knoll it seemed that the entire forest could be seen, but if one walked in the forest, one might not be able to return to the field, one would just keep walking under the trees.There is only a single tree species in Dalin, and it only exists here, but these trees have no name other than "tree" in their Hebrew names.Yujin said that in the ancient language, every tree has a real name.Continue walking for a while, and you will return to the familiar tree species: oak, ash, ash, chestnut, walnut, willow, green in spring, dry and bare in winter; Tall holly tree with soft red bark and layered branches and leaves.Every time I walk, the road between the trees is always different.The Saier people told him that it is best not to go too deep, and only by turning back the same way can he get out of the woods and enter the field. "How far is the forest?" Mi Zhuo asked, and Yujin replied, "It is as far away as the heart is." When Medra was in Orome, he learned to read the common script of the Kingdom of the Archipelago.Afterwards, Gao Long of Pando taught him some runes of power, and those knowledges were known; what Yujin learned alone in the Forest of Hearts, was unknown except to those who shared it with her.All summer she lived on the edge of the big forest, with nothing but a small box to keep mice or wood mice from eating what little food she had, a canopy of branches for shelter, and a pile of coals for cooking.The charcoal fire was set beside the brook, which ran through the woods and joined the little river that ran to the bay. Medra camped nearby.He didn't know what Yujin wanted him to do.He hoped that she was going to teach him and began to answer his questions about Dalin, but she didn't say a word, and he was even more shy and cautious, for fear of disturbing her alone.This kind of solitude is as strange as Dalin, which makes him vigilant and frightened.The next day, she called him along and led him deep into the woods.The two walked in silence for a long time.At noon in summer, the woods are completely still.No birds chirping, no leaves moving, the rows of trees are different, but overlapped as one.He didn't know when they turned back, but he knew that they were beyond the coast of Roke. In the warm night, they went out again and returned to the cultivated land and the pasture.Walking back to camp, he saw the four stars of the Forge appear in the western