Glossary

 

A glossary of people, places & objects in Earthsea

Now showing all glossary items


Acastan Spells

Spells of unknown purpose, one of which is said to be made powerless by the Emanations of Fundaur (see Black Well of Fundaur). The spell was rewoven by Heleth and Ogion

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Accounting & mathematics

Also known as: Mathematics

In the Archipelago, business accounts are kept by book-keepers in ledgers in a counting room. Wooden tablets are used for reckoning by marketers. The peoples of the Kargad Lands are said to be 'expert mathematicians, using base twelve'a; they keep accounts 'in weavings of different colors and weights of yarn'a

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE (a)

'…she found her son in the counting room going through ledgers. She looked at the pages. Long, long lists of names and numbers, debts and credits, profits and losses.'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Accursed-sorcerers

See Dark Folk


Acre

Unit of area used in Earthsea; as with other imperial measures, presumably silently translated from the actual unit

Sources: Lorbanery, FS


Acting

While plays and the theatre are not directly mentioned, Tenar likens herself to 'an actor enjoying her role'a, suggesting that acting is recognised in the Archipelago and/or the Kargad Lands. Acting may form part of a chanter's performing songs or a teller's telling tales, or may be a separate discipline. Street shows of an unspecified nature are mentioned in Havnor City

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW (a)


Agnen

Also known as: Rune of Ending

The rune of Ending, which closes roads and is drawn on coffin lids; probably one of the True Runes. Also the constellation of Ending of the South Reach, which includes the yellow star Gobardon

Sources: The Dry Land, FS; Winter, T

'…with his staff he drew in lines of fire across the gate of rocks a figure: the rune Agnen, the Rune of Ending, which closes roads and is drawn on coffin lids.'

[The Dry Land, FS]

Related entries: Runes


Aihal

See Ogion


Aimal

See Aiman


Aiman

Also known as: Aimal

Of the House of Morred, he married Queen Heru; their child was Maharion. Gave Heru the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, heirloom of his house, as a marriage gift

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Akambar

Titles: King of Earthsea

Ancient King of All the Isles, from Shelieth on Way. He moved the court from Berila on Enlad to Havnor City in around the year 150, and drove the Kargs into the east

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; The Finder, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Akaren

Eldest of the family of dyers on Lorbanery, mother of Sopli. An old grey-haired woman, with reddened eyes, ragged clothes, a dirty wrinkled face and muscular thin arms stained with dyes, she is driven mad by the loss of her powers so that she shouts her true name aloud; Ged renames her

'"She was a woman of power … no mere witch or potion-maker, but a woman of art and skill, using her craft for the making of the beautiful, a proud woman, and honourable. That was her life. And it is wasted."'

[Lorbanery, FS]


Albatross

Fifteen-year-old girl, one of the Children of the Open Sea (raft people), described as pretty; married to Bluecrab

Sources: The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Alchemy

Magical transmutation of materials, usually into gold; apparently practised at the School of Wizardry on Roke, but no details are given

Sources: Orm Embar, FS


Alder

Also known as: Hara

Mender from Elini on the island of Taon; son of the witch Blackberry and an unknown father. Thin and slight, dressed in rusty black, with long hair loosely gathered at the nape, he's described as shy. He married Lily when he was around thirty and, after her death in childbirth, is troubled by persistent dreams of the dead. Seeking their meaning, he travels to Roke, Gont and Havnor

'Alder was a mender. He could rejoin. He could make whole. A broken tool, a knife blade or an axle snapped, a pottery bowl shattered: he could bring the fragments back together without joint or seam or weakness.'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Alder of Semel

Cattleman in Purewells village near Oraby on the High Marsh of the island of Semel; relatively wealthy but tight-fisted. With his wife Tawny, he has several children

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Ale

See Beer


Alembic

See Retort


Allage

Inland village or town lying near an unnamed river in the southwest of Gont; upriver from Essary

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Allernots

Also known as: The Allernots

A group of three islets in the eastern North Reach, north of Ferrins and south of Komokome and Sort


Amia

River in the Western domain of Havnor island; it runs by Glade

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Ammaud

Male dragon, brother of Orm Irian; referred to by Lebannen as a chief among dragons

'…the dragon hovered, its long wings beating quick and short like a hovering hawk's. But these wings were fifty feet from tip to tip, and as they beat they made a sound like kettledrums or rattles of brass. As she came closer to it, a little curl of fire escaped from the dragon's long, long-toothed, open mouth.'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Amrun

Town in the South Reach with a market where slaves are sold

Sources: Magelight, FS


Amulets

See Talismans


Andanden

Also known as: Mount Andanden

Huge silent volcano with a broken cone on the island of Semel; land around it is black lava. Said to be 'a most sacred place to the dragons, where they came to drink fire from the earth in ancient days.'a

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE; Palaces, OW (a)


Andaur

A woodcutter in the Gontish tale, the story of Andaur and Avad, who cut down a great oak which cried out in a human voice

Sources: Finding Words, T


Andrad

Medium-sized, hilly northern island, near Orandrad and the Andrades; it lies north of Gont. Exports include fleecefell

Sources: The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Hort Town, FS

'So he had … gone on and on, east by south, the hills of Oranéa faint to his right and the hills of Andrad fainter to his left, and before him only the sea…'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Andrades

Group of small northern islands lying north of Andrad and south of the easterly islands of the North Reach; possibly also used to encompass the entire group, including Andrad and Orandrad. Exports include fine wine, fleecefell, and probably furs and ivories

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Mice, T; Dragonfly, TfE


Anieb

Also known as: Flag

In the Dark Years, bald emaciated female slave in the roaster tower of the Samory mines on Havnor. Comes from Woodedge village on Mount Onn; her mother is Ayo and her aunt Mead. She has a powerful but untrained gift of magery, linked with the Old Powers of the earth. Escapes with Medra, but soon dies of quicksilver poisoning. Judging from her relatives, before her enslavement, she was probably 'a short, slight, quick woman, with a round face and clear eyes, and a mass of dark hair, not straight like most people's hair, but curly, frizzy'a

Sources: The Finder, TfE (a)

'…thinking by his height he was a child, and then saw the small breasts. It was a woman. She was bald. Her joints were swollen knobs in her bone-thin limbs. … her thin body greyish and dark like the stones. Her chin and breasts were shiny with the spittle that ran from her mouth.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Animals

Much of the wildlife mentioned is familiar. Animal species common to our world and Earthsea include goats, sheep, mountain sheep, cattle, oxen, horses, donkeys, mules, pigs, cats, dogs, mice, woodmice, field mice, voles, rats, moles, rabbits, hares, squirrels, polecats, ferrets, deer, boars, bears, polar bears (called icebear), lions, tigers, foxes, badgers, lions, bats, grey whales, whales, dolphins, spotted seals, otters, toads, frogs, lizards, tortoises, snakes, adders, vipers, chickens, sparrows, finches, pigeons, doves, ravens, crows, carrion crows, jays, swallows, larks, hawks, goshawks, sparrowhawks, marsh hawks, kestrels, ospreys, eagles, grey eagles, falcons, pilgrim falcons, vultures, owls, swans, ducks, gulls, murres, black-headed terns, sandpipers, sea-geese, (wild) geese, albatross, pelicans, petrels, herons, cranes, octopi, sharks, herrings, sea bass, haddock, pannies, eels, minnows, carp, trout, crabs, mussels, oysters, clams, barnacles, snails, anemones, spiders, scorpions, mites, weevils, wasps, bumblebees, bees, hornets, butterflies, dragonflies, mayflies, flies, moths, cicadas, crickets, ants, gnats, midges, fleas, silkworms, tent caterpillars, maggots and worms. Ivory is mentioned, but it's unclear whether it derives from elephants or some other tusked animal.

Species unique to Earthsea include harrekki (tiny dragon), otak (small mammal), pellawi (furred mammal, see pellawi-fur), enderfalcon of Roke (fishing hawk), turbies (oily fish), and, of course, dragons.

Obviously, the geographical distribution of the various species differ, with some being confined to particular islands or regions. For example, pellawis seem to be limited to the northern islands, otaks are only found on four islands including Roke, harrekki are found on Iffish but not other islands, while horses are rare except on Havnor, Semel and Way. Selidor lacks animal and bird life


Anthil

The last female descendant of the House of Hupun, stranded as a baby on a sand bar near Karego-At (later called Springwater Isle) on the orders of the father of the Godking reigning during The Tombs of Atuan. She gave the half Ring of Erreth-Akbe to Ged. Her brother is Ensar

Sources: Hunting, WoE; Voyage, ToA


Aol

Also known as: Forest of Aol

Forest of the island of Enlad. According to 'The Masters of Roke', in the east, though it's shown in the west in the map from Tales from Earthsea

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS


Apple

Also known as: Hayohe

Young woman married to a merchant in Valmouth in the Middle Valley on Gont; daughter of Tenar and Flint; sister of Spark. As a baby she's plump and healthy, with wispy hair; as an adult, she's buxom with grey eyes; described as kind. At the time of The Other Wind, she has several children, the eldest of which is a daughter, Pippin

Sources: A Bad Thing, T; Bettering, T; Home, T; Dolphin, OW


Apprenticeship

See Education


Apso

Islet in the western East Reach, near Kopp and Rolameny


Ar

Also known as: River Ar

River on the island of Gont, arising near Ten Alders and flowing down the Northward Vale. Its mouth is called Armouth; several towns lie along its length, including Medu, Lotin, Chodur and Toss

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Frontispiece map, T

'…the pools of the River Ar that like all Gontish rivers ran very quick and cold…'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]


Arcana of the Enlades

One of two lore-books belonging to Heleth and later Ogion; the other is the Glosses of Danemer. Heleth is said to have got his lore-books from Ennas of Perregal. One of these books contains the spell of summoning of the spirits of the dead which Ged later uses with disasterous consequences

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Bones of the Earth, TfE

'These books were very ancient, Ogion having them from his own master Heleth Farseer, and Heleth from his master the Mage of Perregal, and so back into the times of myth. Small and strange was the writing, overwritten and interlined by many hands, and all those hands were dust now.'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Archery

Archery is used for military purposes in the Archipelago; archers defend the New Palace in Havnor City and the Armed Cliffs of Gont Port, and a band of archers on the king's warships are suggested for combating dragons. However, the arrows used by villagers from Ten Alders on Gont to fight off a Kargish raiding party in around 1012 are said to come from hunting bows. Lebannen mentions archery among his courtly accomplishments as a youth in Enlad, whether for military or hunting purposes is not stated. Ogion is mentioned making a longbow on Gont, presumably for shooting game. Warriors of the Kargad Lands are not described as carrying bows

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS; The Dolphin, T; The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: Weapons


Archipelago

Also known as: Western Isles, Hardic lands

All islands of Earthsea outside the eastern Kargad Lands; sometimes the four Reaches are also excluded

'"…there are many islands. Four times forty, they say, in the Archipelago alone, and then there are the Reaches; no man has ever sailed all the Reaches, nor counted all the lands. And each is different from the others."'

[The Great Treasure, ToA]


Archmage

Titles: Warden of Roke

The head of the School of Wizardry on Roke, and the most powerful mage in the Archipelago, as well as exerting considerable political influence. Chosen by the nine Masters of Roke on the death of the former holder. The first archmage was Halkel of Way in 730, some eighty years after the founding of the school; subsequent ones include Nemmerle, Gensher of Way and Ged. No new archmage is chosen after Ged loses his power and the kingship is revived

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'Their master, the warden of Roke, the Archmage, is held to be accountable to no man at all, except the King of All the Isles: and that only by an act of fealty, by heart's gift, for not even a king could constrain so great a mage to serve the common law, if his will were otherwise. Yet even in the kingless centuries the Archmages of Roke kept fealty and served that common law.'

[The Masters of Roke, FS]


Ard

Witch or sorcereress of Gont who taught Heleth; herself taught on Perregal by Ennas of Perregal

'…his old witch-teacher with her bitter mouth and her long, lean arms…'

[The Bones of the Earth, TfE]


Arha

See Tenar


Arhada

Also known as: Trees of the Grove

Trees found only in the Immanent Grove on Roke, particularly near its centre. Tall, long-lived, with brown trunks and oval leaves with a hint of gold, they're described as akin to oak or chestnut, with leaves like aspen or poplar. Arhada is Old Speech; they have no name in Hardic

Sources: Rejoining, OW

'"Their leaves don't all turn in autumn, but some at every season, so the foliage is always green with a gold light in it. Even on a dark day those trees seem to hold some sunlight. And in the night, it's never quite dark under them. There's a kind of glimmer in the leaves, like moonlight or starlight. … As you go deeper in, it's more and more only the trees of the Grove. And the roots of those go down deeper than the island. Some are huge trees, some slender, but you don't see many fallen, nor many saplings. They live a long, long time."'

[Rejoining, OW]


Ark

Small island in the Inmost Sea, adjacent to Ilien and part of that principality; described as rich with many cities, including Sesesry on the east coast. Ruled by the Lord of Ark

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS; On the High Marsh, TfE

'…the two fair islands Ark and Ilien, towered and terraced with cities…'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Armed Cliffs

Also known as: Gates of the Port

Steep cliffed headlands on either side of a narrow channel at the mouth of the long narrow bay on which Gont Port stands; only 100 feet apart at the narrowest point. Bowmen are positioned in forts high on the cliffs. Ogion holds them apart when they are threatened by earthquake ten years before 'The Shadow' [WoE]

Sources: The Dolphin, T; The Bones of the Earth, TfE

'The ship was passing between the Armed Cliffs, towering grim walls that seemed to lean above the sails. Bowmen on guard in little forts like mud-swallows' nests high on the cliffs looked down at them on deck…'

[The Dolphin, T]


Armour

Archipelagan armour of the period of Maharion was of gilt bronze; little is known about later styles. The band of Kargish warriors who attack Ten Alders wear heavy defensive gear including bronze helmets and greaves, breast-plates of heavy leather and shields of wood and bronze. The Godking's soldiers are distinguished by red-plumed helmets. Court dress for Kargish warriors during the time of the High King is silver mesh armour interwoven with feathers, with plumed headdresses

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Selidor, FS; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW


Armouth

Coastal area at the mouth of the river Ar in Northward Vale in the east of Gont; in some sources, also a town or village. Hundreds of Kargish invaders were massacred on the beaches here in around 1012

'Farther down the Northward Vale those warriors got their fill of fighting. The towns of the East Forest, from Ovark to the coast, had gathered their men and sent them against the invaders of Gont. Band after band they came down from the hills, and that day and the next the Kargs were harried back down to the beaches above East Port, where they found their ships burnt; so they fought with their backs to the sea till every man of them was killed, and the sands of Armouth were brown with blood until the tide came in.'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]


Arren

See Lebannen


Arrendek

See Lebannen


Arrins

Small island in the southerly end of the West Reach, near Near Kaltuel and west of Ensmer


Arrow, the

See Heart of the Swan


Art

See Decorative arts


Art magic

The greatest arts of magic: changing, naming, summoning and patterning. A subset of the high arts, art magic was practised only by (male) wizards after Archmage Halkel's decree of 730

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Aspen

Also known as: Erisen

Young Roke-trained wizard employed by the Lord of Re Albi; he came to Re Albi three years before the events of Tehanu. Described as handsome and tall, he lives in the Re Albi mansion house and bears a silvery pinewood staff. A follower of the necromancer Cob, he uses Cob's arts to keep alive the old Lord of Re Albi, and is killed by Kalessin

Sources: Ogion, T; Finding Words, T; The Master, T; Tehanu, T

'She had thought him, on the morning of Ogion's death, to be a young man, a tall, handsome youth with a grey cloak and a silvery staff. He did not look as young as she had thought him, or he was young but somehow dried and withered.'

[Finding Words, T]


Astowell

Also known as: Lastland

Small seldom-visited isle, in the East Reach, near Kornay and Gosk; the most easterly of all the islands. Its single port lies in the north, on a creek mouth between rocky hills; its inhabitants live in wattle huts, facing north or west towards the rest of Earthsea. The people are wary and ignorant of much about the Archipelago beyond the East Reach; they have no wood and nothing to trade, use tools of stone or shell, weave coracles of reeds (which aren't strong enough to reach the neighbouring islands), and burn goat-dung and broom-faggots for fuel. Ruled by an Isle-Man or chief

'…an isle of pinnacled cliffs above which the sea-gulls wheeled in huge flocks whose mewing clamour could be heard from far over the sea.'

[The Open Sea, WoE]


Ath

Great mage-scholar of ancient times. Compiled the Book of Names and presumably invented the Pendulum of Ath. Lived at one time at Ath's House on the island of Pody, before going into the west via Pendor to fight the great dragon Orm, in which confrontation he died -- according to the legends of Paln, on the island of Ontuego

Sources: The Finder, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW

'"That---so we say on Paln---is the very question Ath asked Orm a thousand years ago, in the ruins of Ontuego. 'Can a dragon lie?' the mage asked. And Orm replied, 'No,' and then breathed on him, burning him to ashes… But are we to believe the story, since it was only Orm who could have told it?"'

[Dolphin, OW]


Ath's House

Old two-storey, stone house with a courtyard at the end of a lane in Telio on Pody, in which the mage Ath once stayed; originally a handsome house with high-ceilinged, elegant rooms, it was very dilapidated at the time of 'The Finder' [TfE]

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Atnini

Small island off Hur-at-Hur in the Kargad Lands. Ruled by the Godking from Karego-At until it is conquered by the Hur-at-Hur warlord Thol, around ten years after the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy

Sources: Palaces, OW


Atuan

Also known as: Holy Land

Island of the Kargad Lands, west of Karego-At; location of the Tombs of Atuan. Major cities are Tenacbah and Gar; other towns include Entat (and possibly Ossawa); other features include the Western Mountains and Cloud Cape. An island of contrasts: relatively fertile hill country lies in the north, and lowland plains with grassland, farms & pine forests lie on the west coast; however, the interior is desert, and barren plains are found in the east

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Western Mountains, ToA


Atwah

Titles: Twin God, God-Brother

One of the Twin Gods, Warrior Gods of the Kargad Lands; said to be sons of the Old Powers of the Earth. Brother of Wuluah

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; Rejoining, OW


Aurun

See Lips of Paor


Avad

Character in the Gontish tale, the story of Andaur and Avad, about a woodcutter, Andaur, who cut down a great oak which cried out in a human voice

Sources: Finding Words, T


Awabath

Titles: the Sacred City, the Holy City

City on Karego-At, fifty miles from Hupun. Originally the centre of the worship of the Twin Gods. After the rise of the Priest-Kings in around 440, capital of the Kargad Lands, and eventually seat of the Godking

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Palaces, OW


Ayeth

Also known as: Sunbright

Petty sorcerer who works as an animal curer on the island of Semel; comes from the south coast

'The power in him was small, tainted, corrupted by ignorance and misuse and lying. But the jealousy was in him like a stinging fire.'

[On the High Marsh, TfE]


Ayo

In the Dark Years, lives in Woodedge village on Havnor isle; one of the women of the Hand; a short woman with dark frizzy hair, she is described as a wise woman; very poor but generous. Mother of Anieb and sister of Mead

'Ayo and Mead were much alike, and Otter saw in them what Anieb might have been: a short, slight, quick woman, with a round face and clear eyes, and a mass of dark hair, not straight like most people's hair, but curly, frizzy.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Azver

Titles: Master Patterner, Azver the Patterner, Lord Patterner, Master of the Grove, Lord Azver

Master Patterner at the School of Wizardry on Roke during The Farthest Shore, 'Dragonfly' & The Other Wind; he comes from Karego-At (the only Karg ever to come to the School). Described as between thirty and forty in 'Dragonfly', tall and slight, with a hard face and 'pale reddish skin, long pale hair, and narrow eyes the colour of ice'a; he is quiet, smiles rarely, and is said to have a hint of fierceness. Ged describes him: '"He's not a gentle man, but he is to be trusted."'b His speech is said to be 'strange, stiff and somehow deformed … harsh, quick, dry, peaceable.'a His Kargish name means 'banner of war'; he learned his true name as an adult from the trees of the Immanent Grove. His wizard's staff is of willow

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS; Dragonfly, TfE (a); Mending of the Green Pitcher, OW (b)

'…the Master Patterner, who lived within the Grove and seldom or never came forth from it. His hair was yellow as butter; he was no Archipelagan. … Such had been the Master Patterner ten years ago, a sword-begirt, red-plumed young savage from Karego-At… a tall man and fair, with long fair hair, and strange green eyes…'

[The Rowan Tree, FS]


Back door

The main entrance to the Great House of Roke. The doorway is of solid ivory, cut from a tooth of the Great Dragon, said to be found on Mount Onn. The door is of polished horn, carved on the inside with the motif of the Thousand-leaved Tree. There is no grand entrance to the school, however: from the outside it appears as an ordinary small wooden door, opening straight from a narrow street near one corner of the outer wall of the Great House. The door is guarded by the Master Doorkeeper, one of the nine Masters of Roke, and it is said that no spell could open it if the Doorkeeper has closed it

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Dragonfly, TfE

'"…from inside you see that the door is entirely different---it's made out of horn, with a tree carved on it, and the frame is made out of a tooth, one tooth of a dragon that lived long, long before Erreth-Akbe, before Morred, before there were people on Earthsea. … They found the tooth on Mount Onn, in Havnor, at the center of the world. And the leaves of the tree are carved so thin that the light shines through them, but the door's so strong that if the Doorkeeper shuts it no spell could ever open it."'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Bagmen

See Weatherworkers


Bailiffs

Also known as: Bailies

Along with sea-sheriffs and officers of the peace, carry out law enforcement on Gont, reporting to the mayor of each district and to the village councils. They receive a wage derived from local taxes

Sources: Home, T; Winter, T; The Master, T


Balance, the

See Equilibrium


Balatran

See Roads of Balatran


Bar Oth

Young dragon killed by Keor, Prince of Enlad three hundred years before The Farthest Shore, the last dragon to be seen in Enlad. Its skin was preserved at Serilune on Enlad

'I saw the skin of Bar Oth. It is heavy as iron, and so large that if it were spread out it would cover all the marketplace of Serilune, they said. The teeth are as long as my forerarm. Yet they said Bar Oth was a young dragon, not full grown.'

[Hort Town, FS]

Related entries: Dragons


Barley gruel

See Gruel


Barnisk

Medium-sized island in the Gontish Sea to the north-east of Havnor, near Torheven and Oranéa

Sources: The Shadow, WoE


Bars of Uny

String of islets in the southeast of the Archipelago, lying north of Uny and east of O in the Closed Sea


Base crafts

Also known as: Witchcraft, Base spells

The lesser arts of magic, as defined by Archmage Halkel in 730, including finding, mending, dowsing and animal healing; as opposed to the high arts. Under Halkel's rules, all magic practised by women or witches was considered to be a base craft

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: Curer


Bath tub

Mentioned in a farmhouse on Semel; the water is heated using kettles and the tub filled by the fire, then put away when not needed. Oak Farm on Gont has a soaking tub used for laundry

Sources: Winter, T; On the High Marsh, TfE


Bay of Havnor

Also known as: Great Bay of Havnor, Havnor Bay

Huge calm bay in the south of Havnor Island, fed by the Onneva river and reached from the Ebavnor Straits via natural portals named the Gates of the Bay. The huge port of Havnor City lies at its north-east

Sources: Voyage, ToA; The Mending of the Green Pitcher, OW; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW

'…the bay that lies locked in the heart of Havnor…'

[Voyage, ToA]


Bay of Thwil

See Thwil Bay


Beards

Beards are said to be rare in the Archipelago. Examples include Seppel of Paln, who has a short, clipped beard; Nemmerle, who has a white beard as an old man; Hare in Hort Town; and fur-cloaked merchants at Gont Port. Blackbeard's beard is rare enough to give him his usename. Ged usually seems to be clean shaven, but acquires a sparse beard travelling on Atuan; prisoners there have tangled beards, though, as other Kargish men are not described as having facial hair, this may well be a sign of neglect

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; The Shadow, WoE; The School for Wizards, WoE; The Prisoners, ToA; Hort Town, FS; Dolphin, OW

Related entries: Hair styles


Beds and bedlinen

Also known as: Pallet, Cot, Bunk, Hammock

Modern-style beds with a frame, such as the sumptuous bed in the Court of the Terrenon with its canopy, silk sheets, satin coverlet and down mattresses, seem to be the preserve of the relatively prosperous. The court of Enlad has beds with soft furs as covers; the prosperous Oak Farm on Gont has a bed with an oak frame with feather coverlets and sheepskins. Most country people, however, sleep on straw pallets: straw-filled mattresses resting directly on the ground, also called pallet-beds. A heavy canvas mattress cover is mentioned on Gont. A cot of rushes is mentioned for a baby in a small village on Atuan, and Duny's bed at Ten Alders is also termed a cot, which in this instance probably just means a child's bed. A whale-gut hammock is used in a fisherman's hut on Gont. Narrow bunks are mentioned in the cabins of the trading vessel, Sea Otter, and the Dolphin has bunks and hammocks.

Felt & goat's wool blankets, sheepskins, furs, feather coverlets and linen sheets are mentioned as bed coverings in the Archipelago. The market at Hort Town sells bedlinens of unspecified nature. Sheepskin rugs and fur blankets, apparently placed directly on the ground, are used at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. The Children of the Open Sea perhaps sleep on sealskin rugs

Sources: The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Hunting, WoE; The Eaten One, ToA; The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Masters of Roke, FS; Hort Town, FS; Kalessin, T; Winter, T; Dolphin, OW

'…he was in a bed, but no such bed as he had ever slept in. It was set upon a frame held by four tall carven legs and the mattresses were great silk sacks of down … and over it all a crimson canopy hung to keep out drafts. On two sides the curtain was tied back … A coverlet of downfilled satin slid aside as Ged sat up…'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Beech

Sorcerer of Valmouth on Gont; in his forties, mild-looking and tending to fat. Described as shrewd, modest, kind and sensitive, with a diffident manner. A pupil of a pupil of Ogion's

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Home, T

'…a smooth-skinned, mild-looking man in his forties, tending a little to fat, with dark half-circles under his eyes that belied the blandness of his face…'

[Home, T]


Beech Springs

Inland village or town in the southeast of Gont, presumably the location of a spring; near Ovark, Wiss and Down Wiss

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Beer

Also known as: Ale, sour beer, brown ale

Beer is commonly served in inns and taverns in the Archipelago and the Reaches, being served by the pint. Beer is the normal drink served at feasts and parties. Sour beer is served to the Masters of Roke with breakfast

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; On the High Marsh, TfE

Related entries: Beverages, alcoholic


Beggary

Beggary is said to be uncommon in the Archipelago during the main period of the Earthsea cycle, though the existence of itinerant beggars is mentioned, eg on Gont and Semel. Wandering wizards own few possessions and often beg for food and shelter, though this seems to be closer to an informal trade of services for hospitality; other itinerant professions may operate in a similar fashion. Beggars, sometimes violent, become common on Gont during the few years of unrest immediately preceding the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy; they were also common on Havnor, and probably elsewhere, during the Dark Years

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Western Mountains, ToA; Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; The Finder, TfE; On the High Marsh, TfE


Beltow

Titles: Goody Beltow

Woman of Sattins island in the East Reach; owns a ginger cat

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Benderesk

Titles: Lord of the Terrenon, Lord of the Stone

Lord of the land from Keksemt Moors to the Mountains of Os on Osskil and Keeper of the Stone of Terrenon. Married to Lady Serret

'Thrice her age, bone-white, bone-thin, with clouded eyes…'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Bereswek

Medium-sized island in the North Reach, near Udrath and N&S Enwas; the inhabitants are white skinned

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Berila

Also known as: City of Ivory

Capital of Enlad in the west of the island, described as being 'white above its bay'a (the Bay of Berila), with golden roofs and 'bright, cool streets'b. It has a marketplace where cattle and sheep are sold. Historically, Berila was the seat of the monarchy from before the time of Morred until Akambar moved the court to Havnor City

Sources: Hunted, WoE (a); Hort Town, FS (b)

Related entries: King of All the Isles


Berry of Havnor

Elderly servant at the court on Havnor; described as intelligent and competent, and apparently sympathetic. She comes from a village in inland Havnor

'Berry was an intelligent, competent woman, born in a village in inland Havnor…'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Berry of Semel

Dairy farmer living on the High Marsh on the island of Semel; brother of Emer; a drunkard. Described as 'a nobbly, dried-up man'a with dull eyes

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE (a)

'"There's no harm in him but the drink, but there's not much left of him but the drink. It's eaten up most of his mind, and most of what we have."'

[On the High Marsh, TfE]


Beryl

Roke-trained wizard on Ea, serving the Prince of Éa and Lord of Taon

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Besu

Islet off the west coast of Havnor island in the Pelnish Sea, near Bishi; its port town may be Esen


Beverages, alcoholic

Beer is commonly served in the Archipelago and the Reaches. Wine is widely drunk both by country folk and by noblemen. No stronger alcoholic beverages are mentioned; perhaps distillation has not been invented in Earthsea


Beverages, non-alcoholic

Water, goat's or cow's milk, warm barley or oatmeal gruel, and rushwash tea and other herbal teas are the only non-alcoholic beverages mentioned


Biddy

Animal belonging to Moss, possibly a hen

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Big House

House in the Place of the Tombs on Atuan where the lesser priestesses and novices live. Stone built, it contains a narrow refectory, long low-beamed dormitories, attic weaving room, workrooms, kitchens, cellars and store rooms, and a courtyard with water cisterns and a well. The cellar beneath the kitchens has a concealed spyhole to the Labyrinth

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Man Trap, ToA


Birch

Titles: Master of Iria of Westpool

Owner of the central, richest lands of the domain of Iria on the island of Way, comprising farms, orchards and vineyards. Married to niece of the Lord of Wayfirth; they have several daughters, including Rose of Westpool

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Birt

Young fisherman of Sattins island in the East Reach; a large, blue-eyed man, described as brave and inarticulate. Owns the fishing-sloop Queenie in which he leaves Sattins with his love, the schoolmistress Palani

'a large, brave, wordless young man'

[The Rule of Names, W12Q]


Birthmark

Many men and women with prominent birthmarks or other blemishes become witches or sorcerers being said to be 'marked for it'

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Bishi

Islet off the east coast of Semel, in the Pelnish Sea; near Ebishi and Besu


Black Mage

Historical mage; enemy of Nereger of Paln, who defeats him by learning his name from overhearing the conversation of dragons

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Black Ships

Fleet driven back by Morred, according to the Deed of the Young King; presumably that of the Enemy of Morred

Sources: Home, T; Winter, T


Black Well of Fundaur

Also known as: Fundaur, Black Well of

The capping of the Black Well of Fundaur is reckoned among Ged's famous deeds. Emanations from Fundaur are mentioned as making the Acastan Spells powerless. It may have been a site where the Old Powers were strong

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS; The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Blackbeard

Titles: Sealord of Pendor

Fairly young wizard and voyager; descendant of the Lords of Pendor. Described as handsome, he has a black beard and black eyes; though his manner is cheerful, he appears arrogant. His staff is oak. Killed by the dragon Yevaud on Sattins island while seeking the emerald Inalkil and other treasures of Pendor in the dragon's hoard

'the voyager was quite young, a handsome black-bearded fellow'

[The Rule of Names, W12Q]


Blackberry

Witch of Elini on the island of Taon, with a large wine-red birthmark; mother of Alder

'She had a birthmark, a red stain from the right eyebrow and ear clear down over her shoulder. Many women and men with such a blemish or difference about them become witches or sorcerers perforce, "marked for it", people say. Blackberry learned spells and could do the most ordinary kind of witchery; she had no real gift for it, but she had a way about her that was almost as good as the gift itself.'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Bluecrab

Seventeen-year-old youth of the Children of the Open Sea (raft people), tatooed with a blue crab on his back; married to the fifteen-year-old Albatross

'…he looked not more than twelve in height and build: a grave-faced fellow, with a blue crab tattooed all across his back.'

[The Children of the Open Sea, FS]


Boat-building

See Ship-building


Boatwright Street

Street in the old part of Havnor City, near the harbour and the shipyards, where lives a small community of people from Paln; has a tavern

'The houses were ancient, crowded close, with the bridges between roof and roof that gave Havnor Great Port a second, airy web of streets high above its paved ones./…[The roof] was joined to other roofs by a bridge on each side, so that there was a regular cross-roads and thoroughfare across it. Awnings were set up by the low parapets, and the breeze from the harbor cooled the shaded air.'

[Dolphin, OW]


Bog Lake

Lake near Re Albi in the south of Gont

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Bond Rune

Also known as: Lost Rune, King's Rune, (Lost) Rune of the Kings, Rune of Peace, Sign of Peace

When the Ring of Erreth-Akbe was broken in two, one of the nine True Runes was on the fracture line, and that rune was destroyed. The Lost Rune is the Bond Rune, the rune that binds the lands, the sign of dominion and of peace, described by Lebannen as 'a mighty enchantment of blessing'a; no king could rule well without it. It is restored when Ged makes whole the Ring of Erreth-Akbe

Sources: The Ring of Erreth Akbe, ToA; Palaces, OW (a)


Book of Names

Ancient book compiled by the great mage, Ath; said to be the greatest of all lore-books, it brought together much scattered knowledge. Lost for centuries when Ath went west to fight the dragon Orm, it was recovered by Medra from Pody and taken to Roke in around 650, where it is housed in the Isolate Tower

'the foundation of the knowledge and method of Naming, which is the foundation of the magic of Roke.'

[The Finder, TfE]

Related entries: Books


Book of Runes

Also known as: Runebook

Runebook belonging to Ogion, and presumably earlier Heleth, who is said to have got his lore-books from Ennas of Perregal. Includes the Six Hundred Runes of Hardic. Given the importance of True Runes in the practice of wizardry, presumably similar books were owned by many wizards

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Mice, T

Related entries: Books


Book of Shaping

Lore-book of the art of changing, containing Spells of Shaping and of Change

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE

Related entries: Books


Book of the Dark

Account of the Dark Years after the death of Maharion, written around 600 years ago in Berila on Enlad

Sources: The Finder, TfE

Related entries: Books


Book of the Undertakings of the Makers

Book held in the Isolate Tower on Roke; presumably a history

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow; WoE

Related entries: Books


Books

Also known as: Lore-books, Runebooks, Scrolls

Books appear rare in the Archipelago and Reaches, largely being associated with magic. Books and scrolls are handwritten in ink on vellum/parchment or paper, using Hardic runes or (for lore-books) True Runes; no form of printing is mentioned. The School of Wizardry on Roke has a library called the Room of Shelves, housing books of lore and runebooks, and the Isolate Tower also has a collection of books of names. The Library of the Kings is a famous ancient library destroyed by the time of the Dark Years. The book-collector Crow amassed a large collection during the Dark Years, which forms the basis of the Roke School's libraries. Books are found in a prince's treasury in Havnor; one contains a description of the Tombs of Atuan. Ogion keeps a shelf of leather-bound books including a runebook and two ancient lorebooks passed down from his master, Heleth and before that from the mage Ennas of Perregal. Ged takes some lore-books from Roke to Low Torning. No Kargish books are mentioned; writing was outlawed in the Kargad Lands under the Godking.

Named books include magic texts, the Book of Names, Book of Shaping, Book of Runes, Glosses of Danemer and Arcana of the Enlades, and histories such as the Book of the Dark, Chronicles of Enlad, History of the Wise Heroes, Book of the Undertakings of the Makers and Matter of the Dragons. Books of information are also mentioned, including a bestiary dating from Akambar's time and a beast healer's manual

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA; The Finder, TfE; The Bones of the Earth, TfE; Palaces, OW


Bordger of Way

Historical wizard who took on bear shape so often he turned permanently into a bear and killed his own son, before being hunted and killed

Sources: The Hawk's Flight, WoE


Borilous Rocks

Rocks in the Inmost Sea, to the east of Roke, a danger to ships in poor visibility

Sources: The Shadow, WoE


Borth

Small island in the west of North Reach, north-west of Rogmy and south of Hogen Land. Osskili is probably the language spoken there

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Brand

Titles: Master Summoner, Brand the Summoner, Brand of Venway

The Master Summoner at the School of Wizardry on Roke during The Other Wind. A big, tall, broad, dark-skinned young man, often described as bear-like, with small, fiery eyes. He comes from the island of Venway in the East Reach, and was sent to Roke as a boy by Vetch. His staff is yew

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Dolphin, OW; Rejoining, OW

'…a big, deep-chested, dark-skinned man who held a heavy staff that matched his own height.'

[Rejoining, OW]


Bren

Dairy farmer of the High Marsh on the island of Semel, husband of Emer. He died of marsh fever two years before 'On the High Marsh'

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Bridgeman

Old man of the Middle Valley on Gont; owes money to Flint and Tenar, but is said to have nothing with which to pay it

Sources: The Master, T


Bronze-smith of Ten Alders

Bronze-smith of the small village of Ten Alders in the north-east of Gont island, said to be hardheaded, and 'a grim unspeaking man'a. Father of Ged (Duny) and six considerably older sons; he employs Ged as a smith's boy, but doesn't seem to have been an affectionate father. The Witch of Ten Alders is his dead wife's sister

Sources: Warriors of the Mist, WoE (a)

'[The Kargs] went up the Vale wrecking and looting, slaughtering cattle and men. … Duny's father the bronze-smith was one who stayed, for he would not leave his smelting-pit and forge where he had worked for fifty years. All that night he laboured beating up what ready metal he had there into spearpoints…'

[Warriors of the Mist, WoE]


Broom

Village sorcerer of Iria on the island of Way

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Brost

Great mage of historical times, remembered in a story on Gont

Sources: Bettering, T

Related entries: Children's tales


Brown Bucca

Brown hen, favourite of Heleth. The other chickens are named Red Bucca, Grey, Leggings, Candor, and the King

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Bucky

Young shepherd boy of Iria on the island of Way, described as grubby

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Building materials

Buildings in towns or cities in the central region of the Archipelago are typically constructed of dressed stone, with roofs of slate or red tile. Bricks are also commonly used, for example, in Pendor, Orrimy on Hosk, for the barracks of the Samory mines on Havnor and a mixture of brick and stone for stables on Way. Rural huts are usually constructed from wood, with thatched rooves. Elsewhere in Earthsea, other materials are used: plastered clay in Hort Town, hurbah-twigs for thatch in Lorbanery, wattle in Astowell, yellow clay bricks on Atuan, marble in the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil & Re Albi mansion house on Gont, plastered stone, cedar, red-veined marble & gilt in the Kargish temples on Atuan. The wealthy Havnor City boasts towers of white marble & alabaster, bridges faced in mosaic work, and roofs of tile and bronze; even the quays are marble

Related entries: Houses, town


Burning Bush

Nickname of whore in Oraby on the island of Semel

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Calendar

Several dating systems exist, the most widely used being the Archipelagan one in which the year Morred ascended the throne was termed year 1. In this dating system, the date when Lebannen is crowned is approximately 1050. A lunar-based calendar appears to be followed. Months are named in English, presumably silent translations of the Hardic names; in Kargish, they're often given numbers (eg the fifth month). No names for days are given

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: Time


Candor

Hen belonging to Heleth. The other chickens are named Red Bucca, Brown Bucca, Grey, Leggings, and the King

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Caps

See Headgear


Carding

Carding using carding combs is mentioned on Gont, as part of the preparation of goats' wool for spinning

Sources: Finding Words, T


Cart, the

Constellation of the Archipelago

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Cat's cradles

A variety of cat's cradles are played on Gont; simple rhymes accompany the string manipulations

'Churn churn cherry all!
Burn burn bury all!
Come, dragon, come!'

[Kalessin, T]


Cave at Aurun

See Lips of Paor


Celibacy

Wizards and mages in modern times normally practise strict celibacy; this is perceived as a means of conserving their power. It is achieved with spells of chastity, which bind both the wizard and observers not to think of sexual matters. This was not always the case: as powerful a mage as Morred was married, with a child. The sorcerer Ivory uses seduction spells on women, and disparagingly refers to the practice of celibacy as turning wizards into eunuchs, castrating themselves with spells to be holy. Most witches and many sorcerers do not practise celibacy, and sometimes have families (though witches rarely marry). The priestesses at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan promise their virginity to the gods they serve

Sources: Hawks, T; Dragonfly, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'…"that's the power of 'em, dearie. You don't think! You can't! And nor do they, once they've set their spell. How could they? Given their power? It wouldn't do, would it, it wouldn't do. You don't get without you give as much. … it's an uneasy thing for a man not to be a man, no matter if he can call the sun down from the sky. And so they put it right out of mind, with their spells of binding. And truly so. Even in these bad times we've been having, with the spells going wrong and all, I haven't yet heard of a wizard breaking those spells, seeking to use his power for his body's lust. Even the worst would fear to."'

[Hawks, T]


Ceremonies of the darkness

Also known as: Dances of the dark of the moon

Ceremony of the dark of the moon at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; the One Priestess dances and sings in a drugged haze before the Empty Throne in the Hall of the Throne. One of the sacred dances involves throwing and catching a miniature sacrificial knife

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA; Dreams and Tales, ToA; Voyage, ToA

'Arha breathed in the drugging fumes of herbs burning in broad trays of bronze before the Throne, and danced, solitary in black. She danced for the unseen spirits of the dead and the unborn and as she danced the spirits crowded the air around her, following the turn and spin of her feet and the slow, sure gestures of her arms.'

'She had liked that dance; it was a wild one, with no music but the drumming of her own feet. She had used to cut her fingers, practising it, till she got the trick of catching the knife handle every time.'

[Dreams and Tales, ToA/Voyage, ToA]


Changer

See Master Changer


Changing

Transforming the true nature of matter or bodies, usually reversibly, by changing their name; uses Spells of Shaping and Great Spells of Change from the Book of Shaping. Some changes are irrevocable, for example, Heleth's transformation of himself into the earth. One of the high arts of magic, also considered a part of the art magic. Taught at the Roke School of Wizardry by the Master Changer, it is among the most perilous arts, especially when the change is applied to the wizard himself (shape-changing) who can become trapped in the assumed form

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Bones of the Earth, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'…the true Spells of Shaping. He explained how, if a thing is really to be changed into another thing, it must be re-named for as long as the spell lasts, and he told how this affects the names and natures of things surrounding the transformed thing.'

[The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE]


Chanter

See Master Chanter


Chanting

Knowledge of the oral lays, deeds and songs, as well as sung spells. Considered one of the high arts of magic, though witches traditionally teach the songs to children. Taught at the Roke School of Wizardry by the Master Chanter

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: Songs


Chants

See Songs


Charcoal stove

A little charcoal stove aboard Lookfar is used for heating wine and, presumably, for cooking food

Sources: Magelight, FS

Related entries: Fuel


Charms

See Talismans


Charts

See Maps


Chemish

Small elongated island in the eastern North Reach, near Komokome and Sort


Cherry

Resident of Middle Valley on Gont; owns an outhouse

Sources: Winter, T


Childhood name

Also known as: Child-name

Name given by the mother to a baby, sometimes retained as a use-name in adulthood. Examples are Duny, Arrendek

Related entries: Names


Child-name

See Childhood name


Children of Segoy

See Dragons


Children of the Open Sea

Also known as: Raft people, Raft-Folk

Dark-skinned people who dwell on great rafts made of logs in the Open Sea of the west. Their existence is only a legend to the Archipelagans, and they share very little of the lore of land-dwelling men. The rafts are made of square-cut logs, and have shelters and masts; the largest raft houses a temple called the House of the Great Ones. At the Roads of Balatran, in spring to midsummer, seventy rafts in a circle a mile across cluster together to form a floating town; at this time of the year, the Long Dance is held and people marry before the rafts separate for the rest of the year, following the grey whales (whom they worship as Great Ones). They only come to shore once a year in autumn, at the beaches of Emah on the Long Dune by Wellology, to cut wood and refit the rafts. They are very slender and only the height of children; some bear tatoos. They speak a heavily accented version of Hardic, are ruled by a chief, eat fish, swim like dolphins, measure time only in days and nights, practise polygamy (the chief has three wives), use whale ivory for tools, and sealskins and a fibre made from the nilgu seaweed for cloth and rope

'… stalk-thin and angular, great-eyed, like strange, dark herons or cranes. Their voices were thin, like birds' voices.'

[The Children of the Open Sea, FS]


Children's tales

Also known as: Tales, children's, Stories, children's

Stories told to children on Gont include variants of Earth fairy tales, featuring wicked witches, enchanted sleep and kisses from mage princes, or, as told in the story of Andaur and Avad, woodcutters and trees with human voices. A more distinctive Gontish fable tells of an ant taking a hair of the mage Brost, making the ants' nest glow in the dark to the eye of the wise. Another story on Gont tells of cat ghosts. Tales often begin with the phrase 'as long ago as forever, as far away as Selidor'a, the Archipelagan equivalent of 'once upon a time'. Stories are timed to the seasons; the cat ghost story is said to be a summer story, while the great stories, such as the Creation of Éa, Winter Carol & Deed of the Young King, are learned in winter

Sources: Kalessin, T; Bettering, T; Finding Words, T (a); Home, T

'"Come into the forest with me, dearie!" said the old witches in the tales told to the children of Gont. "Come with me and I'll show you such a pretty sight!" And then the witch shut the child in her oven and baked it brown and ate it, or dropped it into her well, where it hopped and croaked dismally for ever, or put it to sleep for a hundred years inside a great stone, till the King's Son should come, the Mage Prince, to shatter the stone with a word, wake the maiden with a kiss, and slay the wicked witch…'

[Kalessin, T]


Chips

Small poled boats, commonly used in the canals of Havnor City

Sources: Dolphin, OW

Related entries: Ships


Chodur

Inland village or town by the river Ar in the east of Gont; near Toss, Medu and Lotin

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Chronicles of Enlad

Book telling the history of Enlad

Related entries: Books


City of the Kings

See Hupun


Clearbrook

Elderly shepherd employed at Oak Farm in Middle Valley on Gont for over twenty years; he has arthritis. Married to Shandy; they live in a cottage round the hill from the farm

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Kalessin, T; Home, T; Winter, T; The Master, T


Closed Sea

Sea south and east of the isle of O containing small rich isles including the Bars of Uny which, in the Dark Years at least, did not trade with the islands of the Inmost Sea

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Clothing, men's

Typical male winter clothing consists of a linen or woollen shirt, leather or sheepskin tunic or jerkin, woollen leggings or trousers, laced sandals and a woollen cloak, sometimes described as belted. A farmhand is described as wearing a smock and leggings. Leather or sheepskin coats are commonly worn; leather jackets, jerkins, breeches and gaiters are mentioned. As footwear, laced shoes, leather boots and moccasins are also mentioned. Wealthier men's clothing includes a tunic, shirt and breeches, sometimes made of fine materials such as silk, cloth of silver or gold, and fur: 'a tunic of silk and cloth-of-silver like a lord. ... boots of glove-leather and a cloak lined with pellawi-fur'a; more sober garments including leather breeches and a linen shirt embroidered with gold thread are also mentioned. Merchants from the Inner Lands wear dark robes of heavy silk. Lebannen wears a gold-weighted state robe. Students at the School of Wizardry on Roke wear dark-grey woollen cloaks, with hoods, clasped with silver at the neck for those who had gained the sorcerer status, while the Archmage wears a white woollen hooded cloak. Wealthier people might have fur-lined or -trimmed cloaks. Andradean merchants typically wear red cloaks trimmed with pellawi-fur. Children in Ismay wear fur capes in the snow. In the Dark Years, a wizard on Havnor is described as wearing 'a long robe of Lorbanery silk, scarlet, embroidered in gold and black with runes and symbols, and a wide-brimmed, peak-crowned hat'b, which might have been typical garb for wizards at that time.

Manan, one of the eunuch Wardens of the Place of the Tombs on Atuan generally wears tatty black robes, though he wears a belted gown of white wool when participating in Arha's dedication ceremony. Court dress for Kargish warriors during the time of the High King is silver mesh armour interwoven with feathers, with plumed headdresses.

The chief of the Children of the Open Sea (raft people) wears only a loincloth, and Ged is once described as wearing a loincloth and makeshift turban of sailcloth aboard Lookfar. Slaves in the heat of the roaster tower of the Samory mines wear only a breechclout and moccasins

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE (a); Light under the Hill, ToA; Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Mice, T; Home, T; Winter, T; The Finder, TfE (b); Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW

'His clothes were those of any winter traveller or pilgrim, a short heavy cloak, a leather tunic, leggings of wool, laced sandals; there was a light pack on his back, a water bottle slung from it, a knife sheathed at his hip.'

[Light under the Hill, ToA]

Related entries: Headgear; Footwear


Clothing, women's

Peasant women in the Archipelago & the Kargad Lands commonly wear a skirt or trousers under a jacket or shift, with a shawl for warmth. Much peasant clothing appears to be homespun, coarse and undyed, described as 'plain as mud'a; however, dyes such as red madder are mentioned for finer wear. As a farmer on Gont, Tenar owns two dresses, worn over a shift. Irian wears a farm-woman's shift over trousers on Way. A full apron or white ruffled overdress of linen sheeting for best as well as an orange-brown apron for everyday use are mentioned for a child's wear on Gont; a shopkeeper in Gont Port wears a broad white apron; dairy farmer Emer also wears an apron on Semel. Typical peasant clothes on Atuan are described as 'a country-woman's brown skirt and jacket, and a large red woollen shawl.'b A Gontish fleecefell, 'a great cream and brown square, woven of the silky hair of the goats of the north-eastern isles'c is suggested for a woman's winter shawl. Goods sold in Hort Town include hats, hosiery, purses, shawls and woven belts. The only underwear mentioned is the shift.

Wealthy women wear dresses of embroidered silks; the dresses of ancient princesses in the Kargad Lands are described as 'soft white silks, embroidered with topaz and dark amethyst'd, and this seems very similar to the dress of princesses in present-day Havnor. Tehanu wears a silken shift and overskirt at the court at Havnor. Lady Serret of the Court of the Terrenon is dressed in white and silver. Trousers are not mentioned for wealthy women's wear in the Archipelago.

The priestesses at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan generally wear long-sleeved robes and hooded cloaks in rough homespun black wool, and sandals or bare feet; the One Priestess's garments also include a horsehair belt, a ring of keys and a small dagger. Arha wears a straight white shift with bare arms and legs during the ceremonies of dedication to the Nameless Ones. Well-born women of Hur-at-Hur in the Kargad Lands wear the feyag, an all-encompassing veil attached to a flat-brimmed hat or headdress; such veils don't seem to be worn elsewhere in the Kargad Empire. Underneath, Seserakh is described as wearing a long shirt and soft trousers

Sources: Light under the Hill, ToA (d); The Western Mountains, ToA (b); Hort Town, FS (c); Hawks, T (a)

'…her dress was of turquoise-coloured silk, bright and soft as the evening sky. It belled out full from her hips, and all the skirt was embroidered with thin silver threads and seed pearls and tiny crumbs of crystal, so that it glittered softly, like rain in April. … "It's like a gown I saw a princess wear once, at the Feast of Sunreturn in the New Palace in Havnor."'

[The Great Treasure, ToA]

Related entries: Headgear; Footwear; Dyeing


Cloud Cape

Rocky headland on the west coast of Atuan; it has cliffs above a sandy beach, a narrow cave 30 feet long just above the high water level, and a freshwater stream

Sources: Voyage, ToA


Cob

Also known as: Cob the necromancer, the spider mage
Titles: King of the Shadows, Lord of the Dark Place, King of the Dead, the Unmaker, Lord of the Two Lands, the Immortal One

Mage from Havnor who summoned the dead for money using the Lore of Paln. A tall, broad, long-armed man, old and white haired during Ged's lifetime but youthful in later appearance in The Farthest Shore. In an attempt to live for ever, he created a rift between the world of the dead and the living using the Pelnish Lore; he gains power over wizards, chanters and others by offering them a form of eternal life. Defeated and killed by Ged in the dry land

'"He was white-haired when I knew him, though still a quick, long-armed man, like a wrestler." '

'His hair was long and black, falling in a mass of glossy curls; he was broad-shouldered and tall, a strong, comely man.'

