Sunday, December 29, 2019
Comparison Between ââ¬ÅThe Cask of Amontilladoââ¬Â and ââ¬ÅThe...
Edgar Allan Poe is known for some of the most horrifying stories ever written through out time. He worked with the natural world, animals, and weather to create chilling literature. Two most notable thrillers are ââ¬Å"The Cask of Amontilladoâ⬠and ââ¬Å"The Tell-Tale Heartâ⬠. Poe was infatuated with death, disfigurement, and dark characteristics of the world. He could mix characters, setting, theme,and mood in a way that readers are automatically drawn into reading. Both of these short stories have the same major aspects in common. The narrators in both works prove to be similar in several ways. In ââ¬Å"The Tell-Tale Heartâ⬠the story is told through a psycho narrator; both stories contain apparent psychological imbalances within their story tellers, ââ¬Å"â⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦How murder first came to enter the narrators mind is unknown. There was no real motive as said: ââ¬Å"Object there was none... I loved the old man. He had never wronged me...â⠬ (884.) The narrator states that the old mans eye was a pale blue color with film over it, resembling a vulture. The narrator insists that he is not insane however his repeating of this, and his actions, contradict one another. Being so threatened by the old mans eye, the killer attacks his master at night, cuts up his body and buries it beneath the floor boards. Although the old man had sensed his killer in his bedroom, he was too terrified to run for his life. The fact that the narrator kills this innocent old man because of his eye is proof enough he suffers from psychological imbalance To further the evidence that the narrator is, he continues to hear the mans heart beat beneath the floor boards. Although it seems as if it is his own heart beating, he automatically assumes the old mans heart is haunting his mind. The characters are what play the key role in this short story. The killer is suffering from insanity, which he believes is the cause of the evil eye. The old man is never really developed within the story, just known he is innocent and has never wronged his killer. The old man could just represent an innocence who is opposite of a murderers mind. Within the whole plot the characters unfold an unsettling dark theme for the story; a cold hearted killer and a loving old man with anShow MoreRelated Atmosphere of Terror and Suspense in Gothic Literature Essay4335 Words à |à 18 Pagesmystery, ghosts, haunted houses, castles, darkness, death, decay and madness. The three gothic texts I will be analyzing are ?The Tell-Tale Heart/ by Edgar Alan Poe, ?The Red Room? by H.G. Wells and ?The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Alan Poe. I will be concentrating on the language used and their structure and characterization. The Tell-Tale Heart is the first-person narrative of an unnamed character that is taking care of an old man with a clouded eye. His feverishly heightened sensesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1073 Words à |à 5 Pagesââ¬Å"Ha! Would a madman have been so wise as thisâ⬠. Edgar Allan Poe is an American poet and writer who creates imaginative stories to entice the reader. The narrator of Poeââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"A Tell-Tale Heartâ⬠, an unstable man who tries to convince himself and the readers otherwise, is similar to the main character of ââ¬Å"The Cask of Amontilladoâ⬠, who is also psychotic. Both narrators have a dark side which contributes to Poeââ¬â¢s sinister style. Poe integrates an ominous setting and characters to create a dramatic effectRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado, By Edgar Allan Poe1776 Words à |à 8 Pagespurpose of the short stories ââ¬Å"The Cask of Amontilladoâ⬠, ââ¬Å"El Tonto del Barrioâ⬠, and ââ¬Å" Cathedralâ⬠is to explore the concepts of prominence in religion driven by symbolism, characterization, and theme used to manipulated the readerââ¬â¢s analytical views. Christianity plays an imperative role on all three short stories by the authorââ¬â¢s through their descriptive scenarios symbolizing a religious ideology. Edgar Allan Poeââ¬â¢s use of religion as a hidden message in ââ¬Å"The Cask of Amontilladoâ⬠is portrayed through the ambianceRead More Edgar Allan Poes Writing Essay2378 Words à |à 10 Pagespart of the poem, the narrator cherishes hope of getting contact with his lost lover, just like Poe wishes to see all his lost loved ones especially his wife. Then in the middle of the poem, the narrator asks, ââ¬Å"Is there--is there balm in Gilead?--tell me--tell me I implore!