hills. Yujin only said "good night" and then left. The next day, she said, "I'm going to sit under a tree." He wasn't sure what she wanted him to do, so he followed her at a distance, until they went into the deepest part of the forest, where all the trees were of the same, nameless species, But each one has its own real name.She sat down among the soft leaves among the roots of an old tree, and he sat down not far away.She watched, listened, and sat still, and he watched, listened, and remained still.The two lived like this for a few days.One morning, Yujin walked into the big forest, but he stayed by the river with a stubborn heart.She didn't look back. That morning Vesha had come from Syl, bringing a basket of bread, cheese, curds, and summer fruits. "What have you learned?" She asked detachedly and gently, and Mizhuo replied, "Learned that I'm an idiot." "Why, Tern?" "A fool would not be wiser if he sat forever under a tree." The tall slender woman smiles. "My sister never taught men," she said, glancing at him, and looking away at the summer fields. "She never looked a man in the eye." Mi Zhuo stood silently.His cheeks were hot and he lowered his head. "I thought..." He hesitated. What Fusha said made him suddenly see that there was another side to Yujin's impatience, sharpness, and silence. He tried to see Ember as inviolable, but in fact he longed to touch her soft brown skin and shining black hair.When she stared at him suddenly with inexplicable defiance, he thought she was angry.He was afraid of insulting and irritating her.What is she afraid of?his desire?Her own... But she is not an inexperienced girl, she is a wise woman, a mage, a person who walks in the forest of hearts and understands the shape and meaning of shadows! He stood at the edge of the woods with Fusha, his thoughts were surging in his mind. "I thought mages lived alone," he finally said, "Gao Long said that making love breaks power." "Some wise men say so," Vesha said kindly, smiling again, and bid him farewell. He had been in a chaotic and angry mood all afternoon.When Yujin walked out of the big forest and walked upstream to the house where Ye Yingfushu lived, he went with him, carrying Fusha's basket as an excuse. "Can I talk to you?" She nodded curtly, frowning her black brows. He said nothing.She knelt down to see what was in the basket. "Peaches!" she called, smiling. "My master Gao