A Wizard of Earthsea

In the village of the West Hand, they welcome him, and he heals a fisherman’s cataracts in exchange for a sturdy, non-wizard made boat. Though he would prefer to stay, he knows he must continue, so he leaves and travels again from island to island. On one island, he receives a cold welcome, and the local wizard tells Ged that a man who looked a lot like him but didn’t cast a shadow and did not arrive by any obvious means had been seen on the outskirts of town. Because of this the wizard is happy to provide Ged with provisions, but he should leave as soon as possible. Ged moves on, eventually sailing to the island where his friend Vetch has been living and working. Vetch is initially wary because he had seen Ged three days before, but realized it was a trick and not actually Ged. Once convinced it is really his friend, the two reconnect, and Ged stays with Vetch and his younger siblings for a few days. Ged talks to Vetch’s younger siblings about magic, further clarifying the bounds of what wizards can and cannot safely do. Vetch tells him that Jasper, Ged’s rival sorcerer in Roke, never gained his staff and left to be a low lever sorcerer in a king’s court on another island.