Chapter 11 third quarter

Ah Chi was in the cheese shop, just after milking, she set out the pan to filter the milk. "Ma'am," said a voice from the door.Thinking it was the therapist, she said, "Wait a minute, I'll finish here." She turned and saw the stranger, and almost let go of the iron pot. "You scared me!" she said. "Need help?" "I want to stay overnight." "No, I'm sorry, I already have a tenant, and my brother and I. Maybe the third son in the village..." "The villagers asked me to come here. They said: 'Let outsiders flock together.'" The stranger was in his thirties, with plain features, a kind expression, and plain clothes, but the short-legged horse behind him was a good one. "Ma'am, you can just let me sleep in the cowshed. My horse needs a good bed. He is exhausted. I sleep in the shed and start tomorrow morning. Sleeping with the cows is just right for a cold night. I will gladly pay you." Qian, ma'am, I hope you accept two copper coins, my name is Aying."

"I'm Ah Ci," she said, a little bewildered, but she liked this guy. "Well then, Mr. Eagle. Tie up the horse and take care of it. The pump is there, and there's plenty of straw. Come in when you're all right, and I'll give you some milk soup. A coin is enough That's enough, thank you." She didn't want to treat the therapist like that, calling him sir.This man doesn't have that dignity.The first time she saw him, she didn't see the king, but the other one let her see it. After finishing her work at the cheese shop, she returned to the house, and the new guy, A Ying, was squatting in front of the fireplace, skillfully setting up the fire.The therapist was asleep in the room, she looked in and closed the door.

"He's not well," she murmured. "I've worn myself out from days on end in the freezing cold, going far to the east of the swamp to heal the cattle." When she was busy in the kitchen, Ah Ying helped her in the most natural way from time to time, which made her wonder whether men from other places were better at housework than men from Gao Ze.It was easy talking to him, and she told him about the therapist since she had nothing to say herself. "It's not fair that they would take advantage of the warlock and gossip about his benefits." "But he still scares them, doesn't he?"

"I guess so. Another therapist came in here, a guy who's been here before. I don't think he's going to help, he didn't heal my cow with a clogged udder two years ago. I swear he The cream is just lard at all. So, he said to the Outtaker, you're taking my business, and maybe the Outtaker said the same thing to him, and they both lost their tempers, and maybe cast a little dark spell. I think the Outuck cast a spell, but he didn't hurt the man at all, and passed out himself. He doesn't remember a thing now, and the other man went away unscathed. And they say, the Outuck Every animal he's ever touched is still standing and strong. He spent ten days in the wind and rain, touching the animals, treating them, and you know how much the rancher paid him? Six Coppers! Is it any wonder he's angry? But I'm not saying..." She fell silent, then went on, "I'm not saying he doesn't look weird. I think it's like witches and warlocks. This power works with sorcery, so it must be strange, but he is sincere and kind."

"Ma'am," Ah Ying said, "Can I tell you a story?" "Oh, you're a storyteller? Why didn't you tell me sooner! So you're in this business? I was just thinking, it's winter and you're still traveling. But looking at your horse, I thought you must It's a businessman. Can you tell me a story? It will be the joy of my life, and the longer the story, the better! But first you drink the soup, let me sit down and listen..." "Ma'am, I'm not really a storyteller," he said with a kind smile, "but I have a story to tell you." He finished his soup and she got ready to mend, and he began to tell the story.

"In the Inner Sea, in Roke, the Isle of the Wise Men, there are nine masters who teach all magic," he began. She closed her eyes blissfully and listened. He listed the various masters: masters of hands, masters of herbs, masters of summoning, masters of form and meaning, masters of wind keys, masters of chanting, and masters of names and transformations. "The art of the Transformer and the Summoner is perilous," he said. "Transformation is also called shapeshifting, madam, you may have heard of it. Even an ordinary sorcerer may know how to create an illusionary transformation, temporarily changing one thing into another, Or put on an appearance that doesn't belong to you. Have you seen it?"

"I heard." She whispered. "Sometimes witches and warlocks say that they summon the dead and speak through them. Perhaps children whose parents mourn. In the witch's hut, in the dark, they hear children crying and laughing..." She nodded. "These are only illusions, likenesses, but there are real transformations, real summonings. These may be the real temptations of wizards! Flying on falcon's wings, overlooking the earth with eagle's eyes, madam, that is a great experience ;And summoning is actually naming, a great power. Madame, you also know that knowing the true name is power. The skill of the summoning master is deeply rooted in this. It is great to be able to summon the appearance and soul of the long dead Seeing Yephruan's beauty in Solia's orchard is just like what Morad saw when the world was young..."

