Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Dry Land

In the gloomy gloom, the yew wand in the mage's hand shone silver-gray.Another gleam of movement caught Arren's attention, the drawn dagger he held in his own hand, its gleam flickering.He was holding his sword when the giant dragon's act of righteousness and death broke the binding spell on the beach of Keledo Island.Here and now, though he was only a shadow, he was a living shadow, and accompanied by the shadow of the dagger. No other light.It's like the evening at the end of November under the dense clouds. The air is cold and stuffy. Although you can still see, you can't see clearly or far away.Arren knew the place, the barren wastes of his dream.But now, he seemed to be farther than where he was in every dream—much farther.He couldn't make out anything except that he and his companions were standing on the slope of a mountain, and in front of them was a low knee-high stone wall.

Ged's right hand was still on Arren's arm, and he went forward, Arren with him, and together they crossed the stone wall. The long slope disappeared before them into blackness. Arren thought there would be heavy clouds overhead, but the sky was full of stars!As he gazed at the stars, his heart seemed to shrink and his insides felt cold.Because those stars were different from the stars he had seen in his life.They do not flicker, they shine without moving.They are stars that never rise or set, never covered by any cloud, never dimmed by the rising sun.In this way, they bloom in this dry land with a faint light of death.

Ged stepped up to the outside of the "Hill of Being" and began to descend.Arren followed suit. He was terribly frightened, but the intensity of his determination and intent prevented that fear from possessing him, and he was not even quite aware of it.The fear is buried deep inside, as sad as an animal chained and confined in a room. This downhill road seems to have been a long time, but it may also be very short, because here, time does not pass, the wind does not blow, and the stars do not move.Thus they entered the streets of one of the cities, and Arren saw the windows of houses that were never lighted, and at the doorways of some houses stood dead men with silent faces and empty hands.

Several markets were also empty, with no buying or selling, no entry or exit.We don't use things, and we don't make things.Ged and Arren walked through these streets alone, and occasionally saw a figure at the corner of another street, but due to the distance and darkness, they couldn't see clearly.But the first time they saw it, Arren held up his short sword and gestured, but Ged shook his head and went on.Arren took a closer look and found that the figure was a woman. When he saw them, he did not run away, but continued to walk slowly. All the people they saw were standing quietly or walking slowly, the total number was not many, because although there were many dead, the area here was vast.It's just that no one was injured, unlike Eriyabai who was summoned to the place of death and appeared in daylight.They also couldn’t see any disease in them, and everyone was whole and healed—not only the pain was healed, but even the great tribulations of life and death were healed.Arren had thought they would all hold grudges and make people fearful, but they weren't.Their faces are kind and gentle, without a trace of anger or desire; with empty eyes, there is no hope at all.

Arren's fear vanished, and in its place was a deep pity.If there is still fear under that layer of compassion, it is not for himself, but for everyone.Because he saw the mother and child who died together, they came to this black area hand in hand, but the child didn't run, jump, or shout, and the mother didn't hold the child, and didn't even pay attention.As for those couples who died for love, they just passed each other on the street. The potter's wheel was not turning, the loom was empty, the hearth was empty of wood and fire, and there was no singing at all. The dark streets between the dark houses continued.They walked through one dark street after another, and the footsteps were the only sound they heard.It was cold in the street, and Arren didn't notice it at first, but it crept into his heart as well as his muscles.He was very tired: he thought he must have walked a lot in three days, why did he keep walking like this?Thinking about it, the pace gradually slowed down a bit.

Ged stopped suddenly, and turned to look at the man standing at the intersection of two streets.The man was tall and thin, and Arren thought he had seen the face before, but could not remember where.Ged opened his mouth to speak to him--the only sound that had broken the silence since they had crossed the stone wall: "Oh, my friend Thorian, why are you here too!" As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to the Summoner of Roke Academy. Thorian didn't respond at all, still stood still, and his face was still solemn.But the silver light of Ged's staff shone deep into his empty eyes, and at last there was a little light in them--or the eyes met the light.Ged took the unresponsive hand and said, "Thorion, what are you doing here? You are not a member of this kingdom, go back!"