Long said that wizards who have sex will lose their strength." Mi Zhuo said suddenly. She was speechless, just took out the contents of the basket and put them on the ground, dividing them into two parts. "Do you think that's true?" he asked. She shrugged: "No." He remained silent and stood there.After a while, she raised her head and looked at him. "No," she said softly and quietly, "I don't think it's true. I think all real power, all Primordial Force, is ultimately one." He is still standing.Then she said, "Look at these peaches! They are very ripe. They must be eaten at once." "If I tell you my name," he said, "my real name..." "Then I'll tell you mine," she said, "if... if we should start like this..." However, the two started with peaches. Both are shy.Mijo held her hands, trembling hands, Yujin, whose real name was Eleha, turned away with an angry face, and then she touched his hand lightly.She seemed to be just enduring his touch as he stroked her flowing black hair, so he stopped.He tried to hug her, and she stiffened, rejecting him.Then, she turned around, fiercely, eagerly, and clumsily wrapping her hands around him tightly.The two didn't achieve great joy and freedom on the first night, or in the first few nights, but they learned from each other, and finally passed the shame and fear and entered the passion.Their long days of silence in the woods, and their long nights of starlight, were joy. They both laughed when Fusha brought the last batch of late peaches from town.Peaches are their symbol of happiness.They wanted to stay with Vesha for dinner, but she refused. "You have to make good use of it," she said. The summer ended prematurely that year, the rains came early, and even in Roke, so far south, there was snow in autumn.The storms came in turn, as if the wind was angry, resisting the unreasonable interference of tricksters.Women sat round the fires of lonely farms, and crowds gathered around the hearths of Syl, to hear the wind and rain or the stillness of the snow.Outside Suil Bay, the sea was pounding against the reefs and cliffs on the shore of the island, and no ship dared to sail into such a sea. All share all.From this point of view, this is indeed the island of Mored.In Roke, no one sleeps in the open, but everyone has only the basic necessities of life.Covered by the sea and storms, and with its own defenses, it uses camouflaged