Nine Masters of Roke

The Nine Masters of Roke are the supreme governing body of wizardry on Roke Island, the central school of magic in Earthsea. Comprising eight named Masters—Windkey, Hand, Herbal, Chanter, Changer, Summoner, Namer, and Patterner—along with the Archmage, they collectively oversee the training of wizards, maintain the Equilibrium of the world, and choose the new Archmage when the office falls vacant. Their authority is absolute within the School, and their individual domains of expertise cover every branch of magical knowledge, from weatherworking and illusion to the deepest arts of naming and summoning.

Composition and Structure

The Nine Masters are the eight named Masters plus the Archmage, who is considered the ninth. The named Masters are the Master Windkey, Master Hand, Master Herbal, Master Chanter, Master Changer, Master Summoner, Master Namer, and Master Patterner. Each Master presides over a specific domain of magical study and practice. The Master Doorkeeper, who guards the entrance to the Great House, is also a Master, though he is not always counted among the eight named ones; when a new Archmage is chosen, nine Masters meet to select him, and the Doorkeeper is one of them. The Masters live and teach within the Great House on Roke, a building constructed not only of stone but of magic stronger than stone. The Master Namer, Kurremkarmerruk, lives apart in the Isolate Tower on the northern cape of Roke, where he teaches the true names of all things. The Master Patterner learns his supreme magery within the Immanent Grove, a place of enchantment where no spells are worked but the trees themselves are wise.

Roles and Responsibilities

Each Master teaches the students of the School in his particular art. The Master Chanter teaches the Deeds of heroes and the Lays of wisdom, beginning with the oldest of all songs, The Creation of Éa. The Master Windkey instructs in arts of wind and weather, including steering by word, stilling waves, speaking to the world's wind, and raising up the magewind. The Master Herbal teaches the ways and properties of things that grow. The Master Hand teaches sleight, jugglery, and the lesser arts of Changing. The Master Changer teaches the true Spells of Shaping, explaining how to rename a thing for the duration of a transformation and warning of the perils of changing, especially when the wizard transforms his own shape. The Master Summoner deals with no illusion, only true magic: the summoning of energies such as light, heat, and the force that draws the magnet, as well as real powers drawn from the immense fathomless energies of the universe. He also teaches why the true wizard uses such spells only at need, since to summon up earthly forces is to change the earth of which they are a part. The Master Namer teaches the true naming of every place, thing, and being, for magic consists in this. The Master Patterner teaches in the secrecy of the Immanent Grove, where no prentice may set foot. The Masters also serve as counselors and guardians. When Ged lay ill after loosing the shadow, the Master Herbal tended his wounds, and the Master Summoner kept watch on Roke Knoll. The Master Summoner also came often to sit with Ged in his illness, showing compassion. The Masters, along with the Archmage, set the laws of the School, including the prohibition against duels in sorcery.

Selection and Succession

When the Archmage dies, the Nine Masters gather in a place somewhere under the dark trees of the Immanent Grove, setting nine walls of silence about them, to choose from amongst the mages of all Earthsea him who will be the new Archmage. After the death of Archmage Nemmerle, the Nine Masters chose Gensher of Way. A ship was sent forth at once across the Inmost Sea to Way Island to bring the new Archmage back to Roke, with the Master Windkey standing in the stern raising up the magewind into the sail. The Masters also have the authority to accept or reject a student's fealty; Archmage Gensher initially refused Ged's fealty after the loosing of the shadow, but accepted it later when Ged was made sorcerer.

Significance

The Nine Masters embody the highest learning and authority in Earthsea's magical tradition. Their collective wisdom and power maintain the Balance and the Pattern that the true wizard knows and serves. The School for Wizards on Roke, under their guidance, is the central institution for training wizards, and the Masters' teachings shape the understanding of magic for generations. The Master Namer's lesson that "magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing" and the Master Summoner's insight that "as a man's real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower" are foundational principles of Earthsea's magic. The Masters also represent the ethical framework of wizardry, warning against the misuse of power and the dangers of pride and hate, as seen in the Master Hand's caution that "to light a candle is to cast a shadow."