The Rule of Names

The story is set on Sattins Island, a small rural island among the Islands of Earthsea, and opens with the schoolteacher, Palani, introducing the concept of naming to her pupils: people have one name as children, then are given their