One Tree (74 page)
Authors: Stephen R. Donaldson
Slowly the spectators turned back to their ship. When Linden looked past Vain toward Covenant, she saw Findail standing with him. She wanted to be angry at the
Elohim
, would have welcomed any emotion which might have sustained her. But the time for such things had passed. No expostulation would bring back Covenant’s hope. The lines engraving the Appointed’s face were as deep as ever; but now they seemed like scars of pity.
“I cannot ease your sorrow,” he said, speaking so softly that Linden barely heard him. “That attempt was made, and it failed. But one fear I will spare you. The One Tree is not destroyed. It is a mystery of the Earth. While the Earth endures, it too will endure in its way. Perhaps your guilts are indeed as many as you deem them—but
that
is one you need not bear.”
Findail’s unexpected gentleness made Linden’s eyes blur. But the pained slump of Covenant’s shoulders, the darkness of his gaze, showed that he had passed beyond the reach of solace. In a voice like the last drops of blood, he replied, “You could’ve warned me. I almost—” The vision of what he had nearly done clogged his throat. He swallowed as if he wanted to curse and no longer had the strength. “I’m sick of guilt.”
Honninscrave remained huddled over Seadreamer. Sevinhand and Gale wrath looked to him for instructions; but he did not respond, did not notice them at all. After a brief pause of respect, the First told the Anchormaster what to do.
Wrapping his old melancholy about him, Sevinhand rallied the crew. The anchors were raised, the sails set. In a short time, Starfare’s Gem swung away from the grave of the lost Isle and headed northward into the open sea.
But Covenant did not stay to watch. Bereft beyond redemption, he left his companions, shambled in the direction of his cabin. He was dying with a knife in his chest and no longer had any way to fight the Despiser. Linden understood. When he turned his back on her, she did not protest.
This was her life after all—as true to herself, to what she was and what she wanted to become, as the existence she had left behind on Haven Farm. The old man whose life she had saved there had said to her,
You will not fail, however he may assail you
. The choices she had made could not be taken from her.
And that was not all. She remembered what Covenant had told her about his Dead in Andelain. His friend, High Lord Mhoram, had said to him,
Do not be deceived by the Land’s need. The thing you seek is not what it appears to be
. The same prophecy was true for her as well. Like Brinn, she had found something she had not come seeking. With Covenant after their escape from
Bhrathairealm
, she had let some light into the darkness of her heart. And in the cavern of the One Tree she had found a use for that part of herself—a use which was not evil.
Since Covenant could not bear it now, she accepted from him the burden of hope.
You will not fail—
Not while she still believed in him—and knew how to reach him.
Yet she did not try to keep the tears from her eyes. Too much had been lost. As she went to stand beside Honninscrave, she folded her arms over her heart and let the long grief of the quest settle in her bones.
Here ends
THE ONE TREE
Book Two of
The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
The story concludes in Book Three,
WHITE GOLD WIELDER
ak-Haru:
a supreme
Haruchai
honorific
aliantha:
treasure-berries
Alif, the lady: a woman Favored of the
gaddhi
Anchormaster: second-in-command aboard a Giantship
Andelain: a region of the Land free of the Sunbane
Appointed, the: an
Elohim
chosen to bear a particular burden
Arch of Time, the: symbol of the existence and structure of time
Auspice, the: throne of the
gaddhi
Bahgoon the Unbearable: character in a Giantish tale
Banefire: fire by which the Clave wields the Sunbane
Bannor: former Bloodguard
Bareisle: island off the coast of
Elemesnedene
Benj, the Lady: a woman Favored of the
gaddhi
Berek Halfhand: ancient hero; the Lord-Fatherer
Bhrathair
, the: a people who live on the verge of the Great Desert
Bhrathairain:
the town of the
Bhrathair
Bhrathairain
Harbor: the port of the
Bhrathair
Bhrathairealm:
the land of the
Bhrathair
Bloodguard: former servants of the Council of Lords
Brinn: a leader of the
Haruchai
; protector of Covenant
Brow Gnarlfist: a Giant; father of the First of the Search
caamora:
Giantish ordeal of grief by fire
Cable Seadreamer: a Giant; member of the Search; brother of Honninscrave; possessed of the Earth-Sight
