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Earthsea is a fictional realm created by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was created for her short story "The Word of Unbinding", published in 1964, but became more famous in the novel A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968.
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
The world of Earthsea is a one of water — a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands, surrounded by the waters of seas and oceans. It is uncertain whether or not there are other landmasses, though reference is made to lands "beyond the west" where the dragons have their realm.
The word "Archipelago" is used by characters in the books to refer only to the central grouping of islands around the small Inner Sea. Those outlying are loosely grouped in to four "Reaches" (one for each point of the compass) and the Kargad Lands (four large islands to the north-east inhabited by the war-like Kargs). Some of the islands featured in the stories include Havnor and Roke in the Inner Sea; Gont in the North Reach, perilously close to the Kargad Lands; and Atuan, one of the islands of the Kargs. (See the map in External links.)
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.
(The name Éa is coincidentally similar to J. R. R. Tolkien's "Eä", the entirety of existence of which Middle-earth is only a part, as described in The Silmarillion.)
Little is known of the original inhabitants of Earthsea, but scattered legends suggest that both humans and dragons decedended from the same race. The ancient Pelnish lore and Kargad legends suggest that there was an agreement to separate, called the Vedurnan or Verw Nadan.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the Earthsea universe is Le Guin's magic system. Magic is strongly incorporated into the structure of the world, and magic appears in all parts of Archipelago civilisation, from weather workers on ships, fixers who repair equipment, entertainers and court sorcerors, and most importantly, the stave-carrying Wizards who are trained in Roke. In general, magic is usually the result of inborn talent, and with the exception of witches, usually restricted to men.
Le Guin imagined the magicians of Earthsea as purveyors of an unknown science, and a strong theme of the stories involve the connection of power, and responsibility. A taoist message is often detectable: 'good' wizards work to be in harmony with the world, and to right wrongs, whilst 'bad' actions involve invoking the unnatural (such as necromancy) and must be resolved, or else lead to catastrophe.
The mechanics of magic is based on words. In Earthsea, all objects have a true name, in an old language which is related to the Dragon-tongue. By using this language, it is possible to have power over the object, or the person. Hence, most characters have two names: one for everyday use, and one, the true name, known only to close friends and family. For example, Ged is known only as Sparrowhawk to most people.
The extended aspect of magic is that it is impossible to lie in the old language, therefore magic works by forcing the universe to conform to the words spoken by the magician, rather than create the even greater impossibility of the old language being used to express an untruth. So, to say "I am an eagle" in the old language means that the speaker becomes an eagle, rather than the universe tolerate the obvious untruth of the statement. The consequences of this are dealt with in the most recent Earthsea novel, The Other Wind.
Examples of magical acts in the Earthsea series include:
Roke island is the magical heart of Earthsea. On the island, which is protected by potent spells and a perpetual magical wind and fog, lies several places of power, such as Roke Knoll and the Immanent Grove.
The school of Roke was set up by Elehal and Yahan of Roke, and Medra of Havnor, as a centre of learning against feuding warlords who used magicians to do harm. The school rapidly grew in power and influence, until it effectively acted as a central government for the Archipelago. By gathering young potential mages and teaching them magic, the school controlled and guided their powers. With the new king, Lebannen, the school has waned in strength.
Teaching in the school is guided by a variety of Masters, each with a speciality.
The position of Finder was abolished by the first Archmage, Halkel, and replaced with Chanter, who teaches music and sang spells. Halkel also banned women from the school.
This is a place where it is always night. Although the sky is filled with stars, they are small, cold, and do not move. People cross over from the land of the living to the land of the dead by stepping over a low stone wall on the crest of a hilltop. On the other side the souls of the dead wander eternally, never recognizing one another. At the bottom of the valley of the dead (known as the dry land) is the dry river, and beyond that lie the mountains of pain, the only way back to the land of the living.
The dragons usually keep to themselves, but sometimes they attack inhabited islands and must be driven back by wizards. In the first book of Earthsea, Ged forces a dragon to promise not to attack people again, because he has guessed the dragon's true name. One connection between Dragons and Wizards is that Dragons speak only in the true tongue, the language of wizardry. Moreover, they are able to tell lies in it, the only beings able to do so. They have a strange connection to the true tongue, and one Wizard described that they live in it as a fish lives in water.
A BBC-produced two-hour radio dramatisation of A Wizard of Earthsea was originally broadcast on Radio 4 on 26 December 1996. This adaptation was narrated by Dame Judi Dench and used a wide range of voice talent with different regional and social accents to emphasize the origins of the Earthsea characters (for instance, Estarriol and others from the East Reach were played by actors with Southern Welsh accents). The adaptation won critical acclaim and was subsequently released on audio cassette.
The U.S.-based Sci Fi Channel is currently filming what appears to be a four-hour-long loose adaptation for television of the Earthsea stories (at the least, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan) for transmission in
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