"I came following that 'undead', and I got lost." The voice of the summoner was soft and monotonous, like a whisper in a dream. "Uphill, back to the Stone Wall," said Ged, pointing to the long descent that he and Arren had come down. Hearing this, Thorian's face twitched, as if he had gained a little hope, but that hope pierced into his heart like a sharp sword, and it was hard to bear. "I can't find my way," he said, "Master, I can't find my way." "Perhaps you will find it," said Ged, hugging him, and walking on.Thorian, who was behind, still stood at the intersection without moving.

As he walked on, it seemed to Arren that in this timeless gloom there was in fact no forward or backward, nor west or east.If there is no way to go, is there a way to get out?He recalled how they walked down the hill, all the way, no matter how they turned, they always kept going downhill, and they were always in the downhill streets of this dark city.So, if you want to turn back to that stone wall, you just have to climb up, to the top of the hill, and you'll find it.But instead of turning back, they continued forward side by side.Was he following Ged?Or did he lead Ged away? The two walked out of the city.In this country where the dead are countless, under the unsinkable stars, the ground is full of gravel, but it is bare, without trees, thorns, or blades of grass.

There is no horizon either—because in the dark, the naked eye cannot see very far.But in the sky ahead, which is quite far from the ground, those little stars that were not moving just now were not seen.And this starless space is tilted in a jagged shape, which looks like a series of mountains.As they moved on, the jagged shape became clear: a tall mountaintop, yes, a mountaintop that hadn't been blown by wind and rain.The mountain tops are not covered with white snow and shining with stars, they are all black.A sense of loneliness and desolation came over Arren's heart when he saw these peaks. He knew them, but he looked away first, and then he couldn't help looking back.Every time Arren looked at the top of the mountain, he felt a cold weight on his chest, and his spirit nearly collapsed.However, he continued walking, and it was always downhill, because the whole area sloped towards the bottom of the mountain.Finally he asked: "Master, these are—" He pointed to the mountains, but could not speak because his throat was dry.

"These mountains border the Light World," answered Ged, "like the stone wall. They have no other name but 'Affliction.' There is a road across the mountains, but the dead are forbidden to climb them. Long, but hard to walk." "I am thirsty," said Arren.Unexpectedly, his companion replied: "Here, they drink sand when they are thirsty." The two continued walking. It seemed to Arren that his companion's pace slowed for some reason, and occasionally even hesitated.As for himself, although his exhaustion continued to expand, he didn't hesitate at all.He knew they had to go down, they had to keep going.