[Sea Dreams/Selidor, FS]


Colleges

Centres of learning termed colleges are located on Ea and the Enlades; described as old, they may date from the ancient monarchy. Whether they teach both men and women isn't stated. The Roke School of Wizardry also appears to have a similar function, though its learning is divulged only to men

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Colour

See Skin colour


Common tongue

See Hardic


Communication

Oral messages or written notes, carried by travellers or on ships, are used for communication over distances. Mention is made of a message bird, presumably carrying a written message. Wizards can communicate by sending, though sendings cannot cross water

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Rowan Tree, FS; Selidor, FS; The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: Writing


Compass

Also known as: Magnet

The Archipelagans appear to understand the force of magnetism, and to harness it to navigational purposes. Compasses are used as a navigational tool on boats and ships; the compass needle can also be made to point at will, using the magic of the Seamasters referred to as craft with iron. 'The force that draws the magnet'a is one of the forces dealt with by the art of summoning

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE (a)


Coney

Vineyarder of the Master of Iria on the island of Way

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Coracles, reed

See Ships


Corly-root

Corly-root smoke is used as a treatment for fever, though its efficacy appears doubtful

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE

Related entries: Healing; Herbal remedies


Cot

See Beds and bedlinen


Cottages

See Huts


Council of Roke

See Council of the Wise


Council of the Wise

Also known as: Council of Roke

Formal council of the nine Masters of Roke, for example, when they meet in the Immanent Grove to choose the new Archmage; at other times, the Archmage may be included in the number

Sources: The Dolphin, T


Council Room

Long dark-walled, low-beamed room in the Great House of Roke in which the Masters of Roke meet. It has a row of high, pointed windows under which a table is set, a stone hearth opposite, and is reached by a corridor whose walls are engraved with runes, some inlaid with silver

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; Dragonfly, TfE

'Arren followed him into a long, low-beamed room, where on one side a fire burned in a stone hearth, its flames reflecting in the oaken floor, and on the other side pointed windows let in the heavy light of a foggy morning.'

[The Masters of Roke, FS]


Court

After the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, Lebannen's court is established at the New Palace (also known as the Palace of Maharion) at Havnor City on Havnor. The court consists of various princes, princesses & nobles from all over the Archipelago, including Prince Sege (who functions as Lebannen's deputy), ladies-in-waiting/ladies of honour (eg Lady Opal), councillors of the King's Council and the wizard Onyx. It's serviced by a retinue including the king's guards, captains, lieutenants (eg Yenay) & other officers (including one whose duty is to precede the king crying "Way for the king!"), majordomos (eg Thoroughgood), officials, ushers, footmen, footboys, maids, servants (eg Oak, Berry of Havnor), gardeners, as well as musicians, singers and song writers.

In the Kargad Lands, the imperial court of, successively, the Priest-Kings, Godking & High King is at Awabath on Karego-At; before the rise of the Priest-Kings, it was at Hupun

'She did not mind the formalities of court life or the knowledge that under the civility simmered a stew of ambitions, rivalries, passions, complicities, collusions.'

[Palaces, OW]


Court of the Fountain

Central roofless court of the Great House of Roke. The first part of the Great House to be built, it forms its heart and is the home of the Archmage. Open to the sky, the little walled court contains a fountain, small central grass lawn, marble paving, and various trees including rowan, ash and elm

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Rowan Tree, FS; The Finder, TfE

'In the Court of the Fountain the sun of March shone through young leaves of ash and elm, and water leapt and fell through shadow and clear light. About that roofless court stood four high walls of stone. … the central place of the House is that small court far within the walls, where the fountain plays and the trees stand in rain or sun or starlight.'

[The Rowan Tree, FS]


Court of the Terrenon

Also known as: Terrenon, Court of the

Tall, stone tower-keep on a hilltop in the Keksemt Moors, home of Lord Benderesk and Lady Serret. The Stone of Terrenon is locked in an underground room

'…like a tall white tooth in the dusk…'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Craft with iron

Also known as: Iron, craft with

Magic which makes a compass needle point at will rather than to the north; a secret of the Seamasters

Sources: The Shadow, WoE


Crafty men

Early term for wizards, used during the Dark Years

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Creation

See Making


Creation of Éa

Also known as: Song of the Creation, Making

Oldest and most sacred poem or song, which recounts the creation of Earthsea by Segoy (the Making) in thirty-one stanzas and is sung every year at the Long Dance. At least two thousand years old in Hardic, and of unknown age in Old Speech, its language of composition. The foundation of education, it would be known by all adults in the Archipelago

'The making from the unmaking,
the ending from the beginning,
who shall know surely?
What we know is the doorway between them
that we enter departing.
Among all beings ever returning,
the eldest, the Doorkeeper, Segoy…

Then from the foam bright Éa broke.

Only in silence the word,
only in dark the light,
only in dying life:
bright the hawk's flight
on the empty sky.'

[A Description of Earthsea, TfE]

Related entries: Songs


Credit

Also known as: Money-lending

No general system of money-lending is mentioned. Taverns are said to offer credit to their customers. Farmwoman Emer offers Irioth lodging on the strength of a gold crown's surety. The Roke-trained sorcerer Ivory receives an advance payment on his wages from his employer. Credit counters are mentioned on Gont

Sources: The Master, T; On the High Marsh, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE


Crime

Crime appears relatively uncommon in the central Archipelago during the main period of the Earthsea cycle. Hort Town on Wathort and the Hosk interior are described as lawless. During the few years of unrest immediately preceding the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, theft, poaching and violent crime, largely perpetrated by gangs of men, become substantially more common on Gont, though the murder, assault and rape committed by the group of tramps to which Handy belongs is still considered exceptional

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Hunted, WoE; Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Winter, T


Crow

In the Dark Years, a wealthy book-collector of Orrimy on Hosk; apparently a bit of a snob, he 'could bargain for a book very shrewdly, but nattering with common women about buttons and thread was beneath him.'a Teacher of Medra, he settled in Thwil, becoming the first librarian (and possibly the first Master Namer) of the School of Wizardry on Roke. Described as tall and proud

Sources: The Finder, TfE (a)

'…a wealthy recluse, who had no gift of magic but a great passion for what was written, for books of lore and history. … Crow was a strange man, wilful, arrogant, obstinate, and, in defense of his passion, brave.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Crown of Morred

Crown used in the coronation of the King of All the Isles

Sources: Home, T


Curer

Sorcerer or witch who heals animals. Unlike healing humans, animal healing is considered one of the base crafts of magic, though the mage Ged is happy to earn his lodging by curing goats. Curers are often itinerant, using remedies, spells, salves and balms. Examples are Irioth, who cures cattle of murrain by laying on hands, and Ayeth

Sources: The Western Mountains, ToA; On the High Marsh, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'All those that came to him [Irioth] could cure. He laid his hands on them, on the stiff-haired, hot flanks and neck, and sent the healing into his hands with the words of power spoken over and over. After a while the beast would give a shake, or toss its head a bit, or step on. And he would drop his hands and stand there, drained and blank, for a while. Then there would be another one, big, curious, shyly bold, muddy-coated, with the sickness in it like a prickling, a tingling, a hotness in his hands, a dizziness. "Ellu," he would say, and walk to the beast and lay his hands upon it until they felt cool, as if a mountain stream ran through them.'

[On the High Marsh, TfE]

Related entries: Disease; Healing


Currency

Also known as: Money

Ivory pieces/counters are the main currency in much of the Archipelago, including Roke, Way, Havnor, Gont & Andrad; one design from Way is described as having the Otter of Shelieth on one face and the Rune of Peace on the other. In rural Gont, however, ivory pieces are used only for buying land or livestock, or dealing with city traders. Gold pieces appear to be the standard in the north, for example on Osskil & Enlad; a gold Enladian crownpiece is mentioned, of which it is said '"The whole village together couldn't change that!"'a Silver trade-counters are also mentioned. In rural areas, low-value copper pennies appear to be the usual currency; barter is also common. No form of banking is mentioned; Flint keeps his savings in a money-box on Gont.

Ged is paid ten ivory counters for his work on Low Torning and the same amount is advanced to Ivory for his work at Westpool; Lebannen pays four ivory pieces for a silver brooch in Thwil; Flint's lifetime savings from a prosperous farm on Gont amount to seven ivory pieces; Ged pays two trade-counters of silver for several days' lodging in Lorbanery; Irioth is (under)-paid six copper pennies for ten days' healing animals on Semel; Ged offers two coppers for accommodation on Semel

Sources: Mice, T; The Master, T; On the High Marsh, TfE (a); Dragonfly, TfE

Related entries: Trade; Credit


Cutnorth Cliff

Cliff on the Gont Port bay, just north of the city, near an unnamed village; a cove and beach lie below

'…the dark jagged bulk of Cutnorth Cliff, above which the snowy fields of the mountain rose up into cloud.'

[Hunting, WoE]


Dagger

Also known as: Knife

Daggers and knives are commonly carried as weapons throughout Earthsea. As a boy, Ged has a bronze knife given to him by his father. In Atuan, he carries a steel dagger with a jewelled hilt, sheathed at his hip, which he breaks trying to tunnel to water in the Labyrinth. Lebannen always wears a steel dagger in a sheath. Osskilian freemen wear a long knife at their hip. A pearl-hilted knife is mentioned in the Ninety Isles. Knives are also mentioned as weapons in Ten Alders and Re Albi (Gont), Hort Town (Wathort), Sosara (Lorbanery) and Astowell (made of shell).

One of the One Priestess's traditional accoutrements is a little steel dagger, a miniature of a sacrificial knife with a four-inch blade, worn attached to her ring of keys; it is thrown and caught in one of the dances of the Ceremonies of the darkness. Other uses for knives mentioned include chopping food, carving wood (eg Ogion at Re Albi, Murre on Iffish), pruning vines (Coney on Way) gelding animals (on Gont) and extracting maggots from sheep (Rose of Old Iria)

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Iffish, WoE; The Man Trap, ToA; Voyage, ToA; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW


Daisy of Gont

Blacksmith's wife, probably of Oak Village in Middle Valley on Gont; friend of Tenar

Sources: Winter, T


Daisy of Iria

Housekeeper of the Master of Iria on the island of Way

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Daisy of Oraby

Whore in Oraby on the island of Semel

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Dance

Dancing, often accompanied by music of drums, pipes, flutes and other instruments, appears to be important throughout Earthsea, with both religious and secular examples. The Long Dance in midsummer is one of the major religious festivals, celebrated widely throughout Earthsea (including by the Children of the Open Sea, though not in the Kargad Lands) with dancing all night long. Dancing on the village green to music provided by bands of itinerant musicians is a common entertainment at parties, such as Nameday celebrations. Courtly and country dancing are both practised in the court at Berila on Enlad. Several ceremonies associated with the worship of the Nameless Ones at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan involve dancing, such as the Ceremonies of the darkness. The existence of dancing girls in Awabath on Karego-At reveals that dancing also has secular applications in Kargad; King Thol is said to have been welcomed to Awabath with dancing in the streets

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; Dreams and Tales, ToA; The Masters of Roke, FS; Orm Embar, FS; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Dancers, the

Constellation of the Archipelago

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Dances of the dark of the moon

See Ceremonies of the darkness


Dark Folk

Also known as: Accursed-sorcerers

Kargish pejorative terms for the Hardic people of the Archipelago

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Dark land, the

See Dry land


Dark Ones

See Nameless Ones


Dark Pond

Small pond at the top of Semere's high pasture, on the slopes of Gont Mountain, a mile above Re Albi, where, according to the sorceress Ard, the mountain can be read

'It was small, half mud and reeds, with one vague, boggy path to the water, and no tracks on that but goat hoofs. The water was dark, though it lay out under the bright sky and far above the peat soils. … It was absolutely silent. / No wind. No birdcall. No distant lowing or bleating or call of voice. As if all the island had gone still. Not a fly buzzed. / He looked at the dark water. It reflected nothing.'

[The Bones of the Earth, TfE]


Dark Powers

See Old Powers


Dark Time

See Dark Years


Dark Woman

Powerful sorceress following the Old Powers, said once to live in a cave under Roke Knoll on Roke; her dark magic was said to be defeated when the first Archmage came to Roke. 'The Finder' states that this story was not founded in truth

'They say that Roke used to be ruled by a woman called the Dark Woman, who was in league with the Old Powers of the earth. They say she lived in a cave under Roke Knoll, never coming into the daylight, but weaving vast spells over land and sea that compelled men to her evil will …'

[The Finder, TfE]


Dark Years

Also known as: Dark Time

Chaotic time after the death of Maharion, when warlords ruled in the absence of an acknowledged King of All the Isles and unregulated wizardry caused plagues, famines and other ills. The best historical account of this time is found in the Book of the Dark

'"No commonwealth was left and no justice, only the will of the wealthy. Men of noble houses, merchants, and pirates, any who could hire soldiers and wizards called himself a lord, claiming lands and cities as his property. The warlords made those they conquered slaves, and those they hired were in truth slaves, having only their masters to safeguard them from rival warlords seizing the lands, and sea-pirates raiding the ports, and bands and hordes of lawless, miserable men dispossessed of their living, driven by hunger to raid and rob."'

[The Finder, TfE]


Darkrose

Also known as: Rose

Daughter of witch, Tangle, in Glade on Havnor island. A free spirit, described as both outspoken and timid, she brought up herself from a young age. Plays the fife, and becomes a wandering musician in Labby's band. Later marries Diamond, who is a year older than her; their child is called Tuly. Described as dark-skinned, with a vivid, fierce thin face, crinkly hair and a husky, dark-toned voice

'Rose was very dark-skinned, with a cloud of crinkled hair, a thin mouth, an intent, serious face. Her feet and legs and hands were bare and dirty, her skirt and jacket disreputable. Her dirty toes and fingers were delicate and elegant, and a necklace of amethysts gleamed under the torn, buttonless jacket.'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Death-related customs

Burial is used both in the Archipelago/Reaches and the Kargad Lands. In the Archipelago, a vigil is held over the body, with words recited, candles and burning of oils. Village witches usually prepare bodies for burial, termed homing; the corpse is laid on the left side, with the knees bent, and a charm bundle is placed in the left hand. The Agnen rune of Ending is inscribed on coffin lids. Family graveyards are mentioned on Gont, both for the farmer Flint and for the Lord of Re Albi; Ogion is buried alone by the Old Mage's House. Rites of Mourning are enacted in Atuan for the deaths of priestesses; the ceremonies of burial and purification for the One Priestess last one lunar month

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; Light under the Hill, ToA; The Dry Land, FS; A Bad Thing, T; Ogion, T

'…with Tenar and the others [Moss] had watched the night by Ogion's body. She had set a wax candle in a glass shade, there in the forest, and had burned sweet oils in a dish of clay; she had said the words that should be said, and done what should be done. …When she had laid out the corpse as it should lie to be buried, on the left side with the knees bent, she had put in the upturned left hand a tiny charm-bundle, something wrapped in soft goatskin and tied with coloured cord.'

[Ogion, T]


Decorative arts

Also known as: Art, Sculpture

Paintings are rarely mentioned in the Archipelago, but many other forms of decoration are described, including carving, engraving, mosaic and inlay work, tapestry and embroidery. A painted silk fan on Gont depicts figures in Havnor City on one side and dragons on the other, and may be related to legends of the Vedurnan. The inner face of the horn door of the School of Wizardry on Roke bears a carving of the Thousand-leaved Tree, and the same motif is carved in the walls and ceiling of the gallery of that school. Morred's High Seat is carved with a flying heron bearing a twig of rowan, and carved window screens are found in the New Palace of Havnor City. Carved bone figures, depicting people and animals, are described as Gontish toys; a carved dolphin in ivory or bone, perhaps from Havnor, is also mentioned. The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, a woman's arm ring said to be old at the time of Morred and Elfarran, is engraved with a wave-like pattern on the outside and nine True Runes on the inside. Coins bear designs, eg ivory counters from Way with the Otter of Shelieth on one face and the Rune of Peace on the reverse. In cities, doorways are often carved with statues, eg the landgate of Gont Port is carved with dragons, and in Hort Town a palace doorway is carved with giant figures described as 'statues whose necks were bowed under the weight of a pediment and whose knot-muscled bodies emerged only partly from the wall, as if they had tried to struggle out of stone into life and had failed partway.'a The prince's throne room in Berila on Enlad has a great decorative map in mosaic work on the north and west walls, possibly constructed in the days of the kings (800 years ago). The New Palace has a small table 'inlaid with curling patterns of ivory and silver, leaves and blossoms of the rowan tree twined about slender swords'b which illustrates Lebannen's true & use names. Tapestry hangings and embroidered seat coverings at the New Palace are mentioned, but no details of designs are stated; embroidery also decorates fine clothing for both sexes.

Ships' timbers are often carved in the shape of dragons or serpents, for example, the Shadow has a carving of the Old Serpent of Andrad. Eyes are painted on the prow of Lookfar. An Osskilian ship is described: 'her high bent prow carven and inlaid with disks of loto-shell, her oarport-covers painted red, with the rune Sifl sketched on each in black.'c

In the Kargad Lands, the murals in the Painted Room of the Labyrinth on Atuan depict 'bird-winged, flightless figures with eyes painted dull red and white'd, which may represent non-reincarnated spirits of Archipelagan people trapped in the sterile afterlife of the dry land; the date at which they were painted is unknown. Small painted ivory tables are mentioned as part of the treasure of the Hall of the Throne, depicting dancers in the Hall of the Throne; a carved chest of cedar wood there, said to be many hundreds of years old, depicts the One Priestess advising a King. Eight of the stones of the Tombs of Atuan bear 'vague carvings … -- shapes, signs'e. The silver key of the Treasury of the Tombs has a haft carved as a dragon. Anthil's dress is decorated with seed pearls in a design including the double arrow symbol of the Twin Gods and a crown.

The Children of the Open Sea (raft people) carve wood for idols and decorations to their temple; these include both abstract (eg complex square design above a doorway) and representational (eg doorjambs carved as grey whales sounding) designs. The descriptions of the idols 'dolphin bodies, gulls' wings folded, human faces with staring eyes of shell'f seem to resemble the pictures in the Painted Room of Atuan. Some adorn their bodies with tatoos

Sources: The Shadow; Hunted, WoE (c); The Wall around the Place (e); The Great Treasure, ToA (d); Hort Town (a); The Children of the Open Sea (f); Selidor, FS; Mice; Hawks; Finding Words; The Dolphin, T; Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces (b); The Dragon Council, OW


Deed of Enlad

Epic telling of the earliest kings and queens of Enlad, before Morred and of his first year on the throne. Partly historical, partly mythical

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'…the song tells how the mage Morred the White left Havnor in his oarless longship, and coming to the island of Soléa saw Elfarran in the orchards in the spring. … to the sorry end of their love, Morred's death, the ruin of Enlad, the sea-waves vast and bitter, whelming the orchards of Soléa.'

[The Open Sea, WoE]

Related entries: Songs; King of All the Isles


Deed of Erreth-Akbe

Lay recounting the deeds of the mage Erreth-Akbe, sung every year at the Long Dance. It tells of the building of the towers of Havnor City, and of Erreth-Akbe's travels from Ea throughout the Archipelago & the Reaches until he met the dragon Orm on Selidor, and of how the sword of Erreth-Akbe is set atop the highest tower of Havnor

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'O may I see the earth's bright hearth once more, the white towers of Havnor…'

[The Open Sea, WoE]

Related entries: Songs


Deed of Ged

Song telling of Ged's deeds, probably particularly his defeat of the necromancer Cob. According to this account, Ged attended the crowning of Lebannen and then sailed away in Lookfar never to be heard from again

Sources: The Stone of Pain, FS


Deed of Hode

Song, presumably recounting the deeds of Hode

'Daybreak makes all earth and sea, from shadow brings forth form, driving dream to the dark kingdom.'

[Hunted, WoE]

Related entries: Songs


Deed of Morred

See Deed of the Young King


Deed of the Dragonlords

Also known as: Deed of the Dragonlord

Epic recounting deeds of wizards in the time late during the reigns of the Havnorian kings when raids from dragons were a common danger

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Deed of the Young King

Also known as: Deed of Morred, Song of the Young King

Epic telling the story of the reign of Morred, sung annually at the Festival of Sunreturn; the same song is also known as the Deed of Morred. Recounts the love story of Morred & Elfarran, and tells of how Morred battled the Enemy of Morred and drove back the Black Ships

Sources: Home, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'If Elfarran be not my own, I will unsay Segoy's word,
I will unmake the islands, the white waves will whelm all.'

'Praised are the Fountains of Shelieth, the silver harp of the waters,
But blest in my name forever this stream that stanched my thirst!'

[A Description of Earthsea, TfE/Hort Town, FS]

Related entries: Songs


Denggemal

Titles: King of Earthsea

Ancient King of All the Isles of the House of Ilien, ruling at Havnor City; father of Heru and grandfather of Maharion

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Derhemen

Medium-sized island in the northerly West Reach, near Narveduen and Onon


Desi Port

Port town or village in the west of Gont

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Deyala

Titles: Master Herbal, Lord Healer

Master Herbal of the Roke School of Wizardry in Tales from Earthsea, The Other Wind and The Farthest Shore. A dark-skinned, dark-eyed man variously described as stocky, stolid and burly; by The Other Wind his hair is grey. He is said to be kind, and appears to be rather unassertive. His staff is of olive wood

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'a stocky, dark-skinned man with calm eyes … like a wise and patient ox'

[The Masters of Roke, FS]


Diamond

Also known as: Essiri, Di, Songsparrow, Skylark

Only son of wealthy merchant Golden and Tuly in Glade in the west of Havnor island. His true name, Essiri, means willow. Lover of music from an early age, he sings tenor and plays the fife and harp. Having a gift for magic, particularly illusions and summoning, he studies with the wizard Hemlock in Havnor South Port, leaving to join his father's business. Aged nineteen, runs away with Darkrose to be a wandering harpist and singer; their child is called Tuly. Described as a youth as big, tall, with a ruddy, round face, bright dark eyes, thick shiny hair and a husky speaking voice; he is cheerful, friendly, patient and modest

'…till Diamond was sixteen. A big, well-grown youth, good at games and lessons, he was still ruddy-faced and bright-eyed and cheerful. He had taken it hard when his voice changed, the sweet treble going all untuned and hoarse. Golden had hoped that that was the end of his singing, but the boy went on wandering about with itinerant musicians, ballad singers and such, learning all their trash.'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Dice and sticks

A game with dice and sticks is played by the novices at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. Possibly the same as a Kargish gambling game using five-sided ivory dice-sticks mentioned; as the dice-sticks are said to be owned by Tosla, a variant may also be played in the Archipelago

Sources: The Wall Around the Place, ToA; Dolphin, OW

Related entries: Games


Disease

Diseases, disorders and injuries mentioned in humans include rickets, hunchback, smallpox (called Witch-Fingers), consumption, wasting fever/wasting cough (possibly tuberculosis), redfever, marsh fever, fever, plague, stroke, scrofula, rheumatism, arthritis, gangrene, cataracts, blindness, detached retina, nearsightedness, hazia-induced nervous disorder, quicksilver (mercury) poisoning, sea sickness, warts, sprains, broken bones, lameness and deformed births; in animals, infected udders (goats), maggot-infected wounds (sheep), spavins (horses), mange (cats, dogs), murrain (the staggers), caked udders and foot/hoof rot (all in cattle), rabies and deformed births; in plants, black rot of vines and tent caterpillar infestation of fruit.

Magic overused or wrongly used can also produce fits or a trance-like condition, as described for Ged in 'Warriors in the Mist', 'The Loosing of the Shadow', 'The Dragon of Pendor' [WoE], Thorion in 'Orm Embar' [FS], and Irioth in 'On the High Marsh' [TfE]. It can also let loose plagues, as occurred two centuries ago on Paln and Semel after a duel of magic, and frequently during the Dark Years

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; The Wall around the Place, ToA; Light under the Hill, ToA; Finding Words, T; The Master, T; The Finder, TfE; On the High Marsh, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW


Division, the

See Vedurnan


Dohun

King or queen of Enlad before the reign of Morred. The deeds of the early rulers of Enlad are told in the Deed of Enlad

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: King of All the Isles


Dolphin

Sailing ship of Lebannen, the fastest ship in his fleet; captained by Serrathen (Tehanu) & Tosla (The Other Wind). At 50 feet long, it's considered relatively small. It has white sails, white wood decks including quarterdeck and afterdeck; accommodations include the large, windowed king's cabin in the sterncastle and ship-master's cabin beneath, a foreward hold and a sleeping closet under the forecastle.

Also (imaginary) boat belonging to the trader Hawk, an alias of Ged

Sources: Hort Town, FS; The Dolphin, T; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW

'A tall ship was at the pier, a ship she knew, the Dolphin. … She saw the mooring lines cast off, the docile movement of the ship following the oared tug that towed her clear, the sudden fall and flowering of the white sails in the darkness. The light of the stern lantern trembled on the dark water, shrank slowly to a tiny drop of brightness, and was gone.'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Door

Constellation of the dry land, the stars that do not set

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Doorkeeper

One of the Masters of Roke (see Master Doorkeeper). Also a title for Segoy in the Creation of Éa. Used by Ged in Tehanu to refer to Lebannen

Sources: Winter, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Dory

One of the women of the Hand, of Telio on Pody, living in Ath's House. Described as 'heavyset though thin, with a sullen, steady gaze'a. A talented healer, she came to Roke School of Wizardry aged 13 or 14 with Medra, later becoming the first Master Herbal

Sources: The Finder, TfE (a)

'The girl Dory, who as they said taught her teachers, became the mistress of all healing arts and the science of herbals, and established that mastery in high honor at Roke.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Down Wiss

Coastal village or town in the east of Gont, near Beech Springs, Wiss and Tant

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Dragon

See Woman of Kemay


Dragon Council

Meeting of the King's Council of Havnor City in around the year 1066, at which Orm Irian speaks of the Vedurnan and the disagreement between dragons and the Archipelagans over the domain called the other wind

'"Councillors! This is a day that will long be told and sung. Your sons' daughters and your daughters' sons will say, 'I am the grandchild of one who was of the Dragon Council!' So honor her whose presence honors us. Hear Orm Irian."'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Dragon of Pendor

See Yevaud


Dragon of Selidor

See Orm Embar


Dragon Year

A particularly fine vintage of wine from the Andrades; an old soft red described as 'a king's wine'a

Sources: Mice, T (a); The Dolphin, T


Dragonfly

See Irian


Dragon-humans

Humans who are also dragons, or dragons who are also humans. According to Kalessin, one or two are born in each respective generation, as a sign that humans and dragons were once one people (see Vedurnan); when the Archipelagan dead are released from the dry land at the end of The Other Wind, 'a few here and there … rose up flickering into dragons, and mounted on the wind.'a Examples include Irian, Tehanu, the Woman of Kemay and the girl of the song 'The Lass of Belilo'; it may be significant that all known examples have female human forms

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW (a)

'They saw the dragon, the huge creature whose scaled belly and thorny tail dragged and stretched half across the breadth of the terrace, and whose red-horned head reared up twice the height of the king---they saw it lower that big head, and tremble so that its wings rattled like cymbals, and not smoke but a mist breathed out of its deep nostrils, clouding its shape, so that it became cloudy like thin fog or worn glass; and then it was gone. The midday sun beat down on the scored, scarred, white pavement. There was no dragon. There was a woman. … She stood where the heart of the dragon might have been.'

'"Then Kalessin said: 'Once we were one people. And in sign of that, in every generation of men, one or two are born who are dragons also. And in every generation of our people, longer than the quick lives of men, one of us is born who is also human. Of these one is now living in the Inner Isles. And there is one of them living there now who is a dragon. These two are the messengers, the bringers of choice. There will be no more such born to us or them. For the balance changes.'"'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Dragonlord

One to whom dragons will speak. At the start of The Farthest Shore, Ged is said to be 'the only living Dragonlord'a; later Lebannen and Tenar also speak with dragons. Historical dragonlords include Morred and Erreth-Akbe

Sources: The Great Treasure, ToA; The Rowan Tree, FS (a)

'"One whom the dragons will speak with … that is a dragonlord, or at least that is the centre of the matter. It's not a trick of mastering the dragons, as most people think. Dragons have no masters. The question is always the same, with a dragon: will he talk with you or will he eat you? If you can count on his doing the former, and not doing the latter, why then you're a dragonlord."'

[The Great Treasure, ToA]


Dragons

Also known as: Children of Segoy, People of the West, the Eldest

Vast winged, lizard-like, fire-breathing creatures; they speak the Old Speech. Described by Orm Irian as jealous and irate; dragons obey none and have no king. Very long-lived: some are older than any other living thing; young dragons are thin and black, with little fire-breathing capacity. According to the lore of the Vedurnan, dragons and humans were one people in ancient times; in token of this, one or two dragon-humans are born into each generation. At the time of the Earthsea cycle, dragons are largely confined to the westernmost isles, especially the Dragons' Run; they move between this world and the timeless region west of west, the other wind. At the end of The Other Wind, dragons abandon the earthly realm. Named examples include Kalessin, Orm, Orm Embar, Yevaud (the Dragon of Pendor), Bar Oth, Orm Irian, Ammaud and Tehanu.

Small dragons, around a yard long, live in the mountains on Hur-at-Hur; they have only wing stubs and hiss without speaking. Considered sacred animals, a spring sacrifice is made to them annually at the Place of the Sacrifice. Tiny dragon-lizards called harrekki are found on Iffish in the East Reach

Sources: Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW

'…that the dragon and the dragon's speech are one thing, one being. That a dragon does not learn the Old Speech, but is it."/"As a tern is flight. As a fish is swimming,"''

[Palaces, OW]


Dragon's fire

Crimson dye from Lorbanery; once worn by the Queens of Havnor

Sources: Lorbanery, FS


Dragons' Run

Also known as: Dragon's Run

Cluster of small, rocky isles in the West Reach largely scattered along an east--west line. It is inhabited by many dragons, including Kalessin. Includes the Keep of Kalessin, an island with sheer basalt cliffs three hundred feet high. The Dragons' Run was sailed by Ged more than twenty years before The Farthest Shore, and by Ged and Lebannen in FS, but not travelled by any other living man

'The water was a maze of blue channels and green shoals, and among these, by hand and word and most vigilant care, he [Ged] and Arren now picked their boat's way, between the rocks and reefs. Some of these lay low, under or half-under the wash of the waves, covered with anemone and barnacle and ribbony seafern; like water-monsters, shelled or sinuous. Others stood up in cliff and pinnacle sheer from the sea, and there were arches and half-arches, carven towers, fantastic shapes of animals, boars' backs and serpents' heads, all huge, deformed, diffuse, as if like writhed half-conscious in the rock. The sea-waves beat on them with a sund like breathing, and they were wet with the bright, bitter spray.'

[The Dragons' Run, FS]


Dragons' Way

A path in the mountains of Hur-at-Hur along which small, flightless dragons crawl annually to the Place of the Sacrifice for the spring sacrifice; it's taboo to set foot on it. Also used as a synonym for the other wind, the realm of dragons

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW

'"It's a path, all smooth dust, made by their bellies crawling along it every year since time began."'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Dromgan

Farmed islet of the Ninety Isles, lying near Hosk

'the rainy pastures of Dromgan…'

[Hunted, WoE]


Dry land

Also known as: Dark land, the

Waterless spirit region where the spirits of the (human) dead go after death according to the Archipelagan belief system. Described as steep dry hillsides, bounded on one side by a wall of stones and on the other by the high black Mountains of Pain. Nothing grows there, there are no animals, and the heart of the land is a dry river. There are several cities and towns inhabited by spirits of the dead. Overhead the stars are small and unchanging, in constellations called the Door, the One Who Turns, the Sheaf and the Tree, which are not seen in the living lands; there is no moon. Wizards can visit the dry land in spirit, and return over the wall of stones, though they do so only rarely and at great peril; Ged and Lebannen crossed the dry land via the Mountains of Pain.

In The Other Wind, the dry land and the dragon realm of the other wind are equated, with the dragons claiming that the dry land was stolen in ancient times by mages, the Rune Makers, making walls of spells to exclude dragons. At the end of this novel, these spell walls are destroyed, along with their manifestation, the wall of stones; light and life return to the dry land, which is restored to the dragons

Sources: The Dry Land, FS; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW

'…there was no passage of time there, where no wind blew and the stars did not move.…/The market places were all empty. There was no buying and selling there, no gaining and spending. Nothing was used, nothing was made. … All those whom they saw -- not many, for the dead are many, but that land is large -- stood still, or moved slowly and with no purpose. None of them bore wounds … No marks of illness were on them. They were whole, and healed. They were healed of pain, and of life. … Quiet were their faces, freed from anger and desire, and there was in their shadowed eyes no hope./ … the mother and the child who had died together, and they were in the dark land together; but the child did not run, nor did it cry, and the mother did not hold it, nor even look at it. And those who had died for love passed each other in the streets.'

'"And envying that freedom, they followed the dragons' way into the west beyond the west. There they claimed part of that realm as their own. A timeless realm, where the self might be forever. But not in the body, as the dragons were. Only in spirit could men be there… So they made a wall which no living body could cross, neither man nor dragon. For they feared the anger of the dragons. And their arts of naming laid a great net of spells upon all the western lands, so that when the people of the islands die, they would come to the west beyond the west and live there in the spirit forever./But as the wall was built and the spell laid, the wind ceased to blow, within the wall. The sea withdrew. The springs ceased to run. The mountains of sunrise became the mountains of the night. Those that died came to a dark land, a dry land."'

[The Dry Land, FS/Rejoining, OW]

Related entries: Religion and the afterlife; Immortality


Dry river

A dry river at the heart of the dry land (the lands of the dead)

Sources: The Dry Land, FS


Duby

Titles: Warden, Warden of the Place of the Tombs

Eunuch serving the Temple of the Godking with Uahto; one of the ten Wardens of the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. Plays the game sticks and counters with Manan, the eunuch serving the Nameless Ones; the two may be friends. Described as strong

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA; Dreams and Tales, ToA; The Man Trap, ToA


Dulse

See Heleth


Dune

One of the founders of the School of Wizardry on Roke in around 650; a white-haired man described as eager

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Dunnel

Islet near Misk, Set and Wasny, at the northeastern edge of the South Reach


Duny

See Ged


Dyeing

Bright blue or crimson (dragon's fire) dyes are mined on Lorbanery as ores (eg emmel-stone); dye-making on that island is a profession carried out by sorcerers (the Dyers of Lorbanery). Plant-derived dyes of red madder or unspecified yellow are mentioned for domestic dyeing on Gont

Sources: Lorbanery, FS; Hawks, T


Dyers of Lorbanery

Family of sorcerers that superintend the making of dyes on Lorbanery, consisting of Akaren and her son, Sopli

Sources: Lorbanery, FS


Ea

Titles: the Old Island

Island in the Sea of Éa in the north of the Archipelago, south of Enlad and near Taon and Ebéa; said to be the first land that Segoy raised from the sea. An old-established college is located here. Formerly one of the principalities of the kingship it was ruled by the Prince of Éa who was of royal lineage

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; The Finder, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW


Ea, Sea of

See Sea of Éa


Eagle Queen

See Heru


Ear, Isle of the

See Isle of the Ear


Early

Also known as: Teriel

During the Dark Years, powerful wizard in the service of Losen; formerly a prentice of Gelluk. Skilled in controlling others and at shape-changing, taking the shapes of gull, eagle and dragon. Later rules Havnor through Losen as his puppet. Described as wearing a 'white silk robe, holding a tall white staff, the horn of a sea beast from the farthest North'a. He sends a fleet of eighty ships against the School of Wizardry on Roke, soon after its foundation, but is defeated by Elehal

Sources: The Finder, TfE (a)

'The desire for power feeds off itself, growing as it devours. Early suffered from hunger. He starved. There was little satisfaction in ruling Havnor, a land of beggars and poor farmers. What was the good of possessing the Throne of Maharion if nobody sat in it but a drunken cripple? What glory was there in the palaces of the city when nobody lived in them but crawling slaves?'

[The Finder, TfE]


Earthquake

Gont Port lies on a fault line; two different earthquakes are mentioned on Gont. When Ogion was seven or eight, half a mile of the coast at Essary fell into the sea and a tidal wave swamped the Gont Port wharves; there were many casualties, including Ogion's father. When Ogion was the wizard of Gont Port, ten years before 'The Shadow' [WoE], Heleth and he stilled a second earthquake which threatened Gont Port; Heleth gave his life to do so. Ged and Tenar's actions in the Labyrinth on Atuan precipitate an earthquake which destroys the Tombs of Atuan

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Anger of the Dark, ToA; The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Earthsea

The planet, including all the islands of the Archipelago, the Reaches and the Kargad Lands, as well as the Open Sea and any undiscovered islands beyond the map. The existence of a magnetic north suggests the planet may have a molten metallic core

Related entries: World view

Further information on Earthsea


East Creek

Region of Sattins island, presumably in the east

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


East Forest

Region in the south-east of Gont, with several towns including Ovark and possibly Wiss; hilly and presumably at least partly forested

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE


East Hand

See Hands


East Port

Port town in the east of Gont island, near Armouth; Kargish raiders landed here in around 1012 and burned the town

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE


East Reach

Group of predominantly small islands to the south-east, including the northerly cluster: The Hands, Venway, Vemish, Sattins and Yor; the northeast cluster: Koppish, Sneg and Far Toly; the southerly cluster: Korp, Kopp, Apso, Rolameny, Gale, Holp, Tok, Insmer, Soders, The Sellets and Iffish; and the easternmost cluster: Pelimer, Kornay, Gosk and Astowell. The inhabitants are dark-skinned, and speak Hardic with varying degrees of accent

Sources: Iffish, WoE; The Open Sea, WoE


Eastern Isles

See Kargad Lands


Easthill

Town in west Havnor, near Glade

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Ebavnor Straits

Broad channel between Havnor and Ark & Ilien, part of the Inmost Sea, from which Mount Onn is visible in clear weather. A crowded shipping lane, with traders and fishing vessels of all sizes

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Finder, TfE

'…the next day passed the northern cape of O and entered the Ebavnor Straits. There they dropped sail and rowed, always with land on either side and always within hail of other ships, great and small, merchants and traders, some bound in from the Outer Reaches with strange cargo after a voyage of years and others that hopped like sparrows from isle to isle of the Inmost Sea.'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Ebéa

Small island in the Sea of Éa, near Ea, Oranéa and Havnor; in ancient times one of the islands at the heart of Earthsea. Ruled by the Lady of Ebéa

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Ebéa, Lady of

See Lady of Ebéa


Ebishi

Tiny islet in the Pelnish Sea, between Bishi and Besu; in some maps, this islet is identified as Besu

Sources: Frontispiece map, TfE


Ebosskil

Medium-sized northwestern island, lying southwest of Osskil and north of Semel

Sources: Orm Embar, FS; Selidor, FS


Education

Also known as: Schooling, Apprenticeship

In the Archipelago & Reaches, learning the songs and rites, usually from village witches, is the predominant non-vocational education received by most children. A school is mentioned on Sattins island; meeting out of doors or in a hayloft, it has a single schoolmistress and takes 30 children under twelve years. The curriculum includes the Rules of Names; reading & writing do not appear to be taught. The base crafts & high arts of magic are taught at the School of Wizardry on Roke to boys sent from all over the Archipelago/Reaches who have a strong gift; presumably a similar school exists on Paln. The isle of Taon has schools of music. A school is mentioned for children at court in the New Palace on Havnor, and Lebannen mentions a schoolmaster & fencing-master at the court on Enlad. Colleges are mentioned on Ea and the Enlades. Vocational education appears to be largely via apprenticeship (eg Ged with Ogion, a young girl with Weaver Fan); trade guilds such as the Seamasters also teach certain trade-specific skills.

At the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, female novices of four to fourteen years learn sacred songs & dances, histories of the Kargad Lands and the rites & mysteries of the god of their dedication from priestesses; they are also taught more prosaic tasks including spinning, weaving, farming and cooking. Forms of education elsewhere in the Kargad Lands are not detailed

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; The Shadow, WoE; The School of Wizardry, WoE; The Wall around the Place, ToA; Sea Dreams, FS; Orm Embar, FS; The Finder, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW


Eduevana

See Other breath


Egre

Titles: Captain Egre

A famous pirate and slavetrader. He wears a broad gold-studded leather band round his neck to hide a scar where his throat was cut, and has a strange whistling voice. Ged takes away his voice in The Farthest Shore after he takes Lebannen as a slave; some years later, at the Siege of Sorra, which Lebannen fights against the Wathort slavers, he's a mute. Hare was his weatherworker

Sources: Magelight, FS; Dolphin, OW

Related entries: Piracy; Slavery


Elassen

Sorcerer of Valmouth on Gont some thirty or forty years before A Wizard of Earthsea; he taught Ogion farmwork, carpentry and possibly magic. Described as respectable, he's also generous enough to pay Ogion's passage to Roke

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Elehal

Also known as: Ember

One of the founders of the School of Wizardry on Roke in around 650; younger sister of Yahan and lover of Medra. Her parents and brothers were killed by raiders from Wathort when she was a young child. Described as short, strong, black-browed, with dark eyes, a keen, hard, round face, soft brown skin, sleek black hair, later greying. Initially fierce and stern, in middle age she is said to be quiet and even-tempered. She first lived in the Immanent Grove, then in Thwil town with Medra, and later in a little house by the Thwilburn, near the Grove, later called the Otter's House. She is the first Master Patterner

'…under her sternness, quick and tender as the first flame of a catching fire.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Elfarran

Titles: Elfarran the Fair, Elfarran of Soléa, Queen Elfarran

Wife of Morred, mother of Serriadh, she died around two thousand years ago, drowning in the Sea of Éa when the Isle of Soléa was lost beneath the sea by spell of the Enemy of Morred. She bore the Ring of Erreth-Akbe centuries before the time of Erreth-Akbe. Ged was trying to summon her spirit when he released the shadow-beast

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'In the oval of light for a moment there moved a form, a human shape: a tall woman looking back over her shoulder. Her face was beautiful, and sorrowful, and full of fear.'

[The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE]


Elfarran's ring

See Ring of Erreth-Akbe


Elini

Market town in the hills of the island of Taon

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Elixirs

See Potions


Elt

Wizard who drove Yevaud (later the Dragon of Pendor) from Osskil in the time of Morred

'…a wizard, Elt, wise in names.'

[The Dragon of Pendor, WoE]


Emah

Name used by the Children of the Open Sea (raft people) for the beaches on the Long Dune in the South Reach where they come ashore annually in autumn

Sources: The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Ember

See Elehal


Emer

Also known as: Gift

Widow and cattle-farmer living on the High Marsh, half a mile from Purewells village, ten or twelve miles north of Oraby on the island of Semel; fifty years old in 'On the High Marsh' [TfE], but still strong and healthy. She keeps a dairy, making cheese. Sister of Berry of Semel; her husband, Bren, died of marsh fever two years earlier. She takes in the former mage Irioth. Ged describes her as brave

'…her round, strong arms, her hard, red hands…'

[On the High Marsh, TfE]


Emmel-stone

Blue stone used for making talismans against rheums, sprains and stiff necks, and as a dye ore at Lorbanery

Sources: Hort Town, FS; Lorbanery, FS


Empty Throne

Also known as: Throne of the Nameless Ones

Huge throne in the Hall of the Throne at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, dedicated to the Nameless Ones. Black, encrusted with gold & jewels on its clawed arms & carved back, it is set on a high platform of red-veined marble with seven deep steps leading up to it. It is taboo to set foot on the three highest steps, which are covered in a thick layer of dust

Sources: The Eaten One, ToA; Rejoining, OW

'The throne itself was black, with a dull glimmer of precious stones or gold on the arms and back, and it was huge. A man sitting in it would have been dwarfed; it was not of human dimensions. It was empty. Nothing sat in it but shadows.'

[The Eaten One, ToA]


Enashen

King or queen of Enlad before the reign of Morred. The deeds of the early rulers of Enlad are told in the Deed of Enlad

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: King of All the Isles


Enderfalcon of Roke

Large white-and-brown-barred fishing hawk, found on Roke

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS


Ending

Nine-star constellation of a running man or the rune Agnen, the rune of Ending, only seen in the South Reach; includes the yellow star Gobardon and eight others whose names are not known in the lore of Roke

Sources: Sea Dreams, FS; The Madman, FS; Orm Embar, FS; Winter, T

'…well up in the sky above the blank sea, burned the star Gobardon. Beneath it were the two forming a triangle with it, and beneath these, three had risen in a straight line, forming a greater triangle. Then, slipping free of the liquid plains of black and silver, two more followed as the night wore on; they were yellow like Gobardon, though fainter, slanting from right to left from the right base of the triangle. So there were eight of the nine stars which were supposed to make the figure of a man, or the Hardic rune Agnen. To Arren's eyes there was no man in the pattern, unless, as star-figures are, he was strangely distorted; but the rune was plain, with hooked arm and cross-stroke, all but the foot, the last stroke to complete it, the star that had not yet risen.'

[The Madman, FS]


Endlane

Small farming village northwest of Mount Onn, near Faliern Forest, on the isle of Havnor. It has a straggling square, tavern and a stream, the Yennava

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Enemy of Morred

Also known as: Wandlord

An evil mage of great power who made whole cities and armies in thrall to him; he was defeated by Morred. Even after his death, the spell he wove against Morred was so powerful that the island of Soléa was overwhelmed by the sea

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Enlad

Also known as: Isle of the Myths

A rich and peaceful island in the north of the Archipelago, near Ea and Osskil; part of the Enlades. Ruled by the Prince of Enlad and the Enlades at the capital, Berila; other towns include Temere (on the south coast), Serilune and Semermine (in the hills behind Berila). The terrain includes hills, orchards, woods and forests, including the Forest of Aol. At the eastern end of the island are two strings of islets, the North & South Teeth, with the sea channel, the Jaws of Enlad, between them. One of the principalities of the kingship, tracing its line of descent from Morred, via Serriadh and the House of Enlad. The people of Enlad speak their own language or dialect, of which little is known

Sources: Hunted, WoE; The Rowan Tree, FS; The Masters of Roke, FS; Hort Town, FS; The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Enlad, House of

See House of Enlad


Enlades

Group of small islands in the north of the Archipelago, in the Sea of Éa, next to Enlad. An old-established college is located on them. Associated from ancient times with magic

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Ennas of Perregal

Great mage. Former owner of Ogion's lore-books, via his pupil the sorceress Ard and her pupil Heleth; these include the Glosses of Danemer, Arcana of the Enlades and a Book of Runes

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Mice, T; The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Ennio

Person at the School of Wizardry at Roke soon after its foundation

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Ensar

The last male descendant of the House of Hupun, stranded as a child on a sand bar near Karego-At (later called Springwater Isle) on the orders of the father of the Godking reigning during The Tombs of Atuan. His sister is Anthil

Sources: Hunting, WoE; Voyage, ToA


Ensmer

Large island in the southwest of the Archipelago, lying at the southmost end of the Ninety Isles and near the southerly islands of the West Reach

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Entat

Town in the northern hill country of Atuan, with orchard vales to the west

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA


Entertainment

Dance, music, songs, the telling of tales, feasting and drinking are sources of entertainment common to both the Archipelago and the Kargad Lands; hunting (for sport), falconry, illusion, juggling, sleight of hand, puppetry, fireworks and visiting whores may be restricted to the Archipelago. Inns, taverns and pothouses are found throughout the Archipelago, but are not mentioned in the Kargad Lands. Acting is alluded to, and street shows of an unspecified nature are mentioned in Havnor City. Games mentioned include dice and sticks, sticks and counters, net-ball and cat's cradles

Related entries: Jugglers; Teller; Puppeteers; Prostitution


Enwas

Also known as: North Enwas, South Enwas

Two small islands, North & South Enwas, in the North Reach, near Bereswek; their inhabitants are white skinned

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Enwit

Lord of the Domain of Eolg on Havnor Isle. Father of Jasper

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE


Eolg

Domain on Havnor Isle

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE


Eppaln

Islet off the southeast coast of Paln, in the Pelnish Sea; it lies south of Lossow and north of Seppish


Equilibrium

Also known as: Balance, the, Balance of the Whole

The world is considered to exist in equilibrium, not static but ever-changing: '"The Balance is not a stillness. It is a movement -- an eternal becoming."'a True wizards or mages strive always to maintain this state of equilibrium by using magic only at need and with due regard for all the various consequences, both direct and indirect. This principle applies especially to spells of Summoning and Changing, which 'can shake the balance of the world'b, but also (as the quotation from 'Magelight' given below makes clear) to everyday, non-magical actions of humans.

The Equilibrium also encompasses the concept of the balance of light & dark, life & death, with each being necessary for the existence of the other; as Ged puts it, '"There are two, Arren, two that make one: the world and the shadow, the light and the dark. The two poles of the Balance. Life rises out of death, death rises out of life; in being opposite they yearn to each other, they give birth to each other and are forever reborn. And with them all is reborn, the flower of the apple tree, the light of the stars. In life is death. In death is rebirth."'a

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE (b); Magelight, FS; Orm Embar, FS (a)

'…"an act is not, as young men think, like a rock that one picks up and throws, and it hits or misses, and that's the end of it. When that rock is lifted the earth is lighter, the hand that bears it heavier. When it is thrown the circuits of the stars respond, and where it strikes or falls the universe is changed. On every act the balance of the whole depends. The wind and seas, and all that the beasts and green things do, is well done, and rightly done. All these act within the Equilibrium. From the hurricane and the great whale's sounding to the fall of a dry leaf and a gnat's flight, all they do is done within the balance of the whole. But we, in so far as we have power over the world and over one another, we must learn to do what the leaf and the whale and the wind do of their own nature. We must learn to keep the balance. Having intelligence, we must not act in ignorance. Having choice, we must not act without responsibility.'

[Magelight, FS]


Equinox sacrifice

Biennial sacrifice of a goat at the Tombs of Atuan, at the full moon nearest the equinox of spring and autumn; the blood is poured by the One Priestess onto the standing stones of the Tombs

'Twice a year, at the full moon nearest the equinox of spring and of autumn, there was a sacrifice before the Throne and she came out from the low back door of the Hall carrying a great brass basin full of smoking goat's blood; this she must pour out, half at the foot of the standing black stone, half over one of the fallen stones which lay embedded in the rocky dirt, stained by the blood-offering of centuries.'

[The Wall around the Place, ToA]


Erisen

See Aspen


Erreth-Akbe

Ancient mage and dragonlord, counsellor to King Maharion and said to be his heart's brother. A fatherless witch's son from inland Havnor. Defeated the Firelord, and decisively defeated the Kargish fleet at Waymarsh. In 440, he carried Morred's ring (later called the Ring of Erreth-Akbe) to King Thoreg as a sign of peace between the Archipelago and the Kargad Lands, but found himself in the midst of a coup; he was defeated by High Priest Intathin of the House of Tarb, who broke the Ring and, according to Kargish accounts, his staff. Killed by the dragon Orm on Selidor a few years before Maharion's death in 452. His sword is set atop the Tower of the Kings of the Havnor New Palace; his deeds are told in the Deed of Erreth-Akbe

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Dreams and Tales, ToA; Selidor, FS; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'He wore an armour of gilt bronze, in an ancient fashion; it was rent as if by hatchet blows, and the jewelled scabbard of his sword was empty. His face was stern, with arched black brows and narrow nose; his eyes were dark, keen, and sorrowful.'

[Selidor, FS]


Erreth-Akbe, Ring of

See Ring of Erreth-Akbe


Erreth-Akbe, Sword of

See Sword of Erreth-Akbe


Esen

Port town of the islet of Besu off the west coast of Havnor island in the Pelnish Sea; alternatively, an islet near Besu

Sources: Hunted, WoE; frontispiece map, FS


Eskel

Islet off the east coast of Havnor. Also, in some sources, a name for Otrad, an islet off the east coast of Way


Essary

Lowland town or village in the south-west of Gont island; it lies near the mouth of an unnamed river, near Solwes, Kebas and Allage. Half a mile of the coastline here is said to have fallen into the sea during the first earthquake described on Gont, when Ogion was aged seven or eight

Sources: Frontispiece map, T; Kalessin, T; The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Essiri

See Diamond


Estarriol

See Vetch


Etaudis

See Rose of Old Iria


Etreke

Coastal village or town in the south of Gont, near Tettego and Gont South Port

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Ettil

Islet in the easterly West Reach, near Usidero and the Toringates


Eunuch

Eunuchs serve in the temples at Atuan, but do not exist within the Archipelago. On Gont, the practice of castrating men appears to be unheard of; Ivory (from Havnor), however, disparagingly refers to the wizards' practice of celibacy as turning them into eunuchs, castrating themselves with spells to be holy

Sources: Bettering, T; Dragonfly, TfE


Fabric

Clothing fabrics mentioned include silk, satin, fur, sheepskin, wool, fleecefell, felt, leather, linen, velvet, cloth of gold, cloth of silver, gauze and lace. Feathers are used for decorative purposes, eg on a headdress in Hort Town and on dress armour/helmets in the Kargad Lands. Although fabrics are traded and sold in eg Hort Town market, much clothing throughout Earthsea appears to be made by women on handlooms at home. The Children of the Open Sea make a fabric from nilgu fibre (brown seaweed).

