The Crow

The Crow is the third book in the Pellinor series. It follows Hem and Saliman to Turbansk and shows the start of the war with the Nameless One.

Back Cover Text
While Maerad journeys in the far north, her brother, Hem, is sent south to the golden city of Turbansk. There he learns the ways of the Bards and discovers a hidden gift when he rescues a white crow. But when the forces of the Dark threaten, Hem flees with his protector, Saliman, and a young orphan girl named Zelika to join the Light's resistance forces. Soon hem discovers that he, too, has a crucial role to play in the quest to solve the Riddle of the Treesong.

Part 1 - Turbansk
Summer crowds of apricots occlude the sky Small perfumed suns that fall onto the grass

Birds bicker in the branches and the branches shake And showers glaze the fruits, a dew of glass

And so they bruise and blacken to a cloying stench A feast for flies, although this too will pass

All sweetness gleams but briefly from the shade Such webs as weave our servings do not last

And even our corruption is a tiny thing A sour breath that faces into the past —From the Inwa of Loirca of Turbansk

Part 2 - Lamarsan
To admire beauty without envy is love: To lie in the darkened garden to hear the song Of the unseen nightingale is love: If you would hold a knife to your heart To spare another, that is love: To love is to give everything away for nothing, To open your house to the dark stranger: The world is a pit of fire and shadows, Those who love throw themselves into it wholly: Ah my heart, only you know best How love is the mortal flesh burning in darkness. —Murat of Turbansk, Library of Busk

Part 3 - Nal-ak-Burat
Before the shrine of Nyanar Eribu bowed his head And the Elidu spoke to him:

Go forth from this city Not in banishment but in hope. Go forth though your tears stain your face.

Now I will go forth from this city, Said Eribu. Not in banishment but in hope, Though tears stain my face. I fear I will never see again The light-filled palaces of Nal-Ak-Burat. I fear that I will never again stand In the Temple of Dreams. I fear I will never touch again My sons and my daughters.

And Nyanar said: I will not say Do not fear. Fear is the other face of hope. —Fragment from The Epic of Eribu, Library of Turbansk

Part 4 - Dén Raven
The river is dark and deep and wide The shore is far away And I must swim this heavy tide Every night and every day

The lights are warm that beckon me The shore is far away And I know where I'd rather be Every night and every day

The chains are heavy on my feet The shore is far away They give me dust and ash to eat Every night and every day

One day I'll see my dead ones there The shore is far away And then I'll rest from work and care Every night and every day —Dén Raven slave song, Library of Turbansk