Kevin's Watch

“Not in Havnor would I be and not in Roke. It is time to be done with power. To drop the old toys and go on. It is time that I went home. I would see Tenar. I would see Ogion and speak with him before he dies, in the house on the cliffs of Re Albi. I crave to walk on the mountain, the mountain of Gont, in the forests, in the autumn when the leaves are bright. There is no kingdom like the forests. It is time I went there, went in silence, went alone. And maybe there I would learn at last what no act or art or power can teach me, what I have never learned.�

I just posted a picture in Forum Pictures. It is the Old Mage's House, on the cliffs of Re Albi, on the island of Gont.

I have wanted this for, literally, more than 40 years. I just commissioned it from a guy I'm in some groups with on FB. At least a couple of you have seen his rendition of Coercri and Andelain on the Covenant group. He has also done some amazing Malazan stuff His name is Santiago Lozano. He's in Columbia. The version I have is, literally, several times the size of what I posted. I've loved his work for a couple years. Looking at his site, I saw another Earthsea work he did. Dragon's Run. I recognized it without looking at the title. I had been messaging him, because I was probably going to take him up on his announcement that he was offering discounts on commissions for a couple weeks. When I saw Dragon's Run, I asked him a couple questions about the books, and found he loves them as I do. I immediately switched all thinking of a commission from TCTC or Malazan to the Old Mage's House.

Those who love the books know what this place is. I have always had a sense of awe, joy, and peace reading and thinking about it. I get the same feelings now from this wonderful piece of art.

And I though it was a good opportunity to make an Earthsea thread. There are a couple threads in this forum, but one is about the quiz I posted somewhere years ago, and the other is about the mini-series. So this is for Earthsea in general.

I read the short story Bones of the Earth from Tales of Earthsea when I placed my order for the picture. What a fantastic story. Seeing Ogion in earlier years, and his teacher, is amazing. Every sentence is steeped in the truest feeling of Earthsea. I started re-reading The Other Wind when I was done with that. I've loved the book the other two times I read it. Can't wait to relive it.

I describe Earthsea as the calm, deep wisdom of taoism in a fantasy setting. Literally a couple decades after I had read the original trilogy, I started reading the Tao Te Ching. My jaw dropped when I recognized Earthsea throughout it. I came to learn that Le Guin had read many different translations of it. She even made her own version of it. Not translation, because she didn't know chinese. But just her version, based on how she interprets all the different translations she knew. She certainly absorbed it. Such a work of genius to have turned it into Earthsea.

I'll start posting some of my favorite Earthsea quotes.

It's gorgeous. And must have been completely really fast. I just saw his offer last week, I think.

Yes, only a couple days. A labor of love.

I edited my first post to add the paragraph about taoism.