Chapter 7 second quarter

She didn't say a word, just breathed very warmly into his ear and he groaned.His hands clasped hers.He backed away a little, and she backed away. The two knelt on the ground. "Xiao Zuan," she said, "I will be very sad when you go away." "I'm not going," he said. "Not going anywhere. Never." But he went down to the Southport of Havnor anyway, and traveled with Master Hemlock in one of his father's coaches, driven by one of his father's coachmen.As a rule, one acts on the advice of a wizard, and it is no light honor to be invited by a wizard to be his pupil or apprentice.Hemlock had won the wand on Roke, and it was wont to have boys come begging to be tested for talent, or beg to be taught.He was a little curious about the boy, who seemed to be hiding some reluctance or self-doubt in his bright, well-bred upbringing.It was not unusual for the idea of ​​being gifted to be the father's, not the boy's.But compared to ordinary people, this kind of thing may not be so strange among rich people.At any rate, the boy came with an advance payment in gold and ivory for his tuition, a considerable sum.If he had the qualifications to be a wizard, Hemlock would train him; if he had only a blip of Hemlock's suspicions, he would be sent home with the rest of the fee.Hemlock is honest, upright, and humorless, a scholarly wizard with little interest in feelings or ideas.His genius lies in his real name. "Artisanship begins with a real name and ends with a real name," he said.This is true, but there may be a lot of content between the starting point and the ending point.

So instead of learning spells, visions, transformations, or other tricks that Hemlock saw as gaudy, Diamond sat and recited the long True Name in a narrow room deep in a narrow back alley of the Old City , the true word for strength in the language of Creation.Plants and plant structures, animals and animal structures, islands and island geography, parts of ships, human body structures...these real names have always been meaningless, without syntax, just lists.The long list. His mind wandered.When I read that the real name of "Eyelashes" is Xi Yasha, I felt that the eyelashes brushed my cheeks like a butterfly kiss, with deep black eyelashes.He raised his head in surprise, not knowing what touched him.Later, when he tried to repeat it, he lost his voice.

"Memory, memory!" Hemlock said, "Talent without memory is useless!" He was not strict, but he did not compromise either.Diamond doesn't know what Hemlock thinks of him, maybe it's quite low.Sometimes wizards ask him to go to work with him, mostly casting safety spells on ships and houses, purifying well water, and participating in councils. They rarely speak, but listen attentively.Another wizard who had not been trained at Roke, but had the gift of healing, took care of sickness and old age in Southport, and Hemlock was happy to let him do his job.Hemlock's joy was learning, as Diamond had seen, and not using magic at all. "It's all here to maintain the balance of one body." Hemshan said.And "knowledge, order, control".He repeated these words frequently, forming a tune in Diamond's mind, singing it over and over again: knowledge, order, control...

Diamond recited it much faster after he paired his real name list with a self-composed tune, but then the tune became part of his real name.He would sing a cappella, his voice back to a strong, deep tenor that made Hemlock frown, for the Hemlock's house was so quiet. Most of the time, students should spend time with the master, or study the list of real names or sleep in the room where the books of wisdom and authentic characters are placed.Hemlock insisted on going to bed early and getting up early, but Diamond occasionally had a spare hour.He always went to the harbor, sat by the pier or on the steps of the harbor, and thought of the black rose.As soon as he was out of the house, away from Master Hemlock, he began to think about the Black Rose, and went on thinking about it, almost without distraction.This incident surprised him a little. He thought he should be homesick and miss his mother.He did think of his mother a lot, and he was often homesick, especially when he had a poor meal of cold bean porridge for dinner and was lying on the couch in an empty and narrow room—the wizard Hemlock’s life was not as luxurious as Ajin imagined. .Diamond never thought of the black rose at night.He thought about his mother, about the bright room and warm food, and a piece of music might come into his mind. He practiced playing it with the harp in his heart, and gradually fell asleep.Only at the pier, looking at the port ocean, stone pier, and fishing boats, only when it is outdoors, away from the hemlock and the house, will Black Rose enter his thoughts.

Therefore, he cherishes his free time, as if actually meeting her.He had always loved her, but never understood that he loved her more than anyone or anything.With her, even if only thinking about it on the dockside, he was alive.Never felt fully alive in Master Hemlock's house and around him.He felt a part of him die.It's not death, it's just a part of it. A few times, sitting on the steps by the port, listening to the dirty sea water rushing down the steps, the seabirds and dockworkers' shouts intertwined into weak, shifted music, he closed his eyes, and saw his lover so clearly and so close before his eyes, He couldn't help reaching out to touch her.If he just stretched out his hand in his imagination, like playing the harp in his heart, he did touch her: he felt that her hand was in his own, and her cheek was warm and cool, silky and rough, against his mouth.In his head, he spoke to her; in his head, she answered.Her voice, husky, said his name: Diamond...

