Chapter 10 Chapter 9 The Ring of Eriabah

In the great treasure room of Etuan Mausoleum, time does not move.There is no light, no life, not even a spider crawling in the dust, or a bug crawling in the cold soil.Only rocks, only darkness, and time does not move. The thief from the Inner Isle lay flat on the stone lid of a large stone box like a statue on a grave.He has been lying there without moving, and the dust raised when he first came has already settled on his clothes. The lock clicked and the door opened.The light cut through the dead darkness, and a slightly fresh draft disturbed the stagnant air in the room.The man was still lying down, but alert.

Arha closed the door and locked it from the inside, then she put the lantern on a box, and slowly approached the motionless body.She was timid, her eyes wide open, the pupils still fully dilated from the long walk in the dark. "sparrow hawk!" She lightly touched his shoulder and called his name again; if there was no response, she called again. Only then did he move, groan, and finally sat up straight, but his face was distorted, his eyes were empty, and although he looked at her, he couldn't recognize who it was. "It's me, Arha—Tenar. I've brought you water. Here, drink."

He reached out to search for the water bottle, fumbling as if his hands were numb.He drank for a while after getting the water bottle, but he didn't gulp. "How long has it been?" he asked, seeming to be struggling to speak. "It's been two days since you've been in this room. It's the third night now. I can't come sooner. Food has to be stolen, too, here—" She took a loaf of flat gray bread from the bag she had brought, but he Shake your head. "I'm not hungry. This!! It's a dead zone here." He buried his head in his hands and sat still.

"Are you cold? I went to the painting room and got the cloak." He didn't answer. She dropped her cloak and stood looking at him, trembling a little, her eyes still wide and black. Suddenly, she bent her knees, fell on the ground and began to cry.Deep sobs shook her body, but the tears could not flow. He climbed stiffly out of the box and bent over her. "Tenar!!" "I am not Tenar, I am not Arha. The gods are dead, the gods are dead." He put both hands on her head, pushed back the hood, and began to speak.His voice was soft, and he used a language she had never heard before, but those words fell into her heart like rain, and she gradually calmed down and listened.

When she was completely calm, he picked her up, placed her on the stone box where he was lying just now like a child, and gently held her hands with one hand. "Tenar, why are you crying?" "I can tell you. It's okay to tell you, but you can't help, you can't do anything. You're dying too, aren't you? So it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter anything. Ke Xiu is the priestess of the God King. Forcing me to kill you like any other prisoner. But I won't. What right does she have to ask me to do that? I curse her because she despises the nameless, she laughs at them. But after cursing her, I've been terrified She, Manan was right, she didn't believe in God, she wanted God to be forgotten, and she'd kill me while I was sleeping. I didn't go to bed or go back to the cabin because I was worried. I stayed all night last night In the attic room of the Throne Hall where dance clothes are stored. Before it was bright, I ran to the kitchen of the big house to steal some food, then walked back to the Throne Hall and stayed for another day. I tried to find a solution. And tonight... tonight is really I was so tired, I thought I could find a sacred place to sleep in, a place that Ke Xiu was afraid of. I went down to the tomb, the big cave where I first saw you. And it turned out that she was there. She must She entered through the Red Rock Gate. She brought a lantern and was digging the grave dug by Manan to see if there were any dead bodies in it. She was like a mouse digging in a cemetery, or a fat black mouse. .Candles were burning in that sacred dark place, but the Aeons-Unknown didn't say anything, they didn't kill her or drive her insane. Like she said, they were too old, they died, they all disappeared. I No longer a priestess."

The man stood and listened, one hand still on hers, his head bowed slightly.His face and posture regained some strength, although the scar on his cheek was still leaden, and his clothes and hair were still dusty. "I avoided her through the tomb. Her candles were not lit, casting more shadows than light, and she didn't hear me go by. I wanted to go into the Great Maze to get rid of her, but after entering the Great Maze , I seem to keep hearing her stalking me. Through tunnel after tunnel, I keep hearing someone following me. I don't know where to go. I thought it was safe here, I thought my mistresses would protect me, guard me .But they didn't! They disappeared, they died..."

