The Other Wind: Chapter 1

by Ursula K. Le Guin
In this final book of The Earthsea Cycle, a sorcerer named Alder, with the help of the young king Lebannen, the shape-shifting dragon Irian, and the wizard Onyx, sails to Roke Island to help both the dead and living find peaceful freedom.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. quay
    wharf usually built parallel to the shoreline
    She glided into the still water landward of the jetty, so sure and graceful a creature of the wind that a couple of townsmen fishing off the old quay cheered her in, waving to the crewmen and the one passenger standing in the prow.
  2. veracity
    unwillingness to tell lies
    A tall old woman turned from the stall where she had been insulting the freshness of the herring and the veracity of the fishwife.
  3. curt
    brief and to the point
    The old man gave a curt nod of acknowledgment.
  4. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    The stranger followed him, and did what he was told: he sat down on a wooden bench in the shade of the gnarled tree nearest the house; he accepted the plums, now rinsed and served in a wicker basket; he ate one, then another, then a third.
  5. formidable
    inspiring fear or dread
    It was a formidable gaze.
  6. boon
    something that is desirable, favorable, or beneficial
    The sweetest sleep I’ve had since I left Roke Island. I'm grateful to you for that boon, lord.
  7. jaded
    exhausted
    He looked jaded, and Sparrowhawk was struck again by the sadness in his face, which echoed the deep aftermood of his own dream.
  8. lineage
    inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline
    People born on Eá or Ebéa, Enlad or Taon, though they may be a ditchdigger’s daughter or a witch’s son, consider themselves to be descendants of the Elder Mages, sharing the lineage of the warriors who died in the dark years for Queen Elfarran.
  9. undue
    not appropriate or proper in the circumstances
    Therefore they often have a fine courtesy of manner, though sometimes an undue haughtiness, and a generous, uncalculating turn of mind and speech, a way of soaring above mere fact and prose, which those whose minds stay close to merchandise distrust.
  10. stave
    one of the slats of wood forming sides of a barrel or bucket
    To put back together a barrel that’s dried, the staves all fallen in from the hoops—that’s a real pleasure, seeing it build up again, and swell out in the right curve, and stand there on its bottom ready for the wine.
  11. modest
    limited in size or scope
    He had become a mender, then, a sorcerer with a modest practice and a local reputation for his gift.
  12. harrow
    a cultivator that pulverizes or smooths the soil
    It was like a harrow on my heart’s ground to think of it, and yet I held to that pain, held it close to me.
  13. hamper
    put at a disadvantage
    Though hampered by weariness, anguish, and awe, Alder had the silver tongue of his island; and what he left out for fear of going on too long or telling the Archmage what he already knew, his listener could well imagine, remembering when he himself first came to the Isle of the Wise as a boy of fifteen.
  14. indifferent
    marked by a lack of interest
    The child glanced up once indifferently and went on tugging at the stones with its thin fingers that seemed to have no strength in them.
  15. solace
    comfort offered to one who is disappointed or miserable
    His presence brought solace, and he was able to give Alder sleep.
  16. tepid
    moderately warm
    He woke to eat a little, and soon the Master Herbal was there again with the tepid, insipid tea and the earth-smelling smoke and the dull untuneful chant and the touch of his hand; and Alder could have rest.
  17. insipid
    lacking taste or flavor or tang
    He woke to eat a little, and soon the Master Herbal was there again with the tepid, insipid tea and the earth-smelling smoke and the dull untuneful chant and the touch of his hand; and Alder could have rest.
  18. arcane
    requiring secret or mysterious knowledge
    The Summoner, though, dealt not with bodily things but with the spirit, with the minds and wills of men, with ghosts, with meanings. His art was arcane, dangerous, full of risk and threat.
  19. breach
    a failure to perform some promised act or obligation
    My art of Summoning empowers us to call the dead back across the wall for a brief time, a moment, if there is need to do so. I myself question if any need could justify so great a breach in the law and balance of the world.
  20. taper
    give a point to
    Sparrowhawk fetched out a garden spade and the new handle to fit to it, and set to work smoothing the oaken shaft and tapering the end that would go in the socket.
  21. elusive
    skillful at evading capture
    So that night, when late and fearfully Alder let sleep overcome him, and found himself on the grey hill, the others were with him: the Herbal, a warm presence in the chill; the Doorkeeper, elusive and silvery as starlight; and the massive Summoner, the bear, a dark strength.
  22. assent
    agree or express agreement
    They all assented. The Patterner nodded and vanished.
  23. manifest
    clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
    It was the first time Alder had seen the great powers of these masters made manifest, and it would have unnerved him if he had not been past amazement and fear.
  24. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    The goats gazed at him with alert disdain and moved away a little.
  25. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    Shouting and a stick got them out of the cabbages onto the path, and there Sparrowhawk produced some plums from his pocket. Promising, offering, and cajoling, he slowly led the truants back into their pasture.
  26. quicksilver
    a metallic element that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
    He said that maybe my wife and I didn’t know how to be parted, only how to be joined. That it was not my doing, but was maybe ours together, because we drew each to the other, like drops of quicksilver.
  27. transgress
    act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
    He said that only a great power of magery could so transgress the order of the world.
  28. covenant
    a signed written agreement between two or more parties
    People fear that the old covenant is broken, that the dragons will come to burn fields and cities as they did before Erreth-Akbe fought with Orm Embar.
  29. exultation
    a feeling of extreme joy
    There was no fear in his voice, only fierce exultation.
  30. gallantry
    the qualities of a hero or heroine
    But his heart rose to that gallantry.
  31. uncanny
    suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
    They know I have no power of sorcery, but there’s something uncanny about me.
  32. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    He saw Alder stand in the path by the cabbage patch saying the spell to call the goats, and the goats’ haughty indifference to the powerless words.
  33. inert
    unable to move or resist motion
    He pulled his sheepskin over him more closely, leaning his head back against the wall, still keeping his hand on Alder’s inert, warm shoulder.
  34. notion
    a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
    He had picked up the two big pieces of it and the little fragments with some notion of gluing them back together so it could sit out for looks, if never for use again.
  35. shoddy
    of inferior workmanship and materials
    When Ged thanked him, he said, “It was no trouble at all. The breaks were very clean. It’s a well-made piece, and good clay. It’s the shoddy work that costs to mend.”
  36. knoll
    a small natural mound
    “Come along with me,” the old man said, and they set off inland on a path that skirted the goats’ pasture and wound between knolls, little, half-tended fields, and inlets of the forest.
  37. consort
    keep company with
    They didn’t want her consorting with witches. Since it would keep her from marriage with a respectable man.
  38. earnestly
    in a sincere and serious manner
    “But she taught me more than I could teach her,” Alder said earnestly.
  39. preen
    dress or groom with elaborate care
    She preened the chicken feathers that stuck out of her thick hair at all angles.
  40. unfathomable
    impossible to come to understand
    “Hama Gondun. So the Patterner himself called her,” Sparrowhawk said, looking across the fence at Alder, his eyes unfathomable.
Created on Thu Dec 15 15:23:21 EST 2022 (updated Tue Aug 22 13:19:52 EDT 2023)

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