A glossary of people, places & objects in Earthsea

Now showing glossary items relating to cities, towns & villages

Allage

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

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

Amrun

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

Sources: Magelight, FS

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]

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

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

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

Chodur

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

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

City of the Kings

See Hupun

Desi Port

Port town or village in the west of Gont

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

Down Wiss

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

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

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

Easthill

Town in west Havnor, near Glade

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE

Elini

Market town in the hills of the island of Taon

Sources: Mending the Green Pitcher, OW

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

Entat

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

Sources: The Wall around the Place, ToA

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

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

Etreke

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

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

Falcon's Nest

See Re Albi

Ferao

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

Sources: Rejoining, OW

Firn

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

Sources: The Finder, TfE

Gar

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

Sources: The Wall Around the Place, ToA

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

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

Great Port

See Havnor City

Great Port of Gont

See Gont Port

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]

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]

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

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]

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

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

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

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

Ketoleko

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

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

Korry

Coastal village or town in the northwest of Gont; it lies on an unnamed inlet

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

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

Lotin

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

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

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

Medu

Inland village or town by the river Ar in the east of Gont; near Ten Alders, Chodur and Lotin

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

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

Mishport

Little port town of Vemish in the East Reach

Sources: Iffish, 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]

Norvale

Town or village at the mouth of an unnamed river in the north of Gont; near Up Norvale

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

O Port

Major port on the island of O; lies in the south east, on the Inmost Sea

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

Oraby

Town on the island of Semel with an inn and a whorehouse

Sources: On the High Marsh, 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]

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

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

Otterhide

See Woodedge

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

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

Quor

Hill village on Iffish in the East Reach

Sources: Iffish, 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]

Reche

Village or town in the west of Havnor island, near Glade, above which are chestnut forests

Sources: Darkrose and Diamond, TfE

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

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]

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

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]

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

Sesesry

City on the east coast of Ark

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

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]

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

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

Solwes

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

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

Sorra

Location of the siege of Sorra; presumably a town on Wathort or in the South Reach

Sources: Palaces, OW; Dolphin, OW

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]

South Port (Gont)

See Gont South Port

South Port (Havnor)

See Havnor South Port

Tant

Coastal village or town in the east of Gont, near East Port and Wiss

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

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]

Temere

Large port on the south coast of Enlad; Lebannen says that it trades with all the Reaches

Sources: Hort Town, FS

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

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]

Tettego

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

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

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]

Toss

Village or town by the river Ar in the east of Gont; near Armouth, East Port and Chodur

Sources: Frontispiece map, 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

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

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]

Var

Inland village or town lying near an unnamed river in the west of Gont, near Ketoleko and Solwes

Sources: Frontispiece map, T

Westpool

Town on the island of Way in the domain of Iria, two days' journey from the city of Kembermouth

Sources: Dragonfly, TfE

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

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]

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