Caer-Caveral: Forestal of Andelain; formerly Hile Troy
Caerroil Wildwood: former Forestal of Garroting Deep
Cail: one of the
Haruchai
; protector of Linden
Caitiffin: a captain of the armed forces of
Bhrathairealm
Callowwail, the River: stream arising from
Elemesnedene
Ceer: one of the
Haruchai
Chant: one of the
Elohim
Chatelaine, the: courtiers of the
gaddhi
Chosen, the: title given to Linden Avery
clachan
, the: demesne of the
Elohim
Clave, the: the rulers of the Land
Coercri
: The Grieve; former home of the Giants in Seareach
Colossus of the Fall, the: ancient stone figure formerly guarding the upper land
Council of Lords: former rulers of the Land
Courser: a beast made by the Clave by the power of the Sunbane
Corruption:
Haruchai
name for Lord Foul
Creator, the: the maker of the Earth
croyel
: mysterious creature of power with which Kasreyn bargained for his longevity
Dancers of the Sea, the:
merewives
Dawngreeter: highest sail on the foremast of a Giantship
Daphin: one of the
Elohim
Demondim-spawn: Vain
Despiser, the: Lord Foul
Despite: evil
diamondraught
: Giantish liquor
dromond
: a Giantship
Drool Rockworm: former Cavewight
During Stonedown: home of Hamako; former village destroyed by the
Grim
Earthpower, the: source of all power in the Land
Earth-Sight: Giantish ability to perceive distant dangers and needs
eftmound: gathering-place of the
Elohim
Elemesnedene
: home of the
Elohim
Elena: former High Lord; daughter of Lena and Covenant
Elohim
, the: a faery people
Elohimfest
: a gathering of the
Elohim
Favored, the: courtesans of the
gaddhi
Findail: one of the
Elohim
; the Appointed
Fire-Lions: fire-flow of Mount Thunder
First Circinate: first level of the Sandhold
First of the Search, the: leader of the Giants who follow the Earth-Sight
Foodfendhall: eating-hall and galley aboard a Giantship
Forestal: a protector of the forests of the Land
Foul’s Creche: the Despiser’s former home; destroyed by Covenant
gaddhi
, the: sovereign of
Bhrathairealm
Garroting Deep: a former forest of the Land
Giants: a seafaring people of the Earth
Giantfriend: title given first to Damelon, later to Covenant
Giantship: stone sailing vessel made by Giants
Gibbon: the na-Mhoram; leader of the Clave
Glimmermere: a lake on the upland above Revelstone
Gossamer Glowlimn: a Giant; the First of the Search
graveling: fire-stones
Great Desert, the: a region of the Earth; home of the
Bhrathair
and the Sandgorgons
Great Swamp, the: Lifeswallower; a region of the Land
Grim
, the: a destructive storm sent as a curse by the Clave
Grimmand Honninscrave: a Giant; Master of Starfare’s Gem
Guard, the:
hustin
; soldiers serving the
gaddhi
Guardian of the One Tree, the: mystical figure warding the approach to the One Tree; also
ak-Haru Kenaustin Ardenol
Harbor Captain: chief official of the port of
Bhrathairealm
Haruchai
, the: a people who live in the Westron Mountains
Heft Galewrath: a Giant; Storesmaster of Starfare’s Gem
Herem: a Raver; also known as
turiya
Hergrom: one of the
Haruchai
High Lord: former leader of the Council of Lords
Hile Troy: a man formerly from Covenant’s world who became a Forestal
Hollian: daughter of Amith; former eh-Brand of Crystal Stonedown
Home: homeland of the Giants
Horizonscan: lookout atop the midmast of a Giantship
Horse, the: human soldiery of the
gaddhi
husta/hustin
: partly human soldiers bred by Kasreyn to be the
gaddhi
’s Guard
Illearth Stone, the: green stone; a source of evil power
Infelice: reigning leader of the
Elohim
Isle of the One Tree, the: location of the One Tree
Kasreyn of the Gyre: a thaumaturge; the
gaddhi
’s Kemper
Kastenessen: an
Elohim
; former Appointed
Kemper, the: chief minister of the
gaddhi
Kemper’s Pitch: highest level of the Sandhold
Kenaustin Ardenol
: a figure of
Haruchai
legend; paragon and measure of all
Haruchai
virtues
Kevin Landwaster: son of Loric; former Lord; enactor of the Ritual of Desecration
Kevin’s Watch: mountain lookout near Mithil Stonedown
krill
, the: knife of power formed by Loric Vilesilencer
Land, the: a focal region of the Earth
Landsdrop: great cliff separating the Upper and Lower Lands
Law, the: the natural order
Lena: daughter of Atiaran; mother of Elena
Lifeswallower: the Great Swamp; a region of the Land
Lord Foul: the Despiser
Lords, the: former rulers of the Land
Loric Vilesilencer: son of Damelon; former Lord
Lost, the: Giantish name for the Unhomed
Lower Land: region of the Land east of Landsdrop