"You are weeping for them! Are you weeping for their deaths? But here they are, Tenar, here!" "How do you know?" she asked less eagerly. "Since I stepped into this cave under the tombstone, every moment I have to try to calm them down, so that they don't notice that someone is coming here. I use all my skills to do this. I spend all my energy filling all the tunnels with endless Spell webs, all kinds of hypnosis, pacification, or invisibility, but they're still half asleep, still aware of my presence. I'm exhausted just defending them like that. It's the scariest place to be. Alone There is really no hope here. I was dying of thirst when you gave me water just now; but it was not only the water you brought that saved me, but the strength of the hands that gave it At this point, he turned her palms up and stared at her for a moment; then he turned around and walked a few steps in the room, and stopped in front of her again.She didn't say anything.

"Do you really think they are dead? You know best in your heart that they are immortal, they are darkness, and cannot die; they hate the light, the short but shining light of our world. They are immortal, but they are not gods , never were. They are not worthy of any human worship." She listened with heavy eyes, her eyes resting on the flickering lantern. "What have they given you so far, Tenar?" "Nothing," she murmured. "They have nothing to give. They have no power to create. Their power is only used to blind the light and kill life. They cannot leave this place: they are this place, and this place should be left to them. People should deny or Forget them, but you shouldn't worship them. The world is beautiful, bright and loving, but this is all. This world is also full of horror, darkness and cruelty. On the green lawn, rabbits wailed and died, and the mountains squeezed their big hands full of flames , there are sharks in the ocean, and there is cruelty in the eyes of human beings. As long as someone worships these things and condescends to them, evil will be bred there, and dark gathering places will be born, and they will be completely surrendered to us. ’. The Nameless Ones, darkness, destruction, and madness, are the ancient divine powers of this world, pre-existing the light... I think they drove your priestess Kosuan mad long, long ago; I think she Walking these caves, like walking the labyrinth of "self", she never sees the light of day. Don't believe her when she tells you that the nameless are dead. Only a heart lost in the truth believes such words. .The Nameless One exists, but is not your master, never was. You are free, Tenar, they taught you to be a slave, but you have broken free."

She has been listening, although the expression has not changed.He didn't say anything more, and both of them were silent, but the silence at this time was different from the original silence in the room before she came in.The silence at this time mixed with the breathing of the two, adding the life pulsation in their blood vessels, and the sound of the candle burning in the tin lantern, which was subtle but lively. "How do you know my name?" He paced back and forth in the room, moving his arms and shoulders, trying to shake off the numbness of the cold, and the fine dust on the ground was slightly raised by his pace.

"'Knowing the name' is my job, my craft. Let's put it this way, when you want to make magic about something, you have to find out its real name. On the islands of our kingdom, people keep their real names hidden all their lives, Only the few who have complete confidence in themselves will reveal; for the true name contains great power and danger. In the beginning of creation, when the Xiguoyi people rose from the depths of the sea to the islands of the Earth Sea, all things retained their true names. Today, all Magic and all witchcraft still stick to the true and ancient "creative language". When casting spells, it is equivalent to reviewing and recalling that language knowledge. Of course, before casting spells, you must first learn how to use those words, and you must also know how to use them. aftermath. But wizards spend their lives looking for the names of things, or trying to figure out how to find out the names of things."