/ Quoth the raven, Nevermore (Poe). The narrator asks the raven if there is balm in Gilead, or basically if Lenore exists in the afterlife. However, the raven rejects his supplica tions and repeats the word ââ¬Å"nevermore,â⬠which meansRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words à |à 116 Pagesresolved is one within the protagonistââ¬â¢s psyche or personality. External conflict may reflect a basic opposition between man and nature (such as in Jack Londonââ¬â¢s famous short story ââ¬Å"To Build a Fireâ⬠or Ernest Hemingwayââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"The Old Man and the Seaâ⬠) or between man and society (as in Richard Wrightââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"The Man Who Was Almost a Manâ⬠). It may also take the form of an opposition between man and man (between the protagonist and a human adversary, the antagonist), as, for example, in most detective fiction. Internal
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Chapter 2 Exercises Case Exercises Essay - 2269 Words
Chapter 2 Assignment Ryan M. Kethcart INFOST-491 SEC-OL Exercises 1. Consider the statement: an individual threat agent, like a hacker, can be a factor in more than one threat category. If a hacker hacks into a network, copies a few files, defaces the Web page, and steals credit card numbers, how many different threat categories does this attack fall into? a. Overall, I believe this attack falls into four major threat categories: deliberate acts of trespass, compromises to intellectual property, technical failures, and managerial failure. Furthermore, I believe this attack would be categorized as a deliberate act of theft/trespass which compromises intellectual property due to technical and managerial failures. b. Itâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦h. Overall, a security administrator could use this manual to gain knowledge of terms associated with phreaking and the inââ¬â¢s amp; outs of the process (i.e. how it is executed). However, the security administrator should focus on Chapter 10 ââ¬â ââ¬Å"War on Phreakingâ⬠ââ¬â this section (pg 71-73) deals with concepts such as access, ââ¬Å"doom,â⬠tracing, and security. An administrator could reverse engineer this information to protect his/her systems from such attacks. 4. The chapter discussed many threats and vulnerabilities to information security. Using the Web, find at least two other sources of information on threat and vulnerabilities. Begin with www.securityfocus.com and use a keyword search on ââ¬Å"threats.â⬠i. http://www.darkreading.com/vulnerability-threats ii. Dark Readings Vulnerabilities and Threats Tech Center is your resource for breaking news and information on the latest potential threats and technical vulnerabilities affecting todays IT environment. Written for security and IT professionals, the Vulnerabilities and Threats Tech Center is designed to provide in-depth information on newly-discovered network and application vulnerabilities, potential cybersecurity exploits, and security research results j. http://www.symantec.com/security_response/ iii. Our security research centers around the world provide unparalleled analysis of and protection from IT security threats that include malware, security risks,Show MoreRelatedproject manajment1121 Words à |à 5 Pagesï » ¿2-15-99 Project Management: The Managerial Process COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE CHAPTER 1 Modern Project Management What is a project? The project life cycle The project manager The importance of project management Snapshot from practice: The best wireless phone in the world Snapshot from practice: The emergence of e.Schwab The evolution of project management systems Project management today-- An integrative approachRead MoreTable Of ContentsPrefacexiiiPART ONEThe Strategic Human1743 Words à |à 7 PagesModel 2 Chapter 1 Strategic Importance of Human Resource Management Chapter Objectives Challenges Facing Canadian Organizations Spotlight on Ethics: What Is a ââ¬Å"Rightâ⬠Behaviour? Objectives of Human Resource Management Strategic Human Resource Management The Organization of Human Resource Management The Human Resource Management Profession of the Future The Framework Used in This Book Spotlight on HRM: Will the 21st Century Belong to Canada? Summary Terms for Review Self-Assessment Exercise ReviewRead MoreEssay about Reframing927 Words à |à 4 PagesChapter-by-Chapter Notes and Teaching Suggestions CHAPTER 20. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER: CHANGE AND LEADERSHIP IN ACTION CHAPTER 20 OVERVIEW Chapter 20 Summary ___________________________________________________ The chapter opens with a caseââ¬âRobert F. Kennedy High Schoolââ¬âdepicting the many problems facing David King, the new principal of a deeply troubled urban high school. A school that opened with high hopes only a few years ago now finds itself mired in conflict and dissatisfaction. Kingââ¬â¢sRead MoreChapter Two and Three Problems Essays983 Words à |à 4 PagesChapter Two and Three Problems Please complete the following 7 exercises below in either Excel or a word document (but must be single document). You must show your work where appropriate (leaving the calculations within Excel cells is acceptable). Save the document, and submit it in the appropriate week using the Assignment Submission button. Chapter 2 Exercise 1 1. Issuance of stock Prepare journal entries to record the issuance of 100,000 shares of common stock at $20 per share for eachRead MoreEntity-relationship Model and Mountain View Community1374 Words à |à 6 PagesTurgut Tezir TEZIR-1 CS 504.2354 Mountain View Community Hospital Project Case 3 Project Question: 1. Why would Mountain View Community Hospital want to use entity-relationship modeling to understand its data requirements? What other ways might the hospital want to model its information requirements? This hospital wants to use E-R modeling to understand data requirements. E-R modeling is very easy to understand and shows all the business rules. â⬠¢ Entity-relationship modelingRead MoreSpark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise in the Brain1217 Words à |à 5 PagesIn the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and The Brain by Dr. John J. Ratey, MD (2008), Ratey discuses how exercise can help treat many mood disorders and how it can help strengthen our brains. This book is divided into ten chapters all with five to ten subsections in them. The chapters include: Welcome to the revolution: A Case Study on Exercise and the brain, Learning, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Attention Deficit, Addiction, Hormonal Changers, Aging, and the Regimen. TheRead MoreSales1712 Words à |à 7 PagesMANAGER. He\She may be the first line manager directly responsible for the day-to-day management of sales people, or may be positioned at higher level in the management hierarchy, responsible for directing the activities of the other manager. In either case, sales management focuses on the administration of personal selling function in the marketing mix. This role includes the planning, management amp; control of sales programs, as well as the recruiting, training, Compensating, motivating and evaluatingRead MoreBlades Inc Case1012 Words à |à 5 PagesProfessor Dunbar Case #3 Blades Inc. Chapter 5 1) If Blades used call options to hedge its Yen in payables, they are presented with 2 options. They can hedge at a lower exercise price (.00756) with a higher premium (2%); of they can hedge at a higher exercise price (.00792) with a lower premium (1.5%). Traditionally, the premiums are normally 1.5%, however due to recent uncertainty they have risen. This presents a tradeoff between an exercise price and premium, where as the exercise price rises, theRead MoreQuantitative Chapter 1 and 2 Essays915 Words à |à 4 PagesMBA 570 Homework Questions Chapter 1 and 2 Chapter 1 (1-20) Mysti Farris (See problem 1-19) is considering raising the selling price of each cue to $50 instead of $40. If this is done while the costs remain the same, what would the new breakeven point be? What would the total revenue be at this breakeven point? (Given in problem 1-19: fc of 2400 and vc of 25) (1-21) Mysi Farris (see problem 1-19) believes that there is a high probability that 120 pool cues can be sold if the selling priceRead MoreThe Relationship Between Effective Teaching And Student Achievement1630 Words à |à 7 Pageson a regular basis. Of course, there will never be a sense of curricular perfection, but student achievement depends on teachers who have their studentsââ¬â¢ best interests in mind and who collaborate about curriculum and effective teaching practices. 2. Why is reflective practice important for teacher leadership? All effective teaching practices are important for teacher leadership. Since student achievement depends on effective teaching, these practices must be the driving force of the teacher leaderââ¬â¢s
Friday, December 13, 2019
Chalice Chapter 12 Free Essays