So they keep going. A few times they passed through other dead towns, where the roofs had horns against the never-moving stars.After passing through those towns, it was barren land again, with no grass growing.Once, as soon as they came out of the town, the town disappeared into the darkness, and there was nothing to see except the towering mountains ahead.To their right, the slopes of the mountains disappeared as usual.How long has it been since you crossed that stone wall? "From that way, what is there?" Arren asked Ged in a low voice, longing to hear someone speak.But the mage shook his head and said, "I don't know. It may be an endless road." In the direction they were walking, the slope seemed to be getting less and less steep, but the ground under their feet was sharp and gravel, like lava slag.They went on, and Arren, though weary by now, had no thought of turning back.In order to light up the silent darkness, and to alleviate the fatigue and fear in his heart, he once recalled his hometown in particular.But he couldn't remember what the sun looked like, and he couldn't remember his mother's appearance.There is no other way but to keep going.So he just kept going. He felt that the ground was flat under his feet, and Ged hesitated, so he also stopped.The long downhill has come to an end, the end has come, there is no way ahead, there is no need to go any further. They were in the valley directly below the Mountain of Misery.The soles of the feet are rocks, surrounded by boulders that feel as rough as lava slag, as if this narrow valley is a dry river bed, and streams and rivers once flowed through this place; Volcanoes towered with implacable black peaks. Arren stood still in this ravine in the darkness, and Ged stood still beside him.The two are very similar to those aimless dead, silently staring at the void."We have gone too far," thought Arren with a little fear, but he was not very afraid. It doesn't seem to matter. Ged spoke Arren's thoughts: "We have gone too far to turn back." His voice was not loud, but the great, dark void still made it ring a little around.The echo jolted Arren's mind a little. Didn't they come here hoping to have a moment with the person they were looking for? A voice in the darkness said, "You have come too far." Arren answered, "Far is only far enough." "You have come to the 'Dry Creek'," said the voice, "There is no way to return to the stone wall, no way to return to the living world." "Not that way, but we'll always know which way you go," said Ged in the dark.Though Arren stood beside him, he could hardly be seen, for the mountains hid half the light from the stars, and the course of the dry brook was like Darkness itself. The other party did not answer. "Meet here, and we're even. If you're blind, Kabul, we're in the dark anyway, so we can't see." no answer. "Here, we can't hurt you, we can't kill you, what are you afraid of?" "I'm not afraid at all," said the voice in the dark.Then, bit by bit, by the occasional light of Ged's wand, a man could be seen standing among the dark masses of boulders upstream from Ged and Arren.This man was tall, with shoulders square and arms long. He was similar to the figures seen on the top of the dunes and on the beach of Keledo Island, but older.His hair was white and thickly covered his high forehead.He turned out to be a spirit in this realm of the dead, not scorched by dragon fire, not crippled—but not whole: his eye sockets were empty. "I am not afraid at all," he said. "What is a dead man afraid of?" He laughed, and it echoed in the stony dells between the mountains, and it was so false and horrible that Arren stopped breathing for a moment, but he Holding the sword, listen to the following. "I don't know what the dead are afraid of," answered Ged. "Surely not? But it seems you are—so you found a way of avoiding it." "Yes. That's why I'm alive: my body is alive." "But not so well," the mage sarcastically said. "The phantasm may hide the age. But Aum Amba is not very kind to the body." "I can mend it. I know the secret of healing and the secret of restoring youth. It's not just an illusion. What do you think I am? Just because others call you an archmage, you take me for a village warlock? Worldwide Among all mages, I am the only one who discovered the "Way of Eternal Life", and no one has ever discovered it!" "Perhaps it's because we didn't look for it," said Ged. "You have searched, you have all searched, and no one has found it, so clever words have been made up, trying to explain the 'acceptance', 'balance', 'equilibrium', etc. between life and death. But they are just words, written in A lie to cover failure, to cover your fear of death! How could a man not wish to live forever, if possible? And I can live forever, I am immortal. I do what none of you can do, so I It's your master, and you know it. Would you like to know how I did it, Archmage?" "think." Kabu took a step closer, and Arren noticed that although the man had no eyes, his movements were not entirely blind. He seemed to know exactly where Ged and Arren were standing, and although he did not seem to turn his head to look at Arren, he could see both of them at the same time. Notice the two.He may still have some magical "surrogate eyes", such as the hearing and sight possessed by the "sends" and "visualizations", which may not be true sight, but give him some awareness. "When I was on the Isle of Parn, my craft was inferior to yours," he said to Ged, "when you were in your prime, and thought you taught me a lesson in humility. Ah, you did teach me a lesson, but Not what you expected at first! I said to myself: Now that I have seen death, I will