Fabrics for other purposes mentioned include painted silk (fan), felt (blankets), linen (sheets), tapestry (hangings), damask (tableware), leather (animal collars, sword sheaths, packs, sacks, bottles, flasks), net (bags), grass (bags), canvas (awnings, mats, tarpaulins, mattress covers), burlap (a coarse hemp/jute canvas) and sailcloth

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; Hort Town, FS; The Children of the Open Sea, FS; Hawks, T; Finding Words, T; Home, T; Palaces, OW


Falcon

Soldier, presumably in Lebannen's employ, killed by the slaver Egre at the Siege of Sorra

Sources: Dolphin, OW


Falcon, the

Constellation of the Archipelago

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Falcon's Nest

See Re Albi


Faliern Forest

Great forest in the interior of Havnor island, west of Samory, near villages of Endlane and Woodedge. Its trees include oaks. The Old Powers are said to be strong there

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Faliern Mountains

Also known as: Faliorn Mountains

Range of mountains in the west of Havnor Island; its foothills lie immediately west of the sands of Onneva. A pass is found a day's ride from the sands of Onneva

'They had just emerged from woods on the crest of an open hillside and could see through the clear half light all the way to the pass. The mountains to either side of it massed black against the dull reddish glow of a cloudy dawn. / But they were looking west.'

[Palaces, OW]


Fallows

The days of the waning moon after Sunreturn; an unlucky time

'It is an unlucky time for travellers and for the sick; children are not given their true name during the Fallows, and no Deeds are sung, nor swords nor edge-tools sharpened, nor oaths sworn. It is the dark axis of the year, when things done are ill done.'

[The Open Sea, WoE]


Faltuel

Small island in the southerly end of the West Reach, near Arrins and west of Ensmer


Fan

A painted silk fan is an heirloom of Weaver Fan of Gont, given to his grandfather by a pirate. Very large and fine, it depicts figures in Havnor City on one side and dragons on the other; possibly linked with legends of the Vedurnan

'The delicately painted men and women in their gorgeous robes of rose and jade and azure, the towers and bridges and banners of Havnor Great Port, were all familiar to Tenar as soon as she saw the fan again. Visitors to Re Albi were often brought to see it. It was the finest thing, all agreed, in the village. … Dragons moved as the folds of the fan moved. Painted faint and fine on the yellowed silk, dragons of pale red, blue, green moved and grouped, as the figures on the other side were grouped, among clouds and mountain peaks. … [T]he two sides, the two paintings, made one by the light flowing through the silk, so that the clouds and peaks were the towers of the city, and the men and women were winged, and the dragons looked with human eyes.'

[Hawks, T]


Fanian

Dry red wine produced in the domain of Iria on Way. Ten-year-old Fanian is traded to destinations including Hort Town and is said to be valuable

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Far Sorr

Small island, south of Lorbanery and the Isles of Sand in the South Reach

'"Sailors say that there are stars to be seen from the waters by the Isle of the Ear and Far Sorr that cannot be seen anywhere else, and that have never been named."'

[The Open Sea, WoE]


Far Toly

Islet in the eastern East Reach, near Sneg

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Farflyer

Sailing ship which carries Alder to Gont

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Feathers

Kargish warriors wear tall red plumes on their helmets and their lances are decorated with plumes; their court armour (at least at the time of the High King) is silver mesh armour interwoven with feathers. Possibly in imitation of this style, Seserakh's carriage and its horses' headstalls are decorated with tall red plumes in Havnor City. A feathered headdress is worn by a market tradeswoman in Hort Town. The raft of the House of the Great Ones (the temple of the Children of the Open Sea) bears tall poles at its corners, decorated with tufts of sea-bird feathers. Feather or down coverlets and mattresses are mentioned in the cold climes of Gont and Osskil

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Hort Town, FS; The Children of the Open Sea, FS; Winter, T; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW

Related entries: Headgear; Weapons; Beds and bedlinen


Felkway

Medium-sized island in the east of the Archipelago, between Way, O and Havnor; features include Felkway Bay, with an unnamed town at its mouth. The Passage of Felkway leads into the Ebavnor Straits. Ruled by the Lord of Felkway

Sources: The Shadow, WoE


Felkway Bay

See Passage of Felkway


Felkway, Lord of

See Lord of Felkway


Ferao

Town or city on Paln; home of the Pelnish wizard Seppel

Sources: Rejoining, OW


Ferny

Old woman of the town of Glade on Havnor island

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Ferrins

Small island in the eastern North Reach, north of the Andrades and south of the Allernots


Festival of Sunreturn

Also known as: Sunreturn, Feast of Sun-return

Winter solstice festival, widely celebrated in the Archipelago, with feasting and the singing of the Deed of the Young King (or Deed of Morred) & the Winter Carol

Sources: Home, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'…when the sun turns north to bring the spring…'

[Home, T]


Festival of the Lambs

Festival held in the New Year on Enlad and possibly elsewhere, of blessing and increase on the flocks

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS


Feyag

Stiff, tent-like, all-enveloping veil worn by well-born women of Hur-at-Hur in the Kargad Lands; the wearer is called feyagat. Shorter veils are worn by serving ladies. The feyag is not worn in the city Awabath on Karego-At, or on Atuan

Sources: Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW

'She was veiled, entirely veiled, as was, it appeared, the custom of well-born women in Hur-at-Hur. The veils, red with lines of gold embroidery, fell straight down from a flat-brimmed hat or headdress, so that the princess appeared to be a red column or pillar, cylindrical, featureless, motionless, silent.'

[Palaces, OW]


Finder

See Master Finder


Finding

Art of finding, binding and returning; ranges from finding a lost household object to prospecting for underground water or minerals. Originally considered one of the high arts of magic, Halkel relegated finding to the base crafts, practised by witches, sorcerers and specialised finders. Medra is a finder

Sources: The Finder, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'The first sign of Otter's gift, when he was two or three years old, was his ability to go straight to anything lost, a dropped nail, a mislaid tool, as soon as he understood the word for it. And as a boy one of his dearest pleasures had been to go alone out into the countryside and wander along the lanes or over the hills, feeling through the soles of his bare feet and throughout his body the veins of water underground, the lodes and knots of ore, the lay and interfolding of the kinds of rock and earth. It was as if he walked in a great building, seeing its passages and rooms, the descents into airy caverns, the glimmer of branched silver in the walls; and as he want on, it was as if his body became the body of the earth, and he knew its arteries and organs and muscles as his own.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Firelord

A great mage who sought to undo the darkness and stop the sun at noon. Defeated by Erreth-Akbe. The yellow-flowered sparkweed is said to grow where the wind dropped the ashes of burning Ilien, when Erreth-Akbe defended the Inward Isles from him

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Firepit

A central firepit, rather than a hearth and chimney, is a feature of many houses, especially rural huts and cottages

'…they sat on the broad coping of the firepit, their feet almost among the coals.'

[Iffish, WoE]


Fireworks

Fireworks are mentioned on the islands of Havnor, Way & Sattins, often as entertainment at outdoor parties. Though they seem to be usually produced by a sorcerer or wizard, it's unclear whether they work by magic or gunpowder

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE


Firn

Sheep-farming village in the west of Havnor isle, lower down the slopes of Mount Onn from Woodedge

Sources: The Finder, TfE


First Priestess

See One Priestess


Flag

See Anieb


Fleecefell

Silky material made from the fine underwool of goats from the north-eastern isles, including Gont and the Andrades; Gontish work is finer, having six or more warp strings to the finger's width, while Andradean work has only four. Also shawls and similar made from the fabric, suggested for female winter wear

Sources: Hort Town, FS; Worsening, T

'…a great cream and brown square, woven of the silky hair of the goats of the north-eastern isles.'

[Hort Town, FS]


Flint

Titles: Farmer Flint

Farmer & shepherd of Oak Farm in the Middle Valley of Gont; husband of Tenar, father of Apple & Spark; described as tall, with a long, narrow face. Married to Tenar for around 20 years, he dies of a stroke in around 1049

Sources: A Bad Thing, T; Kalessin, T; Bettering, T; The Master, T


Fogeno

Titles: Seacaptain Fogeno

White-browed old man of Sattins island in the East Reach. A former sea captain, he is blind from a detached retina

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Fogweaving

A spell to gather mist or fog together in a single location temporarily; the mist can also be shaped into transitory images. A discipline of weatherworking

'The fog had closed and thickened all over the village, greying the light, blurring the world till a man could hardly see his own hands before him. … The Kargs began to run, all of them, downhill, stumbling, silent, until all at once they ran out from the grey blind mist and saw the river and the ravines below the village all bare and bright in morning sunlight. Then they stopped, gathering together, and looked back. A wall of wavering, writhing grey lay blank across the path, hiding all that lay behind it.'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]


Food

Typical main meal fare across Earthsea appears to be bread, cheese, fish and meat/fish/vegetable soups, with the wealthier eating chicken or other meat. A substantial meal on Gont comprises 'bread and cheese, cold beans in oil and herbs, a sliced onion, and dry sausage.'a A 'splendid repast' on Sattins island in the East Reach consists of 'roast goose, sparkling Andrades '639, and plum pudding with hard sauce.'b At the Havnor New Palace, a lunch of cold meat, smoked trout, lettuces and cheese is served to the king. Breakfast at the Roke School of Wizardry comprises 'milk, sour beer, bread, new butter, and cheese'c; curds are eaten for breakfast on Semel, pork pie in a wealthy household on Havnor, fresh fruit, bread and milk at the Havnor New Palace, warm barley gruel, a boiled egg and a peach on Gont, and buckwheat porridge at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. Nuts, fruit and sometimes raisins are mentioned as snacks.

A variety of foodstuffs are mentioned. Meat products mentioned include roast or boiled chicken, roast goose, roast or smoked mutton, liver, meat or pork pie, meat soup, cold meat, roast kid, pork sausages, dry sausage and frogs' legs; beef cattle are mentioned, and their meat is presumably also eaten. Fish and shellfish are staples in coastal areas, including herring, sea bass, dried haddock, smoked trout, fish stew, fish soup, fish cakes, mussels, crabs, oysters and clams. Dairy produce mentioned includes cow's or goat's cheese, butter, curds and hard-boiled or fried eggs. Grain produce mentioned includes flour, bread, bannocks, hardbread, wheatcakes, cakes, shortbread, piecrust, buckwheat or corn porridge, barley or oatmeal gruel, lentils, millet mush and barley. While the bread used at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan is unleavened, reference is made to dough rising on Gont and yeast is used across Earthsea to make wine, so leavened bread is probably common. Vegetables and herbs mentioned include potatoes, onions, spring onions, scallions, beans, peas, cabbages, lettuces, cucumbers, tomatoes, pickled beets, turnips, squash, vegetable soups, rosemary, mint, thyme and parsley. Fruit and nut products mentioned include apples, pears, peaches, plums, plum pudding, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, currants, raisins, cantaloupe melons, walnuts and chestnuts. Flavourings mentioned include honey, oil, vinegar and salt.

No religious or other restrictions relating to food are mentioned, although fasting is a common practice in Atuan, and in the Archipelago, a fast is observed before the winter solstice Festival of Sunreturn

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q (b); The Masters of Roke, FS (c); Hawks, T (a)

Related entries: Food preservation


Food preservation

Food is preserved by drying (apples, onions, fish, meat), smoking (fish, meat), salting (meat), pickling (beets) and preserving in oil (beans). No other methods of food preservation, such as refrigeration or canning, are mentioned. A cool-room is mentioned for food storage on Gont; also a larder or pantry, which might be situated so as to keep food cool. Food appears to be eaten close to the source; trade in foodstuffs (apart from wine) is not mentioned

Sources: Iffish, WoE; Dreams and Tales, ToA; Sea Dreams, FS; Ogion, T; Mice, T; Hawks, T; Home, T


Foot

Unit of distance used in Earthsea; as with other imperial measures, presumably silently translated from the actual unit

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Eaten One, ToA


Footwear

Laced sandals are typical footwear for both sexes and all classes, both in the Archipelago and on Atuan, eg Ged wears laced sandals travelling on Atuan; Tehanu wears light sandals at the court on Havnor. Laced shoes are also mentioned, eg Lebannen wears them in Hort Town. Boots of glove-leather are worn by the wealthy, while Ogion wears goatskin boots in the winter snow of Gont. Wooden clogs are mentioned on Way. Moccasins are worn by slaves in the roaster tower of the Samory mines on Havnor. Country people and the Children of the Open Sea (raft people) commonly go barefoot, as frequently do the priestesses at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; the Hur-at-Hur princess Seserakh also goes barefoot on board ship. Cobblers are mentioned in Thwil on Roke island. Knitted woollen stockings or leggings are common legwear among rural people; the former at least cover the feet

Sources: The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Light under the Hill, ToA; Magelight, FS; The Finder, TfE; On the High Marsh, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW


Forest of Aol

See Aol


Forge, the

Constellation with four bright stars visible in the central Archipelago

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Fountain

Fountains appear to be a reasonably common ornamental feature of towns. Mentions include the Court of the Fountain in the School of Wizardry on Roke, a fountain in Hort Town on Wathort, at which women gather to gossip, and the famous fountains of Shelieth on Way, commemorated in the Deed of the Young King as 'the silver harp of the waters'a

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS; Hort Town, FS (a)


Fuel

Wood appears to be the most common fuel in most places. Coal is also mentioned occasionally. Lookfar has a little charcoal stove, and charcoal is burned in the temples on Atuan. Peat fires are mentioned, eg on the High Marsh on Semel. Oil lamps are sometimes used, for example at Hare's house in Hort Town, and lamps burning attar of roses (an essential oil) are used in the Temple of the Godking on Atuan. The people of Astowell in the East Reach, lacking wood, burn goat-dung and broom-faggots. Other fuels, such as mineral oil or gas, are not mentioned

Related entries: Lights


Fundaur, Black Well of

See Black Well of Fundaur


Furnaces

Mentioned in the magicians' workroom in the south tower of the School of Wizardry on Roke; perhaps used for metal refining

Sources: Orm Embar, FS


Furnishings

Rooms in noble houses, such as the Court of the Terrenon and the New Palace are furnished with tapestry hangings and bed curtains. Carved window screens and an embroidered chair seat are mentioned in the New Palace (though the throne itself is bare, uncushioned wood). The Dolphin has velvet cushions under canvas awnings, and awnings and striped canvas mats adorn the roof gardens of Havnor City. Vetch's spacious and comfortable house in Iffish has 'much homely wealth of pottery and fine weaving and vessels of bronze and brass on carven shelves and chests.'a Chambers in the Court of the Terrenon and the New Palace are carpeted; the floors of the River House are polished and uncarpeted, while the halls and anterooms of the New Palace have floors of tile, marble or oak. Many of the rooms of the temples/other buildings of the Place of the Tombs on Atuan have tiled floors, sometimes with marble tiles. The Old Mage's House in Re Albi on Gont has a polished oak floor, which is regarded as a luxury. Oak Farm in the Middle Valley on Gont has stone floors; poorer houses and huts have earth floors

Sources: Iffish, WoE (a); The Eaten One, ToA; The Man Trap, ToA; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Dolphin, OW


Further Runes

See True Runes


Gadge Brewer

Brewer of Glade in the west of Havnor

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Gale

Small island in the southwest of the East Reach, near Rolameny and Soders


Galleys

See Ships


Gamble

Titles: Gamble the Windkey

A sorcerer student of the School of Wizardry on Roke in The Farthest Shore; described as stocky. He comes from Ark where he is the seventh child and first son of his parents, hence his name. A monarchist. In The Other Wind, he is the young Master Windkey

Sources: The Masters of Roke, WoE; Rejoining, OW

'A short stocky man… He lifted his staff of silvery wood.'

[Rejoining, OW]


Games

Also known as: Toys

Games mentioned include dice and sticks and sticks and counters, both played on Atuan, net-ball, played on Enlad, cat's cradles, played on Gont, and a magical version of bowls, played on Roke with 'balls of green flame and bowling-pins that leaped and hopped away as the ball came near'a. A game of houses is played on Gont using bone figures depicting people and animals. Children in Ismay make snowmen and snow castles; those of Havnor City play games of chase. Card games are not mentioned. Gambling is mentioned as a Kargish practice, but details are not given

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE (a); Iffish, WoE; The Wall Around the Place, ToA; Dreams and Tales, ToA; The Masters of Roke, FS; Finding Words, T; Dolphin, OW

Related entries: Entertainment


Gammer

Owner of an ox team in Re Albi; presumably a farmer

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Gan

Carpenter of Sattins island in the East Reach; wall-eyed and incompetent

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Gannet

Sorcerer on Taon who taught Alder; he died five years before the events of The Other Wind

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Dolphin, OW


Gar

City of the island of Atuan, to the north west of the Tombs of Atuan

Sources: The Wall Around the Place, ToA


Garden door

Second door of the Great House of Roke, called Medra's Gate after the first Master Doorkeeper. It is oak with an iron bolt, and leads to gardens and fields by Roke Knoll. Like the back door, it is kept by the Doorkeeper

Sources: The Finder, TfE

'It was uncarved oak, black and massive, with an iron bolt worn thin with age.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Garhirien

Also known as: Garhirion

Northern islet, lying off the east coast of Ea, west of Oranéa and south of the South Teeth


Gate of Selidor

Small island off the east coast of Selidor, in the West Reach

Sources: Frontispiece map, TfE


Geath

Islet in the east of the Ninety Isles, near Roke; centre of whaling. The town has oil sheds and stinks of whale products

Sources: Hunted, WoE; The Finder, TfE

'There they fished for whales, as they still do. That was a trade he wanted no part of. Their ships stank and their town stank.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Gebbeth

Human being possessed by a dark force to become a puppet, whose body is only a shell. An example is Skiorh, who was possessed by the shadow-beast on Osskil

'The body of a gebbeth has been drained of true substance and is something like a shell or a vapour in the form of a man, an unreal flesh clothing the shadow which is real.'

[Hunted, WoE]


Ged

Also known as: Sparrowhawk, Duny, Kelub (the red one), Hawk, the Hawk Mage
Titles: Archmage of Roke, Dragonlord, Healer of the Rune of Peace

Very powerful mage, dragonlord and explorer. Born in Ten Alders, Gont, seventh son of the bronze-smith of Ten Alders. Initially a goatherd and smith's boy, he was taught magic by his maternal aunt, the Witch of Ten Alders, Ogion the Silent and then at the School of Wizardry on Roke. His use-name, Sparrowhawk, derives from his habit of calling hawks to him. He uses the rune of the Talon. Bears lifelong scars on left cheek and shoulder from encounter with shadow-beast he released as a young man. After many heroic exploits, including defeating Yevaud, the Dragon of Pendor, sailing the Dragons' Run, building the seawall of Nepp, capping the Black Well of Fundaur, destroying the Tombs of Atuan and rejoining the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, he became Archmage after the death of Gensher of Way. With the young Lebannen, he defeated the necromancer Cob, in the process spending his power. After revealing Lebannen to be King of All the Isles, he retired to the Old Mage's House on Gont using the name Hawk, there he later marries Tenar and adopts Tehanu. Songs celebrating his deeds include the Song of the Sparrowhawk & Deed of Ged

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; The Rowan Tree, FS; The Dry Land, FS; Winter, T

'…a short, straight, vigorous figure in a hooded cloak of white wool. …his face was reddish-dark, hawk-nosed, seamed on one cheek with old scars. The eyes were bright and fierce.'

[The Rowan Tree, FS]

Further information on Ged


Ged's staff

Ged bears a wizard's staff of black yew-wood, originally shod with bronze; in The Farthest Shore, the Bond Rune is set into it in silver. His first staff was given to him by Gensher of Way and lost on Osskil; his second was crafted by Ogion and left on the shore of Selidor

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; Hunted, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE; The Rowan Tree, FS; The Stone of Pain, FS

'the staff of yew that bore near the grip, in silver set in the black wood, the Lost Rune of the Kings.'

[The Rowan Tree, FS]


Gehis of the Havens

Lord of the Havens, he rebelled against the rule of King Maharion; Maharion was mortally wounded in battle with him in 452. May have been one of several who unsuccessfully contested the throne after Maharion's death

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Gelluk

Also known as: Tinaral, Whiteface, Old Whiteface

Powerful wizard from the north, chief mage in the service of Losen during the Dark Years; described as tall, pale, with bluish eyes and long hair, wearing rich scarlet robes and a peaked hat. Particularly skilled at controlling others. Obsessed with quicksilver (mercury), which (based on a lore-book from Way) he calls the King or the Allking, he seems to have been driven mad, perhaps by mercury poisoning. Killed by Medra and Anieb who trick him into speaking his true name, Tinaral

'Gelluk wore fantastic clothes, as many of his kind did in those days. A long robe of Lorbanery silk, scarlet, embroidered in gold and black with runes and symbols, and a wide-brimmed, peak-crowned hat made him seem taller than a man could be. … His face was large and long, whiter than any face Otter had seen, with bluish eyes. Grey and black hairs curled here and there on his chin and cheeks. His calm, open smile showed small teeth, several of them missing.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Gemal Sea-born

Also known as: Gemal Sea-born of Ilien
Titles: King of All the Isles, King of Earthsea

Ancient King of All the Isles, he ruled at Havnor City and was the first king from the House of Ilien. His hall forms the throne room of the New Palace. Father of Denggemal, grandfather of Heru and great-grandfather of Maharion

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Gender roles

Many industries/professions are traditionally gender specific in the Archipelago: mining, building, midwifery, spinning and domestic weaving being performed by women, ship-building, wizardry, sailing and the military by men. On Gont & Semel it appears unusual for men to perform household tasks, such as washing dishes or clothes. Other occupations, including farming, appear to be engaged in equally by both sexes. Though women were instrumental in founding the Roke School of Wizardry, the high arts of magic were restricted to men in 730. In Tehanu, a woman's roles are described as wife, mother and housekeeper, with men being said to hold the power. However, women form part of the island government on several islands in the East Reach, and Lebannen's King's Council contains multiple female councillors; historical rulers of Earthsea include many queens, though Ged dismisses them: '"A queen's only a she-king."'a On Gont, property appears to pass exclusively in the male line.

Division of labour by gender is said to be stricter in the Kargad Lands than in the Archipelago, but few details are available. Though the highest religious functionaries are female, by the time of The Tombs of Atuan, their power appears to be entirely token

Sources: Kalessin, T; Bettering, T; Winter, T (a); The Finder, TfE; On the High Marsh, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW

'…what a woman should do: bed, breed, bake, cook, clean, spin, sew, serve.'

'"Both manhood and magery are built on one rock: power belongs to men. If women had power, what would men be but women who can't bear children? And what would women be but men who can?"'

[Kalessin, T/Winter, T]


Gensher of Way

Titles: Archmage Gensher

Archmage after Nemmerle's death. From Way in the east of the Archipelago. Brings Stone of Shelieth to Roke. Dies of illness five years before the start of The Farthest Shore

'Like the old Archmage the new one was cloaked in white; but like most men of Way and the East Reach Gensher was black-skinned, and his look was black, under thick brows.'

[The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE]


Ges

Rune which gives endurance; one of the nine True Runes engraved on the Ring of Erreth-Akbe

Sources: The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA

Related entries: Runes


Gesture

Bowing the head or holding both palms open before the heart are traditional greetings across much of the Archipelago, while touching right hands palm against palm is a traditional greeting in Ea and the Enlades. In both the Archipelago and the Kargad Lands, bowing and curtseying are used in greeting royalty, and a stately embrace is used by royalty and nobility for bidding farewell in public. A Havnor courtier's gesture of respect involves kneeling on one knee and briefly touching the forehead to the recipient's right wrist, and a deep bow, with one knee touching the ground, is used in approaching the One Priestess on Atuan. Pointing the thumb, first and last finger of the left hand at someone means 'may you never come back!' in the Archipelago. During the Dark Years, women of the Hand identified each other by a hand gesture involving raising the first finger and then the other fingers, clenching the hand into a fist and finally opening it palm outwards.

Hand or arm gestures are common components of magic spells. A hand gesture meaning 'avert' is in common use across the Archipelago, and an unspecified gesture to avert defilement is also used on Atuan. Pointing the right arm out and down is used to turn curses on Atuan, while lifting the arm with the hand stiffly outstretched accompanies a curse there

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA; The Man Trap, ToA; Names, ToA; Finding Words, T; The Finder, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Palaces, OW; Rejoining, OW


Gift

See Emer


Glade

Town in the west of Havnor island, forty miles from Havnor South Port, near Reche and Easthill, set among oak- and chestnut-forested hills, in the Western domain. Has a village green and a smithy; the local river is the Amia

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Glosses of Danemer

One of two lore-books belonging to Heleth and later Ogion; the other is the Arcana of the Enlades. Heleth is said to have got his lore-books from Ennas of Perregal. One of these books contains the spell of summoning of the spirits of the dead which Ged later uses with disasterous consequences

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Bones of the Earth, TfE

'These books were very ancient, Ogion having them from his own master Heleth Farseer, and Heleth from his master the Mage of Perregal, and so back into the times of myth. Small and strange was the writing, overwritten and interlined by many hands, and all those hands were dust now.'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Gmet

Small islet off the east coast of Paln, near Lossow, in the Pelnish Sea


Gobar

Titles: Captain of the Guards

Captain of the guards of the Place of the Tombs of Atuan. The temple guards appear to be distinct from the Godking's soldiers

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA


Gobardon

Bright, topaz-yellow star only seen in the South Reach; the name means crown. Part of a nine-star constellation of a running man or the rune Agnen, called Ending

Sources: Sea Dreams, FS; The Madman, FS; Orm Embar, FS; Winter, T


Gobefore

Old male black dog that never barks, belonging to the Witch of Ten Alders on Gont

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


God-Brothers

See Twin Gods


God-Brothers, Temple of the

See Temple of the God-Brothers


Godking

Titles: Divine Emperor of Kargad, Emperor of the Kargad Lands, Lord Who Has Arisen, the Man Immortal

Ruler of the Kargad Lands. His court is at Awabath on Karego-At. The first Godking reigned around 150 years before The Tombs of Atuan (in the year 840); before that the Kargad Lands were ruled by Priest-Kings. At the time of ToA, the Godking is around 50 and bald. The Godking is deposed by High King Thol from Hur-at-Hur in a civil war in around 1061 (ten years after the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy), and flees to the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, to be murdered by a priest-eunuch

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA; Palaces, OW

'"…Am I supposed to feel so much awe and so on about the Godking? After all he's just a man, even if he does live in Awabath in a palace ten miles around with gold roofs. He's about fifty years old, and he's bald. You can see in all the statues. And I'll bet you he has to cut his toenails, just like any other man. I know perfectly well that he's a god, too. But what I think is, he'll be much godlier after he's dead."'

[Dreams and Tales, ToA]


Godking, Temple of the

See Temple of the Godking


Godking's soldiers

Also known as: Soldiers of the red helmet

Soldiers in the Godking's service in the Kargad Lands, distinguished by red-plumed helmets. Apparently distinct from the temple guards of the Place of the Tombs, their duties include taking prisoners to the Place of the Tombs, accompanying priestesses of the Tombs when they travel, acting as gate guards for Kargish towns and, presumably, guarding the Godking and his palace in Awabath

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Prisoners, ToA; The Western Mountains, ToA


Goha

See Tenar


Golden

Rich merchant of the town of Glade on Havnor island; owns chestnut groves, sawmill and carting business. Lives in a fine, comfortable two-storey house in the high end of town. Husband of Tuly and father of Diamond. Described as a big, tall man, careful, practical and rather contemptuous of music and similar arts. He is around twenty-eight when Diamond is born

'He was a consciously close-mouthed man, distrustful of visions until they could be made acts'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Goldie

Whore in Oraby on the island of Semel

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Gont

Medium-sized island in the north east of the Archipelago, near the Kargad Lands, around a thousand miles from Roke. North lies the Northeast Sea; to the south, the Gontish Sea. Fifty miles wide and composed of the single high, wooded Gont Mountain; the interior is rocky and forested; the coastal regions are farmed, including Northward Vale in the north-east and Middle Valley in the south. Major towns are the capital Gont Port and East Port. Smaller towns and villages include Re Albi, Tettego, Etreke, Gont South Port, Lissu, Kahedanan, Oak Springs, Oak Village & Valmouth in the south; Korry, Up Selt, Desi Port, Ketoleko, Var, Solwes, Essary, Allage & Kebas in the west; Kemay, Tutok Bay, Kedun, Oskres & Selt in the northwest; Norvale & Up Norvale in the north; Ten Alders, Medu, Chodur & Lotin in the northeast; and Beech Springs, Wiss, Down Wiss, Ovark, Tant & Toss in the east. Other named features include East Forest, the rivers Ar & Kaheda, Armouth sands, Valmouth Bay, Cutnorth Cliff, High Fall, Kapperding Scarp, Hot Springs Mountain, Round Hill, Long Fells and the Overfell. The climate is cool, with fog and snow in winter. Suffered an earthquake in around 968 and again in 1004. Ruled by the Lord of Gont, at Gont Port; parts of it were under Kargish rule for at least a generation in the time of Maharion. Known for wizards, pirates and goatherds

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Frontispiece map, T; The Bones of the Earth, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-racked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards. From the towns in its high valleys and the ports on its dark narrow bays many a Gontishman has gone forth to serve the Lords of the Archipelago in their cities as wizard or mage, or, looking for adventure, to wander working magic from isle to isle of all Earthsea.'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]

Further information on Gont


Gont Mountain

Also known as: Gont Peak

Mountain forming the island of Gont. Its multiple ridges, between which the Gontish valleys nestle, radiate from several central summits rising around 5000 feet (1600m) above sea level; Hot Springs Mountain above Lissu and a south peak are mentioned. Its lower slopes are forested

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Frontispiece map, T; The Dolphin, T; The Master, T

'The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-racked Northeast Sea …'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]


Gont Port

Also known as: Great Port of Gont

Main city on Gont, situated in the south. Busy seaport on a long narrow bay, sheltered by the 100 foot wide channel formed by the Armed Cliffs. Built from stone and clay bricks; the streets are steep and cobbled. The gate on the landward side has two carved stone dragons; other features include a signal or watchtower, forts on the Armed Cliffs manned with archers, and a fish market. Inland of the city lie steep knotted hills. Lying on a fault line, it is threatened by earthquake damage. Seat of the Lord of Gont

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Finding Words, T; The Dolphin, T; The Bones of the Earth, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'So to Ged who had never been down from the heights of the mountain, the Port of Gont was an awesome and marvellous place, the great houses and towers of cut stone and waterfront of piers and docks and basins and moorages, the seaport where half a hundred boats and galleys rocked at quayside or lay hauled up and overturned for repairs or stood out at anchor in the roadstead with furled sails and closed oarports, the sailors shouting in strange dialects and the longshoremen running heavy-laden amongst barrels and boxes and coils of rope and stacks of oars, the bearded merchants in furred robes conversing quietly as they picked their way along the slimy stones above the water, the fishermen unloading their catch, coopers pounding and shipmasters bellowing, and beyond all the silent, shining bay.'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Gont South Port

Also known as: South Port (Gont), South Port

Port town or village in the south of Gont, near Etreke

Sources: Frontispiece map, TfE


Gont, Lord of

See Lord of Gont


Gontish Sea

Sea to the south-west of Gont island, in which lie Oranéa, Barnisk, Torheven and the islet Kameber

Sources: The Shadow, WoE


Gontish sheep-guard

Large grey breed of dog found on Gont; presumably used to mind sheep

'…one of the big grey Gontish sheep-guards, with their wise, curly heads.'

[Home, T]


Gore

Old slave trader of Wathort

Sources: Dolphin, OW


Gosk

Tiny island in the easternmost region of the East Reach, near Kornay

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Government

Some parts of the Archipelago form principalities governed by Ruling Princes; these include Enlad, Ilien (including Ark) and Way. The extent of the powers of the princes is unclear, but they levy taxes and keep soldiers. Other lands are ruled by Lords of smaller areas, for example the Lord of O, Lord of Gont, and the Lords of the Domain of Eolg on Havnor, and of the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil. The Archmage has dominion on Roke, and, before the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, wields considerable political power in the Inner Lands. The islands of the Reaches and the Ninety Isles are ruled by Isle-Men/Women (Islandmen/women), or chiefs. Some towns and districts appear to exert a degree of self-government; for example, the town of Sosara on Lorbanery has a mayor; the district around Valmouth in southern Gont has a council & a mayor (the latter has funds, suggesting an ability to raise taxes); after the restoration of the monarchy, the villages of Middle Valley on Gont also form a council employing bailiffs and levying taxes. Villages on Gont are governed by village elders. Various trade guilds, such as the Seamasters, also govern those who follow that trade.

During the kingless years, there appears to be no universal set of laws even across the Archipelago and Reaches, for example slavery is practised in some areas and outlawed in others. After the restoration of the monarchy in 1051, Lebannen rules over the Archipelago from Havnor under the title King of All the Isles, nominally via a hundred-strong appointed King's Council.

The Kargad Lands are governed from Awabath on Karego-At by Priest-Kings, the Godking and (after around 1061) the High King. The Children of the Open Sea (raft people) are ruled by a chief

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; Home, T; The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: Taxation; Legal and punitive systems


Gravels

Range of tiny islets lying between Ebosskil and Norst & Sorresk and into the western part of the Gut of Osskil, in the northwest of the Archipelago


Great Bay of Havnor

See Bay of Havnor


Great Hall of Gemal Sea-born

See Throne room


Great House of Roke

Also known as: Roke, Great House of, House of the Wise, House of Roke

Location of the School of Wizardry on Roke, built shortly after the foundation of the school in 650. A great castle-like building of grey stone with slate roofs on a hill above Thwil town. The main doorway, called the back door, is of ivory; its door is of horn; the oak garden door leads to Roke Knoll. Within is the central, roofless Court of the Fountain, the Court of Seeming, the Room of Shelves where lore-books are kept, the Hearth Hall where feasts are held, a Council Room where the Masters of Roke meet, the Chanter's Tower, a magicians' workroom in the south tower, a dining hall or refectory, kitchen, gallery, healing-chambers, wardrobe room, Doorkeeper's chamber and numerous small sleeping cells. Outside are kitchen gardens with vegetables, herbs, soft fruit and fruit trees

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Rowan Tree, FS; The Masters of Roke, FS; Orm Embar, FS; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'…the Great House of Roke, which would stand any assault of war, or earthquake, or the sea itself, being built not only of stone, but of incontestable magic.'

[The Rowan Tree, FS]


Great Island

See Havnor


Great Ones

Gods of the Children of the Open Sea (raft people); they are believed to take the form of whales. Their temple, the House of the Great Ones, contains carved idols of god figures, depicting a mixture of dolphin, fish, man and seabird

Sources: The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Great Port

See Havnor City


Great Port of Gont

See Gont Port


Great South Shoals

Long string of islets running southwest to northeast by the Isle of the Ear in the South Reach


Great Treasury of the Tombs

See Treasury of the Tombs


Greenstone

See Inalkil


Grey

Grey hen belonging to Heleth. The other chickens are named Red Bucca, Brown Bucca, Leggings, Candor, and the King

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Grey Mage of Paln

Mage from Paln who made great spells (the Lore of Paln) to summon the spirits of the dead for counsel to the Lords of Paln a thousand years ago. He killed the great mage Nereger of Paln. Cob bears his staff, a long steel rod, engraved with runes

Sources: Sea Dreams, FS; Orm Embar, FS

'"…it is seldom done, and I doubt that it is ever wisely done. In this the Master Summoner agrees with me; he does not use or teach the Lore of Paln, in which such spells are contained. The greatest of them were made by one called the Grey Mage of Paln, a thousand years ago. He summoned up the spirits of the heroes and mages, even Erreth-Akbe, to give counsel to the Lords of Paln in their wars and government. But the counsel of the dead is not profitable to the living. Paln came on evil times, and the Grey Mage was driven forth; he died nameless."'

[Sea Dreams, FS]


Grey Mage, Staff of the

See Staff of the Grey Mage


Grey wizard

Another name for wizards trained at the School of Wizardry on Roke

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Grove, the

See Immanent Grove


Gruel

Also known as: Barley gruel, Oatmeal gruel

Warm barley gruel is drunk by country people of Gont, and Tenar makes oatmeal gruel there as a breakfast drink

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

Related entries: Beverages, non-alcoholic


Guards

See Soldiers


Guilds

See Trade guilds


Guld

Titles: Goody Guld

Old woman of Sattins island in the East Reach; talkative widow of a concertina maker. Her nephew is Birt

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Gull of Eskel

Merchant ship on which Spark serves, presumably based out of the islet of Eskel. Commandeered by Lebannen's officers in around 1052, for running contraband or stolen cargo

Sources: The Dolphin, T; The Master, T


Gully

See Irioth


Gut of Osskil

Sea channel running east--west between the two arms which form the western end of the island of Osskil; around 150 miles in length. Islets called the Gravels lie in its mouth


Hair styles

Dark straight hair is the norm in the Archipelago and Reaches, while people of the Kargad Lands generally have fair or yellow hair; there are, however, exceptions, including dark-haired Tenar and red-haired Sopli. People in the west of Havnor isle generally have curly or frizzy hair. Some men are explicitly described as having long hair; for example, Ged as an old man wears his hair tied back, Alder has long hair loosely gathered at the nape, Sopli has long wiry reddish hair, Cob in his Sending has long black hair, and Ivory is described as having braided hair with the braid clubbed. It's unclear whether others have short hair, but it seems probable. Skiorh and an unnamed sailor on the Dolphin are bald. Women generally seem to have long hair. In the Archipelago, women's hair is often described as unbound; for example, Serret's hair (as a child on Gont) is described: 'Her hair fell long and straight like a fall of black water'a; the witch of Ten Alders has uncombed, tangled black hair. Braided hair is, however, mentioned for Rush, a common woman on Pody in the Dark Years, and the Gontish witch Moss has her hair tied in charm-knots. Hairpins are mentioned on Gont.

Kargish warriors wear their fair hair long, as does Azver, the Kargish Master Patterner; in court dress, their hair is braided, though the warriors who attacked Ten Alders seem to have worn their hair loose. Manan is described as hairless. Plaited or braided hair is mentioned for women at the Place of the Tombs of Atuan; Arha's (Tenar's) hair is cut short during her dedication to the Nameless Ones, but is later described as braided

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Shadow, WoE (a); Hunted, WoE; Lorbanery, FS; Ogion, T; Finding Words, T; The Finder, TfE; Palaces, OW

Related entries: Headgear; Beards


Hake

Male tramp of Middle Valley on Gont; thin with a hairy chest. Probably father of Tehanu. Part of group including Handy, Shag and Senini, he's injured by a pitchfork when the group attack Oak Farm. Sentenced to slave labour in the galleys for his involvement in the murder of Senini

Sources: Home, T; Winter, T; The Master, T


Halkel

Also known as: Halkel of Way
Titles: Archmage

First archmage of the School of Wizardry on Roke in 730, some eighty years after the establishment of the school. He established a rigid hierarchy of wizards, sorcerers and witches, and set up a distinction between the high arts and base crafts of magic. He banned the teaching of the high arts such as knowledge of the Old Speech to women (though this proscription was widely ignored), and excluded them from Roke School. He also abolished the original office of the Master Finder, now considered a base craft, replacing it with the Master Chanter

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Hall of the Throne

Ancient and semi-derelict temple of the Nameless Ones at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; a vast low hall with a crumbling dome. The Throne Room has double rows of columns and a huge black jewelled throne, the Empty Throne, on a high platform of red-veined marble. Behind lies a warren of small rooms, including storerooms, treasure rooms, robing rooms, attics & basements; one cell contains a trapdoor, the only exit from the Labyrinth; another has a small trapdoor to the Room of Chains within a minor labyrinth off the Undertomb which lies beneath the Hall of the Throne. The oldest temple in the Kargad Lands, it is destroyed when Ged & Tenar escape from the Labyrinth with the Ring of Erreth-Akbe

Sources: The Eaten One, ToA; The Prisoners, ToA; Light under the Hill, ToA; The Anger of the Dark, ToA

'Through cracks in the roof of the Hall of the Throne, gaps between columns where a whole section of masonry and tile had collapsed, unsteady sunshine shone aslant. … Dead leaves of weeds that had forced up between marble pavement-tiles were outlined with frost, and crackled, catching on the long black robes of the priestesses.'

'…the altars, the alcoves behind and beneath the altars, the rooms of chests and boxes, the contents of the chests and boxes, the passages and attics, the dusty hollow under the dome where hundreds of bats nested, the basements and underbasements that were the anterooms of the corridors of darkness.'

[The Eaten One, ToA/Light under the Hill, ToA]


Hama Gondun

Also known as: Woman on Gont, a

'Hama Gondun!' ('a woman on Gont') is a prophecy spoken in Kargish by Azver the Patterner during the council of the Masters of Roke in around 1051 to choose an Archmage to succeed Ged. At the time the prophecy is made, it is thought that the woman would guide them to the new Archmage. Azver later identifies Tehanu as the woman of the prophecy, which proves instead to refer to the Vedurnan

Sources: The Dolphin, T; Dragonfly, TfE; Rejoining, OW


Hand

See Master Hand


Hand, the

See Women of the Hand


Hands

Also known as: West Hand, East Hand, The Hands

Pair of mountainous inhabited islands at the northern edge of the East Reach, south of Karego-At and north of Vemish; named for their shape. The western isle has steep forests. So rarely are they visited by Archipelagan ships that songs made a hundred years ago are new there

Sources: Hunting, WoE; Iffish, WoE

'a pair of lonely isles that reach their mountain-fingers northward towards the Kargad Lands.'

[Hunting, WoE]


Handy

Young male tramp of Middle Valley on Gont, described as 'well enough looking'a. He wears a leather cap, jerkin and vest with a torn shoulder seam. Part of group including Hake, Shag and Senini. Sentenced to slave labour in the galleys for his involvement in the murder of Senini

Sources: A Bad Thing, T; Going to the Falcon's Nest; Hawks, T (a); Winter, T; The Master, T


Hara

See Alder


Hardic

Also known as: Common tongue

General language of the Archipelago, derived from the Old Speech. Whilst Hardic is widely spoken in the Archipelago and the Reaches, some islands, such as Enlad and Osskil, have their own languages or dialects. The Children of the Open Sea (raft people) speak a heavily accented but understandable version of Hardic. Hardic is not spoken in the Kargad Lands

'The Hardic tongue of the Archipelago, though it has no more magic power in it than any other tongue of men, has its roots in the Old Speech…'

[The Shadow, WoE]

Related entries: Language

Further information on Hardic


Hardic lands

See Archipelago


Hardic runes

Also known as: Runic writing

Non-magical runes used for general writing purposes in the Archipelago, for example Ogion's letter to Nemmerle. Not the same as the Six Hundred Runes of Hardic, which are True Runes, used for magic. Possible examples include the rune of the Closed Door, the rune of the Closed Mouth, rune of the Talon and the sword-rune

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Hare

Weatherworker for the pirate Egre; Egre cut his right hand off after he lost his powers

'…the dark, bearded face had been very handsome once. The wrinkled wrist stump lay on the pavement stones in the hot, bright sunlight, shameful.'

[Hort Town, FS]


Harrekki

Also known as: harikki, harekki

A tiny dragon-lizard, common on Iffish, that lives in oak trees and eats wasps, worms and eggs, and grows no larger than a hand. Yarrow keeps one as a pet

Sources: Iffish, WoE


Hatha

See Moss


Hats

See Headgear


Havnor

Also known as: Great Island, King's Island, the Great Isle, Cold Hill

The largest island in the Archipelago, Havnor lies at its centre, and is the seat of the monarchy. A broad, rich, heavily farmed land with green hills and several mountain ranges, the Faliern Mountains, Revnian Mountains & Mount Onn. The Onneva river feeds into the Great Bay of Havnor, on which lies the capital city, Havnor City, also known as Havnor Great Port. South of this city lies the cave of Aurun, known as the Lips of Paor, a centre of the Old Powers. Other inhabitations include Havnor South Port, Glade, Reche, Easthill, Resbel and the villages of Endlane, Woodedge & Firn. Other features include Faliern Forest, the sands of Onneva and the rivers Amia, Serrenen & Yennava. The island is divided into domains, including Eolg and the Western domain

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; The Finder, TfE; Diamond and Darkrose; TfE; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW


Havnor Bay

See Bay of Havnor


Havnor City

Also known as: Havnor Great Port, Great Port, The King's City

Walled city of the isle of Havnor, seat of the King of All the Isles. A large, bustling, wealthy port on the huge Bay of Havnor, it's a city of steep, wide paved streets and squares, little dark shops, shuttered houses, roof gardens, and many canals, decorated bridges and white marble towers. Features include the New Palace, where the imperial court is located & whose highest tower (Tower of the Kings) is crowned with the Sword of Erreth-Akbe; the River House; a harbour berthing a hundred ships; the king's shipyards; Boatwright Street in the old city; and the stream Serrenen, which runs within the city walls at the north of the city. The city is backed by Mount Onn to the north. To the south, the countryside is relatively poor, with rough ridged hills and marshy valleys; the cave of Aurun, called the Lips of Paor (a centre of the Old Powers), is located a few miles south of the city

Sources: The Great Treasure, ToA; Bettering, T; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW

'"…the fairest of them all, maybe, is Havnor, the great land at the centre of the world. In the heart of Havnor on a broad bay full of ships is the City Havnor. The towers of the city are built of white marble. The house of every prince and merchant has a tower, so they rise up one above the other. The roofs of the houses are red tile, and all the bridges over the canals are covered in mosaic work, red and blue and green. And the flags of the princes are all colours, flying from the white towers. On the highest of all the towers, the Sword of Erreth-Akbe is set, like a pinnacle, skyward. When the sun rises on Havnor it flashes first on that blade and makes it bright, and when it sets the Sword is golden still above the evening, for a while."'

'Now she was able to loiter and watch the street shows, the market booths, the various faces and clothing from all over the Archipelago, to go out of the direct way to let her footboy show her a street where the painted bridges from rooftop to rooftop made a kind of airy vaulted ceiling high above them, from which red-flowering vines looped down in festoons, and people put birdcages out the windows on gilt poles among the flowers, so that it all seemed a garden in the middle of the air.'

[The Great Treasure, ToA/The Dragon Council, OW]


Havnor Great Port

See Havnor City


Havnor South Port

Also known as: South Port (Havnor), South Port

Old city port in the south-west of Havnor island with cobbled streets; a centre of ship-building

'…the water stairs, the dirty harbor water sloshing at the next step down, the yells of gulls and dock workers wreathing the air with a thin, ungainly music…'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Havnorian Lay

Lay that recounts the history of the fourteen kings and queens of Havnor

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW

'A hundred warriors, a hundred women / sat in the great hall of Gemal Sea-Born / at the king's table, courtly in talk, / handsome and generous gentry of Havnor, / no warriors braver, no women more beautiful.'

[The Dragon Council, OW]

Related entries: Songs


Hawk

False identity as a trader from Temere on Enlad, used by Ged when visiting Hort Town in The Farthest Shore. He later uses the name when living as a farmer on Gont

Sources: Hort Town, FS; Home, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Hayohe

See Apple


Hazia

Also known as: hazia-root

Addictive drug used in Hort Town to give visions; users chew the root. It blackens the mouth and causes nervous disorders and eventually death

'"It soothes and numbs, letting the body be free of the mind. And the mind roams free. But when it returns to the body it needs more hazia … and the craving grows: and the life is short, for the stuff is poison. First there is a trembling, and later paralysis, and then death."'

[Hort Town, FS]


Headgear

Also known as: Hats, Caps, Headdresses

Hats are among items sold at the market in Hort Town on Wathort; velvet caps and hair ribbons are carried by Medra as a peddler on Pody during the Dark Years. Felt hats are worn by farmhands, knitted watch caps by shepherds, wool caps by sailors; the tramp Handy wears a leather cap. The king's messengers from Havnor wear hats. Ged once wears a makeshift turban of sailcloth aboard Lookfar. Well-born women in the Archipelago are often described in some form of headdress, such as the net of silver crowning Lady Serret's hair, and opals bound in the hair of the Lady of O; a female market trader in Hort Town wears a feathered headdress decked with tiny mirrors. Cloaks for both sexes frequently have hoods. A wizard on Havnor during the Dark Years is described as wearing a wide-brimmed, peak-crowned hat, which might have been typical of wizards at that time.

High-born women of Hur-at-Hur in the Kargad Lands wear the feyag, an all-encompassing veil attached to a flat-brimmed hat or headdress; such veils don't seem to be worn elsewhere in the Kargad Empire. The Godking's soldiers wear red-plumed helmets, probably bronze; warriors of the High King in court dress wear plumed headdresses

Sources: Hort Town, FS; Sea Dreams, FS; Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Mice, T; Home, T; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW


Healing

Also known as: Medicine

Healing is a skill of wizards, physician-sorcerers, healalls, herbalists, bonesetters and many witches, and is based on herbal remedies, magical spells, charms or talismans, chants, runes and symptomatic treatment, which are sometimes used separately, but often in conjunction.

Herbal remedies include corly-root, white hallows, witch hazel and cobweb-wrapped perriot leaves. Herbs may be ingested as tea, applied to the skin in ointments, salves or poultices, or burned for their scented smoke. Spells range from calling the spirit back from the spirit world to simple spells of feverstay, blood-staunching, wart-curing and against seasickness, as well as non-specific curing charms. Charms or talismans include emmel-stone charms against rheums, sprains and stiff necks, and a sailors' talisman of petrel breastbone and seaweed, used to avert seasickness. Spells and charms are also used to ward off illness, eg: 'he laid charms of heal and ward on children who were lame or sickly.'a Chants are said to 'aid the sick body or the troubled mind'b and include the Nagian Chant. The rune Pirr is used for burns. A highly gifted mender, such as Lily, can heal broken limbs, though this appears to be a rare skill.

Symptomatic treatment mentioned includes bed rest, poultices, cooling fever with cold water, bandaging wounds, setting broken bones, salving cuts, disinfection of wounds/sores with salt water and massage with warm oils.

There is no mention of anything akin to hospitals, though Roke School of Wizardry has healing-chambers presided over by the Master Herbal. Healing lore is taught on Roke

Sources: Iffish, WoE (a); Orm Embar, FS (b)

'…Master Herbal had taught him much of the healer's lore, and the first lesson and the last of all that lore was this: Heal the wound and cure the illness, but let the dying spirit go.'

[The Dragon of Pendor, WoE]

Related entries: Curer; Disease; Midwifery


Heart of the Swan

Also known as: Tehanu (star), Arrow, the

White summer star seen in the Archipelago & Kargad Lands; called 'the Arrow' in Ten Alders on Gont and 'Tehanu' in Kargish

Sources: Worsening, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Heather

Simple woman who lives with the witch Moss and works as a goatherd in Re Albi on Gont. Aged around twenty during Tehanu, she's big and bony; described as gentle

Sources: Kalessin, T; Mice, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'…a bawling-voiced, gentle lackwit of twenty…'

[Kalessin, T]


Hega of O

First Master Hand of the Roke School of Wizardry, he teaches tricks of illusion

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Heleth

Also known as: Dulse, Heleth Farseer

Mage of Re Albi, master of Ogion the Silent. Born in Re Albi to a sorcerer-prospector, he was taught by the sorceress Ard and by Nemmerle at the School of Wizardry on Roke. His staff is of yew tipped with copper; his lorebooks come from the mage Ennas of Perregal via Ard. Lives at the Old Mage's House on Gont. Considering himself an impatient, quick-tempered man, and said to be talkative for a wizard, he's also described as peaceful. With Ogion, aged nearly eighty, he stilled the earthquake threatening Gont Port ten years before 'The Shadow' [WoE], giving his life in the process

'Dulse considered himself a wordy, impatient man with a short temper. The necessity of not swearing had been a burden to him in his youth, and for thirty years the imbecility of prentices, clients, cows, and chickens had tried him sorely. Prentices and clients were afraid of his tongue, though cows and chickens paid no attention to his outbursts.'