islands to lure ships astray, thus isolating itself from the world.They work, talk, and sing "Winter Ode" and "The Young King's Friendship"; there are also "The Chronicle of Yinglad" and "The History of Zhijie" to read.Old men and women would read aloud from these precious books in the harborside hall where the fisherwomen mended their nets.There was a fireplace and they would light a fire, and people even came from the farms on the other side of the island to hear the recitations, listening in silence and paying attention. "Our souls are hungry." Yujin said. Yujin and Mizhuo live in a small house not far from the net house, but she often stays with her sister Fusha.When the robbers came from Vassau, Yujin and Fusha were children, living on a farm near Syl.The mother hid the sisters in the root cellar on the farm, and went out to cast a spell, trying to protect her husband and brother, because men would rather fight than hide.Families were slaughtered along with cattle, and houses and barns were burned to the ground.That day and the night after, the two little girls stayed in the cellar.Finally, the neighbors who came to bury the carrion found two children, silent and hungry, holding pickaxes and broken plowshares, ready to guard the mound of stones that the two had piled up for the dead. Mi Zhuo only heard the general content from Yu Jin's mouth.One night, Fusha, who was three years older than Yujin, had a clearer memory and told him the whole story.Yujin sat beside the two of them, listening silently. Mizhuo told Fusha and Yujin everything about the Samory mine, the wizard Golluk, and the slave Anieb in return. After he finished speaking, Fusha was silent for a long time, and said, "So, when you first came here, you said, 'I can't save the person who saves me', that's what you meant." "And you asked me, 'What can you tell me so I can trust you?'" "You just told me," Fusha said. Mi Zhuo held her hand and pressed his forehead against it.He fought back tears while telling the story, and now, he can't hold back anymore. "She set me free," he said, "and I still feel like everything I do is through her and for her. No, not for her, there's nothing we can do with the dead. It's for..." "For us." Yujin said, "For those of us who are alive or hiding, who have not been killed and who will not kill. Powerful people do whatever they want, and the only hope left in the