Moon's Night

The Moon's Night is a festival of rare occurrence in Earthsea, celebrated only once every fifty-two years when the full moon of the Long Dance falls on the same night as the shortest night of the year. It is a time of heightened magic and communal revelry, binding the islands together in a shared ritual of music, dance, and enchantment. The festival is marked by a profound sense of unity and the temporary suspension of ordinary boundaries, as townsfolk, Masters, and students alike participate in a night-long celebration that culminates in a dance into the sea itself.

Festival and Celebration

The Moon's Night begins with the Long Dance, which that year falls together with the Moon's Night as one festival of two nights. The first night, the shortest night of the full moon, is filled with flutes playing in the fields, drums and torches in the narrow streets of Thwil, and singing that carries over the moonlit waters of Roke Bay. As the sun rises, the Chanters of Roke begin to sing the long Deed of Erreth-Akbe, which tells of the building of the white towers of Havnor and the hero's journey to the edge of the Open Sea, where he met the dragon Orm. When the chant is finished, the Long Dance begins, with townsfolk, Masters, students, and farmers all dancing together in the warm dust and dusk down all the roads of Roke to the sea-beaches, to the beat of drums and the drone of pipes and flutes. They dance straight out into the sea under the moon, and the music is lost in the breakers' sound. As the east grows light, they return up the beaches and roads, the drums silent and only the flutes playing soft and shrill. This dance is performed on every island of the Archipelago that night, one dance, one music binding together the sea-divided lands.

Magical and Social Significance

The Moon's Night is a time of heightened magical activity and social bonding. After the Long Dance, most people sleep the day away and gather again at evening to eat and drink. A group of young prentices and sorcerers, including Vetch, Jasper, and Ged, hold a private feast in a courtyard of the Great House, where they engage in playful magic: one boy lights the court with a hundred stars of werelight, colored like jewels, that swing in a slow netted procession; a pair of boys play bowls with balls of green flame and bowling-pins that leap and hop away; Vetch sits cross-legged, eating roast chicken, up in mid-air, and tosses away chicken bones that turn into owls and fly hooting among the netted star-lights. Ged shoots breadcrumb arrows after the owls and brings them down, and when they touch the ground they lie as bone and crumb, all illusion gone. Ged also tries to join Vetch up in the middle of the air, but lacking the key of the spell he has to flap his arms to keep aloft, and they all laugh at his flights and flaps and bumps. He keeps up his foolishness for the laughter's sake, laughing with them, for after those two long nights of dance and moonlight and music and magery he is in a fey and wild mood, ready for whatever might come.

Narrative Role and Consequences

The Moon's Night serves as a pivotal moment in the narrative, setting the stage for the conflict between Ged and Jasper. The festive atmosphere and the playful magic of the evening create a contrast with the tension that has been building between the two young wizards. During the private feast, Jasper's disdainful remarks and Ged's pride lead to a direct challenge, with Ged daring Jasper to a duel of sorcery. This challenge, made in the midst of the celebration, ultimately leads to the loosing of the shadow on Roke Knoll, a catastrophic event that shapes the rest of Ged's journey. The Moon's Night, therefore, is not only a time of joy and unity but also a catalyst for the central conflict of the story, highlighting the dangers of pride and the consequences of unchecked ambition.