[The Bones of the Earth, TfE]


Hemlock

Scholar and wizard of Havnor South Port; trained at the Roke School of Wizardry. Lives an austere life, in a narrow house on a back street of the city. Described as serious, unyielding and quiet, with a dry flat voice, he's said to be loath to practise the lesser arts of magic. Briefly teacher of Diamond

'Hemlock was an honest, upright, humorless, scholarly wizard, with little interest in feelings or ideas. His gift was for names.'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Hemmen

Large tree found on Roke, and probably elsewhere

Sources: Rejoining, OW


Heno

Titles: Lord Heno

Lord of Valmouth in the south of Gont; his stone manor house stands in the hills behind Valmouth. Said to be corrupt and to support piracy. After the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, he sends three ships commanded by Tally against Lebannen's fleet, but is arrested by the king's soldiers and tried for piracy and murder

Sources: Home, T; Winter, T


Herbal

See Master Herbal


Herbal remedies

An important part of healing in the Archipelago. Herbal remedies mentioned include corly-root, for fever; white hallows, a white-flowering herb of unknown use; witch hazel, used on burns; and cobweb-wrapped perriot leaves, used to staunch bleeding (cobwebs alone are also used for bleeding). Herbs may be ingested as tea, applied to the skin in ointments, salves or poultices, or burned for their scented smoke; they may also form a component of potions and elixirs. Herb lore is commonly known by village witches & sorcerers, and is taught by the Master Herbal at the Roke School of Wizardry

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The School for Wizards, WoE; The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; A Bad Thing, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Herbs, trance inducing

See Trance-inducing herbs


Heru

Also known as: Eagle Queen, the Eagle
Titles: Queen of Earthsea

Queen of Earthsea, of the House of Ilien; she ruled from Havnor in 400-430. Granddaughter of Gemal Sea-born and daughter of Denggemal, she married Aiman of the House of Morred; their son was Maharion. She undertook a building programme in Havnor City, including the River House palace (called the Queen's House) and, with Maharion, the three towers of the New Palace. During her reign, dragons started to raid the western isles and forays by the Kargs increased. Given the Ring of Erreth-Akbe by Aiman as a marriage gift, she gave it to Erreth-Akbe to take to the Kargad Lands as a sign of peace in 440

Sources: The Finder, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW


High arts

The greater arts of magic, as defined by Archmage Halkel in 730, including human healing, chanting, weatherworking (all practised by both sorcerers and wizards), as well as the art magic, including changing, naming, summoning and patterning. The art magic was practised only by (male) wizards. As opposed to the base crafts (witchcraft)

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


High Creek farm

Farm owned by Flint and Tenar, presumably in the Middle Valley on Gont; later sold to Tholy for three Havnorian ivory pieces

Sources: The Master, T


High Fall

Cliff on Gont rising 100 feet above the springs of the River Ar; also the steep goat pastures that lie above it

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE


High King

Also known as: High King of the Four Kargad Lands

Ruler of the Kargad Lands after the Godking is defeated in a civil war in around 1061

Sources: Palaces, OW


High Marsh

High marshy grassy plain on the island of Semel south of Andanden, formed due to ash deposition from the last volcanic eruption; sparsely populated, major livelihood is cattle farming. The water isn't safe to drink without boiling, and marsh fever and murrain are common. Villages include Purewells

'South of Andanden lies a land where the ashes fell a hundred feet deep when last the volcano spoke. Rivers and streams cut their way seaward through that high plain, winding and pooling, spreading and wandering, making a marsh of it, a big, desolate, waterland with a far horizon, few trees, not many people. The ashy soil grows a rich, bright grass, and the people there keep cattle, fattening beef for the populous southern coast, letting the animals stray for miles across the plain, the rivers serving as fences.'

[On the High Marsh, TfE]


Highdrake

An old mage on the Isle of Pendor; he taught Medra in around 650

'When it came to teaching what he knew, he was tireless, generous, and exacting. … Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Hill of the Tombs

Hill within the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, on which the Hall of the Throne and the Tombs of Atuan are set. The crest of the hill is encircled with a massive rock wall, the Tomb Wall

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA


Hille

Medium-sized island, the northernmost in the West Reach; near Derhemen


History of the Wise Heroes

History book

Related entries: Books


Hoary Men

See Kargs


Hode

Historical Archipelagan figure, whose unspecified deeds are recounted in the Deed of Hode

Sources: Hunted, WoE


Hoeg

See Otak


Hogen Land

Large ice-bound island in the northernmost part of the North Reach

'"Or to sail north into the ice-floes, clear to Hogen Land. Some say that is a land greater than all the Archipelago, and others say it is mere reefs and rocks with ice between. No one knows."'

[The Open Sea, WoE]


Holp

Small island in the East Reach, near Korp, Kopp and Tok

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Iffish, WoE; Afterword, WoE


Holy Land

See Atuan


Hopeful

Boat made by Medra, who sailed in her for several years seeking recruits to the newly-founded School of Wizardry on Roke during the Dark Years

'…a slender, sturdy deep-sea boat, built according to the style of Havnor.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Horsehair belt

One of the One Priestess's traditional garments on Atuan. Incidentally, the only mention of horses in the original Earthsea trilogy

Sources: Voyage, ToA


Horses

Horses are rare in the Archipelago except on the islands of Havnor, Semel and Way; indeed they are never directly mentioned in the original Earthsea trilogy. Apart from the cowboys of Semel, even on these islands horseriding seems to be a mark of status, largely confined to the nobility and the relatively wealthy. The imperial court at Havnor City has royal stables equipped with 'fine, strong, slender-legged creatures'a (Lebannen rides a big grey gelding), and stables attached to a mansion house and a farm are mentioned on Way. A carriage drawn by four grey horses carries Seserakh in state in Havnor City, and cart horses are occasionally mentioned pulling carts or wagons. Transporting horses by ship appears rare. Horses are cared for by cowboys, handlers or hostlers; riding gear mentioned includes saddle, saddle blanket, bridle, reins, headstall, whip and a mounting block. Except for a horsehair belt among the One Priestess's garments on Atuan, horses are not mentioned in the Kargad Lands

Sources: The Finder, TfE; On the High Marsh, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW (a); Dolphin, OW

Related entries: Travel & transport


Hort Town

Main city of the island of Wathort, one of the Seven Great Ports of the Archipelago. It stands on three hills with steep valleys or gorges in between, in at least one of which runs a stream. Unlike the cities of the Inner Lands, the city is constructed of clay, plastered in colours, with tiled roofs. In the backstreets, the attics of the houses almost meet overhead across the street

'Hort Town, one of the Seven Great Ports of the Archipelago, rose from its noisy waterfront up the slopes of three steep hills in a jumble of colour. The houses were of clay plastered in red, orange, yellow, white; the roofs were of purplish-red tile; pendick-trees in flower made masses of dark red along the upper streets. Gaudy striped awnings stretched from roof to roof, shading narrow marketplaces. The quays were bright with sunlight; the streets running back from the waterfront were like dark slots full of shadows and people and noise. … Overhead the attics of the houses almost met across the street, cutting out light; underfoot the stones were slippery with water and refuse. … [Arren] breathed in the sweet stink of the city, a smell of garbage, incense, carrion and flowers.'

[Hort Town, FS]


Hosk

Large island on the west side of the Inmost Sea; major city is the port of Orrimy. The interior is a lawless region

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; Hunted, WoE


Hot Springs Mountain

Mountain in the south of Gont, above Lissu and the Middle Valley. Possibly a subsidiary peak of Gont Mountain, or a local name for the mountain itself

Sources: Home, T


Hound

During the Dark Years, a wizard and finder in the service of Losen skilled in sniffing out magic and its practitioners; later unwillingly serves Early. He's described: 'with age Hound had come to look his name, wrinkled, with a long nose and sad eyes.'a Believing that '"Crafty men need to stick together"'a, he eventually deserts Losen to stay in Endlane, living with Rose of Endlane

Sources: The Finder, TfE (a)

'In Losen's service was a man who called himself Hound, because, as he said, he had a nose for witchery. His employment was to sniff Losen's food and drink and garments and women, anything that might be used by enemy wizards against him; and also to inspect his warships.'

[The Finder, TfE]


House of Enlad

Also known as: Enlad, House of

The descendants of Morred, the Princes of Enlad and the Enlades; the latest is Lebannen. Its crest is a flying heron with a twig of rowan in its beak

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; The Dragon Council, OW

'[Lebannen] was proud of his lineage, but thought of himself only as an heir of princes, one of the House of Enlad. Morred, from whom that house descended, had been dead two thousand years. His deeds were matter of legends, not of this present world. It was as if the Archmage had named him son of myth, inheritor of dreams.'

[The Masters of Roke, FS]


House of Hupun

Also known as: Hupun, House of, House of Thoreg

House of the secular kings of Karego-At, ruling from Hupun; includes Thoreg and his descendants

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


House of Tarb

Also known as: Tarb, House of

The descendants of the High Priest Intathin; the lineage of the Priest-Kings and later the Godking of the Kargad Lands

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA


House of the Great Ones

Temple of the Children of the Open Sea to the Great Ones; located on their largest raft. It has idols of god figures, carved from a single tree and depicting a mixture of dolphin, fish, man and seabird

'This raft was larger and higher out of the water than any other, made of logs forty feet in length and four or five feet wide, blackened and smooth with use and weather. Strangely carven statues of wood stood about the several shelters or enclosures on it, and tall poles bearing tufts of seabirds' feathers stood at the four corners. … the large shelter near by: a kind of temple, it appeared to be, with a square design of great complexity above the doorway, and the doorjambs made of logs carved in the shape of grey whales sounding.'

[The Children of the Open Sea, FS]


House of the One Priestess

See Small House


House of the Sea-Guild

Also known as: Sea-Guild, House of the

Place in Gont Port which deals with local shipping business, presumably run by the local Seamasters. Has a buttery where people such as longshoremen, shipwrights and weatherworkers gather for food and conversation

Sources: Hunting, WoE


House of the Wise

See Great House of Roke


House of Thoreg

See House of Hupun


Houses, town

Buildings in towns or cities in the Archipelago are typically constructed of dressed stone, with roofs of slate or red tile. Unlike the rural huts, which are often single roomed, Vetch's 'spacious and strong-beamed' housea in the town of Ismay clearly has several rooms. The house of the wealthy merchant Golden in Glade (Havnor island) has two storeys, as does Ath's House in Telio (Pody island). Buildings in towns of the Kargad Lands are typically built from yellow clay brick with red tile roofs

Sources: The Western Mountains, ToA; Iffish, WoE (a); The Finder, TfE; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE

Related entries: Building materials; Kargish architecture


Hunting

Hunting is one of the major livelihoods mentioned in the islands. Various animals are hunted for sport and/or food, including stags in the forests of Enlad, wild boars, and dragons in the Dark Years on Pendor. Hawks are used in hunting, at least by noblemen such as the princes of Enlad. Archery is practised on Enlad, and hunting bows are mentioned at Ten Alders. The Children of the Open Sea hunt whales, using whale-ivory harpoons taller than they are

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Hort Town, FS; Orm Embar, FS


Hupun

Also known as: City of the Kings

City on Karego-At, fifty miles from Awabath; former capital of the Kargad Lands at the time of Thoreg of Hupun, before the rise of the Priest-Kings

Sources: Voyage, ToA; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Hupun, House of

See House of Hupun


Hur-at-Hur

Largest and easternmost island of the Kargad Lands, part desert, part forested, mountainous and relatively impoverished; the inhabitants are considered barbarians by people of Atuan. Major town is called Mesreth. Produce includes opals, turquoises and cedar logs. Well-born women are segregated in women's quarters and wear the feyag (veil), which is not worn on Atuan or in Awabath. Small flightless dragons live in the mountains. Ruled by the Godking at Awabath on Karego-At, and by local warlords. Around ten years after the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, a warlord, Thol, consolidates power to become High King after deposing the Godking

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW


Hurbah trees

Low round-topped trees on whose leaves silkworms feed; ubiquitous on Lorbanery, where houses are thatched with hurbah-twigs and wine is made of hurbah-berries

Sources: Lorbanery, FS


Huts

Also known as: Cottages

Cottages or huts with thatched rooves are the usual dwellings of the rural inhabitants of the Archipelago, usually constructed from wood. The poorer houses would be single roomed, low and windowless, with a central crosspole supporting the roof, earthern floors and a central firepit. Better houses might have a hearth and chimney, a sleeping area separate from the main room, possibly other back rooms, one or more shuttered windows, and perhaps a wooden floor. Conical roofs with an overhang 'like the fat red caps of toadstools'a are found on Sattins island in the East Reach

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q (a); Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Shadow, WoE

'The mage's house, though large and soundly built of timber, with hearth and chimney rather than a firepit, was like the huts of the Ten Alders village: all one room, with a goatshed built on to one side. There was a kind of alcove in the west wall of the room, where Ged slept. Over his pallet was a window that looked out on the sea, but most often the shutters must be closed against the great winds that blew all winter from the west and the north.'

[The Shadow, WoE]

Related entries: Houses, town; Building materials


Iddi

Marketer of Re Albi on Gont

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Iffish

Hilly populous island in the East Reach, near Tok; main town is Ismay, also hill village of Quor. An Islandwoman of Iffish serves on the King's Council at the time of The Other Wind. Tiny dragon-lizards called harrekki are native there

Sources: Iffish, WoE; The Dragon Council, OW

'…the low blue hills of a great island… The smoke of hearthfires lingered blue over the slate roofs of little towns among those hills, a pleasant sight in the vast sameness of the sea.'

[Iffish, WoE]


Ilien

A small island in the Inmost Sea. One of the principalities of the kingship, tracing its descent from Gemal Sea-born via Maharion. Described as having many towns and cities

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS

'…the two fair islands Ark and Ilien, towered and terraced with cities…'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Illusion

Also known as: Illusion-Change

Apparent change which, though convincing to all the senses, does not alter the true nature of the object; giving the object's true name in Old Speech will negate the illusion. Taught at the Roke School of Wizardry by the Master Hand, it is considered among the easiest, and the least, of the high arts of magic

'"By the Illusion-Change, you can make it look like a diamond -- or a flower or a fly or an eye or a flame --" The rock flickered from shape to shape as he named them, and returned to rock. "But that is mere seeming. Illusion fools the beholder's senses; it makes him see and hear and feel that the thing is changed. But it does not change the thing."'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Immanent Grove

Also known as: Grove, the

Grove of trees on Roke, near Roke Knoll: 'the oldest trees in the world, and the source and center of magic'a. Said to have been planted by Segoy, and considered to be a manifestation of the Old Powers; Kalessin referred to it as the forest that is at the centre. Said by Elehal to stretch '"As far as the mind goes"'a, it is larger inside than out; Azver claimed that the roots of the trees 'mingled with the roots of all the forests that were or might yet be.'b Though the outer trees are varied (including oak, willow, alder, chestnut, ash, hemmen, fir & other evergreens), the trees towards the middle are predominantly of a single type with no name in Hardic (arhada in the Old Speech, though in 'The Finder' each of the trees is said to have its own name), whose leaves have a hint of gold. There is always a faint light under the trees, and the Grove burns with a light like moonlight when the nine Masters of Roke meet there. The leaves of the trees are said to speak to those who know how to listen. Generally south west of the Great House of Roke, but appears to move location; actually, the Grove is stationary while the world moves around it. The paths and clearings within are never in quite the same place. Near its margins stands the Otter's House and the Thwilburn flows out of the Grove. Home of the Master Patterner; ordinary people, especially women, and novices are forbidden entry

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS; The Finder, TfE (a); Dragonfly, TfE (b); Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW

'There is no place for it on maps, and there is no way to it except for those who know their way to it. But even novices and townsfolk and farmers can see it, always at a certain distance, a wood of high trees whose leaves have a hint of gold in their greenness even in the spring. And they consider -- the novices, the townsfolk, the farmers -- that the Grove moves about in a mystifying manner. But in this they are mistaken for the Grove does not move. Its roots are the roots of being. It is all the rest that moves.'

'"If the Grove were cut, all wizardry would fail. The roots of those trees are the roots of knowledge. The patterns the shadows of their leaves make in the sunlight write the words Segoy spoke in the Making."'

'"You can walk and walk in their shadow, in their light, and never come to the end of them."/ "But is Roke so large an island?"/ … "The forests here on Gont Mountain are that forest," he said. "All forests are."'

[The Rowan Tree, FS/The Finder, TfE/Rejoining, OW]


Immortality

An ancient goal of the art magic, especially the Lore of Paln. The earliest mages, the Rune Makers, sought for immortal life after bodily death, using the arts of naming to lay 'a great net of spells upon all the western lands, so that when the people of the islands die, they would come to the west beyond the west and live there in spirit forever'a and so created the Archipelagan afterlife, the dry land. Cob and Thorion sought to bring the dead in the dry land back to life in the bodily realm.

The people of the Kargad Lands believe that they achieve immortality through reincarnation: 'We die to rejoin the undying world'a

Sources: Rejoining, OW (a)

'"Men fear death as dragons do not. Men want to own life, possess it, as if it were a jewel in a box. Those ancient mages craved everlasting life. They learned to use true names to keep men from dying. But those who cannot die can never be reborn."' …/ "Life immortal … In a great land of rivers and mountains and beautiful cities, where there is no suffering or pain, and where the self endures, unchanged, unchanging, forever… That is the dream of the ancient Lore of Paln."'

[Rejoining, OW]

Related entries: Religion and the afterlife


Imperial measures

Imperial measures, including the mile, yard, foot, inch, acre, pint & pound, are quoted in the Earthsea novels; presumably these are silently translated from the Hardic or Kargish unit


Inalkil

Also known as: Greenstone, Inalkil the Greenstone

Great emerald belonging to the Lords of Pendor; part of the dragon Yevaud's hoard

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Inch

Unit of distance used in Earthsea; as with other imperial measures, presumably silently translated from the actual unit

Sources: Voyage, ToA


Industry

Also known as: Technology

Earthsea is a pre-industrial society; the most advanced crafts practised are smithying, weaving, tanning, dyeing, pottery, glass-blowing, metal refining, mining, quarrying, masonry and ship-building. Milling of grain appears to be performed by hand on some islands, though a water mill is mentioned on Gont. Mining involves some use of machinery: 'rusty wheels and machines by a pit'a are mentioned. Many crafts are traditionally gender specific, mining and domestic building & weaving being performed by women, ship-building by men. Although some items are traded, the great majority are produced in situ. Some crafts, such as dyeing and possibly metal refining, require magic.

The level of technology varies greatly throughout the islands and between cities and villages. In Havnor City, even in the Dark Years, relatively advanced tools such as a bubble level are used by shipbuilders; mining and mercury refining in the Samory mines on Havnor use machinery. Rural areas, islands in the Reaches, at least parts of the Kargad Lands and the Children of the Open Sea, however, appear to be entirely pre-industrial, using bronze, copper, wood, stone, shell or bone implements

Sources: The Finder, TfE (a)

Related entries: Materials


Ingat

Small island in the easterly West Reach, near Risk and the Toringates

Sources: The Dragons' Run, FS


Inmost Sea

Central sea of the Archipelago between Havnor in the north and Wathort in the south, in which lies Roke, Ark, Ilien, Leng, Vissti, Kamery, Issel and other small islands

'…they entered on the long waves, full of light, of the Inmost Sea.'

[Hort Town, FS]


Inner Isles

See Inner Lands


Inner Lands

Also known as: Inner Isles, the West

A Kargish term for the Archipelago; also used among Archipelagans & inhabitants of the Reaches to denote the Archipelago, as opposed to the Reaches. The Inward Isles seems to denote a rather smaller region: Oranéa is said to be the eastmost Inward Isle

Sources: The Shadow, WoA


Inns

Also known as: Lodgehouses

Inns are found in towns on many islands in the central Archipelago and the Reaches, including Lorbanery, Semel, Way, Iffish and Sattins; they provide accommodation and food to travellers, as well as beer or wine to townsfolk. The inn at Ismay on Iffish is called The Harrekki. Ged pays two silver trade-counters for several nights' accommodation at the inn in Lorbanery.

In other places, such as Serd (Ninety Isles), hospitality to travellers is provided at a Sea-House, and Astowell has a place called a lodgehouse; taverns or pothouses seem to provide drink, but usually not food or accommodation

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; Hunted, WoE; Iffish, WoE; Lorbanery, FS; On the High Marsh, TfE


Insmer

Islet near Tok and Holp in the East Reach


Intathin

Titles: High Priest Intathin

Kargish High Priest of the House of Tarb, who defeated Erreth-Akbe in Karego-At; he is said to have broken the Ring of Erreth-Akbe and his staff. He gave the half of the Ring he retained to the Tombs of Atuan. The Priest-Kings are descended from him

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA


Inward Isles

Also known as: Inward Lands

Islands of the central Archipelago, excluding outlying islands such as Gont, as well as the Reaches. Oranéa is the eastmost of the Inward Isles; Pendor lies in their west

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Ioeth

Young son of Pechvarry of Low Torning. Died of redfever, despite Ged's efforts to save him

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Iria

Large, beautiful and formerly prosperous domain on the island of Way, with oak forests, hills and rich farming land, including vineyards. Divided between four families a hundred years before the events of 'Dragonfly' [TfE], and in decline

'That prosperity and the beauty of the meadows and upland pastures and oak-crowned hills made the domain a byword, so that people said "as fat as a cow of Iria", or "as lucky as an Irian." … But though the farmers and shepherds went on from season to season and year to year and generation to generation as steady and regenerative as the oaks, the family that owned the land altered and declined with time and chance. … By the time the girl called Dragonfly was born, the domain of Iria, though still one of the loveliest regions of hill and field and meadow in all Earthsea, was a battleground of feuds and litigation. Farmland went to weeds, farmsteads went unroofed, milking sheds stood unused, and shepherds followed their flocks over the mountain to better pastures.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Iria Hill

Hill in the centre of Old Iria in the domain of Iria on the island of Way. The Old Iria mansion house stands on top of it, the unnamed village of Old Iria lies at its foot, and a shallow pool with a spring lies immediately beneath it

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Iria, Master of

See Master of Iria


Irian

Also known as: Dragonfly, Orm Irian
Titles: Lady Irian, Daughter of Kalessin

Young woman of Iria on the island of Way, daughter of the Master of Iria and an unnamed woman from a western island. Described as fiercely beautiful: tall, strong, large featured with a sharp face, long arms and legs, mannish long dirty hands, dark hair, strange smoky amber eyes and a deep husky voice; she is ignorant, curious, strong-willed, brave, blunt of speech and quick to anger. Good with animals, she runs the farm on her father's estate; aged around twenty-three, she naively accompanies the sorcerer Ivory to Roke disguised as a man, but is prevented from joining the School of Wizardry by Thorion, the Master Summoner. She stays at the Otter's House by the Immanent Grove, being taught by Azver, the Master Patterner; when Thorion comes to drive her from Roke, she defeats him by leading him onto Roke Knoll, where her other form, the dragon Orm Irian, manifests, and flies off westwards to seek her kin. She returns eight years later to negotiate peace between dragons and humans

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW

'She was very tall, very sweaty, with big hands and feet and mouth and nose and eyes, and a head of wild dusty hair. … Her eyes were clear orange-brown, like dark topaz or amber. They were strange eyes, right on a level with his own.'

'A big, strong, awkward, ignorant, innocent, angry woman, yes. But ever since Irian was a child Rose had seen something more in her, something beyond what she was.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]

Related entries: Dragon-humans


Irioth

Also known as: Gully, Otak

Former mage from the School of Wizardry on Roke where he had lived since a child; over forty during 'On the High Marsh'. Ged describes him as 'my dear companion, teacher, rival, friend'a. Born on the Isle of Ark, son of an understeward in the household of the Lord of Ark. Given his true name by Nemmerle, he studied with Thorion, the Master Summoner, having great power in changing and especially in summoning. In jealousy and fear, perceiving himself passed over, he does the forbidden, using his powers to summon the living. Broken by fighting with Ged and Thorion, he flees to the island of Semel. There, described as 'mad in patches'a, he becomes a skilled cattle healer or curer, finding shelter with the widow Emer, who perceptively describes him '…like an animal himself, a silent, damaged creature that needed protection but couldn't ask for it.'a Thin and moderately tall, with a fine face and dark eyes; his voice is said to be beautiful, like a chanter. In character he's said to be kind and gentle

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE (a)

'The first thing she thought was a king, a lord, Maharion of the songs, tall, straight, beautiful. The next thing she thought was a beggar, a lost man, in dirty clothes, hugging himself with shivering arms. … His dark eyes were large, deep, opaque like a horse's eyes, unreadable.'

[On the High Marsh, TfE]


Iron door

Underground door between the Labyrinth and the Undertomb at the Place of the Tombs; sealable from the Undertomb side with a long iron lever in a fashion that resists Ged's opening spells. It has a pocked surface

'He spoke, one word only, in a low voice. "Emenn," he said, and then again, louder, "Emenn!" And the iron door rattled in its jambs, and low echoes rolled down the vaulted tunnel like thunder, and it seemed to Arha that the floor beneath her shook. / But the door stayed fast.'

[Light under the Hill, ToA]


Iron, craft with

See Craft with iron


Islandmen

See Isle-Men


Isle of the Ear

Also known as: Ear, Isle of the

Large uninhabited island to the east of the South Reach

'"…the Isle of the Ear where men do not go. …a disagreeable part of the world, they say, full of bones and portents. Sailors say that there are stars to be seen from the waters by the Isle of the Ear and Far Sorr that cannot be seen anywhere else, and that have never been named."'

[The Open Sea, WoE]


Isle of the Wise

See Roke


Isle-Men

Also known as: Islandmen, Isle-Women, Islandwomen, Islemen, Islewomen

Rulers of some islands in the Reaches and the Ninety Isles, as well as other small islands

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; The Open Sea, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: Government


Isles of Sand

Also known as: Sand Isles

Scattered set of tiny islands between Obehol and Lorbanery in the South Reach; source of pearls

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Isle-Women

See Isle-Men


Ismay

Small port town on the island of Iffish, in the East Reach. Features include The Harrekki inn and a town square

'…a light snow was falling, and [Ged] idled about the lanes and byways of the town to watch the people busy at their doings. He watched children bundled in fur capes playing at snow-castle and building snowmen; he heard gossips chatting across the street from open doors, and watched the bronze-smith at work with a little lad red-faced and sweating to pump the long bellows-sleeves at the smelting pit; through windows lit with a dim ruddy gold from within as the short day darkened he saw women at their looms, turning a moment to speak or smile to child or husband there in the warmth within the house.'

[Iffish, WoE]


Isolate Tower

Tower on the furthest northmost cape of Roke Island, thirty miles from the Great House; home of the Master Namer. Here students come to learn lists of names in Old Speech. The tower houses the Book of Names of the Mage Ath, as well as many lesser books of names, maps and charts

'…to the furthest northmost cape, where stands the Isolate Tower. There by himself lived the Master Namer… No farm or dwelling lay within miles of the Tower. Grim it stood above the northern cliffs…'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Issel

Small island in the south of the Inmost Sea, near Roke and Wathort

Sources: Hort Town, FS


Ivory

Sorcerer from the School of Wizardry on Roke; born in Havnor Great Port. Clever and skilled with illusions, but neither modest nor wise, he studied with Master Hand for two years before being expelled from Roke without gaining his staff, after being caught with a town girl in his room. Later employed by Birch at Westpool on the island of Way. He is a handsome, slim young man, said to be charming and arrogant; his hair is braided, with the braid clubbed

'Ivory never noticed that the girl was ailing, nor the pear trees, nor the vines. He kept himself to himself, as a man of craft and learning should. He spent his days riding about the countryside on the pretty black mare that his employer had given him for his use when he made it clear that he had not come from Roke to trudge about on foot in the mud and dust of country byways.'

'He told Dragonfly very little of his plans, largely because he made few, trusting to chance and his own wits, which seldom let him down if he was given a fair chance to use them.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Ivy

Village witch probably of Oak Village in the Middle Valley on Gont; her cottage is at the end of Mill Lane. Keeps a fat black cat with one white moustache. Skilled in healing, she's described as dour but honest

Sources: A Bad Thing, T; Home, T

'…a great deal cleaner and more reliable than Moss…'

[Home, T]


Iyesa

Titles: Lady Iyesa

Old noblewoman at the court in Havnor City; appears to be blunt in speech

Sources: Palaces, OW


Jackass Hill

Hill near Westpool on the island of Way

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Jasper

Son of Enwit, Lord of the Domain of Eolg on Havnor Isle. Described as very tall, handsome and graceful. Studied at Roke, but never gained his wizard's staff. Became sorcerer in the Lord of O's household at O-Tokne on the Island of O

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Iffish, WoE

'He was two or three years older than Ged, very tall, and he moved and carried himself with stiff grace, posing (Ged thought) like a dancer.'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Jaws of Enlad

Great sea channel to the east of Enlad, running between strings of islets called the North & South Teeth

Sources: The Hawk's Flight, WoE


Jessage

Medium-sized, inhabited island in the southerly end of the West Reach, near Obb. Has farms and orchards

Sources: Orm Embar, FS; Palaces, OW

'Land lay ahead, low and blue in the afternoon like a bank of mist. … the eastern isle, Jessage, looked burned and black as far as they could see inland from the shore, and a haze hung blue and dull above it.'

[Orm Embar, FS]


Jugglers

Itinerant entertainers on many islands of the Archipelago. Juggling and sleight of hand are among the arts taught by Master Hand at the Roke School of Wizardry. Kossil and Thar of Atuan mention 'jugglery', so the art is at least known in the Kargad Lands

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Kaheda

Also known as: River Kaheda

Calm river of the Middle Valley in south Gont. Its springs arise at the valley head; the port of Valmouth lies at its mouth; near Oak Farm, it runs through meadows and reed beds

Sources: Bettering, T; Home, T

'…the placid, silvery Kaheda.'

[Home, T]


Kahedanan

Inland village by the river Kaheda in Middle Valley in the south of Gont. It lies downriver from Lissu, upriver from Oak Village and near Round Hill

Sources: Frontispiece map, T; Home, T; Winter, T


Kalessin

Titles: The Eldest

The oldest of the dragons, immense, scarred, iron black with red wings and yellow eyes; so old that Orm Embar is but a yearling kid beside him (or her). Inhabits an island called the Keep of Kalessin in the Dragons' Run. Calls Tehanu 'my child'; she calls him Segoy

Sources: The Stone of Pain, FS; Kalessin, T; Tehanu, T

'Its head, the colour of iron, stained as with red rust at nostril and eye socket and jowel, hung facing him, almost over him. … It did not move. It might have been crouching there for hours, or for years, or for centuries. It was carven of iron, shaped from rock -- but the eyes, the eyes he dared not look into, the eyes like oil coiling on water, like yellow smoke behind glass, the opaque profound, and yellow eyes watched Arren.'

[The Stone of Pain, FS]


Kaltuel

Medium-sized island in the southerly end of the West Reach, near Simly and Near Kaltuel

Sources: The Dragons' Run, FS


Kameber

Also known as: Kameber Rock

Small hilly islet in the Gontish Sea off the west coast of Gont; on a clear day its hills can be seen from the Old Mage's House in Re Albi

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Kamery

Small island on the east of the Inmost Sea, south of Ilien and near O; nearest of the eastern islands to Roke

Sources: The Shadow, WoE


Kapperding Scarp

Rocky slope with a cave near Ten Alders in the northeast of Gont

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE


Karego-At

Large, wealthy main island of the Kargad Lands in the north east of Earthsea; capital is Awabath, location of the Godking's court. Other cities include the old capital, Hupun

'…the distant loom of hills like clouds, the great island of the Godking.'

[Voyage, ToA]


Kargad Lands

Also known as: Eastern Isles, Kargad Empire, the Four Lands, Empire of the Sky

Four islands in the north-east: Karego-At, Atuan, Hur-at-Hur and Atnini, which do not form part of the Archipelago. Awabath on Karego-At is the capital. The white-skinned inhabitants, Kargs, are ruled by the Godking and, after civil war in around 1061, the High King. They have a very different culture, religion and language (Kargish), from the rest of Earthsea, with magic and writing being outlawed. The Kargad islands have few mineral resources

Related entries: Priest-Kings; Legal and punitive systems; War; Religion and the afterlife; Place of the Tombs; Reincarnation


Kargish

The language of the Kargad Lands. It is dissimilar to those spoken in the Archipelago, being closest to Osskili, though its eventual derivation (like all Earthsea languages) is from Old Speech. The Kargish dialects spoken on Atuan, Karego-At and Hur-at-Hur appear to be mutually comprehensible. Few even among highly educated Archipelagans speak any Kargish, and vice versa; Seserakh of Hur-at-Hur did not know there was any language besides Kargish

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: Language

Further information on Kargish


Kargish architecture

A typical Kargish town is built of yellow clay brick with red tile roofs and is walled around with overhanging battlements, a single gate and watchtowers at each of the four corners. Houses in the desert of Hur-at-Hur have thick walls with window slits

Sources: The Western Mountains, ToA; Palaces, OW

Related entries: Building materials; Houses, town


Kargs

Also known as: Hoary Men, Eastern peoples

Inhabitants of Kargad Lands, generally white-skinned and fair or yellow-haired. Considered war-like barbarians by the Archipelagans, who sometimes call them 'Hoary Men' for their frost-like colouring

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE

'…they are a savage people, white-skinned, yellow-haired, and fierce, liking the sight of blood and the smell of burning towns.'

'…the tall, rawboned men with their pale, braided hair, their plumed headdresses, their court armor of silver mesh interwoven with feathers.'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE/Palaces, OW]


Kebas

Coastal village or town in the southwest of Gont, near Essary and the islet of Kameber

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Kedun

Coastal village or town lying on an unnamed inlet in the northwest of Gont, near Tutok Bay and Oskres

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Keep of Kalessin

Island in the Dragons' Run with sheer basalt cliffs three hundred feet high; named the Keep of Kalessin by dragons. Possibly constructed by Kalessin or another dragon, or a natural rock formation

'…ahead of them loomed an island like a tower. Its cliffs were black, and made up of many cylinders or great pillars pressed together, with straight edges and plane surfaces, rising three hundred feet sheer from the water.'

[The Dragons' Run, FS]


Keksemt Moors

Large area of bleak rolling moorland in the interior of the island of Osskil, bounded by the Mountains of Os in the north and the coast around Neshum in the south; described as bare, brown and treeless. Though crossed by several tracks, it appears to lack habitations, apart from the Court of the Terrenon

Sources: Hunted, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE

'…over the low brown hills that went on houseless and treeless and changeless, clear to the sunwashed winter sky.'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Kemay

Little coastal village, a fishing port on a headland in the north-west of Gont, near Tutok Bay. Home to the Woman of Kemay

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T


Kember

Also known as: River Kember

River in the northwest of Way; its mouth is the port of Kembermouth

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Kembermouth

Prosperous walled port city at the mouth of the River Kember in the northwest of Way; it lies two days' journey from Westpool

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Dragonfly, TfE


Keor

Titles: Prince of Enlad

Prince of Enlad three hundred years before The Farthest Shore, he killed the dragon Bar Oth

Sources: Hort Town, FS


Kest

See Yarrow


Ketoleko

Inland village or town lying on an unnamed river in the west of Gont, near Var

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


King

Cock belonging to Heleth. The other chickens are named Red Bucca, Brown Bucca, Grey, Leggings, and Candor. Missing when Ogion moves into the Old Mage's House, presumably killed by a fox

For monarchs of Earthsea, see King of All the Isles, Godking & High King

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


King of All the Isles

Also known as: King of Earthsea, King of the Western Lands

The Archipelago was formerly ruled by the King of All the Isles or King of Earthsea, first at Berila on Enlad, then at Havnor City. The kings and queens of Enlad included Lar Ashal, Dohun, Enashen, Timan, Tagtar, Morred (whose ascension was counted as year 1 in the Hardic calendar), Serriadh and Akambar, who moved the court to Havnor City in around the year 150. The fourteen kings and queens of Havnor included Gemal Sea-born, Denggemal, Heru and Maharion. The line of kings died out on the death of Maharion in the year 452 (800 years previously according to some sources). The new king was prophesied by Maharion to have 'crossed the dark land living and come to the far shores of the day'a; such a king was thought to bring peace and unite the lands. Lebannen, son of the Prince of Enlad and heir of Morred, fulfilled this prophecy and was crowned in Havnor City in around 1051.

Ceremonial items associated with the Archipelagan monarchy include Morred's High Seat, the crown of Morred and a gold-weighted state robe. During Lebannen's reign, however, the king dresses plainly when not performing state duties, and bears no mark of authority, such as a ring or chain

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS (a); The Dolphin, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Palaces, OW

'"But so runs the prophecy of the Last King, and therefore someday one will be born to fulfil it. And Roke will recognize him, and the fleets and armies and nations will come together to him. Then there will be majesty again in the centre of the world, in the Tower of the Kings in Havnor." '

' "Let there be a king upon the throne, and we will have peace, and even in the farthest Reaches the sorcerers will practise their arts with an untroubled mind, and there will be order, and a due season to all things."'

[The Masters of Roke, FS]

Related entries: Government


King of Earthsea

See King of All the Isles


King of the Western Lands

See King of All the Isles


King's Council

Hundred-member council voting on laws and taxation in the Archipelago, which meets in the throne room of the New Palace in Havnor City. Instituted by Lebannen and presided over by Sege. Councillors are selected by the king to serve for terms of 2-3 years (possibly repeated), and include noblemen and women, princes, merchants, guild masters, wizards, islandwomen, army and sea captains, poets and scholars. Speeches are limited to two minutes using a sandglass

'All laws and taxations, all judgments brought before the throne, [Lebannen] discussed with them, taking their counsel. They would then vote on his proposal, and only with the consent of the majority was it enacted. There were those who said the council was nothing but the king's pets and puppets, and so indeed it might have been. He mostly got his way if he argued for it. Often he expressed no opinion and let the council make the decision. Many councillors had found that if they had enough facts to support their opposition and made a good argument, they might sway the others and even persuade the king.'

[The Dragon Council, OW]

Related entries: Government


King's Courts of Law

After the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy in 1051, the king's law courts recommence meeting to judge serious cases, including murder. Such cases are tried at Gont Port on Gont, so presumably the king's law courts are distributed across the islands ruled the King of All the Isles, rather than located on Havnor

Sources: Winter, T; The Master. T


King's guards

Part of the guards of Havnor City during the reign of Lebannen; their organisation is unclear, but a gate captain and lieutenants (including Yenay) are mentioned. Their uniform includes a fine harness, and they are armed with swords and bows

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: Soldiers


King's House

See New Palace


King's Island

See Havnor


King's Rune

See Bond Rune


King's Tale

Tale of Ged's travels in the Kargad Lands and the finding of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, presumably composed by Lebannen

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Knife

See Dagger


Komokome

Small elongated island in the eastern North Reach, north of the Allernots, near Sort and Chemish


Kopp

Small island in the East Reach, near Korp, Apso and Holp

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE


Koppish

Small, elongated, inhabited island in the East Reach, near Sneg and Iffish; it has small villages

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Open Sea, WoE

'…first raised land off the southernmost cape of Koppish. Over the waves they saw cliffs of stone rise like a great fortress. Seabirds cried wheeling over the breakers, and smoke of the hearthfires of small villages drifted blue on the wind.'

[The Open Sea, WoE]


Kornay

Tiny island in the easternmost region of the East Reach, near Gosk

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Korp

Small westernmost island of the East Reach, near Kopp. An Islandwoman of Korp serves on the King's Council at the time of The Other Wind

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Dragon Council, OW


Korry

Coastal village or town in the northwest of Gont; it lies on an unnamed inlet

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Kossil

Titles: High Priestess of the Godking

High Priestess of the Godking at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. She looks after some of the duties of the One Priestess while Arha (Tenar) is a child. Unlike Arha and Thar (High Priestess of the Twin Gods), her motivations appear to relate more to power than any belief in the gods. In appearance she is tall, stout and heavy, with grey eyes; in character, cruel

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA; Light under the Hill, ToA; Names, ToA

'Kossil had no true worship in her heart of the Nameless Ones or of the gods. She held nothing sacred but power. The Emperor of the Kargad Lands now held the power, and therefore he was indeed a godking in her eyes, and she would serve him well. But to her the temples were mere show, the Tombstones were rocks, the Tombs of Atuan were dark holes in the ground, terrible but empty. She would do away with the worship of the Empty Throne, if she could. She would do away with the first Priestess, if she dared.'

[Light under the Hill, ToA]


Kurremkarmerruk

See Master Namer


Labby

Itinerant musician in the west of Havnor; leader of a band, he plays the double-reed woodhorn

'…a light-skinned, flashy-looking fellow…'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Labyrinth

An extensive maze of tunnels under the Place of the Tombs with a network of spyholes; the Labyrinth guards the treasures of the Tombs of Atuan, trapping any who try to steal them. Believed to be ancient, the Labyrinth's origins are unknown. It contains the mural-decorated Painted Room, Room of Bones, Six Ways, the long Outmost Tunnel by the river, and, in its heart, guarded by a pit, the Great Treasury of the Tombs. Less sacred than the Undertomb, which it adjoins, the Labyrinth can only be accessed via the Undertomb by an iron door, which can be sealed via a lever on the Undertomb side. Unlike the Undertomb, light is permitted within the Labyrinth, but there are no landmarks; the greyish-yellow stone-lined tunnels are all alike, about five feet wide by twelve to fifteen feet high with a vaulted roof. The maze extends from the Hall of the Throne to the river half a mile away, but the distance underground is many times greater, about twenty miles in total. No map exists; the only way of negotiating the maze is to remember turnings taken and passed; these instructions are passed from priestess to priestess without ever being written down. The Labyrinth is at least partially demolished by an earthquake when Ged and Tenar escape with the Ring of Erreth-Akbe

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA; Light under the Hill, ToA; The Anger of the Dark, ToA

'There was a weariness in that tracing of the vast, meaningless web of ways; the legs got tired and the mind got bored, forever reckoning up the turnings and the passages behind and to come. It was wonderful, laid out in the solid rock underground like the streets of a great city; but it had been made to weary and confuse the mortal walking in it, and even its priestess must feel it to be nothing, in the end, but a great trap.'

[Light under the Hill, ToA]

Further information on Labyrinth


Lady of Ebéa

Also known as: Ebéa, Lady of

At the time of The Other Wind, an elderly lady, one of the King's Council

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Lady of O-tokne

Also known as: O-tokne, Lady of

During The Other Wind, an imperious lady on the King's Council. Presumably related to the Lord of O; possibly the same as the young Lady of O who visits Roke around fifty years earlier during A Wizard of Earthsea

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Lament for Erreth-Akbe

Lament composed by Maharion on his return from Selidor after the death of Erreth-Akbe. It's played by the trumpeters telling the hours in Havnor City

Sources: Palaces, OW

Related entries: Songs


Lament for the White Enchanter

Lament for the death of Morred, supposed to have been composed by Elfarran

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: Songs


Land ownership

Also known as: Tenancy

In the central Archipelago, land and, to a lesser extent, property appear to be predominantly owned by landowners, large and small, who let to tenants. For example, on Gont, the Lord of Re Albi employs farmworkers described as tenants, Oak Farm's holdings in Middle Valley include two tenants' cottages, and Tenar rents a cottage from Weaver Fan in Re Albi; on Way, four families contest ownership of the rich farming land of the domain of Iria; in western Havnor, the merchant Golden owns chestnut groves. Tenants on Gont commonly hold a life interest in the profit from the land they work on. Property passes in the male line on Gont, with the widow of a property owner only being entitled to hold the property for an absent (or possibly underage) male heir. The situation regarding land ownership in the Reaches and the Kargad Lands isn't clear

Sources: A Bad Thing, T; Mice, T; Finding Words, T; Winter, T; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE


Language

Two main languages are spoken in Earthsea: Hardic (the common tongue), spoken across much of the Archipelago & the Reaches, and Kargish, which is restricted to the Kargad Lands. Some islands in the Archipelago have their own languages or dialects, eg the language spoken on Enlad, of which little is known, and Osskili spoken on Osskil & neighbouring islands, which is closer to Kargish than Hardic. Educated speakers of the Enlad language or Osskili probably speak Hardic in addition, as Lebannen and Serret do.

All these languages are derived from Old Speech (true speech), the language spoken by dragons and learned by mages, Hardic being the closest. Old Speech is not usually used as a spoken language by humans

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Further information on Language


Language of the Making

See Old Speech


Lar Ashal

King or queen of Enlad before the reign of Morred. The deeds of the early rulers of Enlad are told in the Deed of Enlad

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: King of All the Isles


Lark

Middle-aged woman of the Middle Valley on Gont (probably of Oak Village); described as grey-haired, overweight, with a handsome face. She and her husband (described as quiet) have seven children, the youngest a girl of five years during Tehanu, the eldest & second youngest boys. Long-standing friend of Tenar

Sources: A Bad Thing, T; Hawks, T; Home, T; Winter, T

'She was a heavy, plain, middle-aged woman, whose name did not fit her body anymore. But once she had been a slight and pretty girl, and she had befriended Goha, paying no attention to the villagers who gossiped about that white-faced Kargish witch Flint had brought home; and friends they had been ever since.'

[A Bad Thing, T]


Lass of Belilo, The

See The Lass of Belilo


Lastland

See Astowell


Laundry

Also known as: Washing

On Gont, Tenar washes clothes, bedlinen &c at home on a laundry day, using water heated on the fire, and dries them by spreading them out on the grass, weighted with stones. Oak Farm has a soaking tub used for laundry. Soap making is mentioned on Gont

Sources: Hawks, T; Winter, T


Law

See Legal and punitive systems


Lay of the Lost Queen

Song sung on Havnor, presumably recounting the tale of Elfarran

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


League

Coalition which emerges to govern the central islands of the Archipelago around a hundred years after the dragon Yevaud despoils Pendor (ie, approx 950). The League's only known action is to raise a fleet with seven mages which temporarily drives the dragon from Pendor. Only mentioned in 'The Rule of Names', the League may have dissolved before the events of A Wizard of Earthsea, perhaps facilitating Yevaud's return to Pendor

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Lebannen

Also known as: Arren, Arrendek
Titles: King of All the Isles, King of Earthsea, King of the Western Lands, Son of Morred, Prince Arren, hero of Sorra, wielder of the Sword of Serriadh, the Rowan Tree, the Tall Ash of Enlad, Doorkeeper

Only son of the Prince of Enlad and the Enlades, descended from Morred and Elfarran, via their son Serriadh; mother is Rose of Enlad. Bearer of the Sword of Serriadh. Lebannen means rowan; his use-name Arren means sword in the dialect of Enlad, derived from the Sword of Serriadh. As a youth, he signs his name with the sword-rune. As a seventeen-year-old youth, described as tall, thin & handsome, he travelled with Ged and passed with him across the dry land (lands of the dead), fulfilling the prophecy of Maharion about his successor as king. After his return in around 1051, crowned King of All the Isles at Havnor City on Havnor. A highly popular & much-loved king, he institutes government via an appointed parliament, the King's Council, rebuilds the New Palace & River House, abolishes slavery after winning the Siege of Sorra against slave traders of Wathort, and initiates contact with Thol, High King of the Kargad Lands. In around 1066, becomes betrothed to Seserakh, daughter of Thol & High Princess of the Kargad Lands

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; The Dolphin, T; Palaces, OW; Rejoining, OW

'The boy's sleeping face was lit redgold by the long sunset, the rough hair was wind-stirred. The soft, easy, princely look of the boy who had sat by the fountain of the Great House a few months since was gone; this was a thinner face, and harder, and much stronger. But it was not less beautiful.'

[The Dragons' Run, FS]


Lef

Small island in the North Reach, north of Udrath


Legal and punitive systems

Also known as: Law, Punitive system

Little is stated regarding the legal systems of the Archipelago. After the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, the King's Courts of Law judge serious cases. A dispute about inheritance is pursued in the law courts of Shelieth, the capital of Way, but few details are given. On Gont, law enforcement is carried out by bailiffs, sea-sheriffs and officers of the peace, reporting to the district mayors and village councils. After the restoration of the monarchy, slave-labour and execution by hanging are used for serious crimes such as murder. Prisons or similar methods of punishment such as stocks are not mentioned. During the Dark Years, torture and public execution by burning alive were practised on Havnor under the rule of the warlord Losen.

Whipping with a bundle of reed canes is a common punishment for mild offences in the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. Execution is practised in the Kargad Lands: those of noble birth convicted of treason or sacrilege towards the Godking have their tongues cut out before being sacrificed to the Nameless Ones of the Tombs of Atuan; decapitation is the punishment for trespassing within the Place of the Tombs; High Priestesses caught in falsehood can be executed.

Whipping with nilgu thongs is a punishment among the Children of the Open Sea

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Prisoners, ToA; The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA; Orm Embar, FS; Home, T; Winter, T; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE


Leggings

Hen belonging to Heleth. The other chickens are named Red Bucca, Brown Bucca, Grey, Candor, and the King

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Leng

Small island in the east of the Inmost Sea, near the isle of O


Library of the Kings

Famous ancient library, possibly on Havnor or Enlad; destroyed by the time of the Dark Years

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Licky

Foreman of the mines at Samory under the warlord Losen during the Dark Years; described as brutal not cruel

'…a broad, strong man with a furrowed face…'

[The Finder, TfE]


Lights

Candles, rushlights, lanterns, oil lamps, torches and werelight are all used for lighting in various contexts. Candles are the most frequently mentioned light, sometimes being described as tallow (as opposed to beeswax); miners work with candles bound to their foreheads on Havnor during the Dark Years. Rushlights (feeble lights with a rush wick) are mentioned as nightlights on Atuan. Lanterns are carried on ships and used to light buildings in towns, for example in Ismay and at the School of Wizardry on Roke; they're also mentioned as lighting an outdoor party on Havnor; Arha (Tenar) carries a tin lantern with a candle when she explores the Labyrinth on Atuan, and they're carried outdoors at Re Albi on Gont. Oil lamps light wealthier homes, for example the Old Mage's House at Re Albi, Oak Farm in the Middle Valley, Hare's house in Hort Town & Emer's house on Semel; cabins on the Dolphin are illuminated by pendant glass lamps; an alabaster lamp is mentioned at the New Palace on Havnor; the Temple of the Godking on Atuan is lit by oil lamps burning attar of roses. Tiny heating lamps are mentioned in the magicians' workroom at Roke school, presumably also fueled by oil. Roke school, the castle of the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil, the Room of Chains in the Undertomb Labyrinth on Atuan and the rafts of the Children of the Open Sea are lit by (wooden) torches, which give a reddish smoky light. Torches are also carried in procession in the Long Dance on Roke and similarly on Atuan, as well as by the dancers on Low Torning in the Ninety Isles. A flint and steel is used to make sparks on Atuan and Gont. Wizards often make werelight rather than using non-magical sources of light


Lily

Also known as: Mevre

Wife of Alder, she lived with him at Elini on Taon. A highly gifted mender, she was beautiful with dark hair with a hint of red gold. Her parents were respectable; Lily ran away when they tried to arrange her marriage, and they disowned her when she became a mender. She died in childbirth after eighteen months of marriage

'And indeed she had a greater gift than his. Though she knew not a word of the Old Speech, she could put a smashed jug back together or mend a frayed-out rope just with the movements of her hands and a wordless song she sang under her breath, and she had healed broken limbs of animals and people, which Alder had never tried to do.'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Lips of Paor

Also known as: Aurun, Cave at Aurun, Cleft called Aurun

A cave a few miles south of Havnor City whose mouth is a twenty-foot wide crack in the ground. Called the Lips of Paor in ancient maps of Paln, it's a centre of the Old Powers, and is said to have spoken in ancient times. At the time of The Other Wind, used to dump foul-smelling tannery waste

'…they came suddenly to a great crack in the ground, a black gap twenty feet wide or more, right across their way./It was as if the spine of rock had been cracked apart by a wrenching of the earth and had never healed again.'