never accept it. Let the "fool" go through the foolish process naturally, but I am human, superior to nature, superior to nature. I do not Following that natural process, I will never stop being myself! After I had this determination, I brought the Paan Wisdom to study, but there were only hints or superficial knowledge about what I wanted, so I didn’t care about those things, I remade them myself, and finally made up a new set of spells—the most superb spells ever created, the highest and the ultimate!” "When that spell was cast, you died." "Yes! I am dead. I have the courage to die to find what you cowards have never found: a way to rise from the dead. I have opened the door that has been closed since time, so now I come free Here, you can also return to the living world freely. And the door I opened is not only opened here, but also opened in the hearts of the living - in the depths and unknown places of their existence, where we are the same One in darkness. They know this, and that's why they come to me. And the dead will come to me. They will come to me whether they are alive or dead, because I have not lost the magic skills of the living world. Therefore, As long as I give the order, no matter whether he is a dead soul, a prince, a mage, or a proud woman, he must obey the order to cross the stone wall. If you want to travel between life and death, you must obey my command. Everyone, whether they are dead or alive, must come to me—— A dead but alive man!" "Where do they find you, Kabu? Where are you usually?" "Between the worlds." "But there is neither life nor death there. What is life, Kabu?" "that power." "what is love?" "Power," the blind man repeated sharply, arching his shoulders. "What is light?" "dark!" "What's your name?" "I don't have a name." "Everything in this area has a real name." "Then tell me your real name!" "My name is Ged, what about you?" The blind man hesitated and said, "Kabu." "That's your common name, not your real name. What is your real name? Where is your 'truth'? Is it left on the island of Parn where you died? It seems that you have forgotten a lot. Ah, the two worlds King, you have forgotten the light, you have forgotten love, and you have forgotten your own name." "Anyway, I already know your name, so I have the power over you. Archmage Ged, is the Ged who "served as the Archmage during his lifetime"!" "My name is of no use to you," said Ged; "you have no power over me at all. My body is lying on the sands of Celedo, in the sun, on the working surface. When that body dies Yes, I will come here—but only in name, only name, shadow. Don't you understand? You summoned so many shadows from the underworld, you summoned all the dead masters—even the wisest wizard, My master Eriyabai will not let you go. Don’t you know that he has done so many good deeds? Even he is just a shadow and a name. His death did not cancel "life", nor "He" is not canceled. He is over there—over there, not here! Here there is nothing but dust and shadow. Over there he is the earth, the sun, the leaves, the falcon. He lives , all that ever died are alive. They are born again, and there is no end—never will. All are like this, except you. Because you will not die, you lose death, you lose life, to save yourself. For you Yourself! Your immortal self! What is that immortal self? Who are you?" "I am myself. My body never breaks down or dies—" "The living body suffers, Kab; the living body grows old and dies. Death is the price we pay for our own life, for all life." "I don't have to pay that price! I can die, but when I die, I rise again! I can't be killed, I'm immortal. I'm the only one who will always be me, forever!" "So, what are you?" "The Immortal." "Say your name." "Eternal King." "Say my name. I told you a minute ago, say my name!" "You are not real. You have no name, only I exist." "You exist, but you have no name, no form. You cannot see the daylight; you cannot see the darkness. To save yourself you sold the green land, the sun and the stars. But you have no self. All that you sold, It's you. You gave everything in vain and you got nothing. You're trying to pull the world towards you now, including the lost light and life, in order to fill your void, but it won't be filled. Even if you find it Even the ballads from the sea and the stars from all the sky will not fill your emptiness." In this cold valley below the peaks, Ged's voice vibrated like iron, and the blind man shrank back, and when he raised his face, a little starlight shone on his face, and he looked as if weeping, but he had no eyes to fall tears.His mouth opened and closed, no words came out of the darkness, only painful groans.He managed to utter a word at last, but the twisted lips barely made it.The word is: "life". "Kabu, if possible, I would give you life, but unfortunately I can't, you are dead after all. However, I can give you death." "Don't!" The blind man yelled, and then said again and again: "No, don't." He sobbed on the ground, but his cheeks were as dry as the gravel river bed, with only night and no water flow. "You can't. There's no way anyone can set me free. I opened the door between the worlds and it couldn't close. No one can close it. It never will. But it has a pull and will pull me through, I have to go back. I have to go through it and come back here again, in the dust and the cold and the silence. It keeps sucking me in and sucking me in and I can't leave it alone or turn it off. So in the end , it will suck the light of the world. All the rivers of the world will become like this dry stream. No power anywhere can close the door that I have opened!" Strangely, his words and voice are a fusion of