His voice became very soft and deep. "Okay, let's get down to business. More than forty years ago, a child was born on Ark Island. Ark is located in the southeast of Kaimei Island. It is a rich island in the Inner Pole Sea. This child was born in the home of the lord of Ark. The son of a low-ranking housekeeper—not a poor man, but not such a great heir either. His parents died early, and he received little attention, until they had to pay attention to him because of what he did. They said he He is a creepy imp. He has power; he can light or extinguish a flame with a word; he can make pots and pans fly in the air; he can turn a mouse into a dove and let it fly around Lord Ark's great kitchen. If When he was hampered or frightened, he did evil. He poured a pot of boiling water over a cook who abused him."

"Poor thing!" Ah Ci whispered, since he started telling the story, she hasn't touched a single stitch. "He was only a child, and the wizards in the house were not very wise, for they showed him little wisdom and kindness. Perhaps they were afraid of him. They bound his hands, gagged him, and kept him from reciting spells. They They shut him up in a room in the cellar, in a stone room, until they thought he was tame. Then they deported him to live in the stables of the big farm, because he was good at tending animals and was calmer with horses. But he quarreled with the stable boy and turned the poor boy into a pile of horse dung. After the wizard changed the stable boy back to his original shape, he tied up the boy again, gagged him, and threw him on the ground. Roke's ship. Maybe the Master there could subdue him, they thought."

"Poor child," she murmured. "Indeed, because the sailors were afraid of him, too, and kept him bound the whole voyage. The gatekeeper at Roke's House saw him, and he let him go. They said the boy's first coat at the House was Things like turning the long table in the canteen upside down, making sour beer, and a student who tried to stop him turned into a pig for a while... But the kid was no match for the master after all. "They didn't punish him, they just bound his wild powers with spells until they could make him reason and start learning. It took a long time, and there was a combative spirit in him that made him fearful of powers he didn't have, What I don't understand, I see as a threat, a challenge, an object that has to be fought enough to break. A lot of kids are like that, I was. But I was lucky enough to learn my lesson early on.