[Dolphin, OW]


Lissu

Inland village or town by the head of the river Kaheda and of Middle Valley in the south of Gont; upriver from Kahedanan. Above it are the Long Fells and Hot Springs Mountain

Sources: Frontispiece map, T; Home, T


Little Grey

Female cat belong to Moss; Alder takes Tug, one of her kittens to Havnor

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Littleash

In the Dark Years, man from Endlane village in the interior of Havnor island; brother of Rose of Endlane

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Lodgehouses

See Inns


Log rafts

See Ships; Children of the Open Sea


Long Banks

Coastal region of Sattins island

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Long Dance

Festival of midsummer eve, celebrated widely throughout the Archipelago with dance and song lasting all night long. The Creation of Éa and Deed of Erreth-Akbe are traditionally recited at this time. This festival is celebrated even by the Children of the Open Sea (raft people), who share few other customs with the Archipelago

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'As the sun rose the next morning the Chanters of Roke began to sing the long Deed of Erreth-Akbe… When the chant was finished the Long Dance began. Townsfolk and Masters and students and farmers all together, men and women, danced in the warm dust and dusk down all the roads of Roke to the sea-beaches, to the beat of drums and drone of pipes and flutes. Straight out into the sea they danced, under the moon one night past full, and the mustic was lost in the breakers' sound. As the east grew light they came back up the beaches and the roads, the drums silent and only the flutes playing soft and shrill. So it was done on every island of the Archipelago that night: one dance, one music binding together the sea-divided lands.'

[The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE]


Long Dune

Trails westwards from Wellology; visited by the Children of the Open Sea (raft people) in autumn. Beaches are called Emah by those people

Sources: The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Long Fells

High sheep & goat pastures above Lissu and the Middle Valley on Gont

Sources: Home, T


Longships

See Ships


Lookfar

Also known as: Sanderling

Clinker-built sailboat with a brown or red sail and a single pair of oars; eighteen feet long and meant for two or three hands. Given to Ged by an old fisherman on West Hand in the East Reach, and named for the curing of the fisherman's cataracts. Ged sailed in Lookfar for many years, leaving her on Selidor in The Farthest Shore

'"We called the boat Sanderling, but do you call her Lookfar, and paint eyes aside her prow, and my thanks will look out of that blind wood for you and keep you from rock and reef. For I had forgotten how much light there is in the world, till you gave it back to me."'

[Iffish, WoE]


Looms

See Weaving


Lorbanery

Titles: Isle of Silk

Island in the South Reach, famous for high-quality silks, and for bright blue or crimson (dragon's fire) dyes, which are mined there as ores. Harbour village Sosara. Covered in hurbah trees on which silkworms feed, which make it appear bright green from a distance. Climate is warm

Sources: Hort Town, FS; Lorbanery, FS


Lord of Felkway

Also known as: Felkway, Lord of

In The Other Wind, an old man and member of the King's Council

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Lord of Gont

Also known as: Gont, Lord of, Prince of Gont, Lord of the Isle

Ruler of the island of Gont, his seat is at Gont Port. The Lords of Gont are associated with piracy. The old Lord of Gont held Ogion the Silent in great respect because of his taming of the earthquake which saved Gont Port from destruction. The new Lord of Gont visited Ogion in Re Albi for advice about a piratical venture in the Andrades, but Ogion would not speak to him


Lord of Metama on Ark

Also known as: Metama, Lord of

Lord of Metama, presumably a city or region of the island of Ark. Spends a year at court at Havnor City with his son, Rody during the time of The Other Wind

Sources: Palaces, OW


Lord of O

Also known as: O, Lord of

Renowned sorcerer, former pupil of Archmage Nemmerle; lives at O-Tokne, on the Island of O. His wife, the Lady of O, is described as '…slender and young, bright as new copper, her black hair crowned with opals.'a

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE (a)


Lord of Re Albi

Also known as: Re Albi, Lord of

The Lord of Re Albi on the island of Gont during A Wizard of Earthsea is married to a sorceress from Osskil; his daughter is Lady Serret of the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil. In Tehanu, the Lord is said to be a hundred years old; he lives with a young bedridden grandson, described as shy and sullen. According to Re Albi gossip, later confirmed by Aspen, the old Lord hired the wizard Aspen to make him live forever, feeding him with the life of his grandson; the old Lord presumably dies shortly after Aspen's death in 1052. One of the women of the Lord's family is said to have attempted dark magic on another child in utero; the child was born boneless and didn't survive. The Re Albi mansion house is built on a rocky outcrop above the Overfell, up the hill from the village

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Ogion, T; Bettering, T; Finding Words, T; The Master, T


Lord of the Western Land

Also known as: Western Land, Lord of the

Lord of the Western domain of Havnor island, his seat is near Glade

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Lords of Way

Also known as: Way, Lords of

Rulers of the island of Way; their courts are at the capital Shelieth. Includes the Lord of Wayfirth. In The Masters of Roke [FS], Way is said to be one of the principalities, but the Ruling Prince is not mentioned

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; Dragonfly, TfE


Lore of Paln

Also known as: Pelnish lore

Pelnish lore is an ancient tradition of magic distinct from that taught at the Roke School of Wizardry (though likewise based in the Old Speech). It's much concerned with immortality; the Pelnish wizard Seppel was taught that 'the goal of wizardry was to triumph over time and live forever'a. Pelnish lore calls upon the Old Powers, and includes great spells related to crossing between life and death, which can be used to summon the spirits of the dead. The most powerful were created by the Grey Mage of Paln a thousand years ago, and rarely used since, being considered dangerous; such lore was practised by the (Havnorian) necromancer Cob

Sources: Sea Dreams, FS; Dolphin, OW; Rejoining, OW (a)

'"Most of our art of Summoning comes from the Pelnish Lore. Thorion was a master of it… The Summoner of Roke now, Brand of Venway, won't use any part of his craft that draws from that lore. Misused, it has brought only harm. But it may be only our ignorance that's led us to use it wrongly. It goes back to very ancient times; there may be knowledge in it we've lost."'

[Dolphin, OW]


Lore-books

See Books


Losen

Titles: King of the Inmost Sea

During the Dark Years, a sea-pirate turned warlord; living in the Tower of the Kings, he rules Havnor City and the east & south of Havnor with the aid of the wizards Gelluk, Hound and, later, Early. His rule eventually spreads to the whole of Havnor Island and the north of the Inmost Sea. In later life, becomes a paralysed puppet of Early; he is killed and his kingdom broken up when Early is defeated on Roke

'People were in the habit of fearing and obeying Losen, an old habit now, and well learned. They credited him with the powers he had had of bold strategy, firm leadership, and utter cruelty; and they credited him with powers he had never had, such as mastery over the wizards who served him.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Lossow

Also known as: Losso

A small islet in the Pelnish Sea, between Paln and Havnor

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE


Lost Rune

See Bond Rune


Lotin

Inland village or town by the river Ar in the east of Gont; near Medu and Chodur

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Loto-shell

Discs of loto-shell decorate the prow of the Osskilian longship Ged takes from Orrimy

Related entries: Decorative arts


Low Torning

Westernmost township of the Ninety Isles, looking out towards Pendor. Barley is grown there and there are groves of the red-flowering pendick-tree. Ged is briefly their wizard when they are threatened by Yevaud, the Dragon of Pendor

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; Hunted, WoE


Lowbough

Merchant of Easthill in the west of Havnor; competitor of Golden in the chestnut business

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Mage-King

See Morred


Magelight

A bright magical light conjured by wizards and often associated with powerful magic. Unlike the weaker werelight, the light appears to emanate from the wizard himself, as well as his staff. Examples include Ogion banishing the shadow and Ged rescuing Lebannen from slavers

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Magelight, FS

'The fog grew bright, as if a light were blooming in it. … Alone on the port side stood a man, and it was from him that the light came, from the face, and hands, and staff that burned like molten silver.'

[Magelight, FS]


Magery

See Magic


Mages

Undefined term referring to particularly powerful or wise wizards. Some examples include Morred, Ath, Erreth-Akbe, Ogion, the Archmage and the Masters of Roke

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Magewind

Also known as: Witchwind

Magical wind raised by wizards and weatherworkers to allow boats to travel against the natural wind or when becalmed. Such winds could also be used as weapons, for example, to sink rival ships, as was common during the Dark Years

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Magic

Also known as: Wizardry, Magery

Magic encompasses a wide range of disciplines from chanting and the use of herbs, to illusions and true magic involving the changing of matter or the summoning of energies, such as light or heat. The various disciplines are finding, mending, weatherworking, changing, healing, summoning, patterning, naming, illusion and chanting, the knowledge of the songs; these were divided by Halkel into high arts (including the art magic) and base crafts (witchcraft). The earliest mages are said to be the Rune Makers, a thousand years before the first kings of Enlad (around 2250 years before the Earthsea cycle). Most lore originates in Roke, Paln, the Enlades, Ea and Soléa, the ancient regions where magic was practised.

Magic is linked with the Old Speech, in which all spells are made, and with True Runes. Many spells also require hand gestures or body movements, such as stretching out the arms in invocation which opens all the greater spells; these are annotated in lore-books: 'the markings of how the spell must be woven with the sound of the voice and the motion of body and hand.'a

True wizards and mages use magic only at need, with consideration for the effects on the Equilibrium or Balance. Magic is also limited in extent by the need to name precisely all the objects affected: 'The sea's name is inien, well and good. But what we call the Inmost Sea has its own name also in the Old Speech. Since no thing can have two true names, inien can mean only "all the sea except the Inmost Sea." And of course it does not mean even that, for there are seas and bays and straits beyond counting that bear names of their own. So if some Mage-Seamaster were mad enough to try to lay a spell of storm or calm over all the ocean, his spell must say not only that word inien, but the name of every stretch and bit and part of the sea through all the Archipelago and all the Outer Reaches and beyond to where names cease. Thus, that which gives us the power to work magic, sets the limits of that power. A mage can control only what is near him, what he can name exactly and wholly.'b A wizard's power seems to be channelled to some extent by the wooden wizard's staff, which is the badge of all true wizards.

Magic is almost universally practised in the Archipelago and the Reaches, with all villages having their witches, and all towns and islands their wizards, sorcerers and weatherworkers. It's said to be the oldest of the arts of man. The everyday uses of magic here are too many to list: healing humans and animals, warding off evil and ensuring safety, purifying water in wells, controlling the weather for crops, making flocks, herds and crops increase, conjuring fair winds for safe and swift travel amongst the islands, as well as for sheer entertainment

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE (b); The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE (a); The Finder, TfE; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Rejoining, OW

'…the uses of magic are as needful to their people as bread and as delightful as music…'

[The Masters of Roke, FS]


Magicians' workroom

Room in the south tower of the Roke School of Wizardry crammed with equipment for alchemy, glass-blowing, metal refining and healing

'…a magicians' workroom cluttered with retorts and alembics and great-bellied, crook-necked bottles, thick-walled furnaces and tiny heating-lamps, tongs, bellows, stands, pliers, pipes, a thousand boxes and vials and stoppered jugs marked with Hardic or more secret runes, and all such paraphernalia of alchemy, glass-blowing, metal-refining, and the arts of healing…'

[Orm Embar, FS]


Magnet

See Compass


Maharion

Titles: King of Earthsea, the Last King, Maharion the Brave

Last King of All the Isles at Havnor, he ruled from 430-452 (ie around 600 years ago; in other sources, 800 years ago). Son of Queen Heru and Aiman. His mage and counsellor was Erreth-Akbe, described as his heart's brother; they spent ten years together fighting the Kargs before defeating them decisively at Waymarsh. Maharion also fought in four campaigns against dragons in the west. With Heru, undertook a building programme in Havnor City, including the three towers of the New Palace. Died in battle with the rebellious lord Gehis of the Havens. He seems to have left no children; after his death, no clear claimant to the throne emerged and the kingdom fell into the Dark Years. Maharion predicted that the next king would have 'crossed the dark land living and come to the far shores of the day'a, which was widely interpreted to mean he would be a wizard or mage

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS (a); A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Making

Also known as: Creation

Creation of Earthsea by Segoy, whose First Word balanced dark and light, raised the islands from the depths of Time, and established the lands amidst the seas; recounted in the Creation of Éa. A similar creation myth appears to be remembered by all peoples of Earthsea, including those of the Kargad Lands & the Children of the Open Sea. In a wider sense, the Master Doorkeeper of Roke identifies the Making both with dragons and with the Archipelagan magical arts; Language of the Making is a name for the Old Speech

Sources: Orm Embar, FS; Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Home, T; Rejoining, OW

'Then from the foam bright Éa broke.'

[A Description of Earthsea, TfE]


Manan

Titles: Warden, Warden of the Place of the Tombs

Old eunuch in the service of the Nameless Ones, one of ten Wardens of the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. Born in the hill country north of Gar on Atuan. Guardian of Arha (Tenar) as a child, and bears a dog-like fidelity towards her. Plays the game sticks and counters with Duby, a eunuch serving the Godking; the two may be friends. Described as large, bald, with a strange ugly face, big hands and a husky voice; he appears to be very strong. He is killed by Ged in the Labyrinth

Sources: The Eaten One, ToA; Dreams and Tales, ToA; The Anger of the Dark, ToA

'…a strange head, hairless as a peeled potato, and of the same yellowish colour. The eyes were like potato-eyes, brown and tiny. The nose was dwarfed by great, flat slabs of cheek, and the mouth was a lipless slit.'

[The Eaten One, ToA]


Maps

Also known as: Charts

Maps and sea or sailing charts are referred to on various islands, including Roke, Enlad, Havnor, Ark and Paln, for navigational and teaching purposes. As compasses are used for navigation, they are probably usually oriented according to compass north. Star charts may also exist, as stars are commonly used in navigation. An eighth-century teaching map of the Inner Lands of the Archipelago from Ark is depicted in Tales; roughly to scale and oriented with north at the top, it bears no scale or compass bearing, nor text of any kind, and mountains and towns are marked only pictorially. The Isolate Tower of Roke houses many maps and charts, mainly of the Archipelago and the inner seas rather than the Reaches. The Hall of Berila on Enlad has maps dating from the time of the old kings, and a mosaic work map decorates two walls of the throne room. Maps are stored in the treasuries of Havnor. The Dolphin carries a chart of the Inmost Sea tacked on a board beside the steersman.

No Kargish maps are mentioned, and none appear to exist for the Labyrinth of the Tombs of Atuan. In passing on the directions, Thar 'would never draw them in the dust or even with the gesture of a hand in the air'a, suggesting that maps, like writing, might be prohibited in the Kargad Lands

Sources: Hunting, WoE; Dreams and Tales, ToA (a); Selidor, FS; Bettering, T; Frontispiece, TfE; Dolphin, OW


Marriage

Marriage appears to be a universal custom in Earthsea. Polygamy is practised by the Godking of Kargad and by the Children of the Open Sea (raft people), but not in the main Archipelago. Marriages appear to be exclusively male--female, although informal witch marriage between two witches is relatively common. With some exceptions, at the time described in the Earthsea series, wizards and mages usually keep celibate and do not marry; sorcerers and witches do sometimes form marriages. The raft people are judged to marry very young at fifteen to seventeen, suggesting that elsewhere marriage is normal rather later (despite the fact that adulthood is attained at thirteen in the Archipelago and fourteen on Atuan). Customs and rituals associated with marriage are little explained. Lebannen & Seserakh are betrothed an unspecified period prior to their wedding in a ceremony in the throne room of the New Palace, in which the future bride is given the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Arranged marriages among the middle-classes are mentioned on Taon, and are the norm for noblewomen on Hur-at-Hur. In the Archipelago, a harpist is mentioned as playing for a wedding, and noble weddings involve dancing. In the Kargad Lands, a returned bride is considered dishonoured and may even be killed

Sources: The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA; The Children of the Open Sea, FS; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Palaces, OW; Rejoining, OW


Master Changer

Also known as: Changer

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he teaches spells of Shaping and Change.

In The Farthest Shore & 'Dragonfly', he is grey-haired, stocky, fairly short, gentle, kindly man from eastern Enlad; by The Other Wind he's very frail, using his wizard's staff as a walking stick

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS; Dragonfly, TfE; Rejoining, OW


Master Chanter

Also known as: Chanter

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he teaches the Deeds of heroes and the Lays of wisdom.

In The Farthest Shore, he's a Havnorian and a monarchist, described as 'deep-chested, solid as an oaken cask, he sat by the fire, and the voice came from him soft and true as the note of a great bell.'a

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS (a)


Master Doorkeeper

Also known as: Doorkeeper

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he guards the doors of the Great House, allowing entry as student only to those with skill or power in magic who will give their true name; he is therefore one of the few who know Ged's true name. To leave the Great House, one must speak his name.

The inventor of the office and its first incumbent was Medra. The same man may hold the office in the period of over 50 years from A Wizard of Earthsea to The Other Wind, without apparent ageing. He has a smooth ivory or yellow-brown face, almond-shaped eyes, a quiet, pleasant voice, and is described: 'A little man of no age… Young he was not, so that one had to call him old but the word did not suit him. His face was dry, and coloured like ivory, and he had a pleasant smile that made long curves in his cheeks.'a He bears a light staff of greyish wood.

It may or may not be coincidental that 'Doorkeeper' is a name for Segoy in the Creation of Éa

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Rowan Tree, FS (a); The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'"I'll keep the door," Medra said. "Being lame, I won't go far from it. Being old, I'll know what to say to those who come. Being a finder, I'll find out if they belong here." … "I'll ask them their name," Medra said. He smiled. "If they tell me, they can come in. And when they think they've learned everything, they can go out again. If they can tell me my name."'

[The Finder, TfE]


Master Finder

Also known as: Finder

One of the nine Masters of Roke when the School of Wizardry was first founded, teacher of spells of finding, binding and returning. The first holder of the office was Medra. In 730, the office of Finder was abolished by the first Archmage, Halkel of Way, to be replaced by the Master Chanter

Sources: The Finder, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Master Hand

Also known as: Hand

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he teaches sleight of hand, juggling and the lesser arts of Changing, including spells of illusion.

The first Master Hand was the sorcerer Hega of O. In A Wizard of Earthsea, he's described as 'a gentle and light-hearted old man'a. In The Farthest Shore, he's 'a slight, quick man, modest of bearing but with clear and seeing eyes'b; 'Dragonfly' describes him as wearing a red tunic

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE (a); The Masters of Roke, FS (b); The Finder, TfE


Master Herbal

Also known as: Herbal
Titles: Lord Healer

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he teaches the ways and properties of things that grow, and also healing.

The first Master Herbal was the young woman Dory of Pody. In Tales from Earthsea & The Other Wind, he's named Deyala

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE


Master Namer

Also known as: Kurremkarmerruk, Namer

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he lives in the Isolate Tower and teaches the names of things in the Old Speech. One of the few who knows Ged's true name. The Namer is always called Kurremkarmerruk, a name with no meaning in any language.

The first Namer may have been the book collector, Crow. In The Farthest Shore he is described as 'a big, thin, old man, white-haired under his dark hood'a; 'Dragonfly' adds that he's 'rawboned, and crag-faced'b. In The Other Wind, he's around forty, with a calm, closed face and a level, toneless voice

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Rowan Tree; FS (a); Dragonfly, TfE (b); Rejoining, OW


Master of Iria

Also known as: Master of Old Iria, Iria, Master of

Descendent of the Masters of all of the domain of Iria of the island of Way; at the time of 'Dragonfly' [TfE], the domain has been divided and impoverished by law suits. A bad-tempered drunkard, described as intransigent, he inhabits the ruined mansion of Old Iria. A widower, whose deceased wife came from a western island; father of Irian

'Once the Masterof Iria said he would or would not allow a thing, he never changed his mind, priding himself on his intransigence, since in his view only weak men said a thing and then unsaid it.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Master of Old Iria

See Master of Iria


Master Patterner

Also known as: Patterner
Titles: Lord Patterner, Master of the Grove

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he lives in the Immanent Grove; what is taught there is not spoken about outside the Grove.

The first Patterner was Elehal. Nemmerle was the Patterner before he was chosen as Archmage. In The Farthest Shore, 'Dragonfly' & The Other Wind he is named Azver, and he hails from Karego-At

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE


Master Summoner

Also known as: Summoner

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he teaches the summoning of spirits, energies and forces.

The first Summoner was 'a grey-haired mage from Ilien'a. In A Wizard of Earthsea, he's described as 'a stern man, aged and hardened by the deep and sombre wizardry he taught.'b In The Farthest Shore & 'Dragonfly', he is a tall young man named Thorion. In The Other Wind, he is a big, deep-chested man named Brand

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE (b); The Finder, TfE (a)


Master Windkey

Also known as: Windkey

One of the nine Masters of Roke, he teaches weatherworking, the arts of wind and weather, and governs the weather on Roke.

In Tehanu, he is described as 'an elderly, lean, narrow-eyed man'a. In The Other Wind he's a young man named Gamble

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Dolphin, T (a); Rejoining, OW


Masters of Roke

Also known as: Roke, Masters of
Titles: The Nine

Nine mages who, with the Archmage, govern the School of Wizardry on Roke and teach those who come there: Master Changer, Master Patterner, Master Summoner, Master Namer, Master Chanter, Master Hand, Master Windkey, Master Herbal and Master Doorkeeper. They are considered equivalent in status to the princes of the Archipelago. The formal meeting of the nine Masters is sometimes called the Council of the Wise; among their responsibilities is the selection of the new Archmage. At the founding of the school (in 650), the Chanter did not form part of the nine, being replaced by the Master Finder. In 730, the office of Finder was abolished by the first Archmage, Halkel of Way, who established the office of Chanter to replace it. At the time of founding and for the first eighty years, the masters included women, but Archmage Halkel excluded women both from becoming masters and also from the school

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; The Dolphin, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Further information on Masters of Roke


Materials

Steel and iron are commonly used for implements on the wealthy central islands. Metals are scarce in the Kargad Lands; Kargish soldiers use weapons and armour of bronze, wood and leather, though court armour at the time of the High King is silver mesh. Despite the scarcity of metal, many iron objects (including chains, chests, bolts, keys, a key ring and an iron door) are mentioned at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, as well as a dagger and ceremonial sword of steel. Many islands in the Reaches, such as the Hands and Obehol, use bronze, copper, wood or stone implements. On the island of Astowell, in the far east, there is no wood, and tools of stone and shell are used, while the ocean-dwelling Children of the Open Sea (raft people) make their implements from whalebone, wood and nilgu (seaweed).

Containers are commonly made of pottery (eg jade-green pitcher, handle-less clay cups, clay bottle & pottery teapot on Gont) or rushwork/wicker. Bronze, brass and copper containers are also mentioned, on Atuan and elsewhere (eg bronze trays for burning herbs and a brass basin for sacrificial blood on Atuan; copper cauldrons in the kitchens at the Roke School of Wizardry; brass vases of perfume in Hort Town; bronze & brass vessels in Vetch's house on Iffish). Glass containers are mentioned occasionally (eg Ged drinks wine from squat cups of thick greenish glass on Gont; Lebannen offers wine in heavy glass goblets aboard the Dolphin and in crystal goblets in the New Palace; Mr Underhill entertains with crystal tableware on Sattins island); windows are glazed at least in wealthier houses; there is a glass lamp in the king's cabin on the Dolphin. A stone jug is mentioned on Atuan. The New Palace has an alabaster lamp.

Gold is used as high-value currency, occasionally for jewellery (eg Lebannen wears a light gold chain; the pirate Egre wears a gold-studded leather collar; Seserakh wears gold rings) and decoration (eg Lebannen's sword sheath has gold inlay); other uses mentioned include gold plates & goblets and a gold key at the Court of the Terrenon (Osskil), a gold-weighted state robe worn by Lebannen, gold breastplates in the hoard on Pendor, the gold roof of the Temple of the God-brothers, assorted treasure at the Tombs of Atuan and the gold covering which once sheathed Morred's High Seat. Silver is used as currency, very commonly for jewellery (eg sorcerers at Roke wear silver cloak clasps; Serret wears a silver net in her hair; Ged wears a silver chain bearing the half Ring of Erreth-Akbe on Atuan, and the ring itself is silver, Lebannen buys a silver brooch for his mother in Thwil) and for decoration (eg the New Palace on Havnor has a table inlaid with silver and ivory); other uses include silver keys (Court of the Terrenon and the Tombs of Atuan), silver-mesh Kargish court armour, a silver tray aboard the Dolphin, silver tableware on Sattins, silver trumpets at the Havnor New Palace, and Sege's silver-tipped staff. Various precious and semi-precious stones are mentioned for jewellery and other decorative uses (eg opals in the Lady of O's hair; seed pearls on Anthil's dress; a dress embroidered with amethysts and topaz in the Atuan treasury; emeralds in the hoard on Pendor; Tosla's ruby earring). Ivory is used for currency, ornaments and toys (eg a carved dolphin in ivory or bone given to Tehanu; ivory dice-sticks), decoration (Yarrow's tapestry-loom on Iffish has an ivory inlay), decorative furniture (eg painted ivory tables and an ivory footstool at the Tombs of Atuan); the back door of the Great House of Roke is fashioned of ivory and horn. Bone figures are mentioned as toys on Gont

Related entries: Building materials


Mathematics

See Accounting & mathematics


Matter of the Dragons

Book held on Roke, containing lore about dragons. It includes the tale of an ancient dragonlord who had come under the sway of one of the Old Powers in the form of a speaking stone in a far northern land; probably a reference to the Stone of Terrenon

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE

Related entries: Books


Mayor

Various towns and districts are governed by a mayor, including Sosara on Lorbanery and Valmouth on Gont

Sources: Lorbanery, FS; Home, T

Related entries: Government


Mayor of Sosara

Also known as: Sosara, Mayor of

Mayor of the village of Sosara on the island of Lorbanery; described as short with a hard, brown face

'… a short man with a face as hard and brown as the soles of his bare feet.'

[Lorbanery, FS]


Mead

In the Dark Years, lives in Woodedge village on Havnor isle; one of the women of the Hand; a short woman with dark frizzy hair, she is described as a wise woman; very poor but generous. Aunt of Anieb and sister of Ayo

'Ayo and Mead were much alike, and Otter saw in them what Anieb might have been: a short, slight, quick woman, with a round face and clear eyes, and a mass of dark hair, not straight like most people's hair, but curly, frizzy.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Mebbeth

Titles: Priestess

Priestess in the Temple of the Godking; a young dark woman whose passion in life is fishing

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA


Medicine

See Healing


Medra

Also known as: Otter, Tern
Titles: the Child Taker, Master Finder, Master Doorkeeper

A finder and a seeker. Born at Havnor City in the Dark Years, son of a boatwright and a farm woman Rose of Endlane; one elder sister. He lived at Boatwright Street and first worked as a shipbuilder. Taken as a slave as a young man by the warlord Losen, and used to find underground ore at the mines of Samory by Mount Onn, he escapes with Anieb, after killing the mage Gelluk, and encounters the women of the Hand at Woodedge on Havnor. Travels for ten years in search of Morred's Isle, studying for three years with the mage Highdrake on the Isle of Pendor. One of the founders of the School of Wizardry on Roke (around 650), he first lives in a small house by the harbour and Net House in Thwil and also works as a boat-builder; later he lives in a small house near Thwilburn and the Immanent Grove (later called the Otter's House) with Elehal, his lover. He brings the lost Book of Names to Roke, and is the first Master Finder and later also the first Master Doorkeeper. Described as short, slight, brown and pretty, he is lame in his right leg in later life after confronting the mage Early

'The first sign of Otter's gift, when he was two or three years old, was his ability to go straight to anything lost, a dropped nail, a mislaid tool, as soon as he understood the word for it. And as a boy one of his dearest pleasures had been to go alone out into the countryside and wander along the lanes or over the hills, feeling through the soles of his bare feet and throughout his body the veins of water underground, the lodes and knots of ore, the lay and interfolding of the kinds of rock and earth. It was as if he walked in a great building, seeing its passages and rooms, the descents into airy caverns, the glimmer of branched silver in the walls; and as he want on, it was as if his body became the body of the earth, and he knew its arteries and organs and muscles as his own.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Medu

Inland village or town by the river Ar in the east of Gont; near Ten Alders, Chodur and Lotin

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Mending

Mending encompasses restoring shattered pottery or glass, broken tools, stockings with holes, frayed ropes and dried-up wine barrels. A really gifted mender, such as Lily, might knit together broken bones. One of the base crafts of magic, practised by witches, sorcerers and specialised menders, such as Alder

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'…he watched Alder's hands. Slender, strong, deft, unhurried, they cradled the shape of the pitcher, stroking and fitting and settling the pieces of pottery, urging and caressing, the thumbs coaxing and guiding the smaller fragments into place, reuniting them, reassuring them. While he worked he murmured a two-word, tuneless chant. They were words of the Old Speech. … His hands separated from the pitcher, opening out from it like the sheath of a flower opening. It stood on the oak table, whole.'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Meoni

Principal city of the island of Taon

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Mesreth

Major town on the island of Hur-at-Hur, located in the interior

Sources: Frontispiece map, TfE


Metal refining

Like mining, metal refining uses a higher level of technology than many other crafts in pre-industrial Earthsea. In the Samory mines on Havnor in the Dark Years, quicksilver (mercury) refining is performed in a roaster tower by heating ore over a wood fire and in ovens, with multiple rounds of condensation; the work is done by slaves whose life expectancy is said to be only a year or two. Magic may also be used in metal refining; furnaces are found in the magicians' workroom of the Roke School of Wizardry, and metal refining is listed among the arts practised there

Sources: Orm Embar, FS; The Finder, TfE

'The roasting pit took up the center of a huge domed chamber. Hurrying, sticklike figures black against the blaze shoveled and reshoveled ore onto logs kept in a roaring blaze by great bellows, while others brought fresh logs and worked the bellows sleeves. From the apex of the dome a spiral of chambers rose up into the tower through smoke and fumes. In these chambers, Licky had told him, the vapor of the quicksilver was trapped and condensed, reheated and recondensed, till in the topmost vault the pure metal ran down into a stone trough or bowl…'

[The Finder, TfE]

Related entries: Mining; Industry


Metama, Lord of

See Lord of Metama on Ark


Mevre

See Lily


Midden

Used for rubbish disposal on Gont

Sources: Kalessin, T


Middle Valley

Lowland farming valley of the river Kaheda in the south of Gont. Its major town is the harbour Valmouth; other towns or villages include Lissu at the head of the valley, Kahedanan and Oak Village. As in other parts of southern Gont, herding cattle, goats and sheep is a major livelihood here

Sources: Frontispiece map, T; A Bad Thing, T; Mice, T; The Dolphin, T

'She pointed past the town, inland, where Middle Valley lay broad and sunlit between two arms of the mountain, like a lap. … "It's a pretty corner of your kingdom."'

[The Dolphin, T]


Midwifery

Care of pregnant women and animals, and supervision of birth, are the province of witches; some specialise in the art and are called midwives. Midwifery involves the use of spells and herbs

Sources: The Finder, TfE; The Mending of the Green Pitcher, OW

Related entries: Healing


Mildi

Titles: the Orcharder

Former sorcerer or weatherworker on Lorbanery, he died five years before the events of The Farthest Shore

Sources: Lorbanery, FS


Mile

Unit of distance used in Earthsea; as with other imperial measures, presumably silently translated from the actual unit

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Wall around the Place, ToA


Mill Lane

Lane probably in Oak Village in Middle Valley on Gont

Sources: Home, T


Mining

Mining of ores and metals is traditionally done by women. Unusually for pre-industrial Earthsea, mining sometimes involves some use of machinery: 'rusty wheels and machines by a pit'a are mentioned at the mines at Samory on Havnor, though shovelling into buckets appears to be the main method by which ore is extracted

Sources: The Finder, TfE (a)

'Because they were smaller than men and could move more easily in narrow places, or because they were at home with the earth, or most likely because it was the custom, women had always worked the mines of Earthsea. These miners were free women, not slaves like the workers in the roaster tower. … Licky… did no work in the mine; the miners forbade it, earnestly believing it was the worst of bad luck for a man to pick up a shovel or shore a timber.'

[The Finder, TfE]

Related entries: Metal refining; Industry


Mirrors

A female market trader in Hort Town wears a feathered headress adorned with many tiny mirrors, presumably of glass. A small mirror of polished brass is mentioned as part of a peddlar's wares, and the surface of water is also described as a mirror

Sources: Hort Town, FS; The Finder, TfE


Mishport

Little port town of Vemish in the East Reach

Sources: Iffish, WoE


Misk

Islet south of Sowl, near Set and Dunnel, at the northeastern edge of the South Reach


Money

See Currency


Money-lending

See Credit


Moon's Night

A summer festival, held on the shortest night with the full moon of the year, celebrated with flutes, drums and song. Coincides with the Long Dance once every 52 years

'All the first night, the shortest night of full moon of the year, flutes played out in the fields, and the narrow streets of Thwil were full of drums and torches, and the sound of singing went out over the moonlit waters of Roke Bay.'

[The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE]


Morred

Also known as: Mage-King, White Enchanter, the Young King, Morred the White
Titles: King of Earthsea

Ancient mage and King of All the Isles; his court was at Berila on Enlad. The year of his ascension was counted as year 1 in the Hardic calendar. Husband of Elfarran the Fair, to whom he gave the arm ring later known as the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, and father of Serriadh. Said to have seen his enemy's name written by falling raindrops in the dust of the Enlad battlefield. Died over a thousand years ago, fighting the Enemy of Morred, as told in the Deed of the Young King (or the Deed of Morred), with the ruin of Enlad and the engulfment of Soléa. His line, the House of Enlad, continues in the princes of Enlad

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS; Hort Town, FS; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Morred's High Seat

Also known as: Throne of the kingdom

Throne of the King of All the Isles. During Lebannen's reign, a high-backed wooden chair on a dias at one end of the throne room in the New Palace of Havnor City, bearing on its back a carving of a flying heron with a twig of rowan in its beak. Described as gold and crimson before Lebannen restored it

Sources: Bettering, T; The Dragon Council, OW

'…the throne of the kingdom had stood at the end of the long room: a wooden chair, high-backed, on a plain dais. It had once been sheathed in gold. That was long gone; the small golden nails had left rents in the wood where they had been torn out. Its silken cushions and hangings had been stolen or destroyed by moth and mouse and mold. Nothing showed it to be what it was but the place in which it stood and a shallow carving on the back, a heron flying with a twig of rowan in its beak. That was the crest of the House of Enlad. … Lebannen had it cleaned, the decayed wood repaired and replaced, oiled and burnished back to dark satin, but left it unpainted, ungilt, bare.'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Morred's Isle

In the Dark Years, island south of Havnor believed by the scattered women of the Hand to be a place where just rule was maintained and the old arts of magic were practised and taught. Medra identified Morred's Isle as Roke, though it is 'both less and more than the hope and rumor he had sought for so long.'a

Sources: The Finder, TfE (a)

'"They say … that there's an island where the rule of justice is kept as it was under the Kings. Morred's Isle, they call it. … There they say the women of the Hand have kept the old arts. And they teach them, not keeping them secret each to himself, as the wizards do."'

[The Finder, TfE]


Moss

Also known as: Hatha
Titles: Aunty Moss

Witch of Re Albi on Gont; she lives in a large hut in a dell some way from the village with the simpleton Heather and an assortment of animals. In Tehanu, she has greying black hair, no teeth, thin lips and a large wart on her cheek; she's unwashed and odiferous. By the time of The Other Wind, she's very elderly, has only one good hand, and seems to communicate in gestures. Described as very kind, but also sly and unpredictable

Sources: Ogion, T; Kalessin, T; Tehanu, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'Aunty Moss was a dour creature, unmarried, like most witches, and unwashed, with greying hair tied in curious charm-knots, and eyes red-rimmed from herb smoke.'

'An old woman sat in a cushioned chair near the doorway where she could look out into the sunlight. Feathers stuck out of her wispy white hair. A speckled hen was settled in her lap. She smiled at Sparrowhawk with enchanting sweetness and nodded politely to the visitor.'

[Ogion, T/Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Mote

In the Dark Years, weatherworker from the Roke School of Wizardry who travels as a boy of fifteen with Medra

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Mother knowledge

Knowledge of the Old Powers of the Earth; retained by the peoples of the Kargad Lands and on Paln, but rejected by the Archipelagans and in particular by the Roke tradition of wizardry

'We would trust to Segoy, to the powers of the Earth our mother, mother of the Warrior Gods.'

[Rejoining, OW]


Mount Andanden

See Andanden


Mount Onn

Also known as: Onn, Mount

High mountain on Havnor, geographical centre of the Archipelago. Its lower slopes are farmed; the mountain village of Woodedge lies on them. Described as having long ridges and a domed summit

'Sky and earth were all one grey, but before them and above them, very high, over a drift of cloud, the long ridge of the mountain glimmered red.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Mountains of Os

Also known as: Os, Mountains of

Range of mountains to the east of Osskil, north of the Keksemt Moors and the city of Neshum

Sources: Hunted, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE

'…far to the north small white peaks stood sharp against the blue'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Mountains of Pain

Also known as: Pain, Mountains of, Mountains called Pain

High black range of mountains or volcanoes called Pain at the far side of the dry land (the lands of the dead) from the wall of stones; crossed by a road forbidden to the dead, they border with the living world. The rocks are hot to the touch, and cut the flesh. At the end of The Other Wind, fire breaks from the mountains

Sources: The Dry Land, FS; The Dolphin, T; Rejoining, OW

'The rocks were rough, burning the hands like molten iron. … There was a torment in the touch of this earth. It seared like live coals: a fire burned within the mountains.'

'"The stones … The stones cut, and the cuts are long to heal."'

[The Dry Land, FS/The Dolphin, T]


Munith

Woman in service at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; it isn't clear whether she's a servant or a novice

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA


Murre

Cheerful, comely younger brother of Vetch of Iffish; a woodworker by trade. He is the same age as Ged

'He seemed not much more than a boy, for there was no gift or scourge of mage-power in him, and he had never been anywhere but Iffish, Tok, and Holp, and his life was easy and untroubled.'

[Iffish, WoE]


Music

Instrumental music seems to be predominantly used to accompany songs and/or dance, in particular, the Long Dance; drums, pipes and flutes are the main instruments mentioned in this context. Other instruments mentioned are the fife, harp, viol, lute, bagpipe, concertina, horn, double-reed woodhorn, trumpet, tabor, gong, bell, kettledrum, cymbals, tambour and tambourine. Lebannen plays the harp and lute as part of his courtly accomplishments (Enlad), but these instruments are not restricted to the princely courts: Vetch's house contains a great Taonian harp (Iffish), and the inn of Lorbanery boasts a three-stringed lute. Bands of itinerant musicians roam Havnor and other islands, singing ballads and playing various instruments including harp, fife, viol, tabor and drums. A harpist is mentioned playing at a wedding on Taon. Musicians are employed at the imperial court in Havnor City, including horns for signalling, trumpets for telling the hours, and a band consisting of trumpet, tambour and tambourine to accompany a royal procession. In the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, drums sometimes accompany dancing in the temples, and drums, horns and trumpets accompany processions. Of all peoples mentioned, only the Children of the Open Sea (raft people) use no music to accompany their dancing. Drum beats are also used to coordinate rowing on oared galleys. A gong announces meals at the School of Wizardry on Roke. The school at Roke has a bell tower (the Chanter's Tower) with iron bells that toll when the Archmage Nemmerle dies, and bells are used in the Court of the Terrenon, presumably for signalling servants and/or announcing meals; bells are also put on the necks of sheep on Atuan

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; Iffish, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS; Lorbanery, FS; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW


Nagian Chant

Chant used in healing; healing chants are said to 'aid the sick body or the troubled mind'a, but the precise purpose this chant serves is unstated

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; Orm Embar, FS (a)


Nameday

Anniversary of the date of passage into manhood, celebrated in the Archipelago with a party, feasting, music and dancing, and in the west of Havnor island, also with gifts of clothes to neighbouring children. Also sometimes used for the day of passage into adulthood itself

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; Dolphin, OW


Nameless Ones

Also known as: Dark Ones, Unnamed Ones, Dark Powers, Kings whose Throne was empty, the Immortal Dead

Old Powers of Earth, worshipped at the Tombs of Atuan. Believed by some to have been rulers of the earth in some pre-creation era, ancient and nameless, they are considered evil by the Archipelagans

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA

'"They have no power of making. All their power is to darken and destroy. They cannot leave this place; they are this place; and it should be left to them. They should not be denied or forgotten, but neither should they be worshipped. … And where men worship these things and abase themselves before them, there evil breeds; there places are made in the world where darkness gathers, places given over wholly to the Ones whom we call Nameless, the ancient and holy Powers of the Earth before the Light, the powers of the dark, of ruin, of madness…"'

[The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA]


Namer

See Master Namer


Names

Adults in the Archipelago bear three names. The first is the childhood name given to them by their mother as a baby. The second is their secret true name, a word in the Old Speech, given to them when they reach thirteen at a ceremony called the Passage into manhood; knowledge of a person's true name confers power over them. The third name is a use-name or nickname that they are called by during their adult life; while true names are particular to the person, use-names are often very common. Common use-names derive from plants, flowers, trees, animals, birds and jewels. For example, Ged is a true name, Sparrowhawk is a use-name and Duny is a childhood name.

The Kargs bear only a single name, which is not in the Old Speech, contains no power and is not kept secret; usually it has meaning in Kargish. As with the Archipelagan names, flowers and trees are common, but also qualities, such as Hope or Honour, and traditional names handed down within families. Both masculine and feminine Kargish names commonly end -ar (eg Tenar, Ensar); feminine endings include -a (Arha, Nathabba) , -e (Penthe, Poppe), -ath/ith (Munith, Tiarath) and -il (Anthil, Kossil); masculine endings include -i/y (Duby, Punti), -o (Uahto) and -an/in (Intathin, Manan)

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Dragonfly, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW


Namien

Small island in the Closed Sea at the southeast of the Archipelago, near Uny and Sowl; it lies south of O, east of Wathort and north of the easterly islands of the South Reach


Naming

Knowledge of names in the Old Speech for things, places and beings; also the art of giving people their true name. One of the high arts of magic, also considered a part of the art magic. The art of naming is said to have been invented by the Rune Makers a thousand years before the first kings of Enlad; they used it to lay 'a great net of spells upon all the western lands, so that when the people of the islands die, they would come to the west beyond the west and live there in spirit forever'a. Naming is taught at the Roke School of Wizardry by the Master Namer

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Rejoining, OW (a)

'… in this dusty and fathomless matter of learning the true name of each place, thing, and being, the power he wanted lay a jewel at the bottom of a dry well.'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Naming ceremony

See Passage into manhood


Narveduen

Medium-sized island, one of the most easterly of the West Reach. One of the early places where magic fails in The Farthest Shore

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS


Nathabba

Cook at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; Penthe describes her as 'that old skinflint'a

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA (a)


Near Kaltuel

Small island in the southerly end of the West Reach, near Simly, Kaltuel and Arrins


Nemmerle

Titles: Archmage of Roke

Archmage of the School of Wizardry on Roke; formerly the Master Patterner there. Taught Heleth and Ogion. Kept a raven of Osskil as a pet for thirty years. Spent his power closing the rift made by Ged when he released the shadow-beast, and died the following day. Described as 'the kindest of all [Heleth's] teachers at the school.'a

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Bones of the Earth, TfE (a)

'…an old man, older it was said than any man then living. His voice quavered like the bird's voice … His hair and beard and robe were white, and he seemed as if all darkness and heaviness had been leached out of him by the slow usage of the years, leaving him white and worn as driftwood that has been a century adrift.'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Nepp, Seawall of

See Seawall of Nepp


Nereger of Paln

An ancient mage from Paln who found the name of the Black Mage by listening to the conversation of dragons. Killed by the Grey Mage of Paln

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE; Orm Embar, FS


Nesh

Islet of the Ninety Isles, lying near Hosk; it has a harbour town

'past the wharves of Nesh…'

[Hunted, WoE]


Neshum

Major trade city and port in the south east of Osskil; behind it lie hills and the Keksemt Moors

'…a low coast lashed by rainy wind, a grey town crouching behind the long stone breakwaters that made its harbour, and behind the town treeless hills under a snow-darkened sky.'

[Hunted, WoE]


Nesty

In the Dark Years, a charcoal burner's wife of Firn village on Havnor isle; one of the women of the Hand

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Net House

In the Dark Years, meeting hall by the wharf in Thwil on the island of Roke where fisherwomen mended nets and people gathered to listen to readings from books of history

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Net-ball

A game played in Enlad, and possibly elsewhere

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS

Related entries: Games


New Palace

Also known as: Palace of Maharion, King's House

Main palace in Havnor City on Havnor. The throne room dates from the reign of Gemal Sea-born; his heirs built a larger palace around it, and Heru and her son Maharion raised three towers above it. At the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, Lebannen rebuilds the palace and has his court there. Within sight of the harbour, it's described as on the other side of the city from the River House in the north. As well as the throne room, the walled palace contains an audience room (the Long Room), meeting room, banquet hall, marble roof terrace, school, the king's dressing room & bedroom, and numerous anterooms, offices & guest suites; it is topped by the Tower of the Queen, Tower of Alabaster and the Tower of the Kings, in which the sword of Erreth-Akbe is set, and surrounded by gardens with roses, flowering shrubs, willows, fountains & pools

Sources: Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW

'…from the broad outer steps of the palace to high anterooms, staircases with gilded banisters, inner offices with tapestried walls, across floors of tile and marble and oak, under ceilings coffered, beamed, vaulted, painted,…'

[Palaces, OW]


Nickname

See Use-name


Nilgu

Giant brown seaweed whose fronds are 80 to 100 feet long, whose fibres are used by the Children of the Open Sea (raft people) for cloth, rope and nets

Sources: The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Nine Chants

One of the nightly rituals at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA

Related entries: Songs


Ninety Isles

Cluster of tiny islands between Hosk and Ensmer, to the west of Roke. The furthest south is Serd, thirty miles from Roke in the Inmost Sea, and the furthest north is Seppish, near Paln. The islets are organised into townships of ten or twenty islets apiece. There are few bridges and the islanders travel everywhere by boat. Although heavily populated with farms and fishing villages, there are no large towns. The economy revolves around whaling and turbies, an oily fish. Includes the harbour towns of Nesh and Serd, pastures in Dromgan, oil sheds in Geath and the township of Low Torning

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; Hunted, WoE; The Finder, TfE

'West of Roke in a crowd between the two great lands Hosk and Ensmer lie the Ninety Isles. The nearest to Roke is Serd, and the farthest is Seppish, which lies almost in the Pelnish Sea; and whether the sum of them is ninety is a question never settled, for if you count only isles with freshwater springs you might have seventy, while if you count every rock you might have a hundred and still not be done; and then the tide would change. Narrow run the channels between the islets, and there the mild tides of the Inmost Sea, chafed and baffled, run high and fall low, so that where at high tide there might be three islands in one place, at low tide there might be one.'

[The Dragon of Pendor, WoE]


Norst

Islet near Sorresk, west of Ebosskil; it lies on the northwestern edge of the Archipelago, facing the Open Sea


North Enwas

See Enwas


North Reach

Group of islands with a cold climate lying to the north of Osskil and the Andrades. They include Borth, Rogmy, Udrath, Lef, Bereswek, Enwas, Ferrins, the Allernots, Komokome, Sort, Chemish, the Whale Isles and the large but untravelled Hogen Land among the ice floes

Sources: Hunted, WoE; The Open Sea, WoE

'…the islandless vastness of the North Reach.'

[Hunted, WoE]


North Sudidi

Also known as: Sudidi, North

Island in the Ninety Isles

Sources: The Finder, TfE


North Teeth

See Teeth


Northeast Sea

Ocean to the northeast of the Archipelago, in which Gont lies

'…the storm-racked Northeast Sea…'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]


Northward Vale

Steep valley of the River Ar, in the north-east of Gont island, headed by Ten Alders village. The lower parts are farmed, with fields, orchards and cattle pastures; several towns lie on the river: Lotin, Medu, Chodur and Toss

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Frontispiece map, T

'Below the village the pastures and ploughlands of the Vale slope downwards level below level towards the sea, and other towns lie on the bends of the River Ar…'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]


Norvale

Town or village at the mouth of an unnamed river in the north of Gont; near Up Norvale

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


O

Elongated island at the east of the Inmost Sea near Ilien and Felkway; the Ebavnor Straits and Passage of Felkway lie to its north and the Closed Sea to its east. Towns include O-Tokne in the north, O Port in the south-east, and unnamed ports on the north coast. Known for its fine silverwork. Ruled by the Lord of O

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The School for Wizards, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS


O my Joy!

Ballad or lullaby from Enlad

'O my joy!
Before bright Éa was, before Segoy
Bade the islands be,
The morning wind blew on the sea.
O my joy, be free!'

[Dolphin, OW]

Related entries: Songs


O Port

Major port on the island of O; lies in the south east, on the Inmost Sea


O, Lord of

See Lord of O


Oak

Personal servant of Lebannen with valet-like duties; an old man who presumably comes from Enlad, and who has known Lebannen all his life

Sources: Palaces. OW


Oak Farm

Farmstead of Flint and Tenar, later owned by their son Spark, half a mile from (presumably) Oak Village in Middle Valley on Gont. Located by a grove of oaks, the stone farmhouse is built into the hillside; it has small-paned windows, a stone-floored kitchen, pantry, cool-room, dairy, hall, living room, two bedrooms and a loft. The farm comprises four fields (growing flax among other crops), sheep & cattle pasture, apple & pear orchard, raspberry canes, bean patch, hay barn, lean-to, woodhouse, well-house, pump, two tenants' cottages and a family graveyard; red wine and sheepskins are the major produce mentioned

Sources: Frontispiece map, T; A Bad Thing, T; Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; The Dolphin, T; Home, T; Winter, T; The Master, T

'Beyond the cool-room was the dairy. The house was built against a low hill, and both those rooms ran back into the hill like cellars, though on a level with the rest of the house.'

[Home, T]


Oak Springs

Village on the road between Middle Valley and Re Albi in south Gont; has a small inn

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; The Master, T


Oak Village

Inland village on the river Kaheda in Middle Valley in the south of Gont, downriver from Kahedanan and upriver from Valmouth. Probably the village near Oak Farm

Sources: Frontispiece map, T; The Dolphin, T


Oatmeal gruel

See Gruel


Obb

Medium-sized, inhabited island in the southerly end of the West Reach, near Jessage

Sources: Orm Embar, FS; Palaces, OW

'Land lay ahead, low and blue in the afternoon like a bank of mist.'

[Orm Embar, FS]


Obehol

Also known as: Ohol

Large island in the South Reach; white sandy beaches backed with forest, with great green peaks in the interior. Called Ohol by the Children of the Open Sea (raft people)

Sources: The Madman, FS; The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Officers of the peace

Along with sea-sheriffs and bailiffs, carry out law enforcement on Gont. It's unclear whether they receive any wage

Sources: Home, T; The Master, T


Ogion

Also known as: Aihal, Silence, Ogion the Silent, Aihal the Silent
Titles: Mage of Re Albi, Mage of Gont

Mage of Re Albi, Gont. He was born in Gont Port to a cook at a waterfront inn and a longshoreman who died in an earthquake when he was a child. Taught by Elassen, a sorcerer in Valmouth, Heleth and also studied at Roke with Nemmerle. With Heleth, he stilled the earthquake which threatened Gont Port, ten years before 'The Shadow'a. He served first as wizard of Gont Port, becoming mage of Re Albi on the death of Heleth. Said to have refused the position of Archmage. Wanders Gont during summer and autumn, living at the Old Mage's House in winter. Teacher of Ged. Teacher and adoptive father of Tenar; he dies in her company in his late 80s. Ogion means fir cone; he uses the rune of the Closed Mouth and bears an oak staff. He's described as tall and lean, with rough hair, clear eyes and a quiet voice

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Shadow, WoE (a); Ogion, T; The Dolphin, T; The Bones of the Earth, TfE

'He was a dark man, like most Gontishmen, dark copper-brown; grey-haired, lean and tough as a hound, tireless. He spoke seldom, ate little, slept less. His eyes and ears were very keen, and often there was a listening look on his face.'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Ohol

See Obehol


Old Black

Male animal, probably a cat, belong to Moss

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Old Iria

Area within the domain of Iria on Way, held by the Master of Iria. Includes a vineyard, pastures, oak woods, the half-ruined mansion house on Iria Hill and an unnamed village at its foot

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Old Mage's House

Timber-built house on the wind-swept Overfell a little north of Re Albi on Gont, home successively to Heleth, Ogion and Tenar, Ged & Tehanu. Variously described as 'large and soundly built'a and 'a low, small house'b, it has a large single room with a polished oak floor containing a sleeping alcove, larder, hearth, chimney and one or more shuttered windows. Outside there is a goat shed, milking shed, henhouse, poultry yard, woodshed, springhouse, small orchard with peach & plum trees, vegetable patch and goat pasture. Tehanu and The Other Wind mention a well, though in A Wizard of Earthsea, Ogion fetches water from a local spring. Below the house, steep boulder-strewn fields run down to the sea; to its north, the Overfell becomes sheer cliff; inland lies forest

Sources: The Shadow, WoE (a); Going to the Falcon's Nest, T (b); Hawks, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; The Bones of the Earth, TfE

'The mage's house, though large and soundly built of timber, with hearth and chimney rather than a firepit, was like the huts of the Ten Alders village: all one room, with a goatshed built on to one side. There was a kind of alcove in the west wall of the room, where Ged slept. Over his pallet was a window that looked out on the sea, but most often the shutters must be closed against the great winds that blew all winter from the west and the north.'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Old Powers

Also known as: Powers of the Earth, Dark Powers, Old Powers of (the) Earth, Old Ones, Dark Ones, the Ones Underfoot

Ancient powers, worshipped in the Kargad Lands but considered to be evil by the Archipelagans. The spirit trapped in the Stone of Terrenon and the Nameless Ones of the Tombs of Atuan are examples. Roke Knoll, the Immanent Grove, Faliern Forest and the Lips of Paor are also said to be centres of the Old Powers. Bound to one place, they cannot cross the sea; Ged states: 'Out of the sea rise storms and monsters, but no evil powers: evil is of earth.'a Often served by women, they are associated with the feminine, in opposition to the masculine magic.