But walking back to Nangang on the street, he lost her.He swore to keep her by his side, to think of her, to think of her that night, but she passed away.He would recite a list of real names as soon as he opened Master Hemlock's house, or think about what to have for dinner because he was often hungry.Wait until I can run back to the port for a while before I can think about her again. Therefore, Diamond began to feel that these moments were a real meeting with her, and he lived for it, but he did not know why he lived until he stepped on the gravel road with his feet and saw the port and the distant sea and sky, and then, recalled Something to remember.

Winter passed, warm late spring followed by cold early spring, and the coachman brought a letter from his mother.After Diamond had read it, he took the letter to Master Hemlock, and said, "My mother wonders if I can spend a month at home this summer." "Probably not," replied the wizard, and then, as if noticing the diamond, he put down his pen and said, "Young man, I must ask you if you would like to continue your practice with me." Diamond didn't know what to say.The idea of ​​letting oneself choose never came to mind. "Do you think I should?" Diamond asked finally.

"Probably not." The wizard said. Diamond thought he would feel relaxed and relieved, but found himself frustrated and ashamed. "I'm sorry," he said, making Hemlock look up at him with a fair amount of self-respect. "You can go to Roke," said the wizard. "To Roke?" The boy gaped open-mouthed, which annoyed Hemlock, though Hemlock knew he shouldn't be--wizards were used to the pride and self-confidence of the younger generation, and any humility would come with age. "I say, Roke." Hemlock's tone said he wasn't used to having to repeat.Then, because the boy, the soft-eared, favored, dreaming boy, had won Hemlock's affections with his uncomplaining patience, Hemlock took mercy on him and said, "You should go to Roke or find A wizard, learn the knowledge you need. Of course, you need the things I can teach you, you need the real name. The craft begins with the real name and ends with the real name. But it is not your talent, you are not good at memorizing the real words, you have to fight Work on it. But obviously you do have abilities that need to be nurtured and disciplined, and someone else can do that better than me.” So humility sometimes breeds humility, however improbable it may be. "If you want to go to Roke, I will write a letter for you to take it. Please summon the master to take special care of you."

"Ah." Diamond sighed, shocked.The art of the summoner is perhaps the most treacherous and dangerous of the magical arts. "Maybe I'm wrong." Hemlock said in a cold and flat voice, "Your talent may lie in form and meaning. It may also be in ordinary skills such as shaping and transformation. I'm not sure." "But you are... I really..." "Of course. Young man, your self-knowledge ability is really rare and slow." These words were harsh, and Diamond hardened his spine. "I thought my talent was in music," he said. Hemlock waved his hand to dismiss the thought. "I'm talking about real craft. Now, I'm going to be honest with you. I suggest you write to your parents, and I will write to them, with your decision to go to Roke. If you decide to go, or go to In Dagang, see if the resident mage there is willing to accept you. With my recommendation letter, it should be possible. But I don’t recommend going home to visit. Family, friends, and other fetters are exactly what you need to get rid of. From now on, Thereafter."

"Do wizards have no family?" Hemlock was glad to see the boy finally a little angry. "Wizards are family." "Don't you have any friends?" "Might be friends. Did I say it was a comfortable life?" Hemlock paused, looking straight at the diamond. "There's a girl," said Hemlock. Diamond met his gaze for a moment, lowered his head, and said nothing. "Your father told me. Witch's daughter, childhood friend. He thinks you taught her spells." "She taught me." Hemlock nodded. "Between children, it was understandable. Now it's almost impossible. Do you understand?"