acceptance and revenge, fear and pride. Ged only said, "Where is that door?" "That direction, not far. You can go, but you can't do much. You can't close it, and even if you put all your energy into one action, it's still not enough. Nothing is enough." "Perhaps enough," replied Ged, "resign yourself to your fate, but remember we haven't tried. Take us." The blind man raised his face, and the struggle of fear and hatred was clearly visible.In the end, hate prevailed. "I'm not leading the way," he said. At this Arren stepped forward, and said, "You shall lead the way." The blind stood still, the cold silence and darkness of this dead zone surrounding them and their words. "who are you?" "My name is Lebanon." Ged said, "You who call yourself a king, do you know who this is?" Kabu remained stagnant at first, and after a while, he gasped and said, "But, he's dead—you're all dead, you can't go back. There's no way out, you're stuck here!" As he said that, the original twilight faded away, and they heard him turn away in the darkness and quickly step into the darkness. "Give me light, Master!" Arren cried, and Ged raised his wand high above his head, and let the white light cut through the darkness that was there, illuminating rocks and shadows.Among the many black shadows, the tall and hunchbacked figure of the blind man can be seen, quickly dodging and walking upstream.Although he couldn't see, his strange steps didn't hesitate.Arren followed, sword in hand.Ged was close behind Arren. Soon Arren was far ahead of his companions, and there was very little light all around, for the gravel and the bend of the river-bed hid most of it.However, the sound of Kabu advancing, and knowing that Kabu was ahead, was enough guidance.As the path steepened, so did Arren.They were climbing a canyon flanked by rocks.This dry creek, which gets closer to the source and narrows the river bed, meanders between the steep banks.The boulders crackled under their feet and clattered under their hands—for they had to climb.Arren sensed the last narrow gap in the bank, and fell forward on Kab, and caught him by the arm, forcing him to stop.The site is a bit like a gravel basin, only five or six feet wide. If a river flows here, it may become a pond.Above the concave basin is a precipitous cliff of rock and lava.There is a black hole in the cliff - the source of "Dry Creek". Kabu didn't try to shake off.As Ged approached, his eyeless face was clearly illuminated by the light, though he was turning to face Arren. "Here's the place," he said finally, what looked like a smile forming on his lips. "This is the place you are looking for. See it? You can be reborn there, just follow me. You will live forever, and then we will be kings together." Arren looked at that dry source of darkness, that mouth of dust, that place where the dead crawled into the subterranean darkness to be reborn as the dead.It looked so repulsive to him that he had to fight back his nausea before he could say in a stern voice, "Let it close!" "It will close at last," said Ged, coming to Arren's side.Then his hands and his face shone brightly, as if he were a star falling into the endless night.In front of him, the dry source, the door of the two worlds opened wide.It looks empty and wide, but there is no way of knowing how deep it is.Just know that there is nothing in there for light to project so that the eye can see.It is an abyss through which neither light nor darkness penetrates, neither life nor death enters or exits.Nothing, just a path that leads nowhere. Ged held up his hands and cast the spell. Arren still held Cobb's arm, and the blind man's other free hand rested on the rock of the cliff, but both were immobilized by the spell. Ged used all the skills he had trained all his life, all the sharpness of his heart that came from his own cultivation, to close the door and unite the world again.Under the command of his mana voice and shaping hands, the rocks meet slowly and painfully, striving to be whole.But, as it slowly closed, the strong light at the scene weakened and weakened. The light on Ged's hands and face faded away, and the light from the yew wand faded away, until at last only a small gleam remained.By the faint gleam, Arren saw that the door was almost closed. Under Arren's hold, the blind man felt the rocks move, felt them drawing closer together, and felt the power of the wizardry slackening, draining, exhausting—and suddenly he cried out, "No! ’ And at the same moment, breaking free from Arren's grasp, he flung himself forward, and caught Ged—strong though he was blind.He threw Ged down to the ground with all his weight, and clasped his hands around Ged's throat, trying to suffocate him. Arren held up the "Sword of Seliel" and thrust the blade into the nape of his neck under the thick hair. Living beings have weight in the underworld, and the shadow of that sword also has a sharp edge.The blade made a large gash, severing Kabu's spine.The sword's own light illuminated a large amount of black blood gushing out. However, desperately killing "dead people" is futile.And Kabu is a dead man, dead for many years.So the wound swallowed the black blood and reunited.The blind man stood up, tall on his horse, and swung his long arms to strike at Arren, his face twisted with rage and resentment, as if only now did he know who his real enemy and opponent was. The most terrifying thing is to witness the recombination of fatal sword wounds. The "can't die" situation is more terrifying than any dying.A loathing rage filled Arren, a maddened rage that prompted him to swing the sword and strike again.Kabu's skull was split open, and his face was bloody, but