world lies in the insignificant people." "Must we hide forever?" "It's really like what a man said." Fusha said with her gentle, hurt smile. "Yes." Yujin said, "We must hide. If necessary, we must always hide. Because beyond this coast, there are only killing and being killed. You said so, and I believe it." "But true power cannot be hidden," said Mizo. "It is hidden for a while. Power dies in hiding, with no one to share it with." "Roke's magic never dies," Vesha said. "'In Roke, all spells are strong.' Ace said so, and you're walking under the tree... our job must be to preserve that power." .Hiding power, yes, hoarding power, like a dragon hoards fire; and sharing, but only here, passing it on, one after another. It's safe here, because the people here are insignificant, and robbers and killers are the least likely to come Find strength here. One day, dragons will grow and thrive, even if it takes thousands of years..." "But out of Roke," said Medra, "the commoners are enslaved in misery, and starve, and die. Shall they, too, last hopelessly for a thousand years?" He looked at the faces of the sisters in turn, one gentle and immobile as a mountain, while the other, under the stern exterior, was sensitive and gentle like the first tongue of a newly ignited flame. "On the Isle of Havnor, far from Roke, in the villages on Mount Onn, there are still daughters of knots among people who know nothing of the world. After all these years the Web is unbroken, How was that woven?" "With dexterity." Yujin said. "And so far away!" He took turns looking at the two of them again. "I was not well trained in Havnor. My teachers told me not to use magic for evil, but they lived in fear and had no power to resist power. They gave me what they could, But still weak. I am not led astray, thanks to chance, and the strength Anieb gave me. If it were not for her, I would be Gelluk's servant now. However, she herself has no one to teach, and suffers Slavery. If witchcraft is only taught lightly by the best and used for evil by the powerful, how will our power grow here? What will the little dragons live on?" "This is the center," said Vesha. "We must hold the center. And wait." “我们必须给予所能给予之物，”弥卓说道：“如果我们之外的人都沦为奴隶，那我们的自由还有何价值？” “真实的技艺胜于虚假，形意会维持。”萸烬皱眉说道。她拿起火钳，把与她同名的余烬在炉火中聚成一堆，一击打入烈焰。“我知道这点。我们的生命如此短促，形意则长长久久。如果当今柔克有昔时盛况……若有更多身怀真实技艺的人聚集在此，教导与学习，同时保存……” “如果柔克如往日般，以强盛知名，害怕我们的人将再来摧毁。”芙纱说。 “因此，只有保密一途。”弥卓说：“但问题亦然。” “我们的问题是男人，”芙纱说：“亲爱的弟弟，希望你别介意。对别的男人而言，男人比女人和小孩重要。我们这里纵有五十名女巫，他们也不会多加注意，但如果知道我们有五名力之子，他们就会打算再来摧毁。” “所以虽然我们之间有男子，但我们过去仍是结手之女。”萸烬说。 “妳们依然是。”弥卓说：“安涅薄曾是其一。她、妳们，及所有住在同一监牢的人。” “我们能怎么办？”芙纱问。 “学习了解我们的力量！”弥卓说道。 “建一所学院，”萸烬说：“睿智的人可以前来相互学习、研习形意……大林为我们遮荫。” “枭雄鄙视学者与师傅。”弥卓说道。 “我想反之亦然。”芙纱说道。 于是，他们在漫长冬天里讨论，旁人也前来参与。讨论逐渐从愿景变成意图，从渴望变成计划。芙纱一直十分谨慎，警告各种危险。萸烬提及白发的杜恩十分急切，甚至想开始教导绥尔每个孩子术法。一旦萸烬开始相信柔克的自由在于提供他人自由，她便致力思索结手之女如何复兴。但她在树下经长期独处形成的思考方式，总是在寻找形式及明确性，因此她问：“我们不知道自己的技艺是什么，该如何教导？” 因此，岛上智妇开始讨论：魔法的真实技艺是什么？魔法从哪里开始转为虚假？一体至衡如何维持、会因何丧失？哪些法艺必要、哪些有用、哪些危险？为什么有人只有某项天赋，而没有另一项天赋？技艺能否因学习而来？在讨论中，她们协调出此后各项技艺名称：寻查、天候术、变换、治愈、召唤、形意、名字、幻术、歌曲知识。尽管日后寻查仅视为一项有用法艺，不符合法师身分，而以诵唱取代，但直到今日，这些依然是柔克师傅的技艺。 柔克学院也自这些讨论诞生。 有些人说，学院的诞生与此相差甚远。他们说，柔克当初由一名称为“暗妇”的女人统治，与大地太古力共谋合作。据说，她住在柔克圆丘下一处洞穴，从未走入日光下，却在大地与海洋上编施咒法，强迫男子服从她邪恶的意志，直到第一任大法师来到柔克，破除咒法，进入洞穴，打败暗妇，取代她的位置。 这故事只有一项属实，早期有位柔克师傅确实破开、进入一处极大洞窟。虽然柔克之根基亦是所有岛屿的根基，但那洞窟却不在柔克。 在弥卓及伊蕾哈的年代，柔克人无论男女，对大地太古力皆无惧意，反而加以尊崇，从中寻求力量与远见。这点随时间流逝渐渐改变。 那年春天再度迟来，寒冷且暴雨不断。弥卓开始造船。桃树开花时，他已依循黑弗诺风格，建好一艘纤细结实的深洋船，名之“可望”。不久，他将“可望”驾离绥尔湾，未携伴同行。“在夏季尾声寻找我的踪迹。”他对萸烬说。 “我会在大林里等你，我的心会随你而去，我黝黑的河獭、我雪白的燕鸥、吾爱，弥卓。” “我心亦与妳同在，我的萸烬、我盛开的花树、吾爱，伊蕾哈。” 弥卓，人称燕鸥的男子，在首度寻航中，驶向内极海北方，朝向他数年前曾造访的欧若米。那里有他信任的结手之人，其中一位名叫鸦。他是富有的隐士，虽然本身没有魔法天分，却热衷文字著作，尤其是智典与史书。照鸦的说法，当初他将燕鸥一头塞进书本，直到燕鸥读懂为止。“文盲巫师是地海之祸！”他高喊，“无知的力量是破灭之源！”鸦是个怪人，任性、高傲、固执，为保护热衷的事物，会变得分外英勇。好几年前他便反抗过罗森威权，伪装进入黑弗诺港，从古老皇家藏书阁中取走四本书。他最近刚从威岛取得一篇有关水银的古老论述，极端自豪。“也是从罗森鼻子下弄出来的。”他对燕鸥说：“你快来看！这以前属于一个名巫师。” “提纳拉，”燕鸥说：“我认得他。” “这本书不会是垃圾吧？”鸦说，一提到书，他脑子便转得极快。 “我不知道，我在追更大的猎物。” 鸦歪着头听。 “《真名之书》。” “阿斯去西方时，那本书就跟着遗失了。”鸦说。 “高龙法师告诉我，阿斯住在蟠多时，曾告诉那里一名巫师，他把《真名之书》留给九十屿一个女人妥善收藏。” “女人！妥善收藏！在九十屿！他疯了吗？” 鸦喧嚷怒骂，但光想到《真名之书》可能还存在，便立刻整装——只要燕鸥高兴，他随时可出发去九十屿。 于是，他们乘“可望”南航，首先抵达臭气冲天的吉斯岛，然后伪装成小贩，在宛如迷宫的海峡间，造访一座座小岛。鸦在船上塞满多数岛民难得一见的好东西，燕鸥则以合理价钱卖出，以物易物，因为岛民没有多少钱。两人极受欢迎，人未到先轰动，大家都知道，只要书本老旧古怪，他们就愿意交易。而群屿上，只要是书本，就全都老旧古怪。 鸦高兴地以五颗银扣、一把珍珠柄小刀、一块洛拔那瑞丝料换得一本阿肯巴年代写成、水渍满布的动物寓言集。他坐在“可望”中，低哼古代有关赫瑞蜥、瓯塔客与冰熊的描述，燕鸥则登上每座岛屿，在家庭主妇的厨房与老人盘桓的慵懒酒馆中展示货品。有时他会懒懒地握紧拳头，将手反转，摊开掌心，但这里无人响应信号。 “书？”北苏迪迪一个灯心草编织匠问：“像那边那个吗？”他指向塞入屋顶缝细间的长条羊皮纸。“它们还有别的用途啊？”鸦紧盯着四散在屋檐下灯心草间的字词，因气愤而全身颤抖。燕鸥赶紧趁他还没爆发，把他带回船上。 “那只是兽医手册。”继续航行时，鸦冷静下来，承认道，“我看到『马瘸』，还有一些母羊乳房的东西。可是这种无知的态度！这种野蛮无知的态度！用书填他家的屋顶！” “而且是有用的知识。”燕鸥说：“如果知识不保存、不教导，人民怎么可能不无知呢？如果书籍可以收藏在一个地方……” “例如众王藏书阁。”鸦说，梦忆过往荣光。 “或是你的图书馆。”燕鸥说，他已比当年更懂得字斟句酌。 “只字片语罢了。”鸦说，撇开毕生心血，“只是断简残篇！” “这是个开始。”燕鸥说。 鸦只叹口气。 “我想我们该往南走。”燕鸥说道，将船导向开阔海道。“朝帕笛岛去。” “你有做这门生意的天分，”鸦说：“你知道该去哪找，就这么直直走向谷仓阁楼里那本动物寓言书……可是这儿没什么好找，没什么重要的。阿斯不会把最伟大的智典留给会拿来塞屋顶的老粗！你若高兴，我们就去帕笛岛吧，然后回欧若米。