"Ursula K. LeGuin - Earthsea 4 - Tehanu" - читать интересную книгу автора (Le Guin Ursula K)

where the great winged ones made war among the ruined towers.
тАЬSo those who had been both dragon and human changed, becoming two peoples-the dragons, always
fewer and wilder, scattered by their endless, mindless greed and anger, in the far islands of the Western
Reach; and the human folk, always more numerous in their rich towns and cities, filling up the Inner Isles
and all the south and east. But among them there were some who saved the learning of the dragons-the
True Language of the Making-and these are now the wizards.
тАЬBut also, the song.said, there are those among us who know they once were dragons, and among the
dragons there are some who know their kinship with us. And these say that when the one people were
becoming two, some of them, still both human and dragon, still winged, went not east but west, on over
the Open Sea, till they came to the other side of the world. There they live in peace, great winged beings
both wild and wise, with human mind and dragon heart. And so she sang,

Farther west than west beyond the land
my people are dancing on the other wind.
тАЬSo that was the story told in the song of the Woman of Kemay, and it ended with those words.
тАЬThen -Ogion said to her, тАШWhen I first saw you I saw your true being. This woman who sits across the
hearth from me is no more than the dress she wears.тАЩ
тАЬBut she shook her head and laughed, and all she would say was, тАШIf only it were that simple!тАЩ
тАЬSo then after a while Ogion came back to Re Albi. And when he told me the story, he said to me,
тАШEver since that day, I have wondered if anyone, man or dragon, has been farther west than west; and who
we are, and where our wholeness lies.тАЩ Are you getting hungry, Therru? ThereтАЩs a good sitting place, it
...


looks like, up there where the road turns. Maybe from there weтАЩll be able to see Gont Port, away down at
the foot of the mountain. ItтАЩs a big city, even bigger than Valmouth. WeтАЩll sit down when we get to the
turn, and rest a bit.тАЭ
From the high corner of the road they could indeed look down the vast slopes of forest and rocky
meadow to the town on its bay, and see the crags that guarded the entrance to the bay, and the boats on the
dark water like wood-chips or water beetles. Far ahead on their road and still somewhat above it, a cliff
jutted out from the mountainside: the Over-fell, on which was the village of Re Albi, the FalconтАЩs Nest.
Therru made no complaints, but when presently Goha said, тАЬWell, shall we go on?тАЭ the child, sitting
there between the road and the gulfs of sky and sea, shook her head. The sun was warm, and they had
walked a long way since their breakfast in the dell.
Goha brought out their water bottle, and they drank again; then she brought out a bag of raisins and
walnuts and gave it to the child.
тАЬWeтАЩre in sight of where weтАЩre going,тАЭ she said, тАЬand IтАЩd like to be there before dark, if we can. IтАЩm
anxious to see Ogion. YouтАЩll be very tired, but we wonтАЩt walk fast. And weтАЩll be there safe and warm
tonight. Keep the bag, tuck it in your belt. Raisins make your legs strong. Would you like a staff-like a
wizard-to help you walk?тАЭ
Therru munched and nodded. Goha took out her knife and cut a strong shoot of hazel for the child, and
then seeing an alder fallen above the road, broke off a branch of it and trimmed it to make herself a stout,
light stick.
They set off again, and the child trudged along, beguiled by raisins. Goha sang to amuse them both,
love songs and shepherdтАЩs songs and ballads she had learned in the Middle Valley; but all at once her
voice hushed in the middle of a tune. She stopped, putting out her hand in a warning gesture.
The four men ahead of them on the road had seen her. There was no use trying to hide in the woods till
they went on or went by.
тАЬTravelers,тАЭ she said quietly to Therru, and walked on. She took a good grip on her alder stick.
What Lark had said about gangs and thieves was not just the complaint each generation makes that