Arren would not let the wound heal, and he stabbed him again, until he died... Ged, who was standing beside him, struggled to his knees and stood up, and read a few short notes. Arren stopped at once, as if a hand had gripped his sword hand.The blind man who was about to stand up was also completely stunned and unable to move.Ged rose a little unsteadily, and when he stood upright at last he went to face the precipice. "May you be well!" He spoke clearly, and when he finished speaking, he raised his wizard staff and drew a shape on the rock door with firelight lines: it was the "Agnam Talisman", the "End Rune".It was a special rune for repairing roads and painting on the coffin lid.In this way, there are no gaps or hollows between the gravel in the river bed.That door closed. The entire "dry land" shook under the feet of the three of them.Overhead in the ever-changing monotonous sky, a long streak of lightning flashed and then disappeared. "By 'words that will not be spoken till the end of time', I summon you. By 'words spoken when all things were created', I set you free. Go free!" Whispered in the blind man's ear, under those tangled white hairs. Kabu rose and looked around slowly with his visible eyes, then at Arren, then at Ged.He didn't speak, just stared at them with dark eyes.There was no trace of anger, resentment, or sadness on his face.He turned slowly, walked along the bed of the dry creek, and was soon out of sight. Ged's yew wand was completely dull, and neither was his face.He stood in the dark, and when Arren came, he took the young man's arm to steady himself.A tearless sob shook his body. "It's done," he said. "It's all done." "It is done, dear master. We must go." "Well, we have to go home." Like a bewildered or exhausted man, Ged followed Arren down the river, stumbling and struggling among rocks and slag.Arren was with him.When the banks of the Dry Creek were lower and the ground was gentler, he turned towards the long, invisible slope from which he had come, leading straight to the Black Field.Then he turned. Ged said nothing.As soon as they paused, he immediately sat down on the lava slag ground, exhausted, and his head drooped. Arren knew that the way they had come was closed, so he had to go on, always. "Even if it's too far, it's not far enough," he thought.He looked up, and the black mountain top was cold and silent against the motionless stars, which was terrifying.The ironic, sarcastic voice reappeared in his mind, saying mercilessly: "Are you going to stop halfway, Lebanin?" He went to Ged, and said very softly, "Master, we must go on." Ged said nothing, but stood up. "I think we have to cross this mountain range." "Go the way you decide, boy," whispered Ged hoarsely, "Help me." The two started from the slope of mud and slag and began to climb up the mountain.Arren helped his companion as much as he could.The valleys and gorges between the peaks were pitch black, so he had to feel his way ahead, and it was difficult to support Ged at the same time.Walking alone is enough to be staggering and difficult, but when the slope becomes steeper and you have to use your hands and feet to climb, the difficulty is doubled.The rock here was rough, hot as cast iron, and cold, and the higher they climbed, the colder it became.Hands and feet touching the ground here are miserable, like touching hot coals, like a fire burning inside the mountains.But the air has been cold and dark.There is no wind in the four fields, and there is no sound.Sharp boulders split and slid away under the weight of hands and feet.Dark, steep ridges and crevasses stretched up before them, and stretched out into the darkness on both sides.Behind and below, the kingdom of dead souls has disappeared.On the top of the front phase, the stone barrier stands on the top of the mountain against the background of stars.The whole black mountain, no matter how long or wide it is, only these two earthly souls are moving. Weary and weak, Ged was always tripping and stepping, and he was breathing more and more heavily, panting with pain as his hands pressed against the boulders.Arren heard the mage crying, and his heart ached, and he kept trying to keep him from falling.But the road was often too narrow to walk side by side, and Arren always found a place to step on first.At last, coming to a high slope that approached the stars, Ged slipped and fell forward, unable to get up. "Master," Arren knelt beside him, calling his true name: "Ged." Ged did not move or answer. Arren helped him up with both hands, and climbed up the high slope with his back on his back.At the end of the climb, there was a long stretch of flat road ahead.Arren let go of the burden, and lay beside him, exhausted, in agony and despair.This was the top of the defile between the two black peaks, and it was also the goal he had been desperately trying to climb.This is the defile, and it is also the end, and there is no way ahead: the end of the flat land is the edge of the cliff.And beyond the cliff, there is boundless darkness.Stars that do not twinkle hang high in the dark abyss of the sky. Stamina may outlast hope.As soon as Arren had the strength to crawl, he scrambled forward, looking at the edge of darkness ahead.Just a little distance below the cliff, he saw ivory-colored sand.The white and tan waves rolled on the beach and broke into foam.Across the sea, the sun sinks in golden evening mist. Arren returned to the Black Lands and helped Ged up with all his strength.Together the two fought their way until he could walk no longer.At this point, everything is over, including thirst, pain, darkness, sunlight, and the sound of the surging ocean.