"How did you find out my name?" He gazed at her for a moment, a clear, deep glance piercing the shadow between them.He hesitated for a moment. "I can't tell. You're like a lantern hidden in the dark. You're covered, but the light still shines. Darkness can't extinguish the light. Darkness can't hide you. I know the light, so I know you, and I know you. My name, Tenar. It is my gift, my strength. I cannot tell you more. But tell me, what are you going to do next?" "I don't know." "Ke Xiu should have discovered that the tomb is empty by now. What will happen to her?" "I don't know. If I go back up, she can ask someone to kill me, because the high priestess is punishable by death for lying. If she wants to, she can send me to the steps of the throne hall to sacrifice. This time Manan really Instead of pretending to raise the sword and wait for the man in black to stop it. This time the sword will not stop halfway, it will swing down and cut off my head." Her voice was weak and slow.He frowned. "Tenar, if we stay here long," he said, "you will surely go mad. The wrath of the Nameless One weighs down on you, even on me. It is good that you are here, and it is much better. But After waiting for so long, I have exhausted most of my strength. No one can resist the dark and nameless ones alone, they are too powerful." He stopped here, his voice sank, as if he had lost the thread of the topic.He raised his hands to rub his forehead, went to get a water bottle to drink, then peeled off a piece of bread and sat on the opposite stone box to eat. He had been right: there was a heavy pressure on her heart, a pressure that seemed to turn all thoughts and feelings into chaos and darkness.But now she felt less frightened, not as frightened as when she walked through the tunnel alone just now.What seemed frightening was the utter silence outside the room.Why did it become like this?She was never afraid of the silence in the ground before.However, she had never defied the Nameless Ones before, nor had she ever made up her mind to resist them. She finally smiled softly. "We are sitting in the largest treasure room in the empire," she said. "Even the god king would willingly give up all his concubines in exchange for a stone box, but we didn't even open one of them." "I did," said Sparrowhawk, chewing his bread. "In the dark?" "I made a little light, spelllight. It's hard to cast spells in this place. It's hard to have a wand, and without it, it's like trying to start a fire with wet wood in the rain. But I managed to make a light, and finally found me something to look for." She slowly raised her head to look at him: "That piece of metal ring?" "It's half a slice. The other half is on your side." "On my side? The other half has long been lost." "But I found it. I wore it on a chain around my neck, and you took it away and asked me if I couldn't afford a better amulet. A better amulet than half a Ring of Ereyabai, only There is the complete Ring of Eriabah. So now, you have my half, and I have your half." He smiled at her through the shadows within the mausoleum. "When I took the chain, you said I didn't understand what it was for." "Exactly." "But you know?" He nods. "Tell me, tell me what the metal ring is for. Also, how did you find the missing half? How did you come here? Why did you come? I need to know these things, maybe after knowing it, I will know what to do next." What to do." "Perhaps. Very well. What is the Ring of Eriabah anyway? Well, as you can see, it is not precious in appearance, and it is so big that it cannot be called a ring. It may be an armlet, but it is Even the arm ring seems to be too small. No one knows who it was made to wear. Before the island of Solia sank to the bottom of the sea, the beauty Princess Yephruan wore it once. At that time, the metal ring was already very old. Later it It fell into the hands of Eriyabai... This metal ring is hard silver, with nine holes pierced in the ring. It is carved with waves on the outside, and nine runes of power are carved on the inside. Your half has four runes , plus a part of the "Symbol Rune", mine is the same. The crack just passed through the "Symbol Rune", and also destroyed this rune. Because of being destroyed, this symbol is also called "The Lost Talisman". The remaining eight runes are well known to mages in every island in the world. For example, the "Pipel Rune" can prevent madness and protect against wind and fire; Wen is the rune that maintains the islands. It is a combination rune, a sign of rule, and a symbol of peace. Without following that rune, no king can govern the country well. No one knows how to write that rune. After the rune was lost, the great island of Havnor has never had a wise king, but many small kings and tyrants have emerged, and wars and disputes have continued throughout the sea. "So all the wise lords and