Atuan

Atuan is one of the four great lands of the Kargad Empire, lying between the Northern and Eastern Reaches alongside Karego-At, Hur-at-Hur, and Atnini. Its people are described as savage, white-skinned, yellow-haired, and fierce, with a language entirely distinct from the Hardic tongue spoken in the Archipelago. The Kargs are known for their love of bloodshed and the smell of burning towns, and they have a history of raiding and conquering other lands, including the attack on the Torikles and the island Torheven, and the sacking of Spevy, which was left an isle of ruins. Their war-cry invokes the names of the White Godbrothers of Atuan: "Wuluah! Atwah!"

Geography and the Place of the Tombs

The land of Atuan is a desert, with a murky green river flowing through it a half mile northeast of the Place of the Tombs. The Place itself is a complex of buildings on a hill, including the Hall of the Throne, the Temple of the Godking, and the Temple of the God-Brothers. Behind the Hall, a massive rock wall encloses the Tombs themselves: nine black stones, eighteen to twenty feet high, that have stood since the creation of Earthsea. The landscape is barren, with sage, wire-grass, and desert herbs, and the mountains to the west are dry and lion-colored in the afterglow of sunset. The only green trees within miles are the apple trees of the orchard, which bloom in spring.

The Kargish People and Their Empire

The Kargad Empire is a powerful, expansionist force. In the time of Ged's youth, they attacked the Torikles and Torheven in great force with fleets of red-sailed ships, and later sacked Spevy, taking its people as slaves. They then sailed to Gont with thirty great longships, burning East Port and marching up the Northward Vale, slaughtering cattle and men. The Kargs are described as a savage people, white-skinned, yellow-haired, and fierce, liking the sight of blood and the smell of burning towns. Their language is not like any spoken in the Archipelago or the other Reaches.

The Tombs of Atuan and Their Priestess

The Tombs of Atuan are the most ancient and sacred of all places in the Kargish Empire. They are the tombs of those who ruled before the world of men came to be, the ones not named. The Priestess who serves them has no name and is called Arha, the Eaten One. She is chosen as a child and must live alone in the Small House, performing blood sacrifices twice a year at the full moon nearest the equinox. The Tombs are sacred and only the Priestess can enter; even the Godking cannot set foot among the Tombstones. The ritual of the Remaking involves a mock sacrifice where the child's head is placed in a hollowed block of wood and a sword is swung over her neck, symbolizing her death and rebirth as the Eaten One.

Narrative Significance

Atuan serves as the setting for the second book of the Earthsea Cycle, The Tombs of Atuan, where Ged, now a young wizard, travels there on a quest for the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. The land is a place of stark contrast to the Archipelago, with its own ancient powers and a rigid, oppressive religious system. The barren, cold, and unforgiving landscape mirrors the spiritual and emotional isolation of its Priestess, Arha, and the dark, nameless powers she serves. The Kargish people, with their white skin and yellow hair, are presented as the "other" in the narrative, a savage and warlike race that stands in opposition to the more diverse and wizardly peoples of the Archipelago.