Earthsea is a fictional world created by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Introduced in her short story "The Word of Unbinding", published in 1964, Earthsea became the setting for six Earthsea books, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, and continuing with The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind. Nine short stories by Le Guin are set in Earthsea; the earliest two ('"The Word of Unbinding'" and "The Rule of Names") in her 1975 collection of short stories The Wind's Twelve Quarters, five in Tales from Earthsea, and the final two (2014's '"The Daughter of Odren'" and 2018's "Firelight") in an illustrated collection (along with the 1993 essay Earthsea Revisioned) in The Books of Earthsea (released in 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of A Wizard of Earthsea).
Geography and Climate
The planet of Earthsea is one of sea and islands: a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by mostly uncharted ocean. Earthsea contains no large continents. The largest island, Havnor, at approximately across, is about the size of Great Britain. The overall climate of Earthsea is temperate, comparable to the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere of Earth. There is a yearly transition from warm summers to cold and snowy winters, especially on northern islands like Gont and Osskil. In the southern regions of Earthsea, it can be much warmer.
People and cultures
The cultures of Earthsea are not direct analogues of those of the real world, but are literate non-industrial civilizations.
Ethnic groups
The racial characteristics of the people of Earthsea are for the most part "red-brown" in coloring; in the South and East Reach and on Way, they are much darker brown, and with straight black hair; in Osskil, they have light skin, presumably with skin that is lighter in comparison to lands to the south of Osskil such as Gont or Havnor, and the Kargs of the northeastern islands, seen by the Hardic peoples as barbarians, have blonde hair and white skin.
Le Guin has criticized what she describes as the general assumption in fantasy that characters should be white and that the society should resemble the Middle Ages.Interview with Ursula K. Le Guin, Gifts .
Technology
Technologically, Earthsea is an early Iron Age society, with bronze used in places where iron is scarce. Ged's father is a bronze-smith. Weapons also include the use of wood and other hard but easily crafted metals.
Languages
The people of the Archipelago are united by a single language: Hardic. Though dialects have inevitably sprung up on the various islands, all are mutually intelligible. The Kargs speak Kargish, and on the island of Osskil, the inhabitants also speak Osskili.
Dragons talk in True Speech, also called Old Speech, the original language of magic.
Earthsea, with the exception of the Kargad lands, is a literate society using a writing system called the "Hardic runes". The name suggests similarity to the Germanic runes, but there are supposed to be hundreds of runes in use (in A Wizard of Earthsea, Ged learns to read and write "The Six Hundred Runes of Hardic"), suggesting a logographic system similar to Chinese.
Names
Each individual among the Hardic people has several names over the course of their life: a child-name, a use-name and a true name. Up to puberty, a person is known by their child-name; at their rite of Passage, at about the age of thirteen, that name is taken from them and they are given their true name by a witch, sorcerer or wizard. The true name is a single word of True Speech. One's true name is a closely guarded secret, shared only with those whom they trust completely because it grants the knower great power over the person. A use-name is adopted for everyday dealings. It may be an animal (Dragonfly, Hare, Otter, Sparrowhawk), a plant (Alder, Heather, Moss, Rowan), a substance (Diamond, Flint, Ivory, Jasper, Onyx) or something else (Golden, Kurremkarmerruk, the latter having no meaning). Use-names are not unique; there are, for instance, three different characters called Rose.
Kargs, who hate and fear magic, do not use this system of naming. They have single names only (Azver, Seserakh, Tenar).
History
The Creation of Éa is a 31-stanza poem, the oldest part of Earthsea's oral tradition. It describes how Segoy raised the islands of Earthsea from the ocean by naming them in the True Speech.
Little is known of the original inhabitants of Earthsea, but scattered legends suggest that humans and dragons were once one race. The ancient Pelnish lore and Kargad legends describe an agreement between them called the Vedurnan or Verw Nadan to separate because of their differing temperaments and goals. The dragons chose the free life of air and fire, while humans chose the material world of earth and water.
Early in the history of humans, the largest and most powerful realm was centered on the northern islands of Enlad and Éa, although this realm did not rule all of Earthsea and it is unclear whether other realms existed. The wars and romantic heroes of this period form part of mythology, similar to the Trojan War in European culture. Later, as more of Earthsea came under the dominion of the Kings of Enlad, the center of the kingdom moved from Enlad to the largest island, the more central Havnor. This dynasty of Great Kings ruled all or almost all of Earthsea, but ended soon after the death of Erreth-Akbe and the kingdom fragmented into many separate principalities and domains. By the time of Ged and the beginning of the series, this state of affairs had persisted for centuries, though the emergence of a new king had been prophesied.