mages in the archipelago hope to find the ring of Eriabai and try to restore the lost rune. But in the end they all gave up one by one and no longer sent people to search for it, because no one There is a way to get the half that is hidden in the tomb of Atuan, and the half that Eriyaba gave to the rebel king of Karg has been lost for many years. This is hundreds of years ago. "Now I take up this mission. When I was a little older than you are now, I was involved in a... hunt, a hunt across seas and oceans. In the process, I was tricked by what I was hunting and drifted to A small uninhabited island, just to the southwest of Etuan Island, not too far from Etuan and Karigu. The island is very small, not much bigger than a sandbar, with a few grassy sand dunes and a slightly salty road in the center spring water, that's all. "But there lived two people on that island, an old uncle and an old aunt, brother and sister I guess. They were horrified when they saw me, because they hadn't seen another human face for so long. How long? Maybe It’s been decades. I was in distress, but fortunately they were kind enough to help. They lived in a small hut built of driftwood from the sea with a fire in it. The old woman gave me food, including Mussels picked up from the rocks, or seabird jerky made by shooting with stones, etc. She was afraid of me, but she still gave me food to eat. Later, seeing that I didn’t do anything to scare her, she gradually trusted me Me, and let me see her treasures. She has treasures too... It was a little dress, made of silk, and set with pearls. It was a child's dress, a princess's dress, and she wore A tattered sealskin jacket that has not been properly tailored and preserved. "We couldn't talk. I didn't speak Karg then, and they didn't understand the language of the Archipelago and didn't speak much Karg. They must have been sent there at a young age Floating on its own, I don't know the reason behind it, and I doubt whether they know it. Except for the tiny island and the wind and sea there, they don't know anything about the world. But when I left, the old aunt gave me the same The gift is the lost half of the Ring of Eriabah." He pauses for a moment. "When I first received it, I was as ignorant as she was of what it was. One of the most expensive gifts that ever existed was delivered from a poor old fool in a sealskin to a dumb little bumpkin. Little bumpkin I stuffed the gift in my pocket, thanked me, and sailed away... Oh, so, I continued sailing to do what I should do. Later, because of other things, I went to Longju Zhuyu and other places in the west. But I have always kept that little thing, and I am grateful to the old aunt who gave me the only gift she could give. I put a chain through the hole in the ring and wore it around my neck without any problems. Pay attention again. Then one day, I went to the farthest island, Keledo, for some reason. It was there that Eriyabai fought with Omron and died in a foreign land. When I was on the island of Keledo, I talked with a dragon. He is Son of Omron, who told me what I wear on my chest. "He thinks it's ridiculous, I don't know what it is at all. We humans have always been a funny group in the eyes of the dragons. But they still remember Eriyabai, and when they mention Eriyabai, they seem to regard him as a dragon , not people. "After I returned to the Inner Isles, I finally went to Havnor. I was born on the Isle of Gont, which is not far from the islands to the west of your empire. Although I grew up and wandered for a long time, I never visited Havnor, it's about time. I saw the white tower, communicated with all kinds of heroes and merchants, and talked with many nobles and grandchildren of the ancient fiefs. During the conversation, I mentioned that I have half of Eriabah. Huan, if they are interested, I can look for the other half stored in the Etuan Mausoleum, in order to find the "Lost Talisman", the key to peace. After all, the world desperately needs peace. They were very appreciative, and one of them Even a lot of money was given to me so that I could buy more supplies for the ship. Therefore, I went to learn the language of your empire, and finally came to Etuan." He fell silent at this point, staring intently at the dark place ahead. "Don't the people in the towns and cities on our island know that you are a Westerner when they listen to your words and look at your skin color?" "Ah, it's easy to fool people after you know some tricks." He said casually: "As long as you create some illusions, no one can see through them except mages, and your Karg Empire has neither wizards nor mages. That's a strange thing. You drove all wizards out of your country a long time ago, and banned the practice of magic, so you don't believe in witchcraft very much today." "I was taught not to believe in witchcraft since I was a