A more neutral explanation of the Old Powers is given in Tales from Earthsea & The Other Wind, where they are considered to be ancient powers associated with the earth, including caves, streams, hills and trees, neutral but exacting a price; as Alder says, 'the Powers of the Earth keep their own account'b

Sources: The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Hunting, WoE (a); The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA; Dragonfly, TfE; Dolphin, OW (b)

'"They have no power of making. All their power is to darken and destroy. They cannot leave this place; they are this place; and it should be left to them. They should not be denied or forgotten, but neither should they be worshipped. … And where men worship these things and abase themselves before them, there evil breeds; there places are made in the world where darkness gathers, places given over wholly to the Ones whom we call Nameless, the ancient and holy Powers of the Earth before the Light, the powers of the dark, of ruin, of madness…"'

'"But before the gods and after, always, are the streams. Caves, stones, hills. Trees. The earth. The darkness of the earth."'

[The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA/Dragonfly, TfE]


Old Serpent of Andrad

Decorative motif associated with the Andrades; carved on the stem of the Andradean ship, the Shadow

'…the ship's master … stood on a plank let in at the jointure of the keel with the stem, which was carved as the Old Serpent of Andrad.'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Old Speech

Also known as: True Speech, Language of the Making, Speech/Words of the Making, True Language of the Making, True Words, Eldest tongue, Dragon tongue, spellwords

The language of magic, spoken by dragons and learned by wizards. All languages of Earthsea are ultimately derived from it, but Hardic has the closest roots. Words of the Old Speech are termed spellwords by some, denoting their inherent power: 'Spellwords act'a. Humans are bound to the truth speaking it; not so dragons

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Dolphin, OW (a)

'"That is the language dragons speak, and the language Segoy spoke who made the islands of the world, and the language of our lays and songs, spells, enchantments, and invocations. Its words lie hidden among our Hardic words. … Any witch knows a few of these words in the Old Speech, and a mage knows many. But there are many more, and some have been lost over the ages, and some have been hidden, and some are known only to dragons and to the Old Powers of Earth, and some are known to no living creature; and no man could learn them all. For there is no end to that language."'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]

Related entries: Language

Further information on Old Speech


Omer

Small island in the Inmost Sea and Ebavnor Straits, south of Havnor and near Ark

'The black basalt columns of the Isle of Omer towered off the ship's right side as she worked across the Ebavnor Straits'

[Dolphin, OW]


One Priestess

Also known as: First Priestess, Priestess of the Tombs, Arha
Titles: The Eaten One, Priestess Ever Reborn, the Reborn

Priestess of the Nameless Ones at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; associated with the Tombs of Atuan, Hall of the Throne, Undertomb and Labyrinth. Nominally the senior priestess of the Kargad Lands, though her influence diminished after the rise of the Godking. Believed always to be reincarnated as herself; her name, Arha, means 'the eaten one' or 'the one who was devoured'. Her traditional accoutrements include a horsehair belt, a ring of keys and a ceremonial dagger

Sources: The Eaten One, ToA; Dreams and Tales, ToA

'"O let the Nameless Ones behold the girl given to them, who is verily the one born ever nameless. Let them accept her life and the years of her life until her death, which is also theirs. Let them find her acceptable. Let her be eaten!"'

'It still made her feel strange when Thar and Kossil spoke to her of things she had seen or said before she died. She knew that indeed she had died, and had been reborn in a new body at the hour of her old body's death: not only once, fifteen years ago, but fifty years ago, and before that, and before that, back down the years and hundreds of years, generation after generation, to the very beginning of years when the Labyrinth was dug, and the Stones were raised, and the First Priestess of the Nameless Ones lived in this Place and danced before the Empty Throne. They were all one, all those lives and hers. She was the First Priestess. All human beings were forever reborn, but only she, Arha, was reborn forever as herself.'

[The Eaten One, ToA/Dreams and Tales, ToA]

Related entries: Reincarnation; Tenar


One Who Turns

Constellation of the dry land, the stars that do not set

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Onn, Mount

See Mount Onn


Onneva

Also known as: River Onneva

Major river on Havnor island, which feeds into the Great Bay of Havnor; at its mouth, under the shoulder of Mount Onn, lie the sands of Onneva

Sources: The Finder, TfE; Palaces, OW


Onneva Sands

See Sands of Onneva


Onon

Small island in the northerly West Reach, near Derhemen


Ontuego

Medium-sized island on the easterly side of the West Reach, lying near the Toringates, west of Paln. The mage Ath is said to have been killed by the dragon Orm there

Sources: The Stone of Pain, FS; Dolphin, OW


Onyx

Titles: Master Onyx

Wizard at Lebannen's court at Havnor City on Havnor; trained at Roke School of Wizardry by Thorion the Summoner. He's around forty, with a rather worn-looking, sallow face, and said to be deeply reserved

Sources: Palaces, OW; Rejoining, OW

'There was a man of forty or so who carried a wooden staff of his own height, by which Alder knew him as a wizard of the School on Roke. He had a rather worn face, fine hands, an aloof but courteous manner.'

[Palaces, OW]


Opal

Titles: Lady Opal of the Old Demesne of Ilien, Lady Opal of Ilien

Lady of the Old Demesne of Ilien; a suave lady at the imperial court on Havnor who's in charge of Seserakh's ladies-of-waiting at the River House during The Other Wind

Sources: Dolphin, OW


Open Sea

The sea bordering all the islands. Unclear whether it stretches infinitely, wraps back (ie, Earthsea is spherical) or terminates in other unknown lands. According to the dragons, there are lands beyond any that humans have sailed to

'…the Open Sea going on past all knowledge; …'

[Sea Dreams, FS]

Related entries: World view


Oraby

Town on the island of Semel with an inn and a whorehouse

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Oranéa

Eastmost of the Inward Isles, lying just north of Barnisk in the Gontish Sea, near Havnor, the South Teeth, Garhirien, Ea and Ebéa. Its blue hills are visible from Re Albi on Gont

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Kalessin, T


Orandrad

Small northern island, east of Andrad and north of Gont


Orm

Ancient great dragon who killed the mage Ath. Later killed Erreth-Akbe on Selidor, and was slain by him; its bones lie buried in the sands of Selidor. Of its lineage are Orm Embar and Orm Irian

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; Orm Embar, FS; The Dragon Council, OW; Dolphin, OW


Orm Embar

Also known as: Dragon of Selidor

Ancient dragon of the lineage of Orm, the mightiest of all dragons. Identified Ged's half of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe on Selidor. Killed by the mage Cob on Selidor

'Ninety feet, maybe, was he from tip to tip of his vast membranous wings, that shone in the new sunlight like gold-shot smoke, and the length of his body was no less, but lean, arched like a greyhound, clawed like a lizard, and snake-scaled. Along the narrow spine went a row of jagged darts, like rose thorns in shape, but at the hump of the back three feet in height, and so diminishing that the last at the tail-tip was no longer than the blade of a little knife. These thorns were grey, and the scales fo the dragon were iron-grey, but there was a glitter of gold in them. His eyes were green and slitted.'

[Orm Embar, FS]


Orm Irian

Dragon form of Irian, described as red-bronze with red-gold vaned wings, gold flanks, a gold-mailed, red-horned head and huge amber eyes. Claims to be the sister of Tehanu, Ammaud & Orm Embar, and grandchild of Orm; called daughter by Kalessin (as Kalessin is considered the oldest dragon, this may denote some more distant or honorary kinship)

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW

'As she went farther from them they saw her, all of them, the great gold-mailed flanks, the spiked, coiling tail, the talons, the breath that was bright fire. … Then with a rattle like the shaking of sheets of brass the wide, vaned wings opened and the dragon sprang up into the air, circled Roke Knoll once, and flew.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Orrimy

Major port on the east coast of Hosk, on the Inmost Sea

'Orrimy is an old town, built heavily of stone and brick, walled against the lawless lords of the interior of Hosk Island; the warehouses on the docks are like forts, and the merchants' houses are towered and fortified.'

[Hunted, WoE]


Os, Mountains of

See Mountains of Os


Oskres

Coastal village or town lying near the head of an unnamed inlet in the northwest of Gont, near Kedun and Selt

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Ossawa

Town in the Kargad Lands, possibly on Atuan. It has a minor temple to the Godking

Sources: The Wall Around the Place, ToA


Osskil

Also known as: Ravenland

Large Y-shaped island in the north-west of the Archipelago, north of Enlad and south of the North Reach. The main city is Neshum in the east; the Court of the Terrenon is located on the Keksemt Moors in the interior. Other features include the Mountains of Os and the Gut of Osskil, the sea channel between the arms of the Y. Language spoken is Osskili not Hardic

Sources: Hunted, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE

'"There are happenings here not dealt with by the loremasters of the South, and things here not named in the Namers' lists."'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Osskil Sea

Sea between Osskil and Enlad, at the northern edge of the Archipelago, south of the North Reach

Sources: Hunted, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE

'Then as a red sun rose they rowed out on the Osskil Sea, into the northeast winds that blow unhindered from the islandless vastness of the North Reach.'

[Hunted, WoE]


Osskili

Language spoken on Osskil and two islands northwest of it (probably Borth and Rogmy). Originally derived from Old Speech, as are all languages of Earthsea, but closer to Kargish than to Hardic

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: Language

Further information on Osskili


Osskilians

The inhabitants of the northern island of Osskil; they are white-skinned and speak Osskili, distinct from Hardic. The freemen habitually carry a long knife at the hip

'…they were dour men, pale-skinned with black drooping moustaches and lank hair.'

[Hunted, WoE]


Otak

Also known as: Hoeg

Small silent animal with brindled fur; rare, being found only on four southern isles (Roke, Ensmer, Pody and Wathort). Ged kept one as a pet; it saved his life in Low Torning, bringing him back to his body by washing him, and died when the gebbeth attacked him on Osskil

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'They are small and sleek, with broad faces, and fur dark brown or brindle, and great bright eyes. Their teeth are cruel and their temper fierce, so they are not made pets of. They have no call or cry or any voice.'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Other breath

Also known as: Eduevana

Words spoken in prophesy; eduevana is Kargish

'"There came on me what my people call the eduevana, the other breath. Words came to me and I spoke them."'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Other wind

Also known as: West beyond the west

Realm of dragons in the west beyond the west, outside time; dragons inhabit it in body, while men can only go there in spirit. Knowledge of it has been lost in the Archipelago, but it's referred to in the Song of the Woman of Kemay. The dragons claim that half this realm was stolen in ancient times by mages (the Rune Makers) making walls of spells to exclude dragons; the stolen region became the dry land of the Archipelagan afterlife. At the end of The Other Wind, these barriers are destroyed; the other wind is made whole again, and restored to the dragons

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW

'"Do you think we dragons fly only on the winds of this world? Do you think our freedom, for which we gave up all possessions, is no greater than that of the mindless seagulls? That our realm is a few rocks at the edge of your rich islands? You own the earth, you own the sea. But we are the fire of sunlight, we fly the wind!"'

[Rejoining, OW]


O-tokne

Capital of O, an inland city towards the north. Seat of the Lord of O and Lady of O-tokne

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE


O-tokne, Lady of

See Lady of O-tokne


Otrad

Also known as: Eskel

Islet off the east coast of Way, in the east of the Archipelago; sometimes known as Eskel. One of the nearest islands to the East Reach


Otter

See Medra


Otter of Shelieth

Motif depicted on one side of an ivory counter from Way

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Otterhide

See Woodedge


Otter's House

Small hut or house at the edge of the Immanent Grove on Roke, in a meadow by the Thwilburn. Built by Medra (Otter) & Elehal, and possibly later occupied by other Patterners, though when Irian stays there in around 1058 it appears to have been empty for some time. Eight years later, it's described as decrepit

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE; Rejoining, OW

'…a low, moss-ridden roof half hidden by the afternoon shadows of the trees.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Outer Innran

Tiny islet south of Way, near Perilane, in the east of the Archipelago; one of the nearest islands to the East Reach


Ovark

Town in the East Forest region in the east of Gont island. Near Wiss, from which it is separated by a high pass

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Shadow, WoE


Oven

Mentioned for baking on Gont; baking is listed amongst women's skills

Sources: Kalessin, T


Overfell

West-facing cliff top or rocky ledge of red sandstone in southern Gont, described as an 'air-swept shelf of rock'a jutting out from the mountainside, 2000 feet above the sea. The village of Re Albi is located on the cliff top; the Old Mage's House lies on a steep grassy slope near the cliff edge, just north of the village. Further back from the cliff edge, the Overfell becomes a narrow strip of marsh, Overfell Marsh, behind which rise the wooded slopes of Gont Mountain

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Kalessin, T (a)

'Ogion's house stood apart from the village and closer than any other house to the edge of the Overfell, here a steep grassy slope broken by ledges and outcrops of rock, where goats could be pastured. As you went on north the drop grew ever steeper, till it began to fall sheer; and on the path the rock of the great ledge showed through the soil, till a mile or so north of the village the Overfell had narrowed to a shelf of reddish sandstone hanging above the sea that undercut its base two thousand feet below. / Nothing grew at that far end of the Overfell but lichens and rockworts and here and there a blue daisy, wind-stunted, like a button dropped on the rough, crumbling stone.'

[Kalessin, T]


Pack

Ged carries a light pack on his back in Atuan, with a water bottle slung from it; he and Lebannen carry light packs in The Farthest Shore containing clothing, packets of bread, water bottles and fishing lines. Tenar and Tehanu carry light leather packs containing a water bottle when travelling on Gont; Alder carries a thin pack walking on Gont. A pack closed at the top by cord running through eyelets is mentioned on Gont. Presumably peddlars and travellers generally carry goods & baggage in packs on their backs, as beasts of burden appear rare on most islands

Sources: Light under the Hill, ToA; Lorbanery, FS; The Stone of Pain, FS; Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; The Master, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

Related entries: Pouch


Pain, Mountains of

See Mountains of Pain


Painted Room

Also known as: Room of Pictures

Mural-decorated room in the Labyrinth on Atuan. The murals depict 'bird-winged, flightless figures with eyes painted dull red and white'a, which may represent non-reincarnated spirits of Archipelagan people trapped in the sterile afterlife of the dry land. The date at which they were painted is unknown, as is the artist/s. No similar paintings are found elsewhere in the Place of the Tombs. The room has a door with iron bolts and a large spy hole in its arched roof, located in the treasury of the Temple of the God-Brothers

Sources: Light under the Hill, ToA; The Great Treasure, ToA (a); Palaces, OW

'[Arha] was going to the Painted Room. She liked sometimes to go there and study the strange wall drawings that leapt out of the dark at the gleam of her candle: men with long wings and great eyes, serene and morose. No one could tell her what they were, there were no such paintings elsewhere in the Place, but she thought she knew; they were the spirits of the damned, who are not reborn.'

[Light under the Hill, ToA]

Related entries: Decorative arts


Palace of Maharion

See New Palace


Palani

Schoolmistress of Sattins island in the East Reach; aged twenty; described as plump and pretty. Leaves Sattins with the fisherman Birt

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Pallet

See Beds and bedlinen


Paln

Large island in the west of the Archipelago, immediately south of Semel; over 300 miles from Havnor City and separated from Havnor by the Pelnish Sea. The north is mountainous and wild; the only town mentioned is Ferao. The inhabitants speak accented Hardic (Seppel's accent is described as clipped and singing) and have many words of their own dialect; they have a reputation for uncanniness in the rest of the Archipelago. Ruled by the Lords of Paln, who in ancient times refused fealty to the King of All the Isles. Famous for wizards who do not attend Roke School of Wizardry and are trained in the Lore of Paln, a different tradition from that of Roke. Also said to be great shipbuilders

Sources: Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW; Rejoining, OW

'…in the mountains of the north part of the island, wild country without farms. Hunters used to go there to hunt mountain sheep and catch falcons to tame…'

[Palaces, OW]


Passage into manhood

Also known as: Naming ceremony, Naming day, Passage, Passage into womanhood, Crossing into manhood/womanhood

Ceremony held in the Archipelago after a child passes thirteen in which the child is given their true name and so passes into adulthood. The ceremony involves the child walking naked through water at daybreak after their childhood name has been taken away, before the namer gives them their new name; afterwards there is much feasting and celebration. The day and its anniversary are referred to as the nameday; nameday presents are traditional on Gont. The namer is always a person with some skill in magic; according to the witch Rose of Old Iria in 'Dragonfly' [TfE] the name comes to the namer's open mind rather than being chosen. The details of the ceremonies in the Kargad Lands are not stated (though they do not appear to involve renaming); crossing into adulthood occurs at around fourteen there

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Dragonfly, TfE; Dolphin, OW

'On the day the boy was thirteen years old … the ceremony of Passage was held. The witch took from the boy his name Duny, the name his mother had given to him as a baby. Nameless and naked he walked into the cold springs of the Ar where it rises among rocks under the high cliffs. … He crossed to the far bank, shuddering with cold but walking slow and erect as he should through that icy, living water. As he came to the bank Ogion, waiting, reached out his hand and clasping the boy's arm, whispered to him his true name: Ged.'

' "You're there in the water, together, you and the child. You take away the child-name. People may go on using that name for a use-name, but it's not her name, nor ever was. So now she's not a child, and she has no name. So then you wait. In the water there. You open your mind up, like. Like opening the doors of a house to the wind. So it comes. Your tongue speaks it, the name. Your breath makes it. You give it to that child, the breath, the name. You can't think of it. You let it come to you. It must come through you and the water to her it belongs to…''

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE/Dragonfly, TfE]

Related entries: Names


Passage of Felkway

Also known as: Felkway Bay

Channel between the islands of Felkway and O leading to the Ebavnor Straits; also termed Felkway Bay in some sources

Sources: Palaces, OW


Patterner

See Master Patterner


Patterning

Art of meaning and intent. One of the high arts of magic, also considered a part of the art magic. Ged uses what he calls a Patterning to make the two halves of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe 'whole … as if it had never been broken'a. Taught in the Immanent Grove at the Roke School of Wizardry by the Master Patterner

Sources: The Anger of the Dark, ToA (a); A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Pechvarry

Boatmaker of Low Torning, friend of Ged, whom he teaches to sail by conventional methods. His son is Ioeth

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Pelimer

Tiny inhabited island in the easternmost region of the East Reach, three days' southeast of Soders. At the time of The Wizard of Earthsea, its main town has a deranged sorcerer. Hardic is spoken there with a strong accent

'…a small isle humped high above the high grey seas.'

[The Open Sea, WoE]


Pellawi-fur

Silvery fur lining a lordly cloak that Ged is given in Osskil, presumably from a furred creature, the pellawi. The red cloaks of merchants from the Andrades are also trimmed with this fur. Both Osskil and the Andrades are in the north

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Hunting, WoE


Pelnish lore

See Lore of Paln


Pelnish Sea

Broad sea channel between Paln & Semel to the west and Havnor to the east; it lies north of the Ninety Isles

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Pendick-tree

Red-flowering tree growing in the Ninety Isles, Hort Town and Roke

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; Hort Town, FS


Pendor

Island to the west of the Archipelago; spoiled by Yevaud, the Dragon of Pendor. In the Dark Years, before Yevaud's arrival, a peaceful, prosperous island, whose lords were then described as 'good men. They remember the kings. They don't seek war or plunder'a, though they send men west hunting dragons for sport. Later, however, they were said to be 'pirates, slave-takers, war-makers, hated by all that dwelt in the southwest parts of Earthsea'b

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE (b); The Finder, TfE (a)

'Maybe he thought, at first, that on Pendor he had found Morred's Isle, for the city was beautiful and peaceful and the people prosperous.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Pendulum of Ath

Method of measuring time used in Havnor City; hung high in the Tower of the Kings, it swings for precisely an hour. Presumably invented by Ath

Sources: Palaces, OW

Related entries: Time


Penthe

Friend of Arha (Tenar), in the service of the Godking at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. A tall, plump girl with pink cheeks, she's described as 'soft and comfortable-looking'a and 'round and full of life and juice as one of her golden apples, beautiful to see'b; her voice is soft and dreamy. The same age as Arha, she came from a village by the sea; the sixth girl in her family, her parents dedicated her to the Godking's service in Ossawa aged seven because they could not afford to bring her up. She seems to have an irreverent attitude, being more interested in food than religious duties, though she's also described as 'submissive and easily bullied'b; she's afraid of the dark

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA (a); Dreams and Tales, ToA (b)

'"I'd rather marry a pig-herd and live in a ditch. I'd rather anything than stay buried alive here all my born days with a mess of women in a perishing old desert where nobody ever comes! But there's no good wishing about it, because I've been consecrated now and I'm stuck with it. But I do hope that in my next life I'm a dancing-girl in Awabath! Because I will have earned it."'

[Dreams and Tales, ToA]


People of the West

See Dragons


Perfume

Also known as: Scent

Rose perfume is sold in little brass jars in Hort Town market, apparently used for sweetening the breath, while the whole town smells of incense. Burning scented oils forms part of the death-related customs of the Archipelago. Some forms of healing involve burning herbs to produce scented smoke; for example, a herb burning with a smell of dark earth under pine woods is used on Roke to induce sleep. On Atuan, scents of musk and incense characterise the temples; rose oil is stored in brass stoppered jars at the Place of the Tombs and attar of roses is burned in the Temple of the Godking; gifts of incense and an ancient iron chest of musk are stored in the temple treasuries; scented vinegar is used to wash the hair of the One Priestess as part of her dedication ceremony, and sage-scented water is mentioned for washing hair. Seserakh's serving ladies from Hur-at-Hur are described as perfumed

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA; Hort Town, FS; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Dolphin, OW


Perilane

Islet off the southern tip of Way, near Outer Innran, in the east of the Archipelago


Perregal

Small island north-east of Gont, one of the nearest islands in the Archipelago to the Kargad Lands. Under Kargish rule for at least a generation in the time of Maharion

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Perriot leaves

Perriot leaves, wrapped in cobwebs, are used in healing to staunch bleeding; cobwebs alone are also used against bleeding

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE

Related entries: Herbal remedies


Pets

People of the Archipelago commonly keep dogs and cats as pets; they also serve as watchdogs, sheep dogs, hunting animals and for vermin control. Named examples include the Witch of Ten Alders' dog Gobefore, Moss's cat Little Grey and Alder's kitten Tug. The people of Havnor City 'put birdcages out the windows on gilt poles among the flowers'a. More unusual pets include Ged's otak, Nemmerle's talking raven of Osskil, Yarrow's harrekki (dragon-lizard), Tehanu's goat Sippy, and the wild boar said to be kept by the Red Mage of Ark

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Dragon Council, OW (a)

'"They say Gontish wizards often keep familiars," said Jasper, who sat on the other side of Vetch. "Our Lord Nemmerle has his raven, and songs say the Red Mage of Ark led a wild boar on a gold chain. But I never heard of any sorcerer keeping a rat in his hood!"'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Pint

Unit of volume used in Earthsea; presumably silently translated from the actual unit. Beer is sold in pints

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE

Related entries: Imperial measures


Pippin

Daughter of Apple, granddaughter of Tenar; lives in Middle Valley on the island of Gont. During The Other Wind, she's nearly twelve

Sources: Dolphin, OW


Piracy

Appears to be a relatively common practice in the Archipelago, increasing in the years immediately preceding restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy. The islands of Gont and Wathort are famous for their pirates, and the Lords of Gont, as well as the former Lords of Pendor, are said to engage in piracy. Egre and the wizard Hare are mentioned as a famous pirates

Sources: Magelight, FS; Mice, T


Pirr

Rune drawn on houses which protects from madness and from wind and fire; also used in treatment of burns. One of the True Runes and one of the nine Runes of Power engraved on the Ring of Erreth-Akbe

Sources: Iffish, WoE; The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA; A Bad Thing, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'…the rune Pirr he wrote on the roof-trees of the huts, which protects the house and its folk from fire, wind, and madness'

[Iffish, WoE]

Related entries: Runes


Place of Atuan

See Place of the Tombs


Place of the Sacrifice

A place on Hur-at-Hur to which small, flightless dragons crawl annually along the Dragons' Way for the spring sacrifice

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Place of the Tombs

Also known as: Place, the, Place of Atuan
Titles: Most Sacred Place of the Tombs

Sacred place in the interior of the island of Atuan where the Tombs of Atuan and Hall of the Throne are located, as well as the Temple of the Godking, Temple of the God-Brothers, Small House, Big House, accommodations for eunuch wardens, slaves & guards, farm buildings, store rooms, stables, barn, goat pens, sheep folds & apple/peach orchard. Around 200 people live there. Set in the desert, half a mile from a river, hemmed in by the Western Mountains and two days' walk from the coast; the nearest town is over 20 miles away. Though it's the oldest and most holy place in the Kargad Lands, by the time of The Tombs of Atuan, few pilgrims visit and the Godking no longer consults the One Priestess

'It looked like a little town, seen from a distance, from up on the dry hills westward where nothing grew but sage, wire-grass in straggling clumps, small weeds and desert herbs.'

[The Wall around the Place, ToA]

Further information on Place of the Tombs


Place, the

See Place of the Tombs


Placing of the sacred words upon the doors

One of the nightly rituals at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; probably the same as the blessing of the doorways

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA


Plants

Plant life largely overlaps with earth species. A wide range of plants and trees are mentioned, including oak, yew, cedar, fir, ash, elm, beech, aspen, poplar, chestnut, hemlock, rowan, willow, alder, juniper, olive, apple, pear, peach, cherry, walnut, hazel, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, currant, grapevine, cantaloupe melon, potato, onion, bean, cabbage, lettuce, beet, turnip, squash, tomato, corn, barley & other grains, rose, bramble, heather, broom, witch hazel, thistle, fourfoil, king's foil, rosemary, mint, thyme, parsley, yarrow, clovenfoot, tansy, bay, moly, velver, sagebush, strawflower, pennyroyal, miller's-bane, (blue) daisy, madder, flag iris, grass, dune grass, wire-grass, bunchgrass, sedge, reed, rockwort, seaweed, fern, moss, lichen, fungus and mould.

Species probably unique to Earthsea include the pendick-tree (red-flowering tree), hurbah trees (low-growing trees that silkworms feed on), arhada (trees of the Immanent Grove), hemmen, hazia, perriot (see perriot leaves), corly (see corly-root), white hallows, sparkweed (yellow-flowered weed), lacefoam (white-flowered weed), rushwash (herb used to make rushwash tea), paramal (herb) and nilgu (brown seaweed).

The geographical distribution of most species is not constant throughout Earthsea. For example, hurbah trees are ubiquitious on Lorbanery in the South Reach but not mentioned elsewhere, pendick-trees are mentioned only in southerly isles such as Wathort. The desert vegetation around the Place of the Tombs on Atuan is predominantly wire-grass, sagebushes and juniper trees. Selidor has dune grasses, sedge and rushes, with few or no trees


Pody

Small fertile island, south of the Ninety Isles, near Ensmer and Wathort. Major town is the old port of Telio. Linen making is a major industry, with flax-retting houses in the weavers' quarter of Telio. At the time of 'The Finder', the island had been ruled by the lords of Wathort for a century, and was very run down

'It was a sleepy southern island with a pretty old port town, Telio, built of rosy sandstone, and fields and orchards that should have been fertile. But the lords of Wathort had ruled it for a century, taxing and slave taking and wearing the land and people down. The sunny streets of Telio were sad and dirty. People lived in them as in the wilderness, in tents and lean-tos made or scraps, or shelterless.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Poetry

Poets are mentioned as among the members of the King's Council. Most poetic expression appears to take the form of songs, so poets may (also) be song writers

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Poison

Poison is an acknowledged method of disposing of enemies in the Kargad Lands. Kossil, High Priestess of the Godking on Atuan, is said to keep boxes and phials of poisons to introduce into food or water, as well as poison dust which can be blown into the air. The father of the Godking reigning during The Tombs of Atuan is alleged to have refrained from poisoning the last descendants of the House of Hupun merely on grounds that they are of royal blood. Poisons aren't limited to Kargad: environmental mercury poisoning was an occupational hazard in the Samory roasting tower on Havnor during the Dark Years, and fatal neurological damage is the consequence of chewing the poisonous psychoactive herb hazia, used in Hort Town. Various witches' potions of evil intent are mentioned, and it seems possible that unscrupulous wizards, sorcerers and witches put their herbal knowledge to use in poisoning

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Great Treasure, ToA; The Finder, TfE


Pondi

Cowherd of Sattins island in the East Reach

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Popi

Young girl of Sattins island in the East Reach; described as little

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Poppe

Woman in service at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; it isn't clear whether she's a servant or a novice

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA


Pothouses

See Taverns


Potions

Also known as: Elixirs

Potions are commonly made by village witches; they include love-potions and 'other, uglier brews ... made to serve men's jealousy and hate.'a The production of elixirs of unknown purpose is mentioned in 'The Rule of Names' as part of the skills of wizards; their distinction (if any) from potions is unclear, though Ged dismisses potion-making as an inferior discipline. A High Priestess on Atuan is said to keep phials of poison, which could be potions or elixirs

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; Warriors in the Mist, WoE(a); The Great Treasure, ToA; Lorbanery, FS


Pouch

Deyala, the Master Herbal, carries a many-pocketed pouch in which he carries plant specimens. Heleth carries a pouch containing food and a wine bladder

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE

Related entries: Pack


Pound

Unit of weight used in Earthsea; as with other imperial measures, presumably silently translated from the actual unit

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; The Western Mountains, ToA


Powers of the Earth

See Old Powers


Precepts

Keeping the Precepts forms part of the religious observances on Hur-at-Hur, and possibly the other Kargad Lands

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Pretty Rose

Small shabby coaster on which Alder travels from Gont to Havnor

Sources: Palaces, OW


Priestess of the Tombs

See One Priestess


Priest-eunuchs

See Wardens of the Place of the Tombs


Priest-Kings

Before the first Godking, 150 years ago, the Kargad Lands were ruled by Priest-Kings descended from Intathin of the House of Tarb. The Priest-Kings seized power from the secular kings of the House of Hupun in around 440

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA; Voyage, ToA; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Principalities

Regions of the Inner Lands that constitute the Archipelagan kingship; includes Enlad (the Principality of Morred), Ilien (including Ark), and Way, and formerly, Ea (including Taon) and Havnor. Each was governed by a Ruling Prince descended from the ancient kings; the royal lines on Ea and Havnor have died out

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS


Prisoners' Door

See Red rock door


Prostitution

Whores are mentioned in the town of Oraby on Semel

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Proverbs

Also known as: Sayings

Numerous proverbs and sayings are quoted, many of which pertain to magic. They include: 'Infinite are the arguments of mages' (commonly cited); 'Weak as woman's magic, wicked as woman's magic', 'Better shark than herring' & 'Hot snow, dry water' from Gont; 'Two staffs in one town must come to blows' & 'Rules change in the Reaches' in the East Reach; 'As fat as a cow of Iria', 'As lucky as an Irian', 'If a word can heal, a word can wound. … If a hand can kill, a hand can cure. It's a poor cart that goes only one direction' & 'a wizard without his porridge' (meaning an unprecedented event) from Way; and 'the man drowning doesn't ask what the rope cost.' from Taon

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Iffish, WoE; Mice, T; Winter, T; Dragonfly, TfE; Dolphin, OW


Punitive system

See Legal and punitive systems


Punti

Titles: Warden, Warden of the Place of the Tombs

Eunuch; one of the ten Wardens of the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. At the time of The Tombs of Atuan, rather deaf

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA


Puppeteers

Itinerant entertainers on Havnor, and probably other islands of the Archipelago

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Purewells

Small village on the High Marsh on the island of Semel. Features include a single street, tavern and a well with pure water

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Queen Heru's Tower

See Tower of the Queen


Queenie

Fishing-sloop belonging to Birt of Sattins island; it has oars and a single sail

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Queens

The ancient western monarchy traced descent through both male and female lines. Eight queens ruled from Havnor and an unknown number from Enlad; the best known is Queen Heru

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Queen's House

See River House


Queen's Tower

See Tower of the Queen


Quor

Hill village on Iffish in the East Reach

Sources: Iffish, WoE


Raft people

See Children of the Open Sea


Rambles

Sheep farmer of Re Albi on Gont

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Raven of Osskil

For thirty years, a pet of the Archmage Nemmerle. Spoke in Osskili

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE


Re Albi

Also known as: Falcon's Nest

Village on the edge of the high cliff of the Overfell in the south of Gont, fifteen miles from Gont Port. Governed by the Lord of Re Albi. The name means Falcon's Nest, and it commands views of Gont Port, the harbour and the Armed Cliffs. The village has a weaver's house, smithy, sawmill and a small square with a fountain; nearby lies the Old Mage's House, Overfell Marsh, Bog Lake and the Dark Pond. Farming goats, sheep and cattle is a major livelihood here

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Mice, T; Hawks, T; The Bones of the Earth, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'There were scattered small houses, a small dusty square, a fountain with one thin stream of water falling.'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Re Albi mansion house

The manor house of the Lord of Re Albi is built on a rocky outcrop above the Overfell, up the hill from Re Albi. Surrounded by hay fields and cherry & walnut orchards, it has marble external steps and marble floors

Sources: Ogion, T; Finding Words, T; The Master, T


Re Albi, Lord of

See Lord of Re Albi


Reaches

Four groups of islands outside the central Archipelago: the North Reach, East Reach (which excludes the Kargad Lands), South Reach and West Reach. Though nominally subject to the King of All the Isles after the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, many of the islands in the Reaches are very isolated, with rather different ways of life than in the main Archipelago. As is commonly said, 'Rules change in the Reaches.'a

Sources: Iffish, WoE (a)


Reche

Village or town in the west of Havnor island, near Glade, above which are chestnut forests

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Red Bucca

Red hen belonging to Heleth. The other chickens are named Brown Bucca, Grey, Leggings, Candor, and the King

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Red Mage of Ark

Historical mage who, it is said, kept a wild boar on a gold chain

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE


Red rock door

Also known as: Prisoners' Door

Door to the Undertomb at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, in an outcropping of red lava near the Tomb Wall. It can only be opened from outside, using a long-shafted iron key with two ornate wards (one of the ring of keys)

'A few yards down the slope an outcropping of red lava made a stair or little cliff in the hill. When she went down to it and stood on the level before it, facing the rocks, Arha realized that they looked like a rough doorway, four feet high.'

[The Prisoners, ToA]


Reddy

See Seserakh


Reincarnation

The people of the Kargad Lands believe in reincarnation after death, usually as a different person or animal/plant. Reincarnation is considered a form of immortality: 'We die to rejoin the undying world'a. The One Priestess, Arha, is believed always to be reincarnated as herself. Those of the Inner Lands are not believed to be reincarnated; Kossil says '"…when they die, they are not reborn. They become dust and bone, and their ghosts whine on the wind a little while till the wind blows them away. They do not have immortal souls."'b A belief in reincarnation does not appear to be held in the rest of Earthsea, though it seems a possible interpretation of the line 'only in dying life' from the Creation of Éa

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA (b); Winter, T; Palaces, OW; Rejoining, OW (a)

'But she knew what all the people of the Kargad Lands knew, that when they died they would return in a new body, the lamp that guttered out flickering up again that same instant elsewhere, in a woman's womb or the tiny egg of a minnow or a windborne seed of grass, coming back to be, forgetful of the old life, fresh for the new, life after life eternally.'

'"I think … that when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live. I can give back to the world all that I didn't do. All that I might have been and couldn't be. All the choices I didn't make. All the things I lost and spent and wasted. I can give them back to the world. To the lives that haven't been lived yet. That will be my gift back to the world that gave me the life I did live, the love I loved, the breath I breathed."'

[Palaces, OW/Rejoining, OW]

Related entries: Religion and the afterlife


Religion and the afterlife

All peoples of Earthsea honour Segoy as the creator, and share a creation myth, the Making.

The people of the Archipelago and the Reaches otherwise worship no gods, make no sacrifices and build no temples. They seem to rely on magic to govern chance events in their lives, such as the weather and illness. After death, a shadow is believed to pass to the dry land where it remains, but the afterlife is limited to a barren shadowland where the souls do not appear to interact, and 'those who had died for love passed each other in the streets.'a

The peoples of the Kargad Lands worship the Twin Gods, the Godking and the Old Powers of the Earth, particularly the Nameless Ones, with temples and animal (and occasionally human) sacrifice. Magic is outlawed in the Kargad Lands. On Hur-at-Hur, and possibly elsewhere, keeping the Precepts forms part of religious observances. The Kargish peoples believe in reincarnation: an immortal soul which is reincarnated after death, considering that those from outside the Empire lack this immortal soul and are not reborn. Though the belief systems appear contradictory, both peoples observe rituals timed to the seasons which involve singing and dancing.

In The Other Wind, this difference between belief systems is resolved: the dry land is revealed to have been created by ancient mages, the Rune Makers, who, seeking immortality, appropriated part of the dragons' timeless realm, the other wind, using the arts of naming to lay 'a great net of spells upon all the western lands, so that when the people of the islands die, they would come to the west beyond the west and live there in spirit forever.'b

The Children of the Open Sea (raft people) worship god-figures they call the Great Ones represented by wooden idols of mixed dolphin, fish, man and seabird, and believed to be embodied in the grey whales. They share the custom of the Long Dance with the Archipelagan peoples

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA; The Children of the Open Sea, FS; Orm Embar, FS; The Dry Land, FS (a); Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW (b)


Relli

Elderly chanter and harpist of Valmouth on Gont

Sources: Home, T


Resbel

Town in the southwest of Havnor Island, a hundred miles from the sands of Onneva and on the western side of the pass in the Faliern Mountains

Sources: Palaces, OW


Restive

Mage of Havnor City on Havnor island

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy

The line of kings of the Archipelago died out on the death of Maharion in the year 452 (800 years previously according to some sources). The new king was prophesied by Maharion to have 'crossed the dark land living and come to the far shores of the day'a; such a king was thought to bring peace and unite the lands. Lebannen, son of the Prince of Enlad and heir of Morred, fulfilled this prophecy and is crowned King of All the Isles in Havnor City in around 1051.

The restoration of the monarchy is followed by various measures, including the establishment of the royal court at the New Palace in Havnor City, reopening of the King's Courts of Law, restructuring of local government, increase in taxation, crackdown on piracy, abolition of slavery (after the siege of Sorra), rebuilding of the royal palaces in Havnor City, and establishment of the King's Council

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS (a); Home, T; Winter, T; The Master, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Palaces, OW; Dragon Council, OW; Dolphin, OW


Retort

Also known as: Alembic

Vessel used for distillation; mentioned in the magician's workroom in the south tower of the School of Wizardry on Roke

Sources: Orm Embar, FS


Revelation Spell

Spell to affect the spellcaster's vision to reveal the true nature of surroundings

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Revnian Mountains

Range of mountains in the northeast of Havnor island


Ring of Erreth-Akbe

Also known as: Erreth-Akbe, Ring of, Elfarran's ring, Morred's ring, Bond Ring, Ring of the Runes, Ring of the King's Rune, Ring of Peace, Rune Ring

Silver woman's bracelet or arm ring, pierced with nine holes and decorated with a wave-like pattern on the outside and nine True Runes on the inside, including Pirr, Ges and the Bond Rune. Its origins are lost in the mists of time: it was given by Morred to Elfarran and was said to be old at that time. It passed to her son Serriadh and thus down through the house of Morred to Aiman, who gave it to his wife, Queen Heru. Heru, then Queen Mother, gave it to Erreth-Akbe to take to the Kargad Lands as a sign of peace. It was broken in two by High Priest Intathin of the House of Tarb, in Awabath on Karego-At, destroying the Bond Rune, the sign of peace. Half the Ring was given to Tiarath, daughter of Thoreg of Hupun, and found its way into Ged's hands after Ensar and Anthil, the last descendants of the House of Hupun, were stranded on an islet by the father of the Godking ruling in The Tombs of Atuan. The other half was placed in the treasury of the Tombs on Atuan, and stolen by Ged to remake the Ring, restoring the Lost Rune. Used as betrothal ring between Lebannen, King of All the Isles, & Seserakh, High Princess of the Kargad Lands in around 1066

Sources: The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Rejoining, OW


Ring of keys

An iron ring bearing thirteen keys is among the One Priestess's traditional garments on Atuan. The key to the Treasury of the Tombs is small and silver with a dragon-shaped haft; that to the red rock door is 'a long shaft of iron with two ornate wards'a

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA (a); Voyage, ToA

'Since the rites of her coming of age, Arha had worn on her belt an iron ring on which hung a little dagger and thirteen keys, some long and heavy, some small as fishhooks.'

[The Prisoners, ToA]


Risk

Islet in the easterly West Reach, near Usidero


Rissi

Inhabitant of Re Albi during the time Heleth was alive; owner of a well

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Ritual of the Unspoken

A brief ritual; one of those performed nightly at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA


River Ar

See Ar


River House

Also known as: Queen's House

Small, beautiful palace on the northern edge of Havnor City on Havnor, built fitting into the old city wall, with a shady courtyard, halls, anterooms, a dark inner audience room, and balconies over the River Serrenen. Built by Queen Heru, and frequently called the Queen's House, Lebannen had it rebuilt on ascending the throne, and uses it for summer festivities, as a retreat and to meet his mistresses

Sources: Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Dolphin, OW

'…it was a lovely, peaceful place, sparsely furnished, with dark, polished, uncarpeted floors. Ranks of narrow door-windows slid aside to open up the whole side of a room to a view of the willows and the river, and one could walk out onto deep wooden balconies built over the water.'

[ The Dragon Council, OW]


River Kaheda

See Kaheda


River Kember

See Kember


River Onneva

See Onneva


River Serrenen

See Serrenen


Roads of Balatran

Also known as: Balatran

Place where the rafts of the Children of the Open Sea meet and come together in summer for the Long Dance

Sources: The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Rody

Son of the Lord of Metama on Ark, staying at the imperial court at the Havnor New Palace; aged nine during The Other Wind. Befriends Alder, who gives him the young cat Tug

'…a small, thin boy in a tunic that was too long for him.'

[Palaces, OW]


Rogm

See Rogmy


Rogmy

Also known as: Rogm

Medium-sized island north of Osskil in the west of the North Reach, near Borth and Udrath. Osskili is probably the language spoken there

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Roke

Also known as: Isle of the Wise, Isle of the Wizards, Morred's Isle

Island in the Inmost Sea; said to be the heart of Earthsea and the second land raised from the sea. Location of the legendary Morred's Isle. Famous for the School of Wizardry, it is governed by the Archmage. Main town is Thwil on Thwil Bay in the south east, which is the only harbour; other named features include Roke Knoll, the Immanent Grove, Thwilburn and the Isolate Tower. The island is partly farmed, partly oak wooded, with green hills, heaths, pastures and granite cliffs

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Finder, TfE


Roke Bay

See Thwil Bay


Roke Knoll

A high green hill on Roke Island above Thwil, near the Immanent Grove; steep, round & treeless, it's covered in long grass and sparkweed. Said to be the first land to stand above the sea at the Creation, and whose roots go down to the centre of the earth. In 'The Finder' [TfE], however, it states that Roke was the second island to be raised, after Ea. A site where the Old Powers are manifest; all things take their true form there

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE

'The presence of that hill where many wonders had been worked was heavy, like a weight in the air around them. As they came on to the hillside they thought of how the roots of it were deep, deeper even than the sea, reaching down even to the old, blind, secret fires at the world's core.'

[The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE]


Roke School

See School of Wizardry


Roke wind

Also known as: Roke-wind

Magewind that defends the island of Roke from evil powers


Roke, Great House of

See Great House of Roke


Roke, Masters of

See Masters of Roke


Roke, Rule of

See Rule of Roke


Rolameny

Also known as: Rolomeny

Medium-sized island in the southwestern East Reach, south of Kopp and west of Soders

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Rood

Medium-sized island in the South Reach, near Lorbanery and Toom

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Room of Bones

Room in the Labyrinth of the Place of the Tombs where the remains of some of those who died within the Labyrinth are left

Sources: The Man Trap, ToA


Room of Chains

Large underground room at the Place of the Tombs which houses prisoners. Accessed via a minor labyrinth off the Undertomb, it lies beneath the Hall of the Throne. It has a wooden door without lock, walls with rings driven into the rock, and iron chains with padlocks; the ceiling has a small wooden trapdoor to one of the rooms behind the Empty Throne

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA; The Man Trap, ToA

'…a large low room, walled with hewn stone and lighted by one fuming torch hung from a chain.'

[The Prisoners, ToA]


Room of Pictures

See Painted Room


Root

Wizard at Berila on Enlad

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS


Rose

See Darkrose


Rose of Endlane

In the Dark Years, a farm woman from Endlane village, on Havnor; she moved to Havnor City to find work and there married a boatwright. Mother of Medra and an unnamed daughter, she has a brother, Littleash; her mother's name is Rowan. After her husband's death she returns to live in Endlane, and takes in the wizard Hound

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Rose of Enlad

Titles: Princess of the House of Enlad

Wife of the Prince of Enlad, mother of Lebannen. Dark-eyed; described as 'a blithe patient woman'a. Dies of fever at Berila two years before The Other Wind

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS (a); Palaces, OW

'…her dark eyes under dark arched brows, her delicate hands.'

[Palaces, OW]


Rose of Old Iria

Also known as: Etaudis

Witch of an unnamed village in the domain of Old Iria on the island of Way; squint-eyed with iron grey hair

'Sometimes Dragonfly thought the cast was in Rose's left eye, sometimes it seemed to be in her right, but always one eye looked straight and the other watched something just out of sight, round the corner, elsewhere.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Rose of Westpool

Youngest daughter of the wealthy landowner Birch of Westpool on the island of Way; her mother is the niece of the Lord of Wayfirth. Dying of a wasting cough aged fourteen

'…the youngest daughter, Rose, who was busy crowding a lifetime of keen observation into the fourteen years that were all she was going to have for it.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Round Hill

Hill near Kahedanan in the south of Gont; site of an old slaughterhouse

Sources: Winter, T


Rowan

In the Dark Years, woman from Endlane village in the interior of Havnor island; mother of Rose of Endlane

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Royal sheriffs

See Sheriffs


Rule of Roke

Also known as: Way of Roke, Roke, Rule of

Rule governing the use of magic by which all those of the Roke School of Wizardry are bound. Later came to mean teaching of high arts only to men, the exclusion of women from the Roke School, and the practice of celibacy

'They saw the Rule of Roke established, though never so firmly as they might wish, and always against opposition; for mages came from other islands and rose up from among the students of the school, women and men of power, knowledge, and pride, sworn by the Rule to work together and for the good of all, but each seeing a different way to do it.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Rules of Names

Two rules relating to names are taught on Sattins island: never ask anyone their true name and never tell your own. Though not formally codified elsewhere, these rules are followed across the Archipelago & Reaches

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Rune Makers

Also known as: Rune Masters

The earliest mages, from Ea and Soléa, a thousand years before the first kings of Enlad (around 2250 years before the Earthsea cycle). The earliest records of the Isolate Tower on Roke suggest that they invented writing, True Runes and the art of naming. Other accounts, however, suggest that True Runes date back to the creation of Earthsea, Segoy having written them in fire on the wind. Seeking immortality, the Rune Makers used the arts of naming to lay 'a great net of spells upon all the western lands, so that when the people of the islands die, they would come to the west beyond the west and live there in spirit forever'a and so created the Archipelagan afterlife, the dry land

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Rejoining, OW (a)

'"A thousand years before the first kings of Enlad, there were men in Éa and Soléa, the first and greatest of mages, the Rune Makers. It was they who learned to write the Language of the Making. They made the runes, which the dragons never learned. They taught us to give each soul its true name: which is its truth, its self. And with their power they granted to those who bear their true name life beyond the body's death."'

[Rejoining, OW]

Related entries: Religion and the afterlife; Immortality


Rune Masters

See Rune Makers


Rune of Ending

See Agnen


Rune of the Closed Door

A rune preventing access

'When Alder left the ship at the docks at Thwil Town, one of the sailors had drawn the rune of the Closed Door on the top of the gangplank to prevent his ever coming back aboard.'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]

Related entries: Runes


Rune of the Closed Mouth

Rune used as signature by Ogion

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE

Related entries: Runes


Rune of the Talon

Rune used as signature by Ged; possibly one of the Hardic runes

Sources: Palaces, OW

Related entries: Runes


Runebook

See Book of Runes


Runebooks

See Books


Runes

True Runes or Runes of Power, such as the Six Hundred Runes of Hardic, Further Runes and Runes of Éa, are used for magic. Non-magical Hardic runes are also used for general writing purposes in the Archipelago

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: Books


Runes of Power

See True Runes


Runic writing

See Hardic runes


Rush

Poor linen spinner and one of the women of the Hand in Telio on the island of Pody in the Dark Years. Neighbour of Dory. She has black braided hair

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Rushwash tea

Herbal tea; the main hot beverage mentioned, it is drunk on Gont, the Ninety Isles & Sattins, and presumably elsewhere in the Archipelago & Reaches

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE

Related entries: Beverages, non-alcoholic


Rushwork

Also known as: Wicker

Wicker baskets, hand made from rushes, are commonly used as containers for carrying food. Alder adapts a covered poultry basket to transport his kitten, Tug. Oak Farm on Gont has a cane-bottomed chair, presumably made from some form of rushwork

Sources: Bettering, T; Winter, T; Palaces, OW


Ruuna

Titles: Mrs

Married woman of West Shore on Sattins island, in the East Reach

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Sacrifice

Animal sacrifice, usually of goats, is common in the Kargad Lands; named examples include the spring sacrifice on Hur-at-Hur and the equinox sacrifice on Atuan; twin goats born out of season are sacrificed to the Twin Gods on Atuan. Before Thol came to the throne, the spring sacrifice was of a young girl; people of noble birth convicted of treason or sacrilege are sacrificed to the Nameless Ones on Atuan. The dedication of the One Priestess at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan involves her mock sacrifice. Sacrifice isn't practised in the Archipelago

Sources: The Eaten One, ToA; The Wall around the Place, ToA; Dreams and Tales, ToA; The Dragon Council, OW


Sailing boats

See Ships


Samory

Silver and cinnabar (quicksilver or mercury ore) mines in lowland valley near Mount Onn on Havnor, said to be old during the Dark Years when they are worked by the warlord Losen and his mage Gelluk; Licky is the foreman. Buildings include barracks and a grey stone roaster tower where ore is heated to extract the quicksilver (mercury) metal as a vapour (see metal refining); the stream Yennava runs to its west

'…the stone tower, stacks of wood by its wide doorway, rusty wheels and machines by a pit, great heaps of gravel and clay. … the drifts and levels were so low and narrow the miners had to stoop and squeeze their way. In places the ceilings had collapsed. Ladders were shaky. The mine was a terrifying place…'

[The Finder, TfE]


San

Cattleman in Purewells village near Oraby on the High Marsh of the island of Semel; lives opposite the village tavern and offers lodgings. His wife is pregnant at the time of 'On the High Marsh'

'…a hard-bitten man in his thirties…'

[On the High Marsh, TfE]


Sand clocks

Method of measuring time used in Havnor City, presumably large sand-filled hourglasses; they are housed in the Tower of the Kings. A two-minute sandglass, used to regulate the King's Council, presumably represents a smaller version

Sources: Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: Time


Sand Isles

See Isles of Sand


Sanderling

See Lookfar


Sandglass

Sand-filled hourglass measuring two minutes, used to regulate the length of speeches at the King's Council; presumably the sand clocks of the Tower of the Kings are larger versions of the same device

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: Time


Sands of Onneva

Also known as: Onneva Sands

Sandy coastal region in the west of the Bay of Havnor, at the mouth of the Onneva river and under the shoulder of Mount Onn

Sources: Palaces, OW


Sattins

Small island in the northern East Reach, near Vemish and Yor. It has farm land with sheep and cows, pine woods and a high green hill with a cave. The main town has an inn; the main harbour is Sattins Harbor; other named features include West Shore, East Creek and Long Banks

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Sattins Harbor

Main harbour of Sattins island, home to a fishing fleet of around forty vessels

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Sava

In the Dark Years, one of the women of the Hand on the isle of Ark where she has a sister and two sons; she joins the Roke School of Wizardry soon after its foundation aged around 53

'Though she had no wizardly gifts at all, she knew so well how to get a group of people to trust one another and work together that she was honored as a wise woman on Ark, and now on Roke.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Sayings

See Proverbs


Scent

See Perfume


School of Wizardry

Also known as: Roke School, College on Roke

School of magic and central home of wizardry, founded in around 650 by Elehal, Yahan, Medra and others of the group called the women of the Hand; later ruled by the Archmage and nine Masters of Roke. Its ethics are codified in the Rule of Roke. Located in the Great House of Roke at Thwil Town, as well as the Isolate Tower & Immanent Grove. Boys come to the school from all over the Archipelago to learn the high arts of magic, and only here is it considered that true wizards are made. At the time Ged attends as a boy, there are around a hundred students, all male.