lucubrium: laboratory of a thaumaturge
lurker of the Sarangrave: a swamp-monster
maidan
: open land around
Elemesnedene
Marid: a man of Mithil Stonedown; Sunbane-victim
Master, the: captain of a Giantship
merewives:
the Dancers of the Sea
Mhoram: former High Lord
Mistweave: a Giant
Mithil Stonedown: a village in the South Plains of the Land
Mount Thunder: a peak at the center of Landsdrop
na-Mhoram, the: leader of the Clave
na-Mhoram-wist: middle rank of the Clave
Nassic: father of Sunder; inheritor of the Unfettered One’s mission to welcome Covenant
Nicor
: great sea-monsters; said to be offspring of the Worm of the World’s End
Nom: a Sandgorgon
One Tree, the: mystic tree from which the Staff of Law was made
Pitchwife: a Giant; member of the Search; husband of the First of the Search
Pure One, the: redemptive figure of
jheherrin
legend
Questsimoon
, the: the Roveheartswind
Rant Absolain: the
gaddhi
Ranyhyn: great horses formerly of the Land
Ravers: Lord Foul’s three ancient servants
Raw
, the: fiord into the demesne of the
Elohim
Rawedge Rim, the: mountains around
Elemesnedene
Revelstone: mountain-city of the Clave
Rider: a member of the Clave
ring-wielder:
Elohim
term of reference for Covenant
Rire Grist: a Caitiffin of the
gaddhi
’s Horse
Ritual of Desecration: act of despair by which Kevin Landwaster destroyed much of the Land
Roveheartswind, the: the
Questsimoon
rukh
: iron talisman by which a Rider wields power
Saltheart Foamfollower: former Giant
Saltroamrest: bunk-hold for the crew in a Giantship
Sandgorgon: as monster of the Great Desert
Sandgorgons Doom: imprisoning storm created by Kasreyn to trap the Sandgorgons
Sandhold, the: the
gaddhi
’s castle in
Bhrathairealm
Sandwall, the: great wall defending
Bhrathairealm
Santonin: a Rider
Sarangrave Flat: a region of the Lower Land
Search, the: quest of the Giants for the wound in the Earth
Seareach: a region of the Land; formerly inhabited by Giants
Seatheme: dead wife of Sevinhand
Second Circinate: second level of the Sandhold
setrock: a type of stone used with pitch to repair stone
Sevinhand: Anchormaster of Starfare’s Gem; a Giant
Shipsheartthew: the wheel of a Giantship
Sivit: a Rider
soothtell: ritual of prophecy practiced by the Clave
Soulbiter, the: a dangerous ocean of Giantish legend
Soulbiter’s Teeth: reefs in the Soulbiter
Spikes, the: guard-towers at the mouth of
Bhrathairain
Harbor
Spray Frothsurge: a Giant; mother of the First of the Search
Staff of Law, the: a tool of power formed by Berek Halfhand from the One Tree
Starfare’s Gem: Giantship used by the Search
Starkin: one of the
Elohim
Stonedownor: inhabitant of a Stonedown
Stonemight, the: name for a fragment of the Illearth Stone
Stonemight Woodhelven: a village in the South Plains
Storesmaster: third-in-command aboard a Giantship
Sunbane, the: a power arising from the corruption of nature by Lord Foul
Sunbirth Sea: ocean east of the Land
Sunder: son of Nassic; former Graveler of Mithil Stonedown
Sun-Sage: title given to Linden Avery by the Elohim; one who can affect the progress of the Sunbane
sur-jheherrin
: inhabitants of Sarangrave Flat
Swordmain/Swordmainnir: Giant trained as a warrior
The Grieve:
Coercri
; former home of the Giants in Seareach
Thelma Twofist: character in a Giantish tale
The Majesty: throne room of the
gaddhi
; fourth level of the Sandhold
Tier of Riches, the: showroom of the
gaddhi
’s wealth; third level of the Sandhold
Triock: former inhabitant of Mithil Stonedown who loved Lena
turiya
: a Raver; also named Herem
Unbeliever, the: title given to Thomas Covenant
Unhomed, the: former Giants of Seareach
Upper Land: region of the Land west of Landsdrop
ur-Lord: title given to Thomas Covenant
ur-viles: spawn of the Demondim; creatures of power; creators of Vain
Vain: Demondim-spawn; bred by the ur-viles for a secret purpose
Vow, the: Bloodguard oath of service to the Lords
Wavedancer: Giantship commanded by Brow Gnarlfist
Waynhim: spawn of the Demondim; opposed to the ur-viles
Woodenwold: region of trees surrounding the
maidan
of
Elemesnedene
Worm of the World’s End, the: mystic creature believed by the
Elohim
to have formed the foundation of the Earth
Würd of the Earth, the: term used by the
Elohim
to suggest variously their own nature, the nature of the Earth, and their ethical compulsions; could be read as Word, Worm, or Weird
white gold: a metal of power not found in the Earth
wild magic: the power of white gold; considered the keystone of the Arch of Time