Magic
Magic is a central part of life in most of Earthsea, with the exception of the Kargish lands, where it is banned. There are weather workers on ships, fixers who repair boats and buildings, entertainers, and court sorcerers. Magic is an inborn talent which can be developed with training. The most gifted are sent to the school on Roke, where, if their skill and their discipline prove sufficient, they can become staff-carrying wizards.
A strong theme of the stories is the connection between power and responsibility. There is often a Taoist message: "good" wizardry tries to be in harmony with the universe, while "bad" wizardry, such as necromancy, can lead to an upsetting of the "balance" and threaten catastrophe. While the dragons are more powerful, they act instinctively to preserve the balance. Only humans pose a threat to it. In The Farthest Shore, Cob seeks immortality regardless of the consequences and opens a breach between life and death, which endangers the living.
Magic on Earthsea is primarily verbal. Everything has a true name in the Old Speech, the language of the dragons, and the language which Segoy used to create the world. One who knows the true name of an object has power over it. Each person also has a true name which is revealed only to those who are trusted implicitly. A "use-name", which has no magical property, suffices for everyday purposes. For example, the wizard whose true name is Ged is known by the use-name Sparrowhawk.
One vital aspect of magic is that it is impossible for people to lie in the old language, so that magic works by forcing the universe to conform to the words spoken by the magician. For example, to say "I am an eagle" in the old language means that the speaker becomes an eagle, so that the statement is no longer false. Only the magically gifted are able to do this.
The School of Magic
Roke Island is the magical heart of Earthsea and is protected by potent spells and a magical wind and fog that ward off evil. It contains several places of power, such as Roke Knoll and the Immanent Grove.
The school of Roke was founded by Elehal and Yahan of Roke, and Medra of Havnor, as a center of learning, a refuge for magicians fleeing feuding warlords who used them to do harm. The school gradually grew in authority and influence, until eventually its leader, the Archmage, was considered second only to the king. However, through the long centuries, the wizards of Roke remained always loyal, though no king could have stood against their magic. Even in the long interregnum when the Archipelago was without a king, the Archmage did not try to usurp authority, but sought only to maintain the balance. With the advent of the new king, Lebannen, the school's role had to change. When the last Archmage, Ged, loses his magical abilities, no one is appointed to replace him.
Teaching in the school is carried out by the nine Masters of Roke, each with a specialty: Master Windkey, whose skill lies in weather control Master Hand, who deals with illusions Master Herbal, versed in healing Master Changer, who knows the arts of transformation Master Summoner, skilled in calling or summoning Master Namer, who teaches the students the rudiments of True Speech Master Chanter, teacher of music and chanted spells Master Patterner, seeker of meaning and intent Master Doorkeeper, the guardian of the gates of the school.
Their leader is the Archmage, chosen by the nine Masters, often from outside the school. The position of the Master Finder was abolished by the first Archmage, Halkel, and replaced with that of Chanter. Halkel also banned women from the school.
Evolution of magic
Over the span of the novels and stories, there is an evolution of certain themes, echoes of which are repeated throughout Le Guin's entire body of work. Different uses of power, magic and balance, cooperation vs. dominance, the eternal soul of the Archipelago vs. Kargish concepts of reincarnation, and the position and importance of women in magic, are introduced and redefined. This revision of the depiction of Earthsea is illustrated in the way the role of women evolves throughout the series.
In the early novels, magic in Earthsea is strongly male-dominated. Women practising magic are relegated to the role of village witches who are considered inferior to male wizards and mages. Excluded from the school of Roke, where systematic knowledge of magic can be obtained, they know, at most, a few isolated words of the Old Speech which is the basis of magic. A saying quoted in the outset is "weak as a woman's magic, wicked as a woman's magic." The original trilogy does not challenge this view - Ged makes his first steps in the world of magic under the tutelage of his witch aunt, but it is taken for granted that she cannot give him very much and in order to realize his potential he must study with male mages, first with Ogion and later with the masters of Roke. More honored are sorcerers, who are male, though they may know little more about magic than witches. Those boys who show signs of magical talent or power are generally sent to the school of magic on Roke. There, if they learn what is needful, they are made wizards, signified by the bestowing of a staff of wood. There is no specific definition of a mage; one is simply a very strong wizard.
However, in later books Le Guin delves deeper into the history of Earthsea and reveals some early events that helped shape the dichotomy of male / female magic. Tehanu and The Other Wind, new information is introduced and old events are seen in a new light, revealing that, to begin with, women had a central role in founding the School of Roke and that, far from being an inherent characteristic of magic, their exclusion was the act of male mages, including the first Archmage. Two powerful female figures are introduced: Tehanu and Irian, both being human and dragon at the same time. Irian defeats undead Thorion, resolving inner conflict between the masters of Roke and Tehanu helps destroy the wall separating The Dry Land from the rest of the world.
The Dry Land