"In the end, the child finally learned to tame his anger and control his own power. It was a very huge power. No matter what kind of skills he practiced, it was easy for him. It was so easy for him to despise illusion, weather, and even healing, because these were very important to him. No fear, no challenge. He mastered these arts without feeling accomplished, so after Archmage Nymor gave him his true name, the child focused on the great and dangerous art of summoning. He followed the The master has been practicing for a long time. "He lived on Roke, for all magical knowledge went and was kept there. And he had no desire to travel, meet people, see the world, and he said he could call the whole world to him. It was true, too. , but the danger of that skill lurks here. "Well, one of the taboos of the Summoner, or any wizard, is not to summon living beings. We can call them, and that works. We can send sounds or visions, appearances, but neither body nor soul. Come here. We can only summon the dead, only phantoms. You can see why it must be so: To summon the living means to have complete control over the living, both body and mind. No one is justified, no matter how strong, wise, or great Possess or take advantage of another person. "But as the boy grows into manhood, this fighting spirit affects him too. It's a strong spirit in Roke, always better than others, always ahead of the others... The skill becomes a competition, a game , and finally become a means to an end worthless than the end... He was gifted above all there, but he couldn't bear it if anyone was better than him in any field. It would scare him , would irritate him. "He did not hold the Master of Spells, for the new Summoner has just been chosen, and is in the prime of life, in good health, and unlikely to retire or die. He holds a high status among scholars and masters, but he is not one of the Nine. He wasn't chosen. Maybe it wasn't good for him to stay there, always among wizards and mages, among boys learning witchcraft—those who yearned for power, more power, striving to be better. Anyway, As he grew older he lived more and more solitary, in his own tower, away from the crowd, devoted himself to his practice, taught a few students, and kept silent. The Summoner would send him gifted students, but there were many boys there who treated him almost the same. I don't know. Living alone, he began to practice some skills that should not be practiced and have no real fruit. "Summoners are used to coming and going with spirits and phantoms. Maybe this person starts thinking, who can stop me from doing the same thing to living people? If I can't use this power, how can I have this power?" Power? So he began to summon the living, whom he feared in Roke, whom he considered rivals, whose power he envied. They came to him, and he took their power for himself, and let They were dumb and silent. These people couldn't say what happened, what happened to their powers. They didn't know. "Finally, taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he summoned his master, Roke's summoner. "But the Master Summoner resisted with body and soul, called me, and I went. Our resistance together may destroy our will." Night has come.Ah Ci's oil lamp flickered and went out, leaving only the red light shining on Ah Ying's face.It wasn't the face she had thought it would be at first, haggard, tough, with scars on one side.A falcon-like man, she thought.She sat still and listened. "Ma'am, this is not a storyteller's story. It's a story you'll never hear told again. "I just took up the position of Archmage at that time, and I was younger than the person we resisted. Maybe I was not afraid of him enough. In silence, the two of us tried our best in the small room in the tower, but we could barely hold on. No one else knew what happened We fought, and fought for a long time. And then the fight was over, and he broke, like a branch snapped, and he broke. But he fled without a trace. The Summoner permanently dissipated part of his energy, overcame that blind will, and I had no strength to stop him then I didn't think to send someone to chase me. I didn't have any strength left in me to follow him. So he escaped from Roke. He escaped cleanly. "Accompanied by this kind of fighting, there was a disability of the soul - you might describe it as this - and a severe mental dullness, but the summoner and I overcame it. After that, we began to feel that it would be impossible for someone with such strength It's not a good thing for a mage to wander around the Earth Sea, lose his mind, and perhaps be full of shame, anger, and revenge. "We found no trace of him. When he left Roke, he must have turned himself into a bird or a fish, and come to some island. Besides, wizards can hide themselves from the seeking spell. We asked around in our own way. , but there was no sound, and no response. So we set out to find, and summoned the master to the island to the east, and I went to the west, because when I thought of this man, I thought of a mountain, a broken volcanic cone, and a long stretch of green earth underneath. To the south. I thought back to the geography lessons I took in Roke when I was young, the landforms of Kaimei Island, and the high mountain called Andanden. So I came to Gaoze. I think I have come to the right place." There was a silence.Flame whispered. "Should I tell him?" Ah Ci asked in a steady voice. "No need," the man said like a falcon, "I'll do it. Irios." She looked towards the bedroom door.The door opened, and he stood there, haggard and tired, his dark eyes full of sleepiness, bewilderment, and pain. "Ged," he said, bowing his head for a moment, before raising his head to ask, "Will you take my real name from me?" "Why should I take your real name?" "It just means hurt. Hate, pride, greed." "Irios, I will take the names from you, but not your name." "What I didn't understand at the time," said Ilios, "is other people's business. They're other people. We're all other people. We have to be other people. I was wrong." The one named Ged came to him and took his half-stretched, begging hands. "You have gone astray, you have returned. But you are tired, Ilios, and you have traveled alone, and the road is hard. Come home with me." Ilios hung his head, as if exhausted.All the tension and passion disappeared from his body, but he raised his head, not looking at Ged, but looking at Ah Ci who was silently sitting in the corner of the fireplace. "I still have a job here," he said. Ged looked at her too. "He has," she said. "He has to heal the cattle." "They show me what to do," said Ilios, "and who I am. They know my real name, but they never say it." For a moment, Ged gently pulled the older man closer, wrapping his arms around him.He said something softly, then let go.Irios took a deep breath. "You see, I'm of no use there, Ged." He said, "I'm of use here. If they'll let me work." He looked at Ash again, and so did Ged.Ah Ci looked back at the two of them. "Aimer, what do you say?" asked the man who looked like a falcon. "I'll say," she said to the healer, her voice weak and high-pitched, "if Aryan's herds stand all winter, though the shepherds may not love you, they'll beg you to stay. come down." "No one loves a sorcerer," said the Archmage. "Well, Ilios! Shall I come to you in the dead of winter, and must I return alone?" "Tell them... tell them I was wrong," Irioth said. "Tell them I was wrong. Tell Thorion..." He hesitated, his heart trembling. "I will tell him that changes in one's life may surpass the arts we know, and all our wisdom," said the Archmage.He looked at Emer again. "Madam, can he stay here? This is his wish, but is it also your wish?" "He's ten times better than my brother in usefulness and companionship," she said. "And he's kind and sincere. I told you, sir." "Well then. Farewell, Ilios, my dear companion, teacher, rival, friend. Emer, brave woman, to whom I pay homage and thanks. May peace be known in your heart and in your hearth. ' He gestured, leaving a brief flicker of light in the air on Hearthstone. "Now I'm going to the bullpen," he said, and carried it out. The door closed.All was silent except for the murmur of the fire. "Come to the fire," she said.Irios stepped forward and sat on the high-backed bench. "Is that the Archmage? Really?" He nodded. "The Archmage of the world," she said, "sleeps in my cowshed. He should sleep in my bed..." "He won't accept it," said Ilios. She knew he was right. "Your real name is beautiful, Ilios." After a moment she said, "I never knew my husband's real name. He didn't know mine either. I'll never say your real name again. But I like to know you real name, because you know mine too." "Your real name is beautiful, Emer," he said. "I'll say it if you ask me to."