child, because witchcraft is exactly the opposite of what the priest king taught. But I know that only magic can let you sneak into the tomb and come in through the Red Rock Gate." "Not only rely on spells, but also rely on good guidance. I guess we use books more than people in your empire. Can you read?" "No. Reading is a bad evil skill." He nods. "But it is very useful," he said: "A senior who failed to steal in ancient times left some descriptions of the Etuan Mausoleum and the guide for entering it. It is only necessary to know how to use the method of opening. These are all written in a book in the treasury of a prince of West Havnor. He made me read the book so I could go down into the Great Cave..." "It's the tomb." "The senior who wrote the path guide thought the treasure was in the tomb, so I searched and searched there, but I had an intuition that the treasure must be farther in the tunnel network. I know the entrance to the Great Labyrinth, After seeing you, I ran there, intending to hide in the tunnel network and search. Of course, that was a wrong calculation. The unknown person for many lifetimes had already confused my sanity and captured me. Since then, I have become weaker and weaker Stupid. Mortals must never surrender to them, must resist, try to keep their sanity steady, I learned that long ago. But here, it is not easy to do, they are too strong. They are not gods, Tenar , but they are stronger than any mortal." The two remained silent for a long time. "What else did you find in the treasure chest?" she asked casually. "It's rubbish, gold, jewels, crowns, swords. None of it belongs to a living man... Tell me, Tenar, how did you get chosen to be the First Priestess of the Tomb?" "After the previous first priestess died, they went all over Etuan Island looking for a baby girl born on the night the priestess died. They always found one, because the baby girl was the reincarnation of the priestess. When the child was five years old, was brought here where it was. At six years old, it was sacrificed to the Dark Nameless, and its soul was eaten by the Nameless, after which the girls belonged to them, and have belonged to them since the beginning of the world, without a name." "Do you believe this?" "Always believe." "Do you believe it now?" She was silent. The silence of the black buildings once again sank between the two of them.It was a long time before she said, "Tell me... tell me about the dragons in the West." "What are you going to do, Tenar? We can't just sit here telling each other stories and watch the candles burn out and the darkness close again." "I don't know what to do. I'm afraid." She sat up on the stone box, clasped one hand to the other, and said aloud like someone in pain, "I'm afraid of the darkness." He replied softly, "You must make a choice. Leave me, lock the door, go up to your altar, deliver me to your mistresses, and make peace with Priestess Koshun, and let this end. Or Unlock this room, take me out, leave the mausoleum, leave Atuan Island, go overseas with me, and this will be the beginning of the story. You must be Arha or Tenar, not two at the same time." His deep voice was soft and firm.She peered at his face through the shadows, its scarred face stern and hard, but without cruelty or deceit. "If I leave my service to the Dark Nameless, they will kill me, and if I leave here, I will die." "You won't die, it's Arha who will die." "I can not……" "Tenar, if you want to be born again, you must die. If you look at it from the opposite direction, the choice will not be so difficult." "They won't let us out, ever." "Probably not, but worth a try. You know access, I know technology, and we both have..." He paused. "We have the Ring of Eriabah." "Yes, that's right, the Ring of Eriabah. But I was thinking of something else. Maybe call it 'Trust'...but that's just one of many names for something like that. It's something quite the same Something. Each of us is weak alone, and with it we are stronger, even stronger than the dark powers." His eyes looked clear and bright on the scarred surface. "Listen to me, Tenar!" he said. "I came here as a thief, as an enemy, armed against you, but you showed me mercy and trust in me. Actually, the first time under the tombstone When I saw your beautiful face in the dark, I trusted you. You have proved your trust to me these days, and I have nothing to repay. Gift: My real name is Ged. Also, please take this half ring." At this time he got up and handed her a half silver ring with holes and carvings. "Let's reconnect the broken rings," he said. She took the half of the silver ring from his hand, took the chain with the other half of the ring from her neck, and removed the ring.Then put the two pieces together in the palm and close the gap, it will look like a complete ring. She didn't look up. "I'll go with you," she said.