string(161) " the same field at a little distance from her; as she brushed her fingers through the half-soft, half-bristly awns, she thought in surprise, Theyââ¬â¢re warm\." She paused at the edge of what had been its parkland. It was rapidly reverting to meadow; from where she stood she could no longer see the carriage drive that had led to it from the House, on the side opposite the wood. She could still see the knoll, however, and the ruin of the pavilion; the grass and the fast-growing saplings seemed to avoid it. We will write a custom essay sample on Chalice Chapter 12 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Her walk had warmed her, but she still shivered, looking at the knoll. She waded through the autumn-brown grasses, and the crackling noise this made seemed to announce her presenceâ⬠¦to what? Seedheads popped and flung their contents over her like the audience cheering a victor of some contest on a fete dayâ⬠¦. Again she shivered, although she was not cold. When she came to the crest of the knoll, the walls of the fallen pavilion seemed suddenly high and claustrophobic, shutting her in, though the highest of them were no taller than the top of her head, and most of them came no higher than her knees. It had been a curious shape, circular at the centre, but with arms like a star. It sprawled over the knoll as if it had been flung there; now that there was no level roof tying all together, the way the arms crept down the slope from the central plateau looked strange and eerie, and the few splintered stone stair-steps that had survived the fire looked like the teeth of lurking earth-monsters. At first she was at a loss; she only knew you had to sleep on the knoll. But what part of the knoll? Did she have to lie down and close her eyes in the centre of the old pavilion? For a third time she shivered, and this time she told herself crossly to stop it. It wasnââ¬â¢t that cold, and the knoll was empty. But it wasnââ¬â¢t empty; or if it was, it was no use to her. She stiffened against the next shiver, and pretended it hadnââ¬â¢t happened. What if what had occurred here a little over a year ago had broken the power of this place? What if she was here on a foolââ¬â¢s errand? She sat down on the top of the knoll, which was not, she thought, precisely at the centre of the pavilion. This was obscurely comforting. The tallest of the standing walls created a corner, and protected her from the prevailing wind. She lay down and curled up on her side, bending one arm beneath her head as pillow. She was not cold; she only had to sleep for a few minutes; it would be dawn soon, and daylight would wake her, daylight and birdsong. Surely the birds did not avoid this knollâ⬠¦. She was asleep when the temperature dropped and the snow started again. It was not at all the dream she was expecting. First she dreamed of a man, no longer young but not yet old, in heavy boots and leather gaiters and a farmerââ¬â¢s smock, walking along a tree-shaded road, whistling. She could not make out his face clearly through the changing leaf-shadows, but she thought it was an open, friendly face. Who is this? she thought, but she was strangely unreassured that this man was not Horuld. He stopped by a well, and unhooked the bucket, and dropped it into the well, and wound it up again; in her dream she could hear every creak and splash, and the faint puff of the manââ¬â¢s breath as he raised the bucket. He reached for the dipper, which hung next to the peg he had taken the bucket off. It had been an ordinary dipper ââ¬â hadnââ¬â¢t it? ââ¬â he must have thought so too, because he didnââ¬â¢t merely pull his hand back when he saw what he was reaching for but stepped back from the well itself. What now hung on the dipperââ¬â¢s peg was a cup that looked like a Chaliceââ¬â¢s goblet, heavily worked in silver; dreaming, she tried to see what the forms and figures were, but could not, only that the work was so ornate it threw its own shadows across the bowl. No ordinary roadside well should have such a thing. The man looked at it for a moment longer, laughed, shook his head, and drank directly from the bucket, which, when he hung it back on its peg, he did so very carefully, that his hand should not brush the mysterious goblet. No, she thought. Perhaps this man might have courted a beekeeper with a woodright, but he will have nothing to do with a Chalice. As the man walked on down the road, she seemed to remain behind; and the shadows of the trees grew thicker and darker till she was in a cold grey place where she could no longer move her arms and legs; and then she thought, though she was not sure, the figures on the well goblet had come to life, and she was surrounded by the faces of angry, frightened men and women. She recognised none of them, nor did any one pause for her to memorise it so that she would recognise it if she saw it again, when she woke, if she was to marry an