Magewind

The Magewind is a conjured wind raised by a wizard's spell, a fundamental tool of weatherworking and seamanship in Earthsea. Unlike the world's natural wind, which must be caught and managed by a sailor's skill, the magewind is a direct expression of the wizard's will, driving a vessel forward without regard for the prevailing breeze. It is a power that can be summoned and sustained only by those trained in the high arts, and its use carries both great advantage and significant peril.

Nature and Operation

The magewind is not a natural phenomenon but a spell-woven force. A wizard raises it by speaking a word of power, and it fills the sail of a boat with a wind that answers only to the caster's intent. On the voyage from Gont to Roke, Ged, still a novice, could not raise a magewind, and the ship's master dismissed him as useless for weatherworking. Later, as a student on Roke, Ged practiced with the Master Windkey, learning to raise the magewind in light catboats, though the lessons were often chaotic, with boats jibing unexpectedly or swamping under unintended waves. The magewind can be used to sail against the natural wind, as when the ship carrying the new Archmage Gensher from Way Island to Roke was sent forth with the magewind raised by the Master Windkey, who stood in the stern and raised it into the sail, making the ship depart quickly. The spell requires constant renewal; when the matter on which the spell works is small, as in Ged's makeshift boat of driftwood and magic, the power must be renewed from moment to moment, or the sail will turn to a puff of wind itself.

Limitations and Costs

The magewind is not an unlimited resource. Its power is drawn from the wizard's own strength, and it can be resisted or overwhelmed by other forces. When Ged tried to sail to Roke from Serd, the Roke-wind, a protective enchantment that keeps evil from the Isle of the Wise, rose against him, and his magewind slackened and grew feeble until the ship could make no headway. The magewind also cannot be used carelessly; the Master Windkey taught that to summon up earthly forces is to change the earth of which they are a part, and that "Rain on Roke may be drouth in Osskil, and a calm in the East Reach may be storm and ruin in the West, unless you know what you are about." The magewind is a tool of real magic, not illusion, and its use must follow knowledge and serve need.

Key Uses in the Narrative

Ged first used the magewind in earnest when he sailed from Low Torning to confront the Dragon of Pendor. He raised the magewind in his sail, not rowing nor using the seaman's skill Pechvarry had taught him, but sailing wizardly, because he feared what was behind him more than what was before him. Later, after his shipwreck on the nameless isle, he wove a sail of spells on the wind's loom, a square sail white as snow, and raised the magewind lightly to sail out between the Armed Cliffs. During his hunt for the shadow, he summoned the magewind strong and sudden into his white sail, and his boat leapt across the grey waves straight at the shadow, which fled. On the Open Sea, he held the magewind hour after hour, driving the boat eastward with a power that amazed Vetch, who felt his own power weakened and astray so far from land. The magewind dropped only when Ged stood up in the prow and spoke aloud, ending the spell as they approached the Dry Land.

Significance

The magewind embodies the wizard's mastery over the elements, but also the responsibility that comes with such power. It is a tool that can be used for swift travel, for escape, or for pursuit, but it is not a toy. The magewind is a manifestation of the Equilibrium, the balance of the world, and its use must be weighed against the consequences. Ged's ability to raise and sustain the magewind, even in the farthest reaches of the Open Sea, is a testament to his growing power, but his reluctance to use it carelessly reflects the hard lessons he learned about the dangers of magic. The magewind is a symbol of the wizard's art: a force that can be commanded, but only at a cost.