我受够了。” “而且我们没有钮扣了。”燕鸥说。他很愉悦，一想到帕笛岛，便知道自己正往正确方向走。“也许我沿路能找到点钮扣，这是我的天赋呢。” 两人都未去过帕笛岛。那是座慵懒的南方鸟屿，有个漂亮老港城泰立欧，以粉红色砂石建造，还有本应肥沃的田野与果园。但瓦梭领主在此统治了一世纪之久，不断加税、征奴，耗竭土地与人民。泰立欧晴朗的街道忧伤肮脏，城中人民有如住在野地，睡在碎布拼凑而成的帐棚及披屋中，或露宿街头。“喔，我不行了。”鸦厌恶地说道，避开一堆人类排泄物。“燕鸥，这些家伙不会有书！” “等等，等等，”同伴说道，“给我一天时间。” “这很危险，”鸦说：“而且毫无意义。”但他没坚决反对。这谦虚天真的年轻人，自己曾教会他阅读，如今已成深不可测的向导。 两人走过一条主街，转进一区小房子中，这里曾是纺织工小区。帕笛岛上种植亚麻，路上有些多已废弃的石造沤麻屋，某些窗边还看得到纺轮。小广场一块遮蔽酷热阳光的阴凉处下，四、五名妇人在井边纺织。孩童在附近嬉戏，身体瘦弱、因炎热而无精打采，对陌生人没有多少兴趣。燕鸥仿佛知道自己该往何处前行，毫不迟疑走到这里。他停下脚步，向妇人们问安。 “喔，俊俏小伙子，”其中一人带着微笑说：“你不用给我们看你那包袱里有什么，我已经一个月没看过一枚铜钱或象牙了。” “不过，太太，妳或许会有点亚麻布吧？织品、麻线？我在黑弗诺听说帕笛岛的亚麻是最好的，我也看得出妳在纺的是好东西。这线真漂亮。”鸦愉悦又带点鄙视地看着同伴，他自己可以非常精明地为一本书议价，但要他跟普通妇人喋喋不休扣子跟线的事，则太贬低身价。“妳先等我把这打开吧。”燕鸥一面在石地上摊开包袱，一面说道。妇女与肮脏胆怯的小孩靠过来，想瞧瞧他有什么宝贝。“我们在找织好的布料、未染色的线，还有别的……我们还缺扣子。妳们有没有兽角或骨头雕成的扣子？我愿意用这顶漂亮小绒帽，来跟妳们换三、四颗扣子。或是像这捆漂亮缎带，太太，看看这颜色，配妳的头发多漂亮啊！纸张也可以，书也成。我们在欧若米的主人正找这类东西，也许妳们有收一些起来。” “喔，你真俊俏，”他将红色缎带比在她黑色发辫上时，最先说话的妇人笑道，“我真希望有什么可以给你！” “我没有大胆到向妳索个吻，”弥卓说道：“但或许要个摊开的掌心，可以吗？” 他比出信号，她看了他片刻。“这很简单，”她轻轻说道，比回信号，“但在陌生人中不一定安全。” 弥卓继续展示货品，与妇女、小孩说笑。没人买东西。他们凝视这些小玩意儿，仿佛是些珍宝。他让他们尽情看、尽情碰，也让一个小孩摸走一面磨光铜镜，看着它消失在破烂衬衫下，一句话也没说。终于，他说他必须走了，一边收起包袱，孩子三三两两离开。 “我有个邻居，”黑辫女子说：“她可能有点纸片。如果你们在找那些东西。” “上面有字的？”一直无聊坐在井盖上的鸦问，“上面有记号的？” 她上下打量他：“上面有记号的，先生。”然后她以完全不同的语气对燕鸥说：“请你跟我来，她住在这里。虽然她只是个女孩，而且十分贫困，但我可以跟你说，小贩，她有摊开的掌心。也许不是我们所有人都有。” “我可有哩，”鸦说，粗略比划信号，“所以，女人，省省妳的酸醋吧。” “喔，有得省的人是你吧，先生。我们这里是穷人家。又无知。”她眼光一闪，又带领他们继续前行。 她将他们领到巷尾一间屋前。那曾是漂亮房舍，以石头建成的双层楼房，但如今半空、楼面毁坏，窗户外框及装饰用的石雕尽遭拆除。他们经过有口井的中庭。她在边门上敲了两下，一名女孩开门。 “啊，这是女巫巢穴。”鸦一闻到草药及芳香烟雾，便如此说道，向后退了一步。 “是治疗师。”他们的向导说道。“多莉，她又生病了吗？” 女孩点点头，先看看燕鸥，然后转向鸦。她大约十四、五岁，瘦削结实、眼神阴郁沉稳。 “多莉，他们是结手之子，一个矮小俊俏，另一个高大骄傲。他们在找纸。我知道妳们以前有一些，不过现在可能没了。他们的包袱里不会有妳们需要的东西，但也许他们愿意为想要的东西付点象牙币。是这样吧？”她将明亮眼眸转向燕鸥，他点点头。 “兰草，她病得很重。”女孩说，再次注视燕鸥。“你不是治疗师啊？”是句责问。 "no." “她是。”兰草说：“她母亲、她母亲的母亲也是。多莉，我们进屋里去吧，至少让我进去，好跟她说话。”女孩回屋里一会儿，兰草对燕鸥说道：“她患肺病，快死了。没有治疗师能医好，她自己却能医治瘰病、以碰触止痛，真是神奇。多莉颇有望继承她的衣砵。” 女孩示意三人进屋，鸦决定在外面等待。房间高而深，依稀留存以往优雅痕迹，如今已非常古老残破。治疗师的各色道具及干燥草药四散屋内，却有如以某种规则排列。细致石壁炉燃烧一小撮香甜草药，附近有个床架，床上女人十分瘦弱，在昏暗光线下，几乎只剩一团骨头与虚影。燕鸥走到床边，她试图坐起身说话，女儿用枕头将她的头撑起。燕鸥靠得很近时，他听到她说：“巫师。不是巧合。” 她是力之女，知道他是何等人物。是她呼唤他前来此地吗？ “我是寻查师，”他说：“也是追寻者。” “你能教导她吗？” “我能带她到可以教导她的人身边。” “带她去。” "I will." 她躺下头，闭上眼。 受到那专注意志的震撼，燕鸥站起身，深吸一口气。他转头看看女孩，她没有回应，只是以呆滞阴郁的哀伤望着母亲。妇人沉入睡眠后，多莉才有动静，前去协助兰草。兰草身为这对母女的朋友及邻居，自认该尽点心力，因此正收集四散床边的血湿布条。 “她刚刚又流血了，但我止不住。”多莉说，泪水自眼角流下脸颊，表情几乎没变。 “孩子，小东西。”兰草说，将她拉近拥抱，虽然多莉回抱了兰草，却没有软化。 “她要去那里，去墙那里，我不能跟她一起去。”她说：“她要独自去那里，我不能跟她一起去……你不能去那里吗？”她自兰草身边抽离，再度看着燕鸥，“你可以去那里！” “不行，”他说：“我不认识路。” 