The Archmage and Masters hold considerable political power in the kingless years, but after the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy and the loss of the Archmage, the political role of the school is in doubt; for example, the sorcerer Ivory says: '"Roke is no longer where the power is in Earthsea. That's the Court in Havnor, now. Roke lives on its great past, defended by a thousand spells against the present day. And inside those spell-walls, what is there? Quarreling ambitions, fear of anything new, fear of young men who challenge the power of the old. And at the center, nothing. An empty courtyard. The Archmage will never return"'a

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE (a); A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Schooling

See Education


Sculpture

See Decorative arts


Sea of Éa

Also known as: Ea, Sea of

Sea north of Havnor and south of Enlad. The islands of Taon, Ea and Ebéa lie in it, and Soléa before it was engulfed was located there


Sea Otter

Two-masted, decked and cabined vessel trading between Way and Wathort; carries Ivory and Irian to Roke

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Sea-Guild, House of the

See House of the Sea-Guild


Sea-House

Lodging house, found on Serd and other islands of the Inmost Sea, which provides free food and lodging to travellers and traders, financed by the local township. The Sea-House of Serd has a long raftered hall where guests sleep on pallets

'He went to the Sea-House of Serd, where travellers and merchants ate together of good fare provided by the township, and might sleep in the long raftered hall; such is the hospitality of the thriving islands of the Inmost Sea.'

[Hunted, WoE]

Related entries: Inns


Seamasters

Also known as: sea-master

The Seamasters appear to act as one of the trade guilds, teaching members skills relating to ships, such as making a compass needle point at will rather than to north, and protecting such trade secrets from non-members. The word is also used more generally for wizards skilled in such magic, apparently as a distinct branch of magic from weatherworking; some of the skills of a Seamaster, in at least the latter sense, are taught at the Roke School of Wizardry. Also used still more generally for a sailor, for example a peddler in Hort Town calls Lebannen a seamaster

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The School for Wizards, WoE; Hort Town, FS


Sea-sheriffs

See Sheriffs


Seawall of Nepp

Also known as: Nepp, Seawall of

Building the deep-founded seawall of Nepp is reckoned among Ged's famous deeds; no details are known

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS


Sege

Titles: Prince Sege

Prince of the House of Havnor; a middle-aged man who appears to function as Lebannen's deputy in the court at Havnor City, officiating over the King's Council and co-ordinating affairs of state in Lebannen's absence

'There was a middle-aged man, simply dressed, with a steady look that made Alder feel he could trust him:'

[Palaces, OW]


Segoy

Titles: Eldest Lord, Doorkeeper, Maker

The creator of Earthsea, whose First Word balanced dark and light, and established the lands amidst the seas: the Making, as recounted in the Creation of Éa. All peoples of Earthsea appear to share this belief, including those of the Kargad Lands & the Children of the Open Sea. Tehanu calls the dragon Kalessin Segoy

Sources: Orm Embar, FS; Tehanu, T; Rejoining, OW

'Among all beings ever returning, the eldest, the Doorkeeper, Segoy'

[A Description of Earthsea, TfE]


Self-transformation

See Shape-changing


Selidor

Also known as: the Farthest Isle

Desolate westernmost isle of the Archipelago, around a thousand miles from the Inmost Sea, in the West Reach. Uninhabited, largely without birds or animals. A fairly large island, the south coast has dunes, and reedy marshes and lagoons, with low hills towards the interior. 'As long ago as for ever, as far away as Selidor'a is the Archipelagan equivalent of 'once upon a time'

Sources: Selidor, FS; The Stone of Pain, FS; Finding Words, T (a)


Sellets

Also known as: The Sellets

Group of three islets off the south coast of Soders in the East Reach


Selt

Coastal village or town in the northwest of Gont, near Oskres and Up Selt; it lies at the head of an unnamed inlet, near the mouth of an unnamed river

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Semel

Medium-sized island in the north west of the Archipelago, near Paln and Havnor. Forested, with cattle and sheep farming. Landscape dominated by the volcano Andanden, with a high marshy grassy plain, the High Marsh, formed by ash deposition during the last eruption. Southern coast is most populated; major towns include Oraby

'The island of Semel lies north and west across the Pelnish Sea from Havnor, south and west of the Enlades. Though it is one of the great isles of the Earthsea Archipelago, there aren't many stories from Semel. Enlad has its glorious history, and Havnor its wealth, and Paln its ill repute, but Semel has only cattle and sheep, forests and little towns, and the great silent volcano called Andanden standing over all.'

[On the High Marsh, TfE]


Semere

Cattle farmer of Re Albi when Heleth was alive

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Semermine

Town in the hills behind Berila on Enlad; a summer retreat of the Enlad royal family. It has apple orchards

'He thought he was in the apple orchards of Semermine, where the princes of Enlad pass their summers, in the hills behind Berila; he thought he was lying in the thick grass at Semermine, looking up at the sunlight between apple boughs.'

[The Children of the Open Sea, FS]


Sending

A form of magic in which the sender transmits an image of himself to a distant point; sendings do not cross water. The image can speak and hear, but has no power and casts no shadow. It need not be an accurate representation of the person. A related power is that of sending thoughts to a distant recipient, which may likewise be limited to a single island

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS; Selidor, FS; Dragonfly, TfE

'[Ged] shut his eyes as if resting, and sent a sending of his spirit over the hills and fields of Roke, northward, to the sea-assaulted cape where the Isolate Tower stands. / "Kurrenkarmerruk," he said in spirit, and the Master Namer looked up from the thick book … which he was reading to his pupils, and said, "I am here, my lord." … under his tree, the Archmage Ged … withdrew his sending …'

[The Rowan Tree, FS]


Senini

Also known as: Senny

Female tramp of Middle Valley on Gont; mother of Tehanu. Murdered by fellow tramps Handy, Shag and Hake while pregnant

Sources: Winter, T


Senny

See Senini


Seppel

Titles: Seppel of Paln

Wizard from Ferao on Paln; one of the King's Council, he lives in Havnor City, off Boatwright Street near the shipyards, where there is a small Pelnish colony. A short bearded man of around fifty, he's soft-voiced and mild-seeming, with a swarthy, soft but sharp-eyed face; described as wise. Though called a mage, he carries no wizard's staff

Sources: Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Dolphin, OW; Rejoining, OW

'He was a short man of about fifty, round-bodied, with small hands and feet, hair that was a little curly and unruly, and what was rare among men of the Archipelago, a beard, clipped short, on his dark cheeks and jaw. His manners were pleasant. He spoke in a clipped, singing accent, softly.'

[Dolphin, OW]


Seppish

Northernmost islet of the Ninety Isles, lying southeast of Paln and Eppaln, just south of the Pelnish Sea

'West of Roke in a crowd between the two great lands Hosk and Ensmer lie the Ninety Isles. The nearest to Roke is Serd, and the farthest is Seppish, which lies almost in the Pelnish Sea;'

[The Dragon of Pendor, WoE]


Serd

Islet at the southern end of the Ninety Isles near Pody, in the Inmost Sea; the nearest of those isles to Roke, which lies thirty miles away. Described as thriving, its main port is Serd Inner Port

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; Hunted, WoE

'West of Roke in a crowd between the two great lands Hosk and Ensmer lie the Ninety Isles. The nearest to Roke is Serd…'

[The Dragon of Pendor, WoE]


Serd Inner Port

Main port of the island of Serd in the Ninety Isles; it lies on the side of the Inmost Sea and has a Sea-House

Sources: Hunted, WoE


Serilune

Town on the island of Enlad; it has a market place. The skin of the dragon Bar Oth is preserved there

Sources: Hort Town, FS


Serrathen

Titles: Master Serrathen

Ship's master of Lebannen's ship, the Dolphin during Tehanu; described as grey-haired and calm

Sources: The Dolphin, T


Serrenen

Also known as: River Serrenen

Stream or small river in Havnor City, which runs within the old city walls in the north of the city, lined with willows. A paved way runs alongside it, and the River House has balconies over it

Sources: Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW

'…through the willow boughs at the quiet, shallow stream below them.'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Serret

Titles: Lady of the Keep

Daughter of the Lord of Re Albi, on the island of Gont; her mother was a sorceress from Osskil. Married Lord Benderesk, and lived at the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil. Name means silver in Osskili. Tall, with long black hair and unusually pale skin. She tried to betray Ged to the Stone of Terrenon, and was killed in gull form by Servants of the Stone

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE

'She was young and tall, dressed in white and silver, with a net of silver crowning her hair that fell straight down like a fall of black water. … this woman was like the white new moon.'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Serriadh

Titles: King of Earthsea, Serriadh the Peacemaker

Ancient king of Earthsea; son of Morred and Elfarran. Called 'the peacemaker' and 'the gentle king'

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; Sea Dreams, FS; The Finder, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Serriadh, Sword of

See Sword of Serriadh


Serry

Wealthy sheep and goat farmer of Kahedanan in the Middle Valley on Gont

Sources: Home, T; Winter, T


Servants

Wealthy castles and palaces, such as the imperial court on Havnor and the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil, are run by servants. The Kargish High Princess Seserakh is accompanied by numerous veiled female attendants. The School of Wizardry on Roke employs cooks in the kitchens, and there is a cook at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. Lesser households in the Archipelago might also have servants; for example, Vetch (Wizard of Iffish, whose father was 'a sea-trader of some means'a) employs a couple of old servants on Iffish, the wealthy merchant Golden's house has servants on Havnor, and the Master of Iria employs a housekeeper on Way

Sources: Iffish, WoE (a); The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE


Servants of the Stone

Ancient black winged creatures serving the Lord of the Stone of Terrenon

'…dark creatures were creeping forth, flapping long wings, slowly beating and circling up over the walls … botched beasts, belonging to ages before bird or dragon or man, long since forgotten by the daylight but recalled by the ancient, malign, unforgetful power of the Stone.'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Seserakh

Also known as: Reddy
Titles: High Princess, (High) Princess of the Kargad Lands, Daughter of Thol, Lady of Hur-at-Hur, Princess of Hur-at-Hur

Kargish princess from Mesreth on Hur-at-Hur in the Kargad Lands, daughter of High King Thol. She briefly lives at Awabath on Karego-At before Thol sent her to Havnor with a request that she should 'wear the Ring of Peace upon her arm, as Queen Elfarran of Soléa wore it, and this will be the sign of everlasting peace between the Western and the Eastern Isles'a -- interpreted by Lebannen and others as a demand for marriage between the kingdoms. A tall, vigorous young woman, with tawny hair, cream-coloured skin and blue eyes with gold flecks, she wears the heavy red & gold feyag (veil) in public, initially speaks no Hardic and conceals her name for fear the Archipelagans will steal her soul. Under her veils, she wears a long shirt, trousers and gold rings. She's described both as 'intelligent, practical, and courageous'b and 'like a brick chimney'a. Betrothed to Lebannen, King of All the Isles, in around 1066

Sources: Palaces, OW (a); The Dragon Council, OW, Dolphin, OW (b); Rejoining, OW

'…she was magnificent: tawny-haired, tawny-eyed, with round arms and full breasts and slender waist, a woman in her first full beauty and strength.'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Sesesry

City on the east coast of Ark


Set

Tiny islet near Misk and Dunnel, at the northeastern edge of the South Reach


Seven Great Ports of the Archipelago

The seven major ports of the Archipelago are said to include Hort Town. Havnor City is probably among the others

Sources: Hort Town, FS


Shadow

Ship of the Andrades that carries Ged to Roke. The Shadow is a thirty-oared galley, with a crew of seventy, carrying pelts and ivory from the northern islands. It's decorated with the Old Serpent of Andrad

Sources: The Shadow, WoE


Shadow-beast

Also known as: Shadow, gebbeth

The dark creature released by Ged has various manifestations, a beast shape [The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE], a dark shapeless shadow [The Dragon of Pendor], the Skiorh gebbeth [Hunted], a shadow with some human likeness [Hunter], Ged's form casting no shadow [Iffish], various humans, a winged monster [The Open Sea]. Gensher of Way believed it had no name, while Ogion counselled that '"All things have a name"'a, and Yevaud, the Dragon of Pendor & the Stone of Terrenon both offered to give Ged its name. Ged eventually defeats it in the furthest east by naming it with his own name, and joining with it

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; Hunted; WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE (a); Hunter, WoE; Iffish, WoE; The Open Sea, WoE

'Light and darkness met, and joined, and were one. … "The wound is healed," he said, "I am whole, I am free." … Ged had neither lost nor won but, naming the shadow of his death with his own name, had made himself whole: a man: who, knowing his whole true self, cannot be used or possessed by any power other than himself, and whose life therefore is lived for life's sake and never in the service of ruin, or pain, or hatred, or the dark.'

[The Open Sea, WoE]


Shag

Male tramp of Middle Valley on Gont; possibly the one described as large, big chested, with a hairy lip. Part of group including Hake, Handy and Senini. Sentenced to slave labour in the galleys for his involvement in the murder of Senini

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Winter, T; The Master, T

'… a big-chested fellow with coarse black hairs on his upper lip drooping over his mouth…'

[Going to the Falcon's Nest, T]


Shandy

Woman employed at Oak Farm in the Middle Valley on Gont for over twenty years; tends the orchard and does the dairying. Married to the shepherd Clearbrook; they live in a cottage round the hill from the farm

Sources: Kalessin, T; Home, T


Shape-changing

Also known as: Self-transformation, Shape-change

Art of assuming the shape of another thing; a true change, not an illusion. Shape-changing is commonly into the form of animals; for example, Ged changes into a hawk and Medra an otter. Changes into inanimate objects are also possible; Heleth transforms himself irreversibly into the earth, and changes into trees, fire, a hillock and a waterfall are mentioned. A highly perilous art, as the wizard can lose his sense of self in the thoughts of the animal, and so become trapped in the assumed form, as did the wizard Bordger of Way who became a bear and killed his son. Not the same as the change of form possible for dragon-humans, who, according to Ogion, are simultaneously two beings in a single form

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; The Shadow, WoA; The Hawk's Flight, WoE, Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; The Finder, TfE; The Bones of the Earth, TfE

'In all the sunlight and the dark of that great flight he had worn the falcon's wings, and looked through the falcon's eyes, and forgetting his own thoughts he had known at last only what the falcon knows; hunger, the wind, the way he flies.'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]

Related entries: Changing


Sheaf

Constellation of the dry land, the stars that do not set

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Shelieth

Also known as: Shelieth of the Fountains

Capital of the island of Way, located in the south. Seat of the Lords of Way, the city has law courts and is famous for its fountains, which are praised in the Deed of the Young King. One of the old royal lineages is found here

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; Hort town, FS; Dragonfly, TfE

'Praised are the Fountains of Shelieth, the silver harp of the waters'

[Hort Town, FS]


Shelieth, Stone of

See Stone of Shelieth


Sheriffs

Also known as: Royal sheriffs, Sea-sheriffs

Royal sheriffs are officers of the King of All the Isles after the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy; they superintend local law enforcement and hear grievances from common people. Sea-sheriffs are involved in law enforcement on Gont; presumably their major role is to patrol shipping to prevent piracy

Sources: Home, T; The Master, T


She-troth

See Witch marriage


Shinny

Woman of Valmouth on Gont; friend of Apple

Sources: Home, T


Ship-building

Also known as: Boat-building

Traditionally performed only by men, it was supposed to be unlucky for women to watch a keel being laid (though the boat-builder of Thwil at the time of the founding of Roke School of Wizardry was a woman). Ships on Havnor are built of oak timber, with masts of pine; carpentry tools used there for ship-building include a plane and a bubble level

Sources: The Finder, TfE; Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Ships

Also known as: Galleys, Longships

The main method of transport in Earthsea, ships are used for transporting goods for trade, for fishing and crabbing, and for war or raids on other islands. All vessels are powered by sails and/or oars. Oared galleys of twenty to sixty oars plus a big square sail seem to be the main long-distance vessel within the Archipelago; they island hop, mooring at night and rarely going out of sight of land. Coasters are small sailing vessels which traffic small cargoes from port to port. Larger Archipelagan trading vessels may be two-masted and multi-decked (for example, Sea Otter); it's unclear whether such ships also carried oars. In Osskil and the South Reach, the oars are manned by slaves. The Kargish ships are longships, with red sails. Long narrow sailing-ships with high triangular sails are designed to catch the wind in the South Reach, while boats in the Inmost Sea bear a high fore-and-aft sail that can be turned to catch a head wind. More modest craft include sailing dinghies, such as the eighteen-foot clinker built Lookfar, fishing-sloops, catboats and rowing boats. Little poled chips ply the canals of Havnor City, and oared tugs tow ships out of harbour in the Bay of Havnor. Reed coracles are used on Astowell, where there is no wood for building. The Children of the Open Sea travel on large log rafts with sails, but driven by the ocean currents. Paddled boats, such as canoes or kayaks, are not mentioned.

The method of construction of wooden vessels differs according to origin: in the north and the Reaches, vessels are generally clinker built (with overlapping planks), while elsewhere non-overlapping (carvel built) construction is used.

Named boats and ships include Ged's boat, the Lookfar, Lebannen's ship, the Dolphin, and the Farflyer, Gull of Eskel, Hopeful, Pretty Rose, Queenie, Sea Otter, Shadow, Stormcloud and Tern

Related entries: Travel & transport


Shops

Shops are described in larger towns and cities across the Archipelago. Thwil has a shop selling writing materials and jewelry, while shops in Hort Town sell a huge range of hardware, clothes and fabrics. In Gont Port, shop have shutters; the shop in Thwil has strings of red red clay beads ornamenting its doorway; in Havnor City, they're described as small and dark; in Hort Town, they're little more than booths piled high with wares. Even in major Archipelagan cities, goods are also commonly sold at market

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; Hort Town, FS; Finding Words, T; Dolphin, OW


Showl

Place in the South Reach where slaves are sold; possibly a town, or a mistake for the island of Sowl

Sources: Magelight, FS; Dolphin, OW


Siege of Sorra

Also known as: Sorra, siege of

Battle against slave traders of Wathort (including Egre and Gore), in which Lebannen fought with Tosla and a fleet of 30 ships, some years before the events of The Other Wind; Lebannen later appears to have abolished slavery across the Archipelago

Sources: Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW

Related entries: Slavery


Sifl

A rune meaning 'speed well' painted on, for example, ships; one of the True Runes

Sources: Hunted, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'…her high bent prow carven and inlaid with disks of loto-shell, her oarport-covers painted red, with the rune Sifl sketched on each in black.'

[Hunted, WoE]

Related entries: Runes


Silence

See Ogion


Simly

Medium-sized, inhabited island in the southerly end of the West Reach, lying near Kaltuel, north-east of Jessage and west of Ensmer; grain is grown there

Sources: Palaces, OW


Simn

A rune meaning 'work well' drawn on tools; one of the True Runes

Sources: Iffish, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'…he set the rune Simn on the spindles and looms, the boat's oars and tools of bronze and stone they brought him, that these might do their work well;'

[Iffish, WoE]

Related entries: Runes


Sippy

White-and-brown goat of Ogion's flock; later a pet of Tehanu. It died shortly before the opening of The Other Wind

Sources: Kalessin, T; Bettering, T; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'…a white-and-brown, clever-hoofed, yellow-eyed, shameless goat, Sippy who had been Tehanu's pet, and who had died last winter at a great age…'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Sis

Woman employed at Oak Farm in the Middle Valley on Gont; looks after the field crops. Married to Tiff; they live in the lower house near Oak Farm

Sources: Kalessin, T; Home, T


Six Hundred Runes of Hardic

The most commonly used True Runes; they have been given non-magical names in Hardic. Despite the name, not the same as the Hardic runes used for general writing purposes in the Archipelago

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Sixth

Sawmill owner in Re Albi on Gont

Sources: The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Skin colour

Also known as: Colour

Most of the inhabitants of the Archipelago & Reaches have fairly dark skin of a colour variously described as red-brown, bronze or copper. Those from the East Reach (eg Vetch, Gensher of Way) have much darker skin, described as black-brown or black; Vetch, for example, is described as 'very dark of skin, not red-brown like Ged and Jasper and most folk of the Archipelago, but black-brown.'a Kargs are fair skinned, as are inhabitants of the northernmost isles, including Bereswek, N&S Enwas and Osskil. Azver from Karego-At is described as having 'pale reddish skin'b, Seserakh from Hur-at-Hur has skin of 'heavy cream'c, while Benderesk of Osskil is said to be bone white

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The School for Wizards, WoE (a); Hunted, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Dragonfly, TfE (b); Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; The Dragon Council, OW ( c)


Skiorh

A trader's agent from Osskil; bald and aged looking, with an ugly cruel face. He directs Ged to the Court of the Terrenon on Osskil, and is taken over by the shadow-beast to become a gebbeth on the Keksemt Moors. Serret calls him a servant of the Terrenon, and says he was a wizard once

'He had a strange, seamed, bald head, a lined face. Though age had not sounded in his voice, he looked to be an old man.'

[Hunted, WoE]


Slavery

Slavery is practised across the South Reach, Osskil in the north, and the Kargad Lands at the time of The Farthest Shore. It appears to be outlawed in other parts of the Archipelago, such as Enlad. Slaves are transported in oared galleys in the South Reach, and sold at Amrun, Showl and Sowl. Ged comments that Lebannen would ' "fetch the price of a farm in Amrun market." 'a Named Archipelagan slavers include Egre and Gore. After coming to the throne, Lebannen fights the Siege of Sorra against slave traders of Wathort, and subsequently abolishes slavery across the Archipelago. Slave-labour, however, appears to remain a punishment for serious crimes.

The Kargs employ slaves on Atuan and Hur-at-Hur, and also make slaves of the lands they conquer, such as the people of Spevy

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Hunted, WoE; The Wall around the Place, ToA; Magelight, FS (a); Winter, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Dolphin, OW


Small House

Also known as: House of the One Priestess

House in which the One Priestess lives after dedication, in the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. It has a windowless sleeping cell, hallway, an inner walled courtyard with a cistern, a porch where the One Priestess's eunuch sleeps, and a small closet with a concealed spyhole onto the Labyrinth, near the iron door

Sources: The Eaten One, ToA; Dreams and Tales, ToA; Light under the Hill, ToA

'It was in a house that had been locked for years, unlocked only that day. The room was higher than it was long, and had no windows. There was a dead smell in it, still and stale.'

[The Eaten One, ToA]


Sneg

Small island in the East Reach, near Koppish

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Open Sea, WoE


Snowflakes

Hen belonging to Moss

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Soders

Small, hilly inhabited island in the East Reach, a hundred miles south of Iffish; it has a port

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Sodeva

Town or village in Middle Valley in the south of Gont; has a Round Barn which serves as a council chamber for the villages of the valley

Sources: Home, T


Soldiers

Also known as: Guards

A masculine occupation in the Archipelago and probably in the Kargad Lands. Cities of the Archipelago are guarded by soldiers, who may be employed by the regional lord or prince (as in Gont Port) or by the king (the king's guards of Havnor City). In the Kargad Lands at the time of the Godking, temple guards defend the Place of the Tombs, and even a relatively small town on Atuan has watchtowers and gate guards drawn from the Godking's soldiers. Little about military organisation is detailed; the Atuan temple guards are led by a captain, and a gate captain & lieutenant are mentioned among the king's guards

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Western Mountains, ToA; Bettering, T; Finding Words, T; Palaces, OW

Related entries: War; Weapons; Armour


Soldiers of the red helmet

See Godking's soldiers


Soléa

Northern island in the Sea of Éa known for its orchards; engulfed in the sea by the spell of the Enemy of Morred one or two thousand years ago, drowning everyone on it, including Elfarran

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE; Hort Town, FS; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Solwes

Coastal village or town in the southwest of Gont, near Essary and Var

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Song of the Creation

See Creation of Éa


Song of the Sparrowhawk

Song composed on Low Torning in the Ninety Isles, celebrating Ged's defeat of Yevaud, the Dragon of Pendor

'They pressed around their young wizard and asked for the tale again. More islanders came, and asked for it again. By nightfall he no longer had to tell it. They could do it for him, better. Already the village chanters had fitted it to an old tune, and were singing the Song of the Sparrowhawk.'

[Hunted, WoE]


Song of the Woman of Kemay

Song sung in northwest Gont, composed by the Woman of Kemay, which tells of the Vedurnan

'Farther west than west
beyond the land
my people are dancing
on the other wind.'

[Going to the Falcon's Nest, T]

Related entries: Songs


Song of the Young King

See Deed of the Young King


Songs

Also known as: Chants

Songs such as the Deed of Enlad, Deed of the Young King, Deed of the Dragonlords, Deed of Ged, Deed of Hode, Lament for the White Enchanter, Lay of the Lost Queen, Deed of Erreth-Akbe, Lament for Erreth-Akbe, Winter Carol and the Havnorian Lay record the history of the Archipelago and its heroes, and are sung at festivals and other times. (Some history-recounting songs are local only, such as the song of the Woman of Kemay, sung in northwest Gont.) They may be sung unaccompanied or accompanied by music of eg drums, pipes, flute, harp and lute. Wizards sometimes use illusions to change their appearance when miming the songs. The oldest song is the Creation of Éa. New songs are made to celebrate acts of bravery, such as the Song of the Sparrowhawk, commemorating Ged's defeat of Yevaud, the Dragon of Pendor. Teaching the songs to children is traditionally the province of witches.

More frivolous songs also exist, including sailors' songs eg 'The Lass of Belilo', love songs eg 'Where my Love is Going', riddle songs eg 'Three things were that will not be', cat's cradles' rhymes, cradle songs, lullabies, ballads eg 'O my Joy!', drinking songs and shepherd's songs.

Chanting, unaccompanied or accompanied by horn and drum, also forms part of religious observances in the Kargad Lands; many of the words chanted are so old as to have lost all meaning, 'a signpost still standing when the road is gone'a. Named chants include the Nine Chants

Sources: The Eaten One, ToA (a)


Sopli

Titles: Dyer of Lorbanery, the Dyer

The Dyer of Lorbanery, son of Akaren, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a bush of wiry brownish-red hair, in his late twenties or early thirties. A former wizard, driven mad in his search for the key to eternal life, he acts as guide to Ged and Lebannen on the Lookfar, despite his terror of water. Unable to swim, he drowns near Obehol when he jumps out of the boat

'The man was a full head taller than Sparrowhawk, and broad-shouldered, and a panting, raving, wild-eyed madman.'

[Lorbanery, FS]


Sorcerers

Also known as: Witch-men

Male practitioners of magic, both the base crafts and some of the high arts, including some knowledge of Old Speech. Their main skills are stated as windbringing/weatherworking, finding and binding. Distinguished from wizards in that sorcerers are not trained in the art magic, do not carry a wizard's staff and often do not practise celibacy. Usually train each other, with no formal succession as for wizards

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Sorceresses

See Witches


Sorra

Location of the siege of Sorra; presumably a town on Wathort or in the South Reach

Sources: Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW


Sorra, siege of

See Siege of Sorra


Sorresk

Small island off the west coast of Osskil, near Norst and Ebosskil; it lies on the northwestern edge of the Archipelago, facing the Open Sea


Sort

Islet in the eastern North Reach, northeast of the Allernots, near Komokome and Chemish


Sosara

Wealthy harbour village on the island of Lorbanery, governed by the Mayor of Sosara; the houses are thatched with twigs from the local hurbah trees. Features include an inn, and worksheds for the major industry of silk weaving and dyeing

'The houses were curious, with little windows set randomly, and thatches of hurbah-twigs, all green with moss and lichens. It had been a wealthy isle, as isles of the Reach go, and this was still to be seen in the well-painted and well-furnished houses, in the great spinning wheels and looms in the cottages and worksheds, and in the stone piers of the little harbour of Sosara, where several trading galleys might have docked.'

[Lorbanery, FS]


Sosara, Mayor of

See Mayor of Sosara


South Enwas

See Enwas


South Port (Gont)

See Gont South Port


South Port (Havnor)

See Havnor South Port


South Reach

Group of islands lying south and southwest of Wathort, described as 'the place least known and fullest of mysteries' in all of Earthseaa. They include the Isle of the Ear & the Great South Shoals in the east; Wasny, Misk, Dunnel & Set in the northeast; Toom, Rood, Lorbanery, Far Sorr & the Isles of Sand in the south; and Obehol, Wellology & the Long Dune in the southwest, near the West Reach. The climate here is generally warmer than in the rest of Earthsea. Slavery is practised in parts of the South Reach

Sources: Sea Dreams, FS (a); The Open Sea, WoE; The Madman, FS

'"A strange part of the world, where the fish fly, and the dolphins sing, they say."'

[Sea Dreams, FS]


South Teeth

See Teeth


Sowl

Small island in the South Reach east of Wathort and near Namien; exports gauze fabric to Hort Town, and also markets slaves

Sources: Hort Town, FS; Dolphin, OW


Spark

Son of Tenar and Flint; brother of Apple; probably twenty or more during the events of Tehanu. Born premature and sickly as a child, as an adult he's tall and thin, white-skinned, with a narrow face and lank hair; said to be restless. His use-name is a joke as he was struck off Flint, his father. Became a sailor aboard a merchant ship aged fourteen; by around 1049, he's the third mate aboard the Gull of Eskel; later second mate. After 1052, a farmer and vintner at Oak Farm in the Middle Valley on Gont; no wife or children are mentioned

Sources: Bettering, T; The Dolphin, T; The Master, T; Dolphin, OW

'…growing, he became a wiry boy, endlessly active, driven; no use on the farm; no patience with animals, plants, people; using words for his needs only, never for pleasure and the give and take of love and knowledge.'

'He was as thin as ever, but looked older, tanned dark, lank-haired, with a long, narrow face like Flint's but still narrower, harder.'

[Bettering, T/The Master, T]


Sparkweed

Yellow meadow flowers common on Roke and Havnor, come into flower in early spring; said to grow where the wind dropped the burning ashes of Ilien after the assault by the Firelord

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Finder, TfE

'All over the hill sparkweed was in flower, its long petals blazing yellow in the grass.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Sparrowhawk

See Ged


Spevy

A small island between Gont and the Kargad Lands. Taken by the Kargs around a year before the start of A Wizard of Earthsea; the land was looted and laid waste, and the people taken into slavery. Previously under Kargish rule for at least a generation in the time of Maharion

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Spinning

Spinning using a drop spindle and sometimes a distaff is an oft-mentioned occupation of women, performed both indoors and outside, often while doing other activities such as talking or minding children. A spinning wheel is used in the well-to-do Oak Farm on Gont. Much peasant clothing appears to be homespun

Sources: Finding Words, T; Home, T; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE

'The witch emerged with a soapstone drop spindle and a ball of greasy wool. She sat down on the bench beside her door and set the spindle turning. She had spun a yard of grey-brown yarn before she answered.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]


Spring sacrifice

Sacrifice to small, flightless dragons occurring on the fourth day of the fifth month at the Place of the Sacrifice on Hur-at-Hur. Formerly a human sacrifice, since Thol became king of Hur-at-Hur, a she-goat and a ewe have been sacrificed

'"Since then, they've only sacrificed a she-goat and a ewe. And they catch the blood in bowls, and throw the fat into the sacred fire, and call to the dragons. And the dragons all come crawling up. They drink the blood and eat the fire."'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Springwater Isle

Rocky sand bar near Karego-At on which Ensar and Anthil, the last descendants of the House of Hupun, were stranded. The isle was named for the spring of freshwater that Ged charmed

Sources: Hunting, WoE


Staff

See Wizard's staff


Staff of the Grey Mage

Also known as: Grey Mage, Staff of the

Long steel rod or blade, enchanted and engraved with runes; born by Cob, who uses it to impale and kill the dragon Orm Embar

Sources: Selidor, FS


Star

One of the Children of the Open Sea or raft people; owns a raft on which Lebannen stays

Sources: Children of the Open Sea, FS


Sticks and counters

Game played by the eunuch Wardens of the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, and sometimes by Arha (Tenar), involving throwing a bundle of sticks and catching them on the back of the hand

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA

Related entries: Games


Stone of Shelieth

Also known as: Shelieth, Stone of

Ancient stone from the island of Way, in which a mage could see visions of truth. Brought to Roke School of Wizardry by Gensher of Way, and kept in the magicians' workroom

'…a great stone like a diamond uncarved. It was rock-crystal, coloured faintly deep within with amethyst and rose, but clear as water. Yet as the eye looked into that clarity it found unclarity, and neither reflection nor image of what was real round about, but only planes and depths ever deeper, until it was led quite into dream and found no way out. … in the hands of a mage it held truth.'

[Orm Embar, FS]


Stone of Terrenon

Also known as: Terrenon, the

Stone in a locked underground room in the Court of the Terrenon, the founding stone of the tower, with an ancient evil spirit imprisoned within, said to have been made before Segoy raised the islands. Serret tells Ged that 'It has a voice, if you know how to listen. It will speak of things that were, and are, and will be. … he who can make the Terrenon answer what he asks and do what he wills, has power over his own destiny: strength to crush any enemy, mortal or of the other world: foresight, knowledge, wealth, dominion, and a wizardry at his command that could humble the Archmage himself!'a, though it is unclear whether this is true or a ruse to trap Ged into touching it. The same stone appears to be described in the Matter of the Dragons

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE (a)

'It was rough and dank as the rest, a heavy unshapen paving-stone: yet he felt the power of it as if it spoke to him aloud. … This was a very ancient thing: an old and terrible spirt was prisoned in that block of stone.'

[The Hawk's Flight, WoE]


Stony

Young boy of Re Albi on Gont

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Stories, children's

See Children's tales


Stormcloud

Warship of the warlord Losen; one of the fleet of eighty ships that Early sends against Roke School of Wizardry during the Dark Years

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Story of Andaur and Avad

One of the children's tales told on Gont; it tells of a woodcutter, Andaur, who cut down a great oak which cried out in a human voice

Sources: Finding Words, T


Suba

Young boy of Sattins island in the East Reach; described as fat and quick

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Sudidi, North

See North Sudidi


Sul

Man of Easthill in west Havnor, probably a mule breeder or trader

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Summoner

See Master Summoner


Summoning

Summoning of spirits of the living and the dead (mainly derived from the Lore of Paln), and of energies such as light, heat, magnetism, weight, form, colour and sound. Summoning living people is forbidden by the Rule of Roke: '"Only the dead may we summon. Only the shadows. You can see why this must be. To summon a living man is to have entire power over him, body and mind. No one, no matter how strong or wise or great, can rightly own and use another."'a It was, however, practised during the Dark Years eg by the mage Early, and was abused by Irioth, and possibly also Thorion, 'to use men, to control them wholly.'b One of the high arts of magic, also considered a part of the art magic. Taught at the Roke School of Wizardry by the Master Summoner, summoning is considered one of the greatest and most perilous arts

Sources: The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; On the High Marsh, TfE (a); Dragonfly, TfE (b)

'He dealt with no illusion, only true magic, the summoning of such energies as light, and heat, and the force that draws the magnet, and those forces men perceive as weight, form, colour, sound: real powers, drawn from the immense fathomless energies of the universe, which no man's spells or uses could exhaust or unbalance. … As for calling of real things and living people, and the raising up of spirits of the dead, and the invocations of the Unseen, those spells which are the height of the Summoner's art and the mage's power, those he scarcely spoke of to them.'

'The Summoner, though, dealt not with bodily things but with the spirit, with the minds and wills of men, with ghosts, with meanings. His art was arcane, dangerous, full of risk and threat.'

[The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE/Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Sunbright

See Ayeth


Sunreturn

See Festival of Sunreturn


Superstitions

Women are considered to bring good luck to a ship, though it's supposed to be unlucky for women to watch a keel being laid. On the other hand, it's considered unlucky for men to so much as pick up a shovel in a mine. The Fallows are considered an unlucky time, especially for travellers and the sick. In Karego-At, shooting stars are said to be the souls of dragons dying

Sources: The Finder, TfE; Dolphin, OW; Rejoining, OW


Sword of Erreth-Akbe

Also known as: Erreth-Akbe, Sword of

The oldest sword in the world; set into Tower of the Kings of Havnor City on Havnor, after Maharion retrieved it from Selidor where Erreth-Akbe was slain. Described as a 'slender steel blade'a, it is explicitly said to be older than the Sword of Serriadh, suggesting that it must have had many previous owners before being passed down to Erreth-Akbe

Sources: The Great Treasure, ToA; The Masters of Roke, FS; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Palaces, OW (a)

'"On the highest of all the towers, the Sword of Erreth-Akbe is set, like a pinnacle, skyward. When the sun rises on Havnor it flashes first on that blade and makes it bright, and when it sets the Sword is golden still above the evening, for a while."'

[The Great Treasure, ToA]


Sword of Serriadh

Also known as: Serriadh, Sword of

Second oldest sword in the world (after the Sword of Erreth-Akbe), it belonged to Serriadh, the son of Morred and Elfarran. It is handed down among the Princes of Enlad and is held by Lebannen in The Farthest Shore. The sword is plain, with a cross-hilt of silvered bronze

'This had never been laid away or hoarded up, but worn; yet it was unworn by the centuries, unweakened, because it had been forged with a great power of enchantment. Its history said that it never had been drawn, nor ever could be drawn, except in the service of life. For no purpose of bloodlust or revenge or greed, in no war for gain, would it let itself be wielded.'

[The Masters of Roke, FS]


Tadpole

One of Lark's children, probably of Oak Village in Middle Valley on Gont

Sources: Winter, T


Tagtar

King or queen of Enlad before the reign of Morred. The deeds of the early rulers of Enlad are told in the Deed of Enlad

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: King of All the Isles


Tales, children's

See Children's tales


Talismans

Also known as: Charms, Amulets, Fetishes

Talismans or charms (also occasionally referred to as amulets or fetishes) are used to guard against illness, and perhaps other mischance. Specific examples mentioned include emmel-stone charms against rheums, sprains and stiff necks; a sailors' talisman of petrel breastbone twined round with dried seaweed, used to avert seasickness; and a charm-bundle wrapped in goatskin and tied with coloured cord, placed with Ogion's corpse before burial. A small amulet bag affixed to a chain is mentioned for wearing talismans. In the Kargad Lands, amulets/talismans appear to be exclusively associated with wizardry, suggesting they are not used there.

Charm is also commonly used as a synonym for spell, especially a minor one

Sources: Hort Town, FS; Ogion, T; Dolphin, OW; Rejoining, OW

Related entries: Healing; Death-related customs


Tally

Sorcerer and pirate, follower of Heno, the Lord of Valmouth on Gont. After the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, captains three ships sent by Heno against Lebannen's fleet, resulting in his arrest

'…the sorcerer-seawolf Tally, who was feared by every merchantman from Soléa to the Andrades;'

[The Master, T]


Tangle

Witch in the town of Glade on Havnor island; mother of Darkrose. She wears many bracelets, likes cats, toads and jewels; despite making a good living from healing, midwifery, curing animals and selling potions and spells, she lives in squalor, not being interested in clothes, housekeeping or motherhood. Her house has two rooms and a yard

'She was never ill-natured. She seldom thought to do anything for her daughter, but never hurt her, never scolded her, and gave her whatever she asked for…'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Tant

Coastal village or town in the east of Gont, near East Port and Wiss

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Taon

Titles: Isle of the Harpers

Small island in southern part of the Sea of Éa, near where Soléa formerly was found; less than 100 miles from the island of Semel. Ruled by the Prince of Éa. Main city is Meoni; other habitations include the market town of Elini. Known for singers, schools of music and the making of fine harps, such as the one owned by Vetch

Sources: Iffish, WoE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'Taon is at the southern end of the Sea of Éa, not far from where Soléa lay before the sea whelmed it. That was the ancient heart of Earthsea. All those islands had states and cities, kings and wizards, when Havnor was a land of feuding tribesmen and Gont a wilderness ruled by bears. People born on Éa or Ebéa, Enlad or Taon, though they may be ditchdigger's daughter or witch's son, consider themselves to be descendants of the Elder Mages, sharing the lineage of the warriors who died in the dark years for Queen Elfarran.'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Tarb, House of

See House of Tarb


Tarry

Harpist in the town of Glade on Havnor island, he leads a band of musicians; teacher of Diamond

'…a lean, long-jawed, walleyed fellow of forty.'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Tatoos

Some of the Children of the Open Sea (raft people) adorn their bodies with tatoos; these are not mentioned elsewhere in Earthsea

'…with a blue crab tattooed all across his back.'

[The Children of the Open Sea, FS]


Taverns

Also known as: Pothouses

Kept by a taverner, taverns or pothouses serve beer and wine; unlike inns, they usually don't provide food or accommodation. Probably ubiquitous throughout the Archipelago, they're mentioned in Havnor City and various villages on Semel, Havnor and elsewhere

Sources: The Finder, TfE; On the High Marsh, TfE; Dolphin, OW


Tawny

Cattleman's wife in Purewells village near Oraby on the High Marsh of the island of Semel. With her husband Alder of Semel, she has several children. Friend of Emer

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE


Taxation

Shipping (and possibly other) taxes are raised from merchants of the Inner Lands by the King of All the Isles, subject to the vote of the King's Council. The lords and Ruling Princes levy local taxes and, after the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy, village councils on Gont also levy local taxes to employ bailiffs

Sources: Home, T; The Dragon Council, OW


Technology

See Industry


Teeth

Also known as: North Teeth, South Teeth

Two strings of islets, the North & South Teeth, line the Jaws of Enlad. They run east--west, from the east of Enlad towards Andrad and the Andrades


Tehanu

Also known as: Therru
Titles: Tehanu of Gont, a woman on Gont, the Woman of Gont, Hama Gondun, Daughter of the Eldest, Daughter of Kalessin, Mistress Tehanu, Lady Tehanu

Child of tramps Senini & Hake, adopted by Tenar and later Ged, she lives at Oak Farm and then at the Old Mage's House on Gont. Severely disfigured by burning as a girl of six or seven, the right side of her face is ruined, she lacks a right eye, her right arm is clawlike and can't be raised above her shoulder, her voice weak and very hoarse, her breathing is laboured and she cannot cry. Small and slender, her single eye is dark and her thick black hair is often worn to hide her face. As a child she is very shy and has difficulty in trusting men in particular. Her birth name is unknown; her use-name Therru means 'burning, the flaming of fire' in Kargisha. Her true name Tehanu is the star the Heart of the Swan, and is given to her by the dragon Kalessin, who calls her his child. She is titled Hama Gondun, 'a woman on Gont', by Azver the Patterner. Revealed as one of the dragon-humans, as a young adult she takes the form of a gold dragon (in which form she is whole and unburned), and leaves to fly on the other wind with Kalessin

Sources: A Bad Thing, T; Ogion, T (a); Tehanu, T; Palaces, OW; Rejoining, OW

'There was a woman whom Alder took for a servant because she was very plainly dressed and stayed outside the group, turned half away as if looking out of the windows. He saw the beautiful fall of her black hair, heavy and glossy as falling water… She was young; the left side of her face was smooth copper-rose, a dark bright eye under an arched eyebrow. The right side had been destroyed and was ridged, slabby scar, eyeless. Her right hand was like a raven's curled claw.'

'The third had bright mail, gold, with wings of gold. That one flew highest and did not stoop down to them. Orm Irian played about her in the air and they flew together, one chasing the other higher and higher, till all at once the highest rays of the rising sun struck Tehanu and she burned like her name, a great bright star.'

[Palaces, OW/Rejoining, OW]


Tehanu (star)

See Heart of the Swan


Telio

Old port town on the island of Pody, in the Ninety Isles. Linen making is a major industry, with flax-retting houses in the old weavers' quarter, which has a little cobbled square. Other features include Ath's House. At the time of 'The Finder' [TfE], Pody had been ruled by the lords of Wathort for a century, and the town was very run down

'…a pretty old port town, Telio, built of rosy sandstone…The sunny streets of Telio were sad and dirty. People lived in them as in the wilderness, in tents and lean-tos made or scraps, or shelterless.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Teller

Person who tells (rather than sings) the tales of the history of the Archipelago. The examples mentioned appear to be itinerant, but it is possible that tellers, like chanters, might also be attached to courts

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE


Telling the hours

In Havnor City on Havnor, four trumpeters mark the passage of time (according to sand clocks and the Pendulum of Ath) by blowing fanfares at set points during the day from the Tower of the Kings. The fanfares are derived from the Lament for Erreth-Akbe; the full tune is played only at noon, with different fragments at each of the other hours

'…four trumpeters went out on the high balcony from which rose the highest tower of the palace, the one that was topped with the slender steel blade of the hero's sword, and at the fourth and fifth hours before noon, and at noon, and at the first, second, and third hours after noon they blew their trumpets one to the west, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south. … And if you wanted to be somewhere at a certain hour, you should keep an eye on the balconies, because the trumpeters always came out a few minutes early, and if the sun was shining they held up their silver trumpets to flash and shine.'

[Palaces, OW]


Temere

Large port on the south coast of Enlad; Lebannen says that it trades with all the Reaches

Sources: Hort Town, FS


Temple of the God-Brothers

Also known as: God-Brothers, Temple of the, Temple of the Twin Gods

Temple to the Twin Gods on Atuan, set on a little knoll in the Place of the Tombs. A windowless cube of white plastered stone, with a newly gilted roof and a low porch, it is centuries older than the Temple of the Godking, but much more recent than the Hall of the Throne. Its little vaulted treasury has a large concealed spyhole onto the Painted Room of the Labyrinth

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Man Trap, ToA

'Even from away off on the eastern plains, looking up one might see the gold roof of the Temple of the Twin Gods wink and glitter beneath the mountains like a speck of mica in a shelf of rock.'

[The Wall around the Place, ToA]


Temple of the Godking

Also known as: Godking, Temple of the

Temple to the Godking on Atuan. The newest and showiest temple in the Place of the Tombs, it has a high portico and thick white columns of solid cedar logs with carved & painted capitals. At the rear are accommodations for the High Priestess serving the Godking.

There is also a minor temple to the Godking in Ossawa

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; Dreams and Tales, ToA; The Man Trap, ToA

'The columns with their carved capitals stood white with hoar-frost in the starlight, like pillars of bone.'

[The Man Trap, ToA]


Temple of the Twin Gods

See Temple of the God-Brothers


Ten Alders

Small village high on Gont Mountain, at the head of the Northward Vale in the north-east of Gont. It lies over the springs of Ar, beneath the High Fall cliffs; the nearest village is Medu. It has a single street, with a bronze-smith's forge & smelting pit, tannery, thatched houses/huts and a great yew tree. Birthplace of Ged

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Frontispiece map, T


Ten Alders, Witch of

See Witch of Ten Alders


Tenacbah

Major city of the island of Atuan, to the north west of the Tombs of Atuan; said to have a thousand houses

'And first we went to Tenacbah, which is a great city, though those who've seen both say it's no more to Awabath than a flea to a cow. But it's big enough for me, there must be ten hundred houses in Tenacbah!'

[The Wall Around the Place, ToA]


Tenancy

See Land ownership


Tenar

Also known as: Arha, Goha
Titles: The Eaten One, One Priestess, First Priestess, Priestess Ever Reborn, One Ever Reborn, Priestess of the Tombs, White Lady of Gont, Tenar of the Ring, Peace Bringer, Lady Tenar

Born in a tiny hamlet west of Entat, in the north of Atuan, fifth child of an apple orchard worker, on the night of the former One Priestess's death. Supposed to be the reincarnation of the Priestess. As Arha ('the one who was devoured'), was First Priestess of the Nameless Ones at the Tombs of Atuan in the Kargad Lands; as part of her duties, she sacrificed three prisoners by starvation. Left with Ged aged sixteen, after the destruction of the Tombs, bringing with her the restored Ring of Erreth-Akbe, and travelled with him to Havnor before settling on Gont. There she studied briefly with Ogion, before marrying a farmer, Flint, and living at Oak Farm in Middle Valley; their two children are Apple and Spark. After Flint died, she adopted Tehanu and later lived at the Old Mage's House at Re Albi, married to Ged. Little description of her is given in The Tombs of Atuan, but she is known to be small, with white skin, large grey eyes and black hair, worn braided; Ged calls her beautiful. In middle-age, her hair is long and dark, with hardly any grey; she's near sighted. By The Other Wind, she's in her fifties and her hair is greying

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA; Kalessin, T; Winter, T; The Master, T

'"You are like a lantern swathed and covered, hidden away in a dark place. Yet the light shines; they could not put out the light. They could not hide you."'

…'a foreigner to be sure, white-skinned and talking a bit strange, but a notable housekeeper, an excellent spinner, with well-behaved, well-grown children and a prospering farm: respectable.'

'"There's no mercy in me, only justice. I wasn't trained to mercy. Love is the only grace I have."'

[The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA/Kalessin, T/Winter, T]


Teriel

See Early


Tern

See Medra


Tern

Sailing ship whose master is Tosla

Sources: Palaces, OW


Terrenon, Court of the

See Court of the Terrenon


Terrenon, the

See Stone of Terrenon


Tesk

Islet at the northern end of the Ninety Isles, near Hosk

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Tettego

Coastal village or town in the south of Gont, near Gont Port and Etreke

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Thar

Titles: High Priestess of the God-Brothers, High Priestess of the Twin Gods

High Priestess of the God-Brothers/Twin Gods, Atwah and Wuluah at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. A tall, thin, dry-voiced woman, stern but fair. Teaches Arha (Tenar) the mysteries of the Nameless Ones including the instructions to negotiating the Labyrinth. She died of a wasting disease when Arha was around sixteen

'…tall and dry and thin as the legbone of a deer.'

[The Wall around the Place, ToA]


The Lass of Belilo

Also known as: Lass of Belilo, The

Sailors' song; tells of a sailor who left a pretty girl weeping in every port, until one turned into a dragon and flew after him, snatching him from the boat and eating him. Possibly an Archipelagan folk memory of the Vedurnan

Sources: Palaces, OW

Related entries: Dragons; Songs


Therru

See Tehanu


Thol

Titles: High King of the Four Kargad Lands

High King of the Kargad Lands after a civil war deposing the Godking some ten years into the reign of King Lebannen; claims descent from the god Wuluah (one of the Twin Gods) and King Thoreg of Hupun. Restores worship of the Twin Gods and the Nameless Ones. His daughter is Seserakh

'Thol was a violent man on a threatened throne.'

