Roke Bay

Roke Bay lies on the eastern shore of Roke Island, opening onto the Inmost Sea. It is the principal anchorage for the island, providing access to the town of Thwil and, beyond it, the Great House of the School for Wizards. The bay is sheltered by the surrounding land, and its waters are famously calm, often in stark contrast to the stormy seas that rage just beyond the island's protective enchantments.

Arrival and First Impressions

Ged first saw Roke Bay after a harrowing voyage aboard the ship Shadow. The vessel had been caught in a fierce gale, and Ged, using his nascent power, guided the ship toward a light he saw in the west. As they rowed through the storm, they passed through a curtain of weather and emerged into a clear air, with the light of after-sunset glowing on the sea. Before them lay Roke Bay, with the high, round, green hill of Roke Knoll and the town of Thwil built on a small bay where boats lay at anchor, all in peace. The contrast was so stark that the steersman questioned whether it was "true land or a witchery." The ship's master, however, confirmed it was Thwil Bay and the Knoll of Roke, and they rowed wearily into the still waters, where they could hear the voices of people and a bell ringing, while the storm raged only a mile off.

Training Ground for Wizards

Roke Bay served as a practical classroom for the students of the School for Wizards. Ged, along with a dozen other lads, spent whole bright days of spring and early summer practicing with the Master Windkey in light catboats on the bay. They learned steering by word, stilling waves, speaking to the world's wind, and raising up the magewind. These were intricate skills, and the lessons were often comically chaotic: Ged's head got whacked by the swinging boom as the boat jibed under a wind suddenly blowing backwards, his boat collided with another though they had the whole bay to navigate, and all three boys in his boat went swimming unexpectedly as the boat was swamped by a huge, unintended wave. The bay was also the site of spell-boat races during the slackened work of late summer.

A Place of Departure and Return

Roke Bay was the point of departure for Ged's first wizardly assignment. After earning his staff, he left the Great House and went down the streets of Thwil to a ship that waited for him on the bright water in the morning. Later, after his failed attempt to return to Roke from Low Torning, the Roke-wind rose against him, preventing his ship from entering the bay. The ship's master, a handy seaman, tried to tack against the wind, but the gale blew all ways at once, and Ged realized the wind was not against the ship but against him. He ordered the ship to turn back to Serd, acknowledging that the shadow was too close for him to breach the island's defenses. The bay, therefore, became a symbol of a sanctuary he could not reach.

The Final Departure

Roke Bay was also the last place Ged saw of the known world before his final confrontation with the shadow. After his reunion with Vetch on Iffish, the two set forth in Lookfar from the harbor of Ismay. As they sailed, the haven sank from sight, and the bay's painted eyes looked ahead on seas ever wider and more desolate. The bay thus marks the threshold between the safe, civilized world of the Archipelago and the unknown, perilous waters of the Open Sea, where Ged would ultimately face and name his shadow.