"I don't understand." Diamond said. "Sit down," said Hemlock.After a while, Diamond sat on a solid high-backed chair and faced him. "I can protect you here, and I do. Of course, you are perfectly safe in Roke, the gates and walls there...but if you go home, you must voluntarily protect yourself. It is a thing for a young man Difficult, very difficult... This is a trial, a test of your will that has not been ironed, your soul that has not seen the true purpose. I urge you, don't take this risk. Write to your parents, go to Grand Port, Or go to Roke. I'll refund you half the year's fee, enough to cover your initial expenses." Diamond sat upright.He was becoming more and more like his father lately, tall and strong, although very young, he already looked like a man. "Master Hemlock, what do you mean by saying that you protected me here?" "Like I protect myself," said the wizard.After a while, he continued impatiently: "Exchange, child. The strength we give for our own strength, we cut off the existence of inferiority. You must know that every true child of strength is celibate." There was a moment of silence, and then Diamond asked, "So you are in charge... let me..." "Of course. This is my responsibility as a teacher." Diamond nodded and said, "Thank you." He got up immediately. "Please allow me to resign, master, I have to think." "Where are you going?" "Go to the pier." "Better stay here." "I can't think here." Hemlock may have understood who his opponent is, but he has shown that he is no longer his master, so he cannot order him against his conscience. "Ashley, you have real talent," said Hemlock, by the real name given to the boy at Amiya Springs, which meant willow tree in the Archaic language. "I don't fully understand your gifts, and I think you don't. Be careful! Misusing a gift, or refusing to use it, can lead to great regret. Great harm." Diamond nodded, pained and remorseful, submissive but determined. "Go," said the wizard, and Diamond left. Then Hemlock knew whether to let the boy out of the house, underestimating Diamond's willpower, or the power of the magic the girl had cast on the boy.After the morning conversation, Hemlock continued to work, commenting on the ancient spells, thinking of his pupils until dinnertime, and not acknowledging that Diamond had escaped until he finished his dinner alone. Hemlock was unwilling to use any of the lesser arts of magic, and he did not cast search spells like the rest of the sorcerers, nor did he conjure diamonds in any way.He was angry and maybe sad.He had a good opinion of the child and offered to write a letter to the Summoner for him. However, after the first trial of personality, the diamond shattered. "Glass," murmured the wizard.At least this weakness proved that he was not dangerous--some abilities cannot be indulged, but this guy is not dangerous, not hostile.no ambition. "Spineless." Hemlock said to the silence in the room, "Let him crawl back to his mother." However, the thought of diamonds for letting me down completely, without a word of thanks or apology, was overwhelming.There is nothing more polite than that, he thought. The witch's daughter blows out the oil lamp, goes to bed, and hears the owl calling, the small and clear "hoo-hoo-hoo", known as the laughing owl.She listened sadly.In the past, that had been a signal on a summer night, and when everyone was asleep, the two slipped to meet in the willow bushes on the banks of the Amiya River.She didn't want to think about him at night.Last winter, she sent messages to him every night. She learned her mother's message spell and knew it was the real spell.She sends her touch, her voice repeats his name, again and again, only to meet a wall of air and silence.She can't touch anything.He keeps her out of the wall.He doesn't want to hear it. Several times, suddenly, during the day, she instantly felt his heart was very close, if she stretched out her hand, she could touch him.But at night, all she knew was his blank absence, his rejection of her.She had given up contacting him months ago, but her heart still hurt. "Hoo-hoo-hoo!" called the owl from under the window, and then said, "Black rose!" Startled from her grief, she jumped out of bed and opened the wooden window. "Come out." Diamond whispered, like a shadow under the starlight. "Mom isn't home. Come in!" She greeted him at the door. The two hugged tightly and silently for a long time.For Diamond, what he embraces in his arms seems to be his own future, his life, his whole life. Finally, she moved, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, "I miss you, I miss you, I miss you. How long can you stay?" "As long as it takes." She took his hand and led him into the house.He has always been reluctant to enter the witch's house, the pungent and chaotic place, full of women and the mysteries of witchcraft, is very different from his neat and comfortable home, and farther away from the indifferent and simple house of the wizard.He stood, trembling like a horse, taller than the roof beam hung with herbs.He was tense and tired. He had walked forty miles without food for sixteen hours. "Where's your mother?" he asked quietly. "Go vigil for old Fern. She died this afternoon, and mother will be there all night. How did you come?" "walk." "The wizard let you go home?" "I escaped." "Run away! Why?" "I want to keep you." He looked at her, that clear, wild, dark face, surrounded by a cloud of thick hair.She was only wearing a bottom shirt, and he saw the endlessly delicate, slender and swollen breasts.He pulled her closer again.Although she hugged him, she immediately pulled away and frowned. "Keep me?" she repeated. "You didn't seem to worry about losing me all winter. Why do you come back now?" "He wants me to go to Roke." "To Roke?" She stared at him blankly. "To Roke, Diamond? So you're really gifted...you can be a warlock?" It was a shock to him to find her on the side of the hemlock.