angry, frightened, unknown man. She struggled to wake or to move, and as if she had broken some invisible bonds, she seemed suddenly to be free; and now she seemed to be walking at the edge of a field under a night sky. The field seemed to be familiar to her but it was hard to tell in the dark. The almost sweet, slightly dusty smell of a ripe cereal crop was in her nostrils, and she knew it would be a good harvest. The stalks came to her shoulders, and she cou ld see over them, to where someone else seemed to be walking at the edge of the same field at a little distance from her; as she brushed her fingers through the half-soft, half-bristly awns, she thought in surprise, Theyââ¬â¢re warm. You read "Chalice Chapter 12" in category "Essay examples" And then the dream had shifted again, and she was surrounded by redness and heat. Where was the face of the man she would marry, or some sight of herself standing alone in an embroidered robe carrying a cup? She could see nothing but the peculiar undifferentiated redness. Not quite undifferentiated: there were streaks in it, fluttering, trembling, golden streaks, and a gentle thumping noise near her ear. Just one ear, as if her cheek rested against something that brought the echo of the sound to her. She was still curled up, but she didnââ¬â¢t seem to be lying down any more, and her head was resting against this gently thumping thing, her wrists bent round each other and hands clasped under her chin as if she were bearing herself as Chalice. Except that she wasnââ¬â¢t bearing herself at all; something was holding her. Her legs were folded under her as if she were sitting in a chair at home, the chair whose seat had lost most of its stuffing, so you had to sit on the frame edge, with your legs bent under you, or half disappear down the unexpected wellâ⬠¦. There was redness all around her, redness and gold; they blended together, and they did not blend, for the red was hard and restless and spiky, and the gold was smooth and supple and flowing. She seemed to breathe it; her right nostril drew in red, and her left gold. Her Chalice-cradling hands instead cradled a rope of red and gold, whose individual threads wove in and out between her fingers, the red through the fingers of her right hand, the gold through the fingers of her left. She felt that the very hair of her head had gone red and golden, that the hair on the right side fell coarse and harsh and red, and on the left, fine and soft and golden. She wondered if the strangeness of what she saw, the way everything seemed both too shallow and too deep, was that her right eye saw only red and her left only gold, and they somehow could not put the two together as they had done all the ordinary things in her life till nowâ⬠¦. She felt dizzy, except that she was being securely held, and could not fall. She thought she should be frightened, for she knew the world was not red and gold; but she did not feel frightened. The red and gold were very beautiful. She wondered if what she was held by was a red thing or a golden thing. She didnââ¬â¢t know when she realised that the Master was holding her in his lap. The chair-well was the space between his knees ââ¬â she supposed ââ¬â as he sat cross-legged. The thump was the beating of his heart. (Did priests of Fire still have hearts that beat?) His arms were around her, one round her waist, and the second gently holding her bent head against his chest. She wanted to tell him that she was awake, that he could let her go, that it was very nice of him to warm her like this ââ¬â it was rather cold to be sleeping outdoors ââ¬â but it wasnââ¬â¢t necessary. But she found she couldnââ¬â¢t. Indeed she couldnââ¬â¢t move, even to drop her hands out of the Chalice clasp. It is good that you are awake. But do not try to move yet. What? You are still dangerously cold. Do not try to move. I ââ¬â Iââ¬â¢m not cold! You are held by Fire. Let it do its work. Iâ⬠¦donââ¬â¢t understand. I found you half dead of cold. I do not understand either. She stopped puzzling over the strange immobility of her body and tried to remember what had happened before she woke up. The warmth she felt now reminded her of waking up by her own fireside with the understanding that she had to go to the old knoll ââ¬â suddenly she remembered that its old name had been Listening Hill ââ¬â and go to sleep there long enough to dream. She needed a dream from Listening Hill to tell her if she was to marry Horuld. This was not something she wanted to tell the Master. She was beginning to be able to feel her breath going in and out. Her elbows were tucked so close to her body that they moved as her