He tells her his true name, Ged, in return for the trust she has shown him. He tells Arha that she must either kill him or escape with him, and says that the Nameless Ones demand her service, but give nothing and create nothing in return. Evading her, Arha goes to the treasury and confesses everything to Ged, who has found the other half of Erreth-Akbe's ring in the treasury. Realizing that Kossil will now be determined to kill her, she heads to the labyrinth and sees Kossil uncovering the false grave. In response, Arha curses her in the name of the Nameless Ones. She instructs Manan to dig a false grave underground, while she herself takes Ged to hide in the treasury of the Tombs.Īrha and Kossil have a public falling out, in which Kossil says that nobody believes in the Nameless Ones anymore. However, Kossil learns of Ged's existence, forcing Arha to promise that Ged will be sacrificed to the Nameless Ones however, she realizes that she cannot go through with it. She traps him in the labyrinth by slamming the door on him, and through a peephole sees him unsuccessfully attempt to open the door with a spell. Kossil despises Arha and sees the Nameless Ones as a threat to her power.Īrha's routine is disrupted by her discovery of the wizard Ged (the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea) in the undertomb.

After Thar dies of old age, Arha becomes increasingly isolated: although stern, Thar had been fair to her.

She is required to order the death of prisoners sent to the Tombs by the God-King of the Kargad lands she has them killed by starvation, an act which haunts her for a long time. When she turns fourteen, Arha assumes all the responsibilities of her position, becoming the highest ranked priestess in the Tombs. When Arha asks about the wizards, Thar tells her that they are unbelievers who can work magic. She tells of the treasure hidden within the labyrinth, which wizards from the archipelago have tried to steal. Thar tells her of the undertomb and the labyrinth beneath the Tombs, teaching her how to find her way around them. She is trained in her duties by Thar and Kossil, the priestesses of the two other major deities. She moves into her own tiny house, and is given a eunuch servant, Manan, with whom she develops a bond of affection.Īrha's childhood and youth are lonely her only friends are Manan and Penthe, a priestess her own age. Tenar is taken from her family when five years old and goes to the Tombs. Born on the day that the high priestess of the Tombs of Atuan died, she is believed to be her reincarnation. The story follows a girl named Tenar, born on the Kargish island of Atuan.

Ursula k le guin the tombs of atuan