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lled towards sabriel； then curled up and went to sleep。
touchstone watched the rings roll through the dust； silver flashing in the moonlight。 they hit sabriel’s side； but she didn’t pick them up。 both her hands still clutched ranna； but it was silent； resting below her breasts。 her sword loomed above her； blade and hilt casting the moonshadow of a cross upon her face。
something from his childhood memory flashed through touchstone’s mind。 a voice； a messenger’s voice； speaking to his mother。
“highness； we bring sorrowful tidings。 the abhorsen is dead。”
epilogue death seemed colder than ever before； sabriel thought； and wondered why； till she realized she was still lying down。
in the water； being carried along by the current。
for a moment； she started to struggle； then she relaxed。
“everyone and everything has a time to die 。 。 。”
she whispered。 the living world and its cares seemed far away。 touchstone lived； and that made her glad； inasmuch as she could feel anything。
kerrigor was defeated； imprisoned if not made truly dead。 her work was done。 soon she would pass beyond the ninth gate； and rest forever 。 。 。
something grabbed her arms and legs； picked her up out of the water and set her down on her feet。
“this is not your time；” said a voice； a voice echoed by half a hundred others。
sabriel blinked； for there were many shining human shapes around her； hovering above the water。 more than she could count。 not dead spirits； but something else； like the mothersending called by the paper boat。 their shapes were vague； but instantly recognizable； for all wore the deep blue with the silver keys。 every one was an abhorsen。
“go back；” they chorused。 “go back。”
“i can’t；” sobbed sabriel。 “i’m dead！ i haven’t the strength 。 。 。”
“you are the last abhorsen；” the voices whispered； the shining shapes closing in。 “you cannot pass this way until there is another。 you do have the strength within you。 live； abhorsen； live 。 。 。”
suddenly； she did have the strength。 enough to crawl； wade and fall back up the river； and gingerly edge back into life； her shining escort dropping back at the very last。 one of them— perhaps her father—lightly touched her hand in the instant before she left the realm of death behind。
a face swam into view—touchstone’s； staring down at her。 sound hit her ears； distant； raucous bells that seemed out of place； till she realized they were ambulance bells； ambulances racing in from the town。 she could sense no dead at all； nor feel any great magic； free or charter。 but then； kerrigor was gone； and they were nearly forty miles from the wall 。 。 。
“live； sabriel； live；” touchstone was muttering； holding her icy hands； his own eyes so clouded with tears he hadn’t noticed hers opening。
sabriel smiled； then grimaced as the pain came back。 she looked from side to side； wondering how long it would take touchstone to realize。
the electric lights had e back on in parts of the hall； and soldiers were placing lanterns out again。 there were more survivors than she’d expected； tending to the wounded； propping up dangerous brickwork； even sweeping up the brick…dust and grave mold。
there were also many dead； and sabriel sighed as she let her senses roam。 colonel horyse； killed outside on the steps； magistrix greenwood； her innocent schoolfriend ellimere； six other girls； at least half the soldiers 。 。 。
her eyes wandered to closer regions； to the two sleeping cats； the two silver rings next to her on the floor。
“sabriel！”
touchstone had finally noticed。 sabriel turned her gaze back to him； and lifted her head cautiously。
he’d removed her sword； she saw； and several of her schoolfriends had cast a healing spell； good enough for the moment。 typically； touchstone had done nothing for his own leg。
“sabriel；” he said again。 “you’re alive！”
“yes；” said sabriel； with some surprise。 “i am。”
how i write： the process of creating a book garth nix offers some notes on his craft to the readers of the perfectbound e…book edition of sabriel this is a brief overview of how i go about writing a book； which may well be quite different from many other writers and different to the way you like to work yourself。 however； in amongst the cries of “how could he work like that！；” there may be some useful pieces of information to help you with your own writing。
to me； there are really four stages to writing a book； though they do overlap each other； swap places at times； or even take over for far longer than they should。 these stages are： thinking； planning； writing； and revising。 there is also a fifth stage； that runs concurrently with the above： staying motivated。
thinking most of my books seem to stem from a single image or thought that lodges in my brain and slowly grows into something that needs to be expressed。
that thought may be a “what if？” or perhaps just an image。 sabriel largely began from a photograph i saw of hadrian’s wall； which had a green lawn in front of it and snow on the hills behind it。 many other thoughts； conscious or otherwise； grew out； upon； and over that single image； both before and during the writing of the book。
typically i seem to think about a book for a year or so before i actually start writing。 in this thinking stage； i often write a few key points in my “ideas”
notebook。 at this stage； i merely put down bullet points or mnemonics that will remind me of what i was thinking。 this can be very useful later on； particularly if the gestation period for a book is several years。 titles are also handy to jot down。 the right title can be very useful as the seed from which the whole idea of the book can grow。
planning for all my longer works （i。e。； the novels）； i write chapter outlines so i can have the pleasure of departing from them later on。 actually； while i do always depart from them； writing a chapter outline is a great discipline for thinking out the story and it also provides a road map or central skeleton you can e back to if you get lost。 i often write the prologue or initial chapter first to get the impetus for the story going and then write the outline。
usually； i have to write a revised chapter outline two or three times in the course of writing the whole book； but once again it does focus the mind on where the story is going and where you want it to go。
writing short stories； articles； and items on my website i type straight into the puter （mostly a macintosh； though i also use a pc） in microsoft word。 however； i write the novels longhand first。
nowadays i use a waterman fountain pen （for shade’s children and lirael）； though i used felt…tips earlier。 i was interested to see that stephen king wrote one of his recent novels with a waterman fountain pen。 he reportedly found that this did influence the actual style of the book。
the advantages of writing longhand are several； at least for me。 first of all； i write in relatively small handbound notebooks which are much more transportable than any sort of puter； particularly since you can take them away for several weeks without having to consider power supplies； batteries； or printouts。 parts of sabriel； for example； were written on a trip through the middle east。 parts of shade’s children and lirael were written at the beach。
the other major advantage of writing longhand is that when i type up a chapter from my notebook； i rewrite as i type； so the first printout is actually a second draft。 sometimes i change it quite a lot； sometimes not so much； but it gives me a distinctive and separate stage where i can revise。
the first page of the first chapter of sabriel （as opposed to the prologue； which i wrote earlier； before i did my chapter outline） was actually writ… ten in a spiral…bound notebook； which i tore out and pasted into my preferred black and red notebook （ /” x /” or mm x mm “sewn memo book”）。
at the typing stage； i cleaned up the writing a bit and it had further minor revisions later； but in this case at least； it stayed much the same。 you can see the original manuscript page and pare it to the finished version on my website。
which brings me to revising。
revising as i said； when i type the