rib-cage expanded and contracted. She could feel her own breath on the backs of her hands, she could feel the long bone of her right thumb pressed against the bottom of her lowered chinâ⬠¦and at that point she found she could let her clasped hands drop. The red and the gold seemed to dim into the shadows, till all she saw was shadows. For a moment she grieved for the red and the gold. The Master let go of her gently. She tried to sit up, and swayed a little. He uncrossed his legs and knelt behind her, his hands now under her elbows, and as he stood up he drew her with him. Heââ¬â¢s stronger, she thought fuzzily ââ¬â no; he would say that Fire was helping him. But her thought added stubbornly, And his limbs seem to bend in all the ordinary human places, and he seems solid ââ¬â like flesh, not like fire. She tried not to stagger. The billows of his cloak fell down between them. She couldnââ¬â¢t remember now what she had been leaning against while he ââ¬â and Fire ââ¬â held her: his shirt? His bare skin? Is it only his face and hands that are black ââ¬â is he red and golden under his clothes, like fire? But no hearth fire ever looked like what she had seen. Had he become Fire again to save her? She thought, Iââ¬â¢m not burnt, Iââ¬â¢m only warm. Once she was standing unaided he bent and picked something up off the ground: her shawl, and then her cloak. He wrapped them round her, though at the moment she was so warm she did not want them. They were comforting, though, comforting in their familiarity. It hadnââ¬â¢t been frightening when she woke up, but now that he had released her the idea of having been held by Fire was terrifying. She touched her hair; it felt as it always did. She held her hands out in front of her where she could see them, and they looked just the same as usual. They were not black, and the tips of the fingers did not glow red. And he had learnt not to burn human flesh. He had only burnt her the once, when he had only recently left his Fire, when he was exhausted by a journey he was no longer fit to endure. It was only then that she noticed that it was still dark. Since they stood on open ground there was enough light to see by despite the cloud cover. She turned to look at him. His blackness was a silhouette against the grey sky; he seemed to grow out of the silhouettes of the broken stones of the pavilion. But she could see his red eyes, looking down at her. ââ¬Å"How did you find me?â⬠she said. He looked up, away from her. ââ¬Å"I often try to read the earthlines at night, when the world is quieter, and most human beings are asleep. This last week I have been walking ââ¬â with Pontyââ¬â¢s help ââ¬â the line that runs from the Ladywell to the crossroads by the golden beeches, but tonight I could not concentrate. Fire is very aware of heat and cold; I thought for a while that it was only dancing with the snow. Eventually it occurred to me that it would not ââ¬â not ââ¬â I donââ¬â¢t know how to explain ââ¬â at last I looked where it would draw my attention and saw one of my folk dying of cold on the pavilion hill. My Chalice. And so I came here.â⬠He looked at her again. ââ¬Å"You were notâ⬠¦you were not trying to destroy yourself, were you?â⬠ââ¬Å"Oh, no,â⬠she said, appalled. ââ¬Å"No. Absolutely not.â⬠Was I? Would I rather die than marry Horuld? A tiny thought added plaintively, Who would take care of my bees? If I died, or if I married Horuld? she thought back at it, but there was no response. He let out his breath in a long sigh that crackled like fire. ââ¬Å"I thought, perhapsâ⬠¦being Chalice to such a one as Iâ⬠¦might be too great a strain.â⬠ââ¬Å"Gods of the earthlines,â⬠she burst out, ââ¬Å"no.â⬠She thought, And how would a Chalice who cannot bear her Masterââ¬â¢s Fire choose to kill herself? Very possibly by freezing. He was silent for a moment and then said, ââ¬Å"I have also thought, lately, that perhaps, it would be as well if Iâ⬠¦removed myself. Ceded the Mastership to Horuld, presumably, as he has been chosen by the Overlord.â⬠ââ¬Å"No,â⬠she said again, but he did not seem to hear her this time, and there was a lump in her throat so large she could not immediately say it again. She put her hands to her throat as if to squeeze the lump away and let her speak. ââ¬Å"No ââ¬â think of the hardship ââ¬â even the annihilation ââ¬â of any demesne when the bloodline is broken and another family must establish itself.â⬠ââ¬Å"That is only when the bloodline is broken. I do not know if anyone has ceded a Mastership before. My thought is that if the old Master can create a way for the new, there may be little disturbance. Less, perhaps, than the disturbance caused by a priest of Fire trying to become Master of a demesne, even if he is of the old bloodline.