A glossary of people, places & objects in Earthsea

Now showing glossary items relating to people contemporary with the main Earthsea cycle

Aihal

See Ogion

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

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

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

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

Arha

See Tenar

Arren

See Lebannen

Arrendek

See Lebannen

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

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

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]

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

Bucky

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

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE

Burning Bush

Nickname of whore in Oraby on the island of Semel

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE

Cherry

Resident of Middle Valley on Gont; owns an outhouse

Sources: Winter, T

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

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]

Coney

Vineyarder of the Master of Iria on the island of Way

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE

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

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

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]

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

Dragon

See Woman of Kemay

Dragonfly

See Irian

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

Duny

See Ged

Ebéa, Lady of

See Lady of Ebéa

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

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]

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

Enwit

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

Sources: The School for Wizards, WoE

Erisen

See Aspen

Estarriol

See Vetch

Etaudis

See Rose of Old Iria

Falcon

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

Sources: Dolphin, OW

Felkway, Lord of

See Lord of Felkway

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

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]

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

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

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]

Gift

See Emer

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

Goha

See Tenar

Goldie

Whore in Oraby on the island of Semel

Sources: On the High Marsh, TfE

Gore

Old slave trader of Wathort

Sources: Dolphin, OW

Gully

See Irioth

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

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

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]

Hatha

See Moss

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

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]

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

Iddi

Marketer of Re Albi on Gont

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

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, 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]

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

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]

Kest

See Yarrow

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]

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

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]

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]

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]

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 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

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]

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

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]

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

Metama, Lord of

See Lord of Metama on Ark

Mevre

See Lily

Mildi

Titles: the Orcharder

Former sorcerer or weatherworker on Lorbanery, he died five years before the events of The Farthest Shore

Sources: Lorbanery, FS

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]

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]

Nathabba

Cook at the Place of the Tombs on Atuan; Penthe describes her as 'that old skinflint'^a

Sources: Dreams and Tales, ToA (a)

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]

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

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]

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

O-tokne, Lady of

See Lady of O-tokne

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

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]

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

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

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

Rambles

Sheep farmer of Re Albi on Gont

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

Re Albi, Lord of

See Lord of Re Albi

Reddy

See Seserakh

Relli

Elderly chanter and harpist of Valmouth on Gont

Sources: Home, T

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]

Root

Wizard at Berila on Enlad

Sources: The Rowan Tree, FS

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

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]

Serry

Wealthy sheep and goat farmer of Kahedanan in the Middle Valley on Gont

Sources: Home, T; Winter, T

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]

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

Shinny

Woman of Valmouth on Gont; friend of Apple

Sources: Home, T

Silence

See Ogion

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

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]

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]

Sosara, Mayor of

See Mayor of Sosara

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]

Sparrowhawk

See Ged

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

Stony

Young boy of Re Albi on Gont

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

Sunbright

See Ayeth

Tadpole

One of Lark's children, probably of Oak Village in Middle Valley on Gont

Sources: Winter, T

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]

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

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 Kargish^a. 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]

Ten Alders, Witch of

See Witch of Ten Alders

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]

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]

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

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]

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

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]

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]

Turby

Inhabitant of Re Albi on Gont; owner of a winter-pasture for goats, for sale at the time of Tehanu

Sources: Tehanu, T

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

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]

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

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]

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]

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]

Yenay

The king's lieutenant and one of Lebannen's most trusted officers; based at the imperial court in Havnor City

Sources: Palaces, OW

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