Nemmerle

Nemmerle, the Archmage and Warder of Roke, is the ancient, white-clad leader of the School for Wizards who welcomes Ged to the island, recognizes his immense potential, and ultimately sacrifices his own life to save Ged from the shadow the young wizard recklessly summons. His death marks a profound turning point in the story, shifting the balance of power at Roke and leaving Ged burdened with a debt of life that deepens his shame and his quest for redemption.

Identity and Role

Nemmerle was the Archmage of Earthsea and the Warder of Roke, the head of the School for Wizards on Roke Island. He was an old man, older it was said than any man then living, and his appearance reflected his immense age: his hair, beard, and robe were white, and he seemed as if all darkness and heaviness had been leached out of him by the slow usage of the years, leaving him white and worn as driftwood that has been a century adrift. His voice quavered like a bird's voice. He was attended by a great black raven of Osskil, which walked over the stone terrace and grass and pecked three times on his white staff. When Ged first met him in the sunlit court of the Great House, Nemmerle spoke in a tongue Ged did not understand, mumbling as an old man whose wits go wandering among the years and islands, yet there was a power in his voice that moved Ged's mind so that the boy was bewildered, and for an instant seemed to behold himself standing in a strange vast desert place alone among shadows.

Welcoming Ged and Recognizing His Power

When Ged arrived at Roke bearing a letter from the Mage Ogion, Nemmerle could not read it himself due to his failing eyesight and asked Ged to read it aloud. The letter read: "Lord Nemmerle! I send you one who will be greatest of the wizards of Gont, if the wind blow true." Nemmerle welcomed Ged, saying, "He who holds the earthquake on a leash has sent you, for which be doubly welcome. Young Ogion was dear to me, when he came here from Gont." He then questioned Ged about his voyage and his own will in coming to Roke, and when Ged answered that his own will had sent him, Nemmerle looked at him and looked away, and began to speak in a tongue Ged did not understand, mumbling as will an old old man whose wits go wandering among the years and islands. Yet in among his mumbling there were words of what the bird had sung and what the water had said falling. He was not laying a spell and yet there was a power in his voice that moved Ged's mind so that the boy was bewildered, and for an instant seemed to behold himself standing in a strange vast desert place alone among shadows. After the raven pecked his staff, Nemmerle ceased his muttering and smiled, telling Ged, "Run and play, lad," as to a little child, before vanishing.

The Loosing of the Shadow and Nemmerle's Sacrifice

On the night of the Long Dance festival, Ged, goaded by Jasper's taunts, performed a forbidden spell of Summoning on Roke Knoll, calling up the spirit of the long-dead Elfarran. The spell went catastrophically wrong: a rent opened in the fabric of the world, and through it clambered a shapeless clot of black shadow, a thing of unlife, which leaped straight at Ged's face and began to tear at his flesh. The other boys fled, and Jasper hid his eyes. Vetch alone ran forward but was frozen, unable to move. Then Nemmerle appeared. He stood above Ged, the end of his staff hovering silvery above Ged's breast. Once gently it touched him over the heart, once on the lips, while Nemmerle whispered. Ged stirred, and his lips parted gasping for breath. Then the old Archmage lifted the staff, and set it to earth, and leaned heavily on it with bowed head, as if he had scarcely strength to stand. To check the ungoverned spell and drive off the shadow from Ged, Nemmerle had spent all his power, and with it his bodily strength was gone. He lay dying in the unroofed court where the fountain played, unmoving, cold, very cold: only his eyes lived, watching the fall of moonlit water and the stir of moonlit leaves. The raven of Osskil that had been his pet for thirty years was gone; no one had seen where it went. "It flies before him," the Master Patterner said, as they kept vigil. The next day, iron bells spoke out aloud in the Chanter's Tower, harshly tolling, announcing his death.

Consequences and Legacy

Nemmerle's death was a direct consequence of Ged's pride and folly. The Nine Masters of Roke gathered in the Immanent Grove to choose a new Archmage, selecting Gensher of Way. When Ged later knelt to offer his fealty to Gensher, the new Archmage refused it, saying, "I know what you did, but not what you are." Gensher told Ged that Nemmerle himself could not undo the evil Ged had loosed, and that Ged must stay on Roke until he gained strength and wisdom enough to defend himself from the shadow. Ged was left with the crushing knowledge that Nemmerle had given his life for him, a burden that deepened his shame and his resolve. The memory of Nemmerle's sacrifice haunted Ged, and when he later stood in the same court where he had first met the Archmage, he thought of Nemmerle and remembered the moment he had felt himself to be a word spoken by the sunlight, now knowing that the darkness also had spoken: a word that could not be unsaid. Nemmerle's death thus became a foundational event in Ged's journey, a sacrifice that both saved his life and set him on the path toward understanding the true nature of power and responsibility.