Kargish Raid on Ten Alders

The Kargish Raid on Ten Alders marks the first public manifestation of the power that would define Ged's life, transforming a wild, untrained boy into a village hero and setting him on the path to wizardry. This event, occurring when Duny was twelve years old, is the crucible in which his latent strength is forged into action, but at a cost that nearly kills him and ultimately brings him to the attention of the great mage Ogion.

Background and the Kargish Threat

The Kargad Empire, a savage and warlike people from the four great lands of Karego-At, Atuan, Hur-at-Hur, and Atnini, had been raiding the Archipelago with increasing boldness. They had already sacked Spevy, leaving it an isle of ruins, and now turned their attention to Gont. A fleet of thirty great longships landed at East Port, burning the town and then advancing up the Northward Vale, splitting into bands to loot and destroy. The people of Ten Alders, a high mountain village, saw the smoke darken the eastern sky and the fires of burning fields and orchards below. Some villagers fled, including the witch who hid in a cave on the Kapperding Scarp, sealing its mouth with spells. Duny's father, the bronze-smith, refused to leave his forge and worked all night beating spear-points from his metal, while others bound them to hoe and rake handles. The mountain folk of Gont were not warlike, and the village had only eighteen men and boys to face the invaders.

Duny's Fog-Weaving Spell

As dawn broke, a thick white fog settled over the heights. The villagers waited, peering into the mist, not knowing how close the Kargs were. Duny, who had worked all night at the forge bellows, was too exhausted to hold a spear. Raging at his weakness, he knew his power was within him but lacked the knowledge to use it. Then, seeing the fog thin before the advancing Kargs, he remembered a spell taught by an old weatherworker: fogweaving, a binding-spell that gathers mists. Duny's intent was different from the usual illusion. He rapidly and aloud named the village's boundaries, spoke the fogweaving charm, and interlaced it with a spell of concealment, then cried the word that set the magic going. His father struck him hard on the side of the head, knocking him down, but the fog had already closed and thickened over the entire village, hiding them from the Kargs. Duny, sullen and drained, told his father to lead the Kargs up to High Fall. The smith, understanding, ran to organize the villagers.

The Battle and the Kargs' Defeat

The Kargs, unable to see, set fire to a house and waited for the mist to lift. The villagers, using the fog as cover, taunted the invaders and then attacked from behind, sending a volley of arrows and spears. One Karg fell with a spear through his body. Enraged, the Kargs charged forward, stabbing into the mist, but they ran right through the village without seeing it. Some of the band, chasing phantom shapes, were led to the cliff's edge at High Fall and fell a hundred feet to their deaths. Dread seized the Kargs as they found themselves surrounded by wraiths and ghost-shapes in the uncanny mist. They began to run, stumbling downhill, until they burst out into the morning sunlight. The wall of grey mist behind them hid the village. The Kargs fled down the Northward Vale, where they were later harried by gathered forces from the East Forest and killed to the last man on the beaches of Armouth.

Aftermath and the Cost of Power

When the fog cleared, the villagers found Duny standing by himself, bearing no hurt but speechless and stunned. He had saved their lives and property, with only four villagers killed and one house burnt. However, he would not speak, eat, or sleep, and seemed not to see or hear. His aunt, the witch, said he had overspent his power but had no art to help him. The story of the boy who wove the fog spread across the Northward Vale and even to the Great Port of Gont. On the fifth day, a stranger came to Ten Alders: Ogion the Silent, the Mage of Re Albi. He laid his hand on Duny's forehead and touched his lips, and the boy sat up, strength and hunger returning. Ogion declared that the boy would not be common and offered to give him his name and take him as a prentice. On the day Duny turned thirteen, Ogion returned, and the ceremony of Passage was held. The witch took from the boy his childhood name, Duny. Nameless and naked, he walked into the cold springs of the River Ar. As he emerged, Ogion clasped his arm and whispered his true name: Ged. Thus was he given his name by one very wise in the uses of power, and he left his village with his new master, setting off through the steep forests of Gont.