[Palaces, OW]


Tholy

Inhabitant of Middle Valley on Gont; bought High Creek farm from Flint and Tenar

Sources: The Master, T


Thoreg

Also known as: Thoreg of Hupun
Titles: King of the Kargad Lands

King of the Kargad Lands in the time of Maharion and Erreth-Akbe (around 440), his capital was at Hupun on Karego-At. Fought against the rise of the High Priests (later Priest-Kings) at Awabath. Erreth-Akbe gave half the broken Ring of Erreth-Akbe to his daughter, Tiarath; Ensar and Anthil were the last descendants of his house, the House of Hupun

Sources: Voyage, ToA; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Thorion

Titles: Master Summoner

Master Summoner at the School of Wizardry on Roke during The Farthest Shore and 'Dragonfly'. Described as dark, tall and slender, noble looking, with a face seemingly 'carved out of dark stone'a, he is the youngest of the Masters of Roke at that time. His staff is bone-white wood. After Ged's departure, he summons himself back from death to lead the School, scheming to be elected Archmage; he is defeated by Irian, who makes him step onto Roke Knoll and thus reveal his true form: 'a huddle of clothes and dry bones and a broken staff'a

Sources: The Masters at Roke, FS; Dragonfly, TfE (a)

'…deep-voiced and tall, young, with a dark and noble face…'

'"Thorion was the best of us all---a brave heart, a noble mind."'

[The Masters at Roke, FS/Dragonfly, TfE]


Thoroughgood

Lebannen's majordomo at the court on Havnor. His duties include organising royal visits and audiences, and possibly making travel arrangements and organising ceremonial processions

'…a slow and steady man…'

[Dolphin, OW]


Thousand-leaved Tree

This motif is depicted in several places in the School of Wizardry on Roke, including the horn door and the gallery. Its significance is unknown

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS


Three things were that will not be

A riddle song sung in the villages around the foot of Mount Onn on Havnor, the last line of which may relate to Medra

'Three things were that will not be:
Soléa's bright isle above the wave,
A dragon swimming in the sea,
A seabird flying in the grave.'

[The Finder, TfE]

Related entries: Songs


Throne of the kingdom

See Morred's High Seat


Throne of the Nameless Ones

See Empty Throne


Throne of Thoreg

Throne of the Kargad Lands, in Awabath on Karego-At

Sources: Palaces, OW


Throne room

Also known as: Great Hall of Gemal Sea-born

Formerly the great hall of Gemal Sea-born; the oldest part of the New Palace of Havnor City in which the King's Council meets. A long, plainly-decorated room with a high-beamed ceiling and high, narrow windows, furnished with cushioned benches for the councillors. On a dias at the end of the hall facing the councillors' benches stands the throne, Morred's High Seat; behind the dias is a curtained doorway. Described in the Havnorian Lay: 'A hundred warriors, a hundred women/sat in the great hall of Gemal Sea-Born/at the king's table'a

Sources: Bettering, T; The Dragon Council, OW (a)

'But the throne room, once the beamed ceiling was rebuilt, the stone walls replastered, the narrow, high-set windows reglazed, he left in its old starkness. … Some of the rich people who came to admire their expensive palace complained about the throne room and the throne. "It looks like a barn," they said, and, "Is it Morred's High Seat or an old farmer's chair?"'

[The Dragon Council, OW]


Thwil

Also known as: Thwil Town, Thwil Harbour

Main habitation in the south east of Roke Island, a small town rising above Thwil Bay; it is the only harbour on the island. Location of the Great House of Roke, the heart of the Roke School of Wizardry. The streets are steep, narrow & tortuous, and in some places cobbled; there is a small market square

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; The Finder, TfE

'Few and short as were the streets of Thwil, they turned and twisted curiously among the high-roofed houses, and the way was easy to lose. It was a strange town, and strange also its people, fishermen and workmen and artisans like any others, but so used to the sorcery that is ever at play on the Isle of the Wise that they seemed half sorcerers themselves. They talked … in riddles and not one of them would blink to see a boy turn into a fish or a house fly up in the air, but knowing it for a schoolboy prank would go on cobbling shoes or cutting up mutton unconcerned.'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Thwil Bay

Also known as: Roke Bay, Bay of Thwil

Small bay in the southeast of Roke, backed by the rounded hill of Roke Knoll; location of the harbour town of Thwil. It's said that here 'there's no wind but the wind they want'a, as the bay is protected by the Roke wind

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The School for Wizards, WoE; Dragonfly, TfE (a)


Thwilburn

Clear-running stream in the south east of Roke Island, running out of the Immanent Grove, beside Roke Knoll and, presumably, into Thwil Bay. It has a wooden footbridge near the Great House of Roke

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Dragonfly, TfE


Tiarath

Daughter of King Thoreg of the House of Hupun on Karego-At. Erreth-Akbe gave half of the broken Ring of Erreth-Akbe to her, and it became a treasured heirloom of their house

Sources: Voyage, ToA


Tiff

Old man employed at Oak Farm in the Middle Valley on Gont; looks after the field crops. Married to Sis; they live in the lower house near Oak Farm

Sources: Kalessin, T; Home, T; The Master, T


Timan

King or queen of Enlad before the reign of Morred. The deeds of the early rulers of Enlad are told in the Deed of Enlad

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE

Related entries: King of All the Isles


Time

Time measurements are given in years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds; as with other units of measurement, presumably these are silently translated from the Hardic or Kargish units for time. There are six hours from midnight to noon and six hours from noon to midnight, so either one Earthsea hour equals two earth hours, or the day is half the length. In Havnor City, time is measured using sand clocks and the Pendulum of Ath housed in the Tower of the Kings, from which trumpeters tell the hours by blowing their trumpets at fixed times (see telling the hours); a sandglass is also used to regulate debate in the King's Council. A sundial is referred to, which may be a major method of formal timekeeping outside Havnor City. The School of Wizardry at Roke has a bell tower which might be used for denoting passage of time. The Children of the Open Sea (raft people) have a relaxed sense of time, only keeping account of whole days and nights, with no hour measurement

Sources: Palaces, OW

Related entries: Calendar


Tinaral

See Gelluk


Titles

Master and mistress are common courtesy titles used across the Archipelago and Reaches, as well as on Atuan. Titles based on occupation (eg farmer, sea-captain) are used in the Archipelago and Reaches. According to 'The Rule of Names', Mr, Mrs and Goody (of widows) are used on Sattins island in the East Reach, but not mentioned elsewhere. Aristocratic titles used in the Archipelago include lord, lady, prince and princess; only the King of All the Isles or King of Earthsea is addressed as a king. In the Kargad Lands, the Godking is styled Emperor; Thol is addressed as High King

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; Light under the Hill, ToA; Hort Town, FS; A Bad Thing, T; Palaces, OW


Tok

Small island in the East Reach, near Iffish, Holp and Insmer

Sources: Iffish, WoE; Afterword, WoE


Tolbegren

Star visible in the far east of the Archipelago

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Tomb Wall

Ancient mortarless stone wall behind the Hall of the Throne and encircling the summit of the Hill of the Tombs; it completely surrounds the Tombs of Atuan. Originally three times the height of a person, by the time of The Tombs of Atuan it has partly fallen down in several places

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Prisoners, ToA

'The rocks it was built of were massive; the least of them would outweigh a man, and the largest were big as wagons. Though unshapen they were carefully fitted and interlocked. Yet in places the height of the wall had slipped down and the rocks lay in a shapeless heap.'

[The Prisoners, ToA]


Tombs of Atuan

Also known as: Tombstones, Place of the Old Powers

Nine black stones, eighteen to twenty feet high, behind the Hall of the Throne, within an encircling wall, the Tomb Wall. Sacred to the Nameless Ones, they are said to have stood there since the creation of Earthsea. The name also encompasses the Undertomb beneath the Tombstones, where the power of the Nameless Ones is at its strongest. The Tombstones fall into the Undertomb in the earthquake that follows Ged and Tenar's escape from the Labyrinth with the Ring of Erreth-Akbe

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; The Anger of the Dark, ToA

'Inside the loop of the wall several black stones eighteen or twenty feet high stuck up like huge fingers out of the earth. Once the eye saw them it kept returning to them. They stood there full of meaning, and yet there was no saying what they meant. There were nine of them. One stood straight, the others leaned more or less, two had fallen. They were crusted with grey and orange lichen as if splotched with paint, all but one, which was naked and black with a dull black gloss to it. It was smooth to the touch, but on the others, under the crust of lichen, vague carvings could be seen, or felt with the fingers -- shapes, signs. These nine stones were the Tombs of Atuan. They had been planted in the darkness when the lands were raised up from the ocean's depths. They were older by far than the Godkings of Kargad, older than the Twin Gods, older than light. They were the tombs of those who ruled before the world of men came to be, the ones not named, and she who served them had no name.'

[The Wall around the Place, ToA]


Tombstones

See Tombs of Atuan


Tools

Simple farming implements, including hoes, rakes, spades, scythes, pruning hooks, pruning knifes, pitchforks and wheelbarrows, are commonly employed across Earthsea, as are spinning/weaving implements, including the (drop) spindle, distaff, spinning wheel and various types of handloom. Smithying implements mentioned include forge bellows. Woodworking tools, used for ship-building, are mentioned in Havnor City during the Dark Years; they include a bubble level and unspecified fine-work tools; Ogion carves a staff using a knife and rubbing-stone. A flint and steel is used as a lighter on Atuan. Other tools mentioned include a crowbar and hatchet

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Prologue, ToA; The Western Mountains, ToA; Hort Town, FS; Hawks, T; Finding Words, T; Home, T; Tehanu, T; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE


Toom

Medium-sized island in the South Reach, near Rood

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE


Toop

Northern islet off the south coast of Osskil, near Ebosskil, Enlad and the Enlades


Torheven

Moderately large island in the Gontish Sea to the north-east of Havnor, near Barnisk, Way and Gont, and relatively close to Karego-At; the Torikles lie off its southern end. Under Kargish rule for at least a generation in the time of Maharion

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Torikles

Cluster of small islands south of Torheven; among the closest of the Archipelago to Karego-At. Under Kargish rule for at least a generation in the time of Maharion

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Toringates

String of tiny inhabited islands running north--south in the West Reach, east of the Dragons' Run. Has farms

Sources: Palaces, OW


Torning

Islet at the northern end of the Ninety Isles, near Hosk; possibly one of the islets of the Low Torning township


Tosla

Shipmaster and voyager; dark-skinned, with a keen, hard face. In his early thirties, he's brave, keen, coolheaded, often outspoken and somewhat coarse in expression; friend of Lebannen, with whom he has sailed and fought in the Siege of Sorra. His ship is the Tern, and he also captains Lebannen's ship, the Dolphin

Sources: Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW

'There was a man of about the king's age, dressed in velvet and airy linens, with jewels on his belt and at his throat and a great ruby stud in his earlobe: Shipmaster Tosla, said the king. Tosla's face, dark as old oak wood, was keen and hard.'

[Palaces, OW]


Toss

Village or town by the river Ar in the east of Gont; near Armouth, East Port and Chodur

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Tower of Alabaster

Tower of the New Palace in Havnor City, built by Heru and Maharion. Perhaps another name for either the Tower of the Kings or the Tower of the Queen, perhaps a third distinct tower

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Tower of Erreth-Akbe

See Tower of the Kings


Tower of the Kings

Also known as: Tower of the Sword, Tower of Erreth-Akbe, Sword Tower

Highest tower of the New Palace of Havnor City on Havnor, with the Sword of Erreth-Akbe set in its pinnacle; built by Heru and Maharion. The tower houses sand clocks and the Pendulum of Ath; from an encircling balcony near its summit, trumpeters play, telling the hours

Sources: Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW


Tower of the Queen

Also known as: Queen Heru's Tower, Queen's Tower

Tower of the New Palace in Havnor City, near the Tower of the Kings; built by Heru and Maharion

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Tower of the Sword

See Tower of the Kings


Townsend

Young sheep-dealer of Re Albi on Gont; he often acts as a messenger. Said to look sly and shifty, Tenar calls him a carrion crow for being the frequent bearer of bad news

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Mice, T; The Master, T

'…a sharp-faced, quick-eyed man'

[Going to the Falcon's Nest, T]


Toys

See Games


Trade

Items traded in the Archipelago and Reaches include ivory and fur from the northern isles, fleecefell from Gont and the Andrades, wine from the Andrades, turbie oil from the Ninety Isles, silk from Lorbanery, gauzes from Sowl, pearls from the Isles of Sand, slaves in the South Reach, timber on Havnor and from Gont, glass beads from Venway, and tin, ox hides and sapphires from the West Reach. In the Kargad Lands, opals, turquoises and cedar are traded from Hur-at-Hur. Trade in foodstuffs other than wine, oil and grain is not mentioned, possibly due to the long travel times between islands. Great markets are found in Hort Town (Wathort) and Amrun (South Reach), and presumably also on Havnor and at Awabath. Trade routes are threatened by piracy at the edges of the Archipelago (eg the northeastern seas around Gont) during the years immediately preceding the restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy


Trade guilds

Also known as: Guilds, Workers' guilds

Organisations of people working the same trade; examples include the Seamasters and the miners' guild

Sources: The Dragon Council, OW


Trance-inducing herbs

Also known as: Herbs, trance inducing

Unnamed herbs burned on bronze trays produce fumes that enable the One Priestess in Atuan to prophesy or to enter a trance-like state whilst dancing in the ceremonies of the darkness

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA; Light under the Hill, ToA


Travel & transport

Ships are a major method of transport in Earthsea, and the only way of travelling any distance, as bridges between islands are rare. Despite this, it is said that many islanders have never been on a boat; presumably they never travel more than a few miles from their home village. For the villagers of Woodedge on Havnor, for example, 'Mount Onn was the world, and the shores of Havnor were the edge of the universe.'a Ged is famous as an explorer and sailor, as well as a mage. Havnor City has a network of inland canals.

Paved or cobbled streets are found in cities and wealthier towns, including Havnor City, Havnor South Port, Gont Port, Hort Town & Thwil. Though many rural roads are probably little more than a muddy cart track, some constructed roads link towns and villages, such as the zigzagging wagon road with long cuttings covering the 15 miles between Gont Port & Re Albi on Gont. Horses are rare except on Havnor, Semel and Way; even on those islands horseriding seems largely confined to the relatively wealthy and cowboys. Donkeys and mules are commonly ridden on various islands. Some people, such as peddlers and itinerant wizards & entertainers, walk long distances. Carts or wagons drawn by mules, donkeys, oxen or occasionally cart horses are a major method of transporting both people and goods inland, especially on large islands such as Havnor. A 'closed, gilt-bedizened carriage'b drawn by four grey horses carries Seserakh in state in Havnor City

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The Great Treasure, ToA; Finding Words, T; The Finder, TfE (a); Darkrose and Diamond, TfE; On the High Marsh, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW (b)

'Farmer, goatherd, cattleherd, hunter or artisan, the landsman looks at the ocean as at a salt unsteady realm that has nothing to do with him at all. The village two days' walk from his village is a foreign land, and the island a day's sail from his island is a mere rumour, misty hills seen across the water, not solid ground like that he walks on.'

[The Shadow, WoE]


Treasury of the Tombs

Also known as: Great Treasury of the Tombs, Great Treasury of the Tombs of Atuan, Treasury of the Tombs of Atuan, Great Treasure of the Tombs (of Atuan)

At the centre of the Labyrinth of Atuan, guarded by a pit, the treasury is a low-roofed, dusty room with rough-hewn stone walls containing six great stone chests of treasure, including half the Ring of Erreth-Akbe; Ged calls it 'a deathly place'a. Opened by a silver key with a dragon-shaped haft (one of the ring of keys)

Sources: The Great Treasure, ToA; The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA (a)

'In the Great Treasury of the Tombs of Atuan, time did not pass. No light; no life; no least stir of spider in the dust or worm in the cold earth. Rock, and dark, and time not passing.'

[The Ring of Erreth-Akbe, ToA]


Tree

Constellation of the dry land, the stars that do not set

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE


Trees of the Grove

See Arhada


Trimmer's Dell

Also known as: Yaved

Small valley in the hills just inland of Gont Port on the island of Gont, on the fault line

'It was the place where the ridges parted, just inland from Gont Port, deep in the knot of hills above the city. It was the place of the fault. An earthquake centred there could shake the city down, bring avalanche and tidal wave, close the cliffs of the bay together like hands clapping.'

[The Bones of the Earth, TfE]


True name

Name given to Archipelagans by a witch/wizard when they reach thirteen at a ceremony called the Passage into manhood; a word in the Old Speech. The true name is particular to the person: no two people will bear the same name. Knowledge of this name confers power over the person, living or dead, and accordingly it is kept secret, only being revealed to very close family and perhaps to true friends. Speaking aloud the true name prevents the person from using magic, and breaks illusions, causing the person's true shape to be shown: 'As she said his name she saw him perfectly clearly, the dark scarred face she knew, the dark eyes; yet there stood the milk-faced stranger.'a Usually it is kept for life, though a wizard can rename an adult, as, for example, Ged does Akaren. It's unclear whether it's retained after death; summoning of the dead appears to use true names, but in Alder's dreams of the dry land, Lily states that her true name is no longer her name. The conferral of true names is said to have been started by the Rune Makers a thousand years before the first kings of Enlad; they used the arts of naming to lay 'a great net of spells upon all the western lands, so that when the people of the islands die, they would come to the west beyond the west and live there in spirit forever.'b

The people of the Kargad Lands do not bear true names; Azver, the Kargish Master Patterner, learned his true name from the trees of the Immanent Grove

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Loosing of the Shadow, WoE; The Western Mountains, ToA (a); Lorbanery, FS; Dragonfly, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW (b)

'"They taught us to give each soul its true name: which is its truth, its self. And with their power they granted to those who bear their true name life beyond the body's death."'

[Rejoining, OW]

Related entries: Names; Naming; Religion and the afterlife


True Runes

Also known as: Runes of Power, Further Runes, Six Hundred Runes of Hardic, Runes of Éa

True Runes or Runes of Power, such as the Six Hundred Runes of Hardic, Further Runes, Runes of Éa and others unnamed, are used for magic. According to some sources, True Runes were invented by the Rune Makers; other accounts say that they date back to the creation of Earthsea, Segoy having written them in fire on the wind. The Ring of Erreth-Akbe bears nine Runes of Power including Pirr (protects from madness and from wind and fire), Ges (gives endurance) and the Bond Rune, the sign of peace. Other True Runes mentioned include Simn ('work well'), Sifl ('speed well') and Agnen, rune of Ending (closes roads and is drawn on coffin lids)

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Rejoining, OW


True Speech

See Old Speech


Tug

Grey kitten from Moss's cat, Little Grey, which Alder takes to Havnor in a covered poultry basket to help him sleep. It stays with him in his room in the New Palace of Havnor City, a sand tray being provided for its use. Alder later gives the cat to the young boy Rody when he departs for Roke

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW

'The kitten, evidently happy to be away from the household of dogs and tomcats and roosters and the unpredictable Heather, tried hard to show that it was a reliable and diligent cat, patrolling the house for mice, riding on Alder's shoulder under his hair when permitted, and settling right down to sleep purring under his chin as soon as he lay down. Alder slept all night without any dream he remembered, and woke to find the kitten sitting on his chest, washing its ears with an air of quiet virtue.'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Tuly

Wife of wealthy merchant Golden in Glade on Havnor island; mother of Diamond. Her uncle was a mage in the Court of the Lords Regent of Havnor City. A dutiful and loving wife and mother, she's prone, at least in her husband's opinion, to gossip and worrying. She has a soft, dark-toned voice

'Mothers were born to worry about their children, and women were born never to be content. There was no reason why [Golden] should listen to the litany of anxieties by which Tuly hauled herself through life. Of course she thought a merchant's life wasn't good enough for the boy. She'd have thought being King in Havnor wasn't good enough for him.'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]


Turbies

Small fish caught in the Ninety Isles for their oil, the foundation of the local economy

Sources: The Dragon of Pendor, WoE; Hunted, WoE


Turby

Inhabitant of Re Albi on Gont; owner of a winter-pasture for goats, for sale at the time of Tehanu

Sources: Tehanu, T


Tutok Bay

Coastal village or town in the northwest of Gont, east of Kemay and north of Kedun; presumably also the bay on which it lies

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Twin Gods

Also known as: God-Brothers, Warrior Gods, White God-Brothers

Warrior Gods of the Kargad Lands, Wuluah and Atwah; said to be sons of the Old Powers of the Earth. Their worship is centuries older than the worship of the Godking. Their original centre of worship was Awabath; there is a Temple of the God-Brothers at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan. Symbol is the double arrow

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Hunting, WoE; The Wall around the Place, ToA; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Rejoining, OW


Uahto

Titles: Warden, Warden of the Place of the Tombs

Eunuch serving the Temple of the Godking with Duby; one of the ten Wardens of the Place of the Tombs on Atuan

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA


Udrath

Medium-sized, deserted island in the North Reach, near Bereswek, Rogmy and Lef. Has the bones of an unnamed dragon

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Ully

Small inhabited island in the West Reach, west of Paln and east of the Dragons' Run. Has farms and villages

Sources: Palaces, OW


Underhill

Titles: Mr

Human form assumed by the dragon Yevaud on Sattins island in the East Reach, after being driven from the isle of Pendor by the League after around a hundred years of occupation. About fifty, he's described as little and fat, with bowlegs, inturned toes and a husky voice; said to be timid, he lives in a cave under a hill, working as a rather incompetent wizard, though he carries no staff

'…a little fat man of fifty who waddled along with his toes turned in, breathing steam and smiling'

[The Rule of Names, W12Q]


Undertomb

A large natural underground cavern beneath the Tombs of Atuan, adjoining the Labyrinth. Highly sacred to the Nameless Ones, it can be accessed only via the red rock door near the Tomb Wall or by a trapdoor in one of the rooms behind the Hall of the Throne. Light is forbidden there, and only the One Priestess, the two High Priestesses and their eunuch wardens (Manan, Uahto, Duby) may enter. Gives access not only to the Labyrinth itself, but also to a minor labyrinth beneath the Hall of the Throne and the Hill of the Tombs, including the Room of Chains, which houses prisoners. The Undertomb is destroyed by an earthquake when Ged and Tenar escape from the Labyrinth with the Ring of Erreth-Akbe

Sources: The Prisoners, ToA; Light under the Hill, ToA; The Anger of the Dark, ToA

'--Saw what she had never seen, not though she had lived a hundred lives: the great vaulted cavern beneath the Tombstones, not hollowed by man's hand but by the powers of the Earth. It was jewelled with crystals and ornamented with pinnacles and filagrees of white limestone where the waters under earth had worked, eons since: immense, with glittering roof and walls, sparkling, delicate, intricate, a palace of diamonds, a house of amethyst and crystal, from which the ancient darkness had been driven out by glory.'

[Light under the Hill, ToA]


Unmaking

The end of Earthsea. Thorion sees a vision of the Unmaking in the Stone of Shelieth

'"I saw the fountains. I saw them sink down, and the streams run dry, and the lips of the springs of water draw back. And underneath all was black, and dry. You saw the sea before the Making, but I saw the … what comes after … I saw the Unmaking."'

[Orm Embar, FS]


Unnamed Ones

See Nameless Ones


Uny

Small island in the southeast of the Archipelago, near Namien; it lies southeast of O and south of the Bars of Uny in the Closed Sea


Up Norvale

Town or village by an unnamed river in the north of Gont; upriver from Norvale

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Up Selt

Inland village or town lying on an unnamed river in the northwest of Gont, upriver from Selt

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Use-name

Also known as: Nickname

Nickname that Archipelagans are called by during their adult life, usually a word in their language/dialect. May be their mother's childhood name or a nickname conferred by their peers. Unlike the true name, use-names are often very common, and a person may bear several during their lifetime (Medra, for example, is called successively Otter and Tern). Common use-names derive from plants or trees (eg Vetch, Alder, Berry), animals or birds (eg Dragonfly, Hawk, Hound), jewels (eg Jasper, Beryl, Diamond) or precious materials (eg Ivory, Onyx). Use-names for women are often flowers, such as Rose, Daisy or Lily

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE

'People who have a secret name that holds their power the way a diamond holds light may well like their public name to be ordinary, common, like other people's names.'

[Dragonfly, TfE]

Related entries: Names


Usidero

Small inhabited island in the West Reach, west of Paln and east of the Dragons' Run. Has farms and villages

Sources: Palaces, OW


Valmouth

Harbour town in the south of Gont, on Valmouth Bay at the mouth of the river Kaheda, a day's sailing from Gont Port. The district is governed by a mayor and council

Sources: Finding Words, T; The Dolphin, T; Home, T

'…a sleepy, sunny little harbour town where a ship trading from the Andrades was a great event, and most of the conversation of the inhabitants concerned dried fish.'

'…the little huddle of slate roofs, the spires of blue smoke, a few glass windows catching the westering sun, and the docks and piers of Valmouth on its bay of satiny blue water.'

[Finding Words, T/The Dolphin, T]


Valmouth Bay

Bay in southern Gont on which the port town of Valmouth lies; busy with fishing vessels

Sources: The Dolphin, T; The Master, T

'…the docks and piers of Valmouth on its bay of satiny blue water.'

[The Dolphin, T]


Var

Inland village or town lying near an unnamed river in the west of Gont, near Ketoleko and Solwes

Sources: Frontispiece map, T


Vedurnan

Also known as: Division, the, Verw nadan

Ancient division of humans and dragons referred to in the oldest lore-books of the Roke School of Wizardry. Largely forgotten in the Archipelago and in Karego-At except in folk tales such as 'The Lass of Belilo' and the song of the Woman of Kemay, but remembered on Hur-at-Hur, and by the older dragons, who describe it as a bargain, choice or covenant whereby humans gave up knowledge of the Old Speech in exchange for skills and earthly possessions, while the dragons retained only Old Speech and their freedom of flight between this world and the timeless other wind. The pact is deemed to have been broken when the earliest Archipelagan mages (the Rune Makers) relearned Old Speech and partitioned the dragons' realm to create the dry land. Other accounts are various: in Karego-At, the involvement of the dragons is forgotten and it refers only to the division of human peoples over the practice of magic; on Paln, it's considered the earliest triumph of the art magic. A painting on an old fan on Gont, depicting dragons on one side merging with humans on the other, may relate to these legends

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Hawks, T; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW; Rejoining, OW

'…in the beginning of time, mankind and the dragonkind had been one, but the dragons chose wildness and freedom, and mankind chose wealth and power. A choice, a separation.'

'"Kalessin said: 'Long ago we chose. We chose freedom. Men chose the yoke. We chose fire and the wind. They chose water and the earth. We chose the west, and they the east.'"'

[The Dragon Council, OW]

Related entries: Dragon-humans


Veil

See Yahan


Vemish

Small island in the northern East Reach, near Sattins and Venway; port town is Mishport

Sources: Iffish, WoE


Venway

Small island in the East Reach, near Vemish. Under Kargish rule for at least a generation in the time of Maharion. Exports glass beads

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; The School for Wizards, WoE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Verw nadan

See Vedurnan


Vetch

Also known as: Estarriol
Titles: Wizard of Iffish

Wizard; old friend of Ged, and one of the few to know his true name. Very dark-skinned and with a Reach accent. Father was a well-off sea-trader. Gained his staff at the School of Wizardry on Roke, and becomes wizard of Iffish in the East Reach, living in 'a spacious and strong-beamed house'a in his home town Ismay; he later sends Brand of Venway to Roke. Younger brother Murre and younger sister Yarrow. Of his character it is said, 'there was always such village innocence in Vetch. Yet also he was keen, shrewd, direct to the centre of a thing'a

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Iffish, WoE (a); Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'…a heavyset fellow called Vetch … He had the accent of the East Reach, and was very dark of skin, not red-brown like Ged and Jasper and most folk of the Archipelago, but black-brown. He was plain, and his manners were not polished.'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Vissti

Tiny island in the Inmost Sea, between Ilien and Kamery

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Wall of stones

Low stone wall which forms the border of the dry land over which the dead pass. Only wizards can cross the wall and return living, and only at great peril. The wall is ruined at the end of The Other Wind, allowing the dead to leave

Sources: The Dry Land, FS; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Rejoining, OW

'"Along the top of the hill and running down the slope was a wall, low, like a boundary wall between sheep pastures. … And she reached out across the wall. It was no higher than my heart."'

[Mending the Green Pitcher, OW]


Wandlord

See Enemy of Morred


War

Various devastating wars are mentioned during the early history of Earthsea. Around two thousand years ago, Morred fought the Enemy of Morred, leading to the ruin of Enlad and the engulfment of Soléa. Kargish raids were common in the time of Heru and Maharion, with several north-eastern islands falling; Maharion and Erreth-Akbe defeated the Kargs with the loss of the entire Kargish fleet in 430-440. Erreth-Akbe defeated the Firelord in around 440, at cost of the burning of Ilien. Raids from dragons, including Orm, were also common during the period from around 350 to 450, with the burning of several islands including Paln and parts of Havnor. The Dark Years following Maharion's death without heir in 452 were full of minor battles between warlords. In 620, Roke was sacked by the Lords of Wathort, while in 665, the fledgeling School of Wizardry of Roke defeated the fleet of the mage Early.

Outright war between the different peoples is, however, uncommon during Ged's lifetime (from around the year 1000) and the immediate history. Enlad is said to have been at peace for at least three generations in The Farthest Shore, though swordsmanship and archery are taught in the Court at Berila. The rural people of Gont are said not to be warlike and do not store weapons, though Gont Port, the capital, is guarded by soldiers. The Kargad Lands appear more organised in military matters; soldiers guard the Place of the Tombs on Atuan and even a relatively small town on Atuan has watchtowers and guards on the gate (see Kargish architecture).

During A Wizard of Earthsea, the Kargish Empire is in expansion, with raids on the islands of the Torikles, Torheven, Spevy and Gont, raiding in fleets of red-sailed longships. Relative peace is restored for a time after Ged remakes the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, and restores the Bond Rune, or Rune of Peace; however by the start of The Farthest Shore, between eighteen and twenty-five years later, matters are said to be worse than ever. The restoration of the Archipelagan monarchy in around 1051, and particularly the rise of Thol a decade later, leads to a cessation in raids, with Thol sending peaceful ambassadors to Havnor in around 1066.

Some years before the events of The Other Wind, Lebannen fights at the Siege of Sorra

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Palaces, OW


Wardens of the Place of the Tombs

Also known as: Priest-eunuchs

Ten eunuchs at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan, the only men serving in religious roles there. Dedicated to specific gods/temples, they include Manan, Duby, Uahto and Punti. In addition to caretaker roles, they appear to function as minor priests (though they are never referred to as such in The Tombs of Atuan); for example, Manan plays an active role in Arha's dedication ceremony; their functions are subsidiary to the High Priestesses and the One Priestess. The Other Wind mentions 'priest-eunuchs' in the service of the Godking at the Place of the Tombs

Sources: The Eaten One, ToA; The Wall around the Place, ToA; Palaces, OW


Waris

Man at the School of Wizardry at Roke soon after its foundation; an early advocate of celibacy, the mascularisation of wizardry and the demonisation of the Old Powers

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Warrior Gods

See Twin Gods


Washing

See Laundry


Wasny

Small island south of Dunnel, at the northeastern edge of the South Reach


Water

Water is commonly drunk by people of all classes and regions, being served, for example, at the River House on Havnor and by the Children of the Open Sea. Many towns, villages and some larger houses have wells, and pumps are also occasionally mentioned eg on Semel. Fresh water from springs or rivers is also commonly drunk, usually without boiling or mixing with wine; resultant water-borne disease generally appears uncommon. Water on the High Marsh of the island of Semel, however, isn't safe to drink without boiling for an hour; water-borne marsh fever and murrain are mentioned as causes of death of humans and cattle. Rainwater is also collected, especially perhaps on islands with no freshwater spring. Piped water is not mentioned, and fetching water would be a significant chore where there was no convenient well. Water is carried on boats in waterskins or water casks, though sea water can easily be freshened by magic; water bottles or flasks (sometimes called skin bottles) are commonly carried by travellers

Sources: The Hawk's Flight, WoE; The Wall around the Place, ToA; On the High Marsh, TfE; The Dragon Council, OW

'…to fetch water in summer when the wells ran low. That was a dreary business, to trudge through the searing white heat a half-mile down to the river, fill the two buckets on their carrying pole, and then set off as fast as possible uphill to the Place. The first hundred yards were easy, but then the buckets began to grow heavier, and the pole burned on your shoulders like a bar of hot iron, and the light glared on the dry road, and every step was harder and slower. At last you got to the cool shade of the back courtyard of the Big House by the vegetable patch, and dumped the buckets into the great cistern with a splash. And then you had to turn around to do it all over again, and again, and again.'

[The Wall around the Place, ToA]


Wathort

Island south of Roke, in the south of the Archipelago; main city is Hort Town. The southern part of the island is hilly

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS; Hort Town, FS


Way

Large, wealthy island east of Havnor, with sheep and dairy farming, vineyards, orchards, oak forests and mountains. Towns/regions include Shelieth of the Fountains, the capital in the south, the port city of Kembermouth in the north west, Westpool, Wayfirth and the domain of Iria. Its inhabitants are dark-skinned. One of the principalities of the kingship, tracing the line of descent from Akambar and the House of Shelieth

Sources: The Masters of Roke, FS; Dragonfly, TfE


Way of Power

Principle relating to the wise use of magic, taught to wizards. Possibly relates to maintaining the Equilibrium by using magic only at need, and with due regard for all the various direct and indirect consequences

Sources: Kalessin, T


Way of Roke

See Rule of Roke


Way, Lords of

See Lords of Way


Wayfirth

Domain or place on the island of Way, ruled by the Lord of Wayfirth

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Waymarsh

Islet off the southeast coast of Way, in the east of the Archipelago; one of the nearest islands to the East Reach. Site of a decisive defeat of the Kargs by Maharion & Erreth-Akbe in around 440

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Weapons

The king's guards at Havnor City carry swords and bows. The Gontish village of Ten Alders defends itself with hunting bows, bronze knives and makeshift spears. The band of Kargish warriors who attack Ten Alders carry swords and the long Kargish lance. Other weapons mentioned include handaxes on Astowell (made of shell), a bronze-headed throwing spear on Obehol, long whale-ivory harpoons by the Children of the Open Sea and multiple references to bronze or steel daggers or knives (see dagger). No firearms of any description are mentioned

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Palaces, OW; The Dragon Council, OW

Related entries: War; Soldiers; Armour


Weatherworkers

Also known as: Bagmen, Windbringers

Sorcerers or wizards with power over the weather, commonly employed to work wind on ships, or by farmers to protect crops. Sometimes called bagmen; originally carried a leather sack in which they supposedly trapped the winds

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Lorbanery, FS; The Finder, TfE

'Weatherworkers used to carry a leather sack in which they said they kept the winds, untying it to let a fair wind loose or to capture a contrary one. Maybe it was only for show, but every weatherworker had a bag, a great long sack or a little pouch.'

[The Finder, TfE]

Related entries: Magewind; Seamasters; Weatherworking


Weatherworking

Also known as: Windbringing

Calling upon wind, water and weather; used both for safe and speedy passage on ships and to guarantee favourable weather for crop-growing and harvests. One of the high arts of magic, practised by wizards, sorcerers and specialised weatherworkers. Taught at the Roke School of Wizardry by the Master Windkey

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Lorbanery, FS

'…practising steering by word, and stilling waves, and speaking to the world's wind, and raising up a magewind. These are very intricate skills …'

[The School for Wizards, WoE]


Weaver Fan

Weaver of Re Albi on Gont; in Tehanu, an old, nearly blind man, said to be reclusive. Employs a young woman as an apprentice. His house contains an old carved chair and a large painted silk fan from which his use-name derives. He owns a cottage next door to his house which he rented to Tenar when she was a pupil of Ogion

Sources: Hawks, T


Weaving

Also known as: Looms

Handlooms are common household items throughout Earthsea, and much peasant clothing appears to be homespun. In all cultures of Earthsea, it appears to be predominantly women and girls who weave and spin cloth for domestic use. However, professional weavers on Gont include both women and men (eg Weaver Fan); men are also involved in making silk for export on Lorbanery, where professional silk-weavers operate in worksheds. Household weaving is not restricted to the lower classes; even ladies such as Lady Serret participate in the activity, and well-to-do Yarrow in Ismay has a tapestry-loom, 'its tall frame inlaid with ivory'a. All the woollen cloth at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan is woven locally by the novices/priestesses in the weaving room on 'great looms always warped with dull black wool'b. 'Weavings of different colors and weights of yarn'c are used in the Kargad Lands for keeping accounts. The Children of the Open sea (raft people) have looms on their rafts on which the women weave their cloth from nilgu fibre derived from a brown seaweed

Sources: The Hawk's Flight, WoE; Iffish, WoE (a); The Wall Around the Place, ToA (b); Lorbanery, FS; The Children of the Open Sea, FS; Hawks, T; A Description of Earthsea, TfE [c]

'…through windows lit with a dim ruddy gold from within as the short day darkened he saw women at their looms, turning a moment to speak or smile to child or husband there in the warmth within the house.'

'It would be a decent living. The bulk of the work was dull, always the same over, but weaving was an honourable trade and in some hands a noble art. And people expected weavers to be a bit shy, often to be unmarried, shut away at their work as they were; yet they were respected.'

[Iffish, WoE/Hawks, T]

Related entries: Spinning


Wellology

Also known as: Welwai

Island on the west of the South Reach adjacent to the Long Dune. Called Welwai by the Children of the Open Sea (raft people)

Sources: The Madman, FS; The Children of the Open Sea, FS


Welwai

See Wellology


Werelight

Also known as: were light

Bluish or greenish faint magical light conjured by wizards, sometimes focused in the tip of their wizard's staff, sometimes as a free-floating ball. One of the first arts of true magic taught at the School of Wizardry on Roke it seems to be used relatively freely, without worrying about the Equilibrium. The practice isn't confined to wizards: witches are also occasionally mentioned as conjuring werelight. Unclear how it is related to magelight, which appears to be a stronger form of magical light

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE; Light Under the Hill, ToA; Dragonfly, TfE

'…Vetch came to the door, a little bluish ball of werelight nodding over his head to light the way…'

'Not bright, but dazzling to the dark-accustomed eye, was the light that worked this wonder. It was a soft gleam, like marshlight… The light burned at the end of a staff of wood, smokeless, unconsuming.'

[The School for Wizards, WoE / Light Under the Hill, ToA]


West beyond the west

See Other wind


West Hand

See Hands


West Reach

Also known as: Western Reach

Large, scattered group of islands to the west of the Archipelago, including Selidor, the Gate of Selidor & the Dragons' Run in the far west; Hille, Derhemen, Narveduen & Onon to the north; Ingat, Risk, Ully, Usidero, Ettil, Ontuego & the Toringates to the west of Paln; Simly, Kaltuel, Near Kaltuel, Arrins & Faltuel to the west of Ensmer; and Obb & Jessage to the south, near the South Reach. The middle of the West Reach lies around seven hundred miles west of Roke; the remote westernmost isles are the home of dragons

Sources: Orm Embar, FS; The Dragons' Run, FS; Selidor, FS; The Stone of Pain, FS; Palaces, OW


West Shore

Region of Sattins island, presumably in the west

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q


Western domain

Domain in the west of Havnor island, with hills covered with oak and chestnut forests. Contains the towns and villages of Glade, Reche & Easthill, and the river Amia. Ruled by the Lord of the Western Land

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE


Western Isles

See Archipelago


Western Land, Lord of the

See Lord of the Western Land


Western Mountains

Range of tawny mountains and wide valleys in the west of Atuan, between the Place of the Tombs and the western coastal plain. A fairly arid region, the predominant vegetation is sagebrush; the summits are snow-clad in winter

Sources: The Western Mountains, ToA

'Before them the western mountains stood, their feet purple, their upper slopes gold.'

[The Anger of the Dark, ToA]


Westpool

Town on the island of Way in the domain of Iria, two days' journey from the city of Kembermouth

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE


Whale Isles

A group of three small islands in the far north of the North Reach, north of North Enwas


Where my Love is Going

Love or boat song from the western coast of Havnor island

'Where my love is going
There will I go.
Where his boat is rowing
I will row.
We will laugh together,
Together we will cry:
If he lives I will live,
If he dies I die.'

[Darkrose and Diamond, TfE]

Related entries: Songs


White Enchanter

See Morred


White hallows

White-flowering herb growing in river meadows and marshes on Gont; prized by healers

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; Kalessin, T

'He came on a meadow between two streams where the flower called white hallows grew thick, and as these blossoms are rare and prized by healers, he came back again next day.'

[The Shadow, WoE]

Related entries: Healing; Herbal remedies


Whiteface

See Gelluk


Wicker

See Rushwork


Windbringers

See Weatherworkers


Windbringing

See Weatherworking


Windkey

See Master Windkey


Wine

Wine is drunk both by better-off country folk such as Ogion and by noblemen, being served at the courts of Enlad and Havnor City, and also at the Godking's feasts on Karego-At. Fine red and white wines are exported from the Andrades, including vintages known as the Dragon Year, Late Harvest and '639, but vineyards are also found on other islands including Gont, Enlad and Way (producing wine called Fanian). Ged gives Lebannen heated wine on Lookfar as a restorative. Hurbahberry wine (described as thin) is served in the inn on Lorbanery in the South Reach. Wine is carried in bladders, transported in barrels or halftuns, sold by wine merchants and stored in wine cellars; fine wine is described as a valuable commodity

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; Lorbanery, FS; Mice, T; The Dolphin, T; Winter, T; Dragonfly, TfE

Related entries: Beverages, alcoholic


Winter Carol

Song traditionally sung at the Festival of Sunreturn

Sources: Hunting, WoE


Wiss

Town in the east of Gont island, possibly in the East Forest region. Near Ovark, from which it is separated by a high pass, Beech Springs, Down Wiss and East Port. Westward lies uninhabited forest

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; The Shadow, WoE; Frontispiece map, T


Witch marriage

Also known as: She-troth

Two witches living together in an informal marriage. As witches rarely married men, such arrangements were common

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW


Witch of Ten Alders

Also known as: Ten Alders, Witch of

Ged's (Duny's) maternal aunt. She has tangled black hair and lives alone at Ten Alders, plying her trade as a village witch. She keeps a dog, Gobefore, which never barks. She taught Ged his first spells, beginning aged seven

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

'Now the witch of Ten Alders was no black sorceress, nor did she ever meddle with the high arts of traffic with Old Powers; but being an ignorant woman among ignorant folk, she often used her crafts to foolish and dubious ends. She knew nothing of the Balance and the Pattern which the true wizard knows and serves, and which keep him from using his spells unless real need demands. She had a spell for every circumstance, and was forever weaving charms. Much of her lore was mere rubbish and humbug, nor did she know the true spells from the false. She knew many curses, and was better at causing sickness, perhaps, that at curing it. Like any other village witch she could brew up a love-potion, but there were other, uglier brews she made to serve men's jealousy and hate. Such practices, however, she kept from her young prentice, and as far as she was able she taught him an honest craft.'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]


Witchcraft

See Base crafts


Witches

Also known as: Sorceresses

After the time of Halkel (730), all female practitioners of magic were denoted witches, and all their practices were denoted base crafts, even when they included things that would be considered high arts in the hands of a man. The arts of witches include 'The care of pregnant beasts and women, birthing, teaching the songs and rites, the fertility and order of field and garden, the building and care of the house and its furniture, the mining of ores and metals---these great things had always been in the charge of women. A rich lore of spells and charms to ensure the good outcome of such undertakings was shared among the witches'a; finding, mending, healing of humans & animals, bonesetting and herblore are elsewhere mentioned. Witches also prepare bodies for burial. Taught informally by other witches and sorcerers, they often know nothing of the Equilibrium, and rarely practise celibacy. Some witches/sorceresses, for example Serret, call on magic relating to the Old Powers, though many do not. Witches usually live on the margins of society, rarely respected and often feared; children's tales on Gont often include a wicked witch archetype as the villain

Sources: Warriors in the Mist, WoE; Ogion, T; Kalessin, T; The Finder, TfE (a); A Description of Earthsea, TfE

'Now the witch of Ten Alders was no black sorceress, nor did she ever meddle with the high arts of traffic with Old Powers; but being an ignorant woman among ignorant folk, she often used her crafts to foolish and dubious ends. She knew nothing of the Balance and the Pattern which the true wizard knows and serves, and which keep him from using his spells unless real need demands. She had a spell for every circumstance, and was forever weaving charms. Much of her lore was mere rubbish and humbug, nor did she know the true spells from the false. She knew many curses, and was better at causing sickness, perhaps, that at curing it. Like any other village witch she could brew up a love-potion, but there were other, uglier brews she made to serve men's jealousy and hate. Such practices, however, she kept from her young prentice, and as far as she was able she taught him an honest craft.'

[Warriors in the Mist, WoE]

Related entries: Midwifery; Curer; Mining; Death-related customs


Witch-Fingers

Name in rural Atuan for the disease smallpox

Sources: The Wall Around the Place, ToA


Witch-men

See Sorcerers


Witchwind

See Magewind


Wizard of Gont Port

Ogion was the wizard of Gont Port before the death of Heleth. At the time of Tehanu, 'a stout middle-aged man with a short yew staff'a

Sources: Ogion, T (a); The Bones of the Earth, TfE


Wizardry

See Magic


Wizards

Also known as: Crafty men

Practitioners of magic, especially the high arts and the art magic: changing, naming, summoning and patterning. After the time of Halkel (730), the term was restricted to men. In modern times, wizards are denoted by a wizard's staff, conferred by their teacher; in the case of those trained at the Roke School of Wizardry, this would usually be the Archmage. Wizards usually practise celibacy. Particularly powerful or wise wizards are termed mages

Sources: A Description of Earthsea, TfE


Wizard's staff

Also known as: Staff

A (usually) wooden staff carried by wizards of the Roke tradition, which seems to act as both a badge of office and a focus for their power; the staff is often described as burning with white magelight when powerful magic is performed. Staffs of oak (Ogion, Vetch) or yew (Ged) appear to be the most common, shod with copper, bronze or iron and the height of their owner, but pine (Aspen), willow (Azver), olive (Deyala) and even rosemary (Ivory) are also mentioned. Archmage Nemmerle's staff is white. Ged's in The Farthest Shore is set with the Bond Rune in silver. Other materials than wood are also mentioned: the staff of the Grey Mage of Paln is a long steel rod, engraved with runes; the white staff of the mage Early is made from the horn of a northern sea beast. The Pelnish wizard Seppel carries no staff, and the earliest mages, of the time of Erreth-Akbe and before, are said not have had staffs; it's not clear how the practice originated

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS; Magelight, FS; Selidor, FS; Ogion, T; The Finder, TfE; Dragonfly, TfE; A Description of Earthsea, TfE; Mending the Green Pitcher, OW; Dolphin, OW


Woman of Kemay

Also known as: Dragon

An old fisherwoman living in a little house by the seawall in the fishing village of Kemay in north-west Gont; one of the dragon-humans. Ogion gives her true name as Dragon. Tall, with big hands, she's said not to be learned; she composes songs, including the song of the Woman of Kemay which tells of the Vedurnan

Sources: Going to the Falcon's Nest, T; Palaces, OW

'"In that first moment, he told me, it was no woman he saw at all in the doorway, but a blaze and glory of fire, and a glitter of gold scales and talons, and the great eyes of a dragon. … Then that was gone, and he saw no dragon, but an old woman standing there in the doorway, a bit stooped, a tall old fisherwoman with big hands."'

[Going to the Falcon's Nest, T]


Woman on Gont, a

See Hama Gondun


Women of the Hand

Also known as: Hand, the

Community of women and men concerned with the ethical use and teaching of magic, established during the Dark Years around 150 years after the death of Maharion. Centred on Roke, but with an extensive network of secret cells on other islands around the Inmost Sea, including Havnor and Hosk; members identified each other by a secret hand gesture involving raising the first finger and then the other fingers, clenching the hand into a fist and finally opening it palm outwards. In around 650, members of the group, including Elehal, Yahan and Medra, founded the School of Wizardry on Roke

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Woodedge

Also known as: Otterhide

Impoverished mountain village on Mount Onn, in the west of Havnor Island; renamed Otterhide after hiding Medra (then known as Otter) from Losen's men

'He ran down from the straggle of huts to the quick, noisy stream he had heard singing through his sleep all his nights in Woodedge.'

[The Finder, TfE]


Workers' guilds

See Trade guilds


World view

The islands which make up Earthsea are surrounded by the Open Sea; there appears to be debate as to whether the sea goes on for ever empty beyond the known lands of the Outer Reaches or contains undiscovered lands on the other face of the world -- or even, as Vetch suggests, apparently facetiously, '"has but one face, and he who sails too far will fall off the edge of it"'a

Sources: The Open Sea, WoE (a); Sea Dreams, FS

'"For the world is very large, the Open Sea going on past all knowledge; and there are worlds beyond the world."'

[Sea Dreams, FS]


Writing

Hardic runes appear to be used for general writing purposes in the Archipelago and Reaches, for example Ogion's letter to Nemmerle. Writing implements mentioned include an inkstone, ink bottle, brush and goose quills with a substrate of vellum, parchment or paper. In the Archipelago/Reaches, reading and writing appear to be largely the province of wizards, lords/princes and the moderately wealthy (for example, the mender Alder reads very little); history is largely passed from generation to generation orally in songs and chants. In the original Earthsea trilogy, reading and writing are said to be outlawed in the Kargad Lands, being among the black arts. However, in later novels, writing using Hardic runes is mentioned for some secular purposes; Thol's emissaries bring Lebannen a gilded scroll written in big Hardic runes (though the ambassador speaks Hardic but doesn't read it)

Sources: The Shadow, WoE; The School for Wizards, WoE; The Masters of Roke, FS; Mice, T; Palaces, OW

Related entries: Books


Wuluah

Titles: Twin God, God-Brother

One of the Twin Gods, Warrior Gods of the Kargad Lands; said to be sons of the Old Powers of the Earth. Brother of Atwah. Thol claims descent from Wuluah

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA; Rejoining, OW


Yahan

Also known as: Veil

One of the founders of the School of Wizardry on Roke in around 650; by three years the older sister of Elehal. Described as very tall, with a mild gentle voice, yet implacable. Her parents and brothers were killed by raiders from Wathort when she was a child

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Yard

Unit of distance used in Earthsea; as with other imperial measures, presumably silently translated from the actual unit

Sources: Hunting, WoE; The Wall around the Place, ToA


Yarrow

Also known as: Kest

Youngest sister of Vetch of Iffish; like him dark-skinned. Her true name, Kest, means minnow. Said to be 'ignorant of all sorcery but wise in other things.'a Married a house-carpenter in Iffish with whom she has three daughters

Sources: Iffish, WoE; The Rowan Tree, FS (a)

'…her eyes when not hidden were clear, shy, and curious. She was perhaps fourteen years old, dark like her brother, but very slight and slender. On her sleeve there clung, winged and taloned, a dragon no longer than her hand.'

[Iffish, WoE]


Yaved

See Trimmer's Dell


Yenay

The king's lieutenant and one of Lebannen's most trusted officers; based at the imperial court in Havnor City

Sources: Palaces, OW


Yennava

Stream northwest of Mount Onn on Havnor island; it runs by Endlane and Samory

Sources: The Finder, TfE


Yevaud

Also known as: Dragon of Pendor

Ancient male dragon. Laid waste to the west of Osskil in the time of Morred, being driven forth by the wizard Elt, and to the island of Pendor four generations before A Wizard of Earthsea. Apparently capable of shape-changing, he lives in human form for four years on Sattins island in the East Reach as the wizard, Mr Underhill, after being temporarily driven from Pendor by the League after around a hundred years of occupation. Later returns to Pendor, where Ged defeats him by knowing his name, binding him and his offspring not to fly eastwards to the Archipelago. Of his eight sons by a she-dragon of the West Reach, Ged kills six

Sources: The Rule of Names, W12Q; The Dragon of Pendor, WoE

'When he was all afoot his scaled head, spike-crowned and triple-tongued, rose higher than the broken tower's height, and his taloned forefeet rested on the rubble of the town below. His scales were grey-black, catching the daylight like broken stone. Lean as a hound he was and huge as a hill. Ged stared in awe. There was no song or tale could prepare the mind for this sight.'

[The Dragon of Pendor, WoE]

Related entries: Dragons


Yor

Small island in the northern East Reach, near Sattins


 

 

WoEA Wizard of Earthsea
ToAThe Tombs of Atuan
FSThe Farthest Shore
TTehanu
OWThe Other Wind
W12QThe Wind's Twelve Quarters
TfETales from Earthsea


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