â⬠ââ¬Å"What disturbance has been so great that you must think this way?â⬠she cried. ââ¬Å"Do you know ââ¬â do you not know ââ¬â that the demesne has been in trouble for years? Perhaps no one will tell you ââ¬â very well, I am your Chalice, I will tell you ââ¬â your brother had been trying his best to shatter Willowlands upon the rock of his egotism. He grew much worse after you left ââ¬â after he no longer had to pretend to explain himself to you. He could no longer be bothered even to listen to the earthlines, let alone walk them. He was fully absorbed in what he called his researches. I know very little about this, even now, because I was a small woodskeeper when your brother was Master, and such as I was only heard rumours, and since then Iâ⬠¦ ââ¬Å"But I can tell you what the small folk of the demesne experienced, the last years of your brotherââ¬â¢s Mastership. Mortar would not hold and walls fell down. Roof-trees cracked when they were sound and without woodworm. Saplings well-planted withered; seed put in the ground did not sprout. Sheep rarely had twins; cows were often barren. And every season there were fires. Brush fires, till the farmers who were accustomed to burning off their redberry moors no longer dared do so; chimney fires; lightning fires. The same year we in the east saved Cagââ¬â¢s barn, two lightning-struck houses in the north and the west burnt to the ground. But the heat of your brotherââ¬â¢s energies beat out from the pavilion, night after night after night, till they too caught fire and burned.â⬠He answered, ââ¬Å"Yes, I have wondered about that fire. You are right that most people ââ¬â even my Circle; even my Chalice ââ¬â do not speak to me willingly of what happened since I went to Fire. But I can read, as I find my way slowly through this land that is unexpectedly my demesne, that there had been much fire here in those seven years. As unusually much, perhaps, as there have been unusually many quiet old horses overturning their carts or their ploughs and running away ââ¬â although any horse may take fright and bolt ââ¬â or as unusually many Housefolk being turned away for breakages and carelessness, although there are always people who do not pay proper attention to what they are doing, or do not care. ââ¬Å"I have never known why my brother chose to send me to Fire, rather than Air or Earth. Perhaps Fire runs in our blood: I did think, in the heat of my own fury, that he chose Fire from his burning rage against me. But as the priests agreed to take me he must have been right about what there was in me that Fire could fix on, could yoke to itself; they would not have taken me merely because my brother wished to be rid of me. Perhaps ââ¬â perhaps we were born in the wrong order, and it was he who should have gone to Fire, where the fire that was in him could have been put to better purpose.â⬠Perhaps we were born in the wrong order was so like what she had often thought that she could not reply. Perhaps his brother would have been a good priest of Fire; but Willowlands had had to live with his being a bad Master. After a little he went on: ââ¬Å"The Circle will not speak to me of what happened in the seven years of my brotherââ¬â¢s Mastership, but they speak to me much ââ¬â if not very clearly ââ¬â about what has happened since I returned. They will not say it outright, but they would like to see the Overlordââ¬â¢s Heir as Master here.â⬠ââ¬Å"Not all of them,â⬠she flashed back at him. ââ¬Å"Not I. Not the Grand Seneschal.â⬠ââ¬Å"That is two against nine,â⬠he said gently. ââ¬Å"And the twelfth?â⬠she said. ââ¬Å"What of yourself? Would you truly say against yourself?â⬠She paused, and a dreadful thought occurred to her: ââ¬Å"Do you miss your Fire so much?â⬠ââ¬Å"Miss Fire,â⬠he said musingly. ââ¬Å"I donââ¬â¢t know. Isnââ¬â¢t that strange? Do you miss your woodskeeping?â⬠ââ¬Å"Yes,â⬠she said immediately. ââ¬Å"Especially ââ¬â â⬠She fell silent. ââ¬Å"Especially now?â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"Why were you asleep on Listening Hill on a night too cold for human flesh and blood?â⬠She jerked as if he had struck her when he said ââ¬Å"Listening Hill.â⬠He waited, but she made no answer. ââ¬Å"I do not think you would come here for the sake of recent ghosts,â⬠he said at last. ââ¬Å"And I remember it had an oracular name, when it was still called Listening Hill. What foretelling was worth the risk ââ¬â was so urgent it could not wait ââ¬â with the snow falling?â⬠How to cite Chalice Chapter 12, Essay examples
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