但就在多莉说话时，他看到女孩所见景象：一道长坡向下通往黑暗，山坡对面，暮色边缘，有道矮石墙。他观看，仿佛看到一名妇人沿着墙走，消瘦、羸弱、骨头、虚影。但她不是床上那名垂死妇人。是安涅薄。 然后那一幕消失，他面对年轻女巫站着。她责难的神情缓缓改变，将脸埋入双手。 “我们必须让她们走。”他说。 她说：“我知道。” 兰草以敏锐明亮的眼睛轮流看着两人。“不只是手巧的人，还是有法艺的人。嗯，你也不是第一个了。” 他露出疑惑眼神。 “这里叫做阿斯之屋。”她说。 “阿斯住过这里。”多莉说，一抹傲气暂时穿透她无助的痛苦。“法师阿斯。很久以前，在他去西方之前。我的女性先祖都是智妇。他曾经和她们一起住在这里。” “给我一个脸盆，”兰草说：“我端水来浸泡这些布条。” “我去拿水。”燕鸥说。他端起脸盆，走到院子。鸦一如以往，坐在井盖上，看起来既无聊又坐立不安。 “我们为什么在这里浪费时间？”燕鸥把水桶垂入井里时，他质问，“你开始替女巫拿东端西了吗？” “对，”燕鸥说：“直到她过世。然后，我会带她女儿到柔克。如果你想读《真名之书》，可以跟我们一起来。” 于是，柔克学院收了第一位来自海外的学生，还有第一位图书馆员。如今存放在孤立塔里的《真名之书》，是“名字”技艺的知识与方法基础，而真名是柔克魔法的基础。据说，名叫多莉的那位女孩，日后反而教导她的师傅，且成为所有治疗技艺及草药学的师傅，奠定这门学科在柔克的尊崇地位。 至于鸦，连与《真名之书》分开一个月都无法承受，所以他从欧若米运来自己的书，和众多书本一同定居绥尔。只要学院的人对书本及他表现相当敬意，他便允许他们前来研读书籍。 燕鸥经年的规律也如此定下：晚春时节，他会乘“可望”出航，探寻适合前来柔克学院的人。大多数是有魔法天赋的小孩与年轻人，有时也有成年男女。小孩多半贫穷，虽然燕鸥从未强迫孩子同行，但他们的双亲或师傅却鲜少知道真相。燕鸥会假扮渔夫，想雇个男孩在他船上工作，或找女孩到纺织棚里接受训练，或为另一座岛上的工人买回奴隶。若父母是为了让小孩有机会，而让燕鸥带走小孩，或出于贫困而将小孩卖出，为燕鸥工作，燕鸥会以真正的象牙钱币付款；但如果他们是把小孩卖了当奴隶，燕鸥会以金币付款，在隔日离去，同时，金币也变回牛粪。 他在群岛王国中四处旅行，甚至远至东陲，相隔多年才会返回同一城镇或岛屿，好让自己的事迹淡去，但即便如此，还是有人开始谈论他。人们称他为拐儿人，一个可畏的术士，将小孩带往北方冰冷岛屿，在那里吸小孩的血。威岛及飞克威岛上的村里，依然流传拐儿人的故事，警告孩童提防陌生人。 当时，已经有许多结手之人知道柔克在进行什么工作。年轻人前往柔克，成年男女前去受教与教学。对这些人而言，路途十分艰辛，因为隐匿柔克的咒文如今更为强大，让柔克看起来只像一片云，或碎浪间的暗礁；柔克之风吹着，阻止任何船舰进入绥尔湾，除非船上有术士，知道如何转移风向。然而，人们继续前来，随着岁月流逝，终于需要一栋比绥尔镇房屋更大的房舍。 群岛王国中，依照传统，男人造船、女人造屋。但在建造大型屋舍时，女人会让男人一起工作，没有“矿工不许男人入矿场”，或“造船匠禁止女人观看安舵”等迷信。因此，力量神通的男女在柔克建起宏轩馆，基石安置在绥尔镇上方一座山顶，靠近大林，面向圆丘。墙垣不仅以石头、木材建立，更以魔法为基底、以咒语强化。 弥卓站在山顶，说：“就在我所站之处，下面有一条水脉，泉水永不枯竭。”众人小心翼翼向下挖掘，找到水源，让水流恣意跃入阳光；而宏轩馆首先建妥的部分，就是最内层心脏地带：涌泉庭。 弥卓与伊蕾哈在白砖道上漫步，四墙尚未筑起。 伊蕾哈曾在喷泉旁种植一棵大林挖来的小山梨树。两人前来确定小树是否顺利茁壮。春风自柔克圆丘强劲吹下，面海而去，令喷泉水流歪斜四散。圆丘山坡上有一小群人，年轻学生正向偶岛术士手师傅亥加学习如何施展幻象。星花草绽放后，灰烬飘散风中。萸烬的发丝也出现灰痕。 “那你去吧，”她说：“让我们来解决律条的问题。”她眉眼悍锐如昔，但与他说话的语气已鲜少这般严厉。 “伊蕾哈，妳要我留，我就留下。” “我是想要你留下。但是别留！你是寻查师，必须四处探寻。只是，要让众人对『道』——瓦利斯希望称为『律条』——产生共识，比建造宏轩馆加倍困难、争端更多。我真希望我能就此离开！我希望能和你如现下这般一同漫步……也希望你不去北方。” “我们为何争执？”弥卓颇为丧气地问。 “因为人数增多了！把二、三十个有力量的人聚在同室之内，各人有各自的想法，而把一向任意而为的男人与女人放在一起，就会相互憎恨。我们这些人之间，的确存有一些明显、具体的差异。这些差异必须解决，却又不容易办到。但只要有一点善意，就能带来莫大好处。” “是瓦利斯吗？” “瓦利斯，以及几个男人。他们把身为男人这点看得比其他事重要。他们鄙视太古力，更觉女人的力量与太古力有关，所以不可靠。难道力量可以由凡人控制或利用么！但是他们看待『男人』，犹如我们看待『世界』，所以，他们坚持真正的巫师非男人不可。而且要禁欲。” “啊，那件事。”弥卓语带哀伤。 “就是那件事。姊姊昨晚告诉我，她、安尼欧和其余木匠提议，在宏轩馆为他们搭建一部分专属，甚至独立的屋子，好让他们维持自己的纯净。” “纯净？” “这不是我说的，是瓦利斯说的。但是他们拒绝了。他们希望柔克律条将男女分离，而且他们要让男人决定一切。我们能做出什么妥协？他们如果不愿与我们合作，为什么要来这里？” “我们应该送走不愿意合作的男人。” “走？怀着怒气吗？好告诉瓦梭或黑弗诺的枭雄，柔克女巫正酝酿一场风暴？” “我忘了……我老是忘记。”他沮丧地说：“我忘了囚室的牢墙。我在外面时，不像现在这么笨……在这里，无法相信这里会是牢狱，但在外面，没有妳，我会想起……我不想离开，但是我必须离开；我不想承认在这里的事可能错了，或可能出错，但我必须接受……伊蕾哈，这次我会离开