Black and White

Black and White-An Expanded Ending to
A Wizard of Earthsea

Ged looked around. He was finally here. And at the same time, he was nowhere. This was nowhere. This was the place where dreams go to die.

He was here.

Ged looked up, although he might as well have looked up or down or right or left or any other direction. Direction and space had no meaning here. This was a place of darkness. The absolute, consuming darkness which could not be penetrated by any natural light. The darkness of the soul.

Ged peered through the abyss ahead of him, and saw nothing but half-glimpsed, murky shadows, twisted reflections of the world of the light. The void coiled and pulsed restlessly, as though eager to devourer his soul. But most unsettling of all was the sound, or rather, the lack thereof. You couldn’t even hear your own heart beating in this unholy place.

Obscene thoughts filled his head, as though he had relinquished control of his mind to the emptiness around him. Duny wouldn’t last two seconds here. Brushing that thought aside, Ged reminded himself of why he was here. But where could he find it? For all he knew, this could be just another trap, another pitfall in an endless chase. But he knew the Shadow was here. He could feel it. It was part of him.

The Shadow had only gained physical form after their minds had brushed against each other. If that hadn’t happened, the Shadow would have been just that: a shadow. A trick of the light. A vague shape in an unseen corner of the room. Impossible to catch.

Suddenly the full reality of the situation set in. He was the only living creature that had ever set foot in here. The dead were unsubstantial things, mere shades of their former glory. They only took on a physical structure when they stepped into the world of the living, as Elfarran had done when she was summoned by Ged. It seemed like an eternity ago. Eternity…

Ged turned around abruptly. He could swear something had been whispering in his ear.

Nobody here. And suddenly a multitude of questions flooded his mind. Where was Vetch? Was he still in the boat, or had he followed Ged into the land of the dead? Was he lost? Had the Shadow taken him? Ged cringed at the thought. But he was not here to engage in paranoid fantasy. He was here to defeat the Shadow.

He didn’t have the slightest idea of how to do it; he only knew that he would. Instinct had lead him here. And instinct would get him out of here. But he couldn’t defeat the Shadow if he couldn’t find it. And then he realized; it knows where I am. He knew that it had to be close. And getting closer.

Ged could feel his pulse begin to quicken, and he focused all his attention on the indistinct surroundings. At the same time, he tried extremely hard not to be afraid. If there was one thing he had learned the hard way, it was that the Shadow fed on fear.

Ged closed his eyes and listened. He could just make out the sound of something so quiet it was almost inaudible. It seemed to come from every direction at the same time. It was the exact same whisper he had heard before, whenever it was near. There was no language in its speech, but all the same, Ged understood every word. It was a tongue that spoke to the to the deepest, darkest part of the soul. It spoke of dead gods, lost races, entire civilizations that had existed back in the primordial days of the universe. All of this seemed familiar to Ged, although he didn’t know how or why. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn’t. He was under the Shadow’s spell.

When Ged was very young he had a recurring nightmare where he was all alone; his hometown was in ruins, and there was nowhere to go. He felt the exact same sting of desperation as he stood here powerlessly, awaiting the inevitable.

Ged felt his courage melt as he was overwhelmed by terror. He had no idea what to do. All he could think of was how the Shadow was going to possess him, devour him mind, body and soul.

Slowly, he regained his composure. Little by little he forced his eyes open. He had been so terrified he hadn’t even noticed how much colder the area around him was now. It wouldn’t be long now…Ged needed a plan. Now.

“Hunt the Shadow”. Sage advice, but not very helpful right now. Ordinarily, Ged would have thought of something by now, but this place was rapidly dulling his mind.

He had to break free. He knew it was almost over. In a few moments, either he or the Shadow would be gone. “Or maybe both”, an inner voice said.

And then he felt its touch. Ged opened his eyes fully and turned around, jarred to action by numbness inside of him. In the vague, wavering image of the shadow, he could see all his deepest fears, his secret desires- and for one clear moment, his true name, Ged. It was like looking into a mirror. Ged raised his hand. In pantomime, the Shadow raised its hand too. Their palms met. And then, in one voice, “Ged”. There was a blinding flash of light that burned away the darkness. Ged fell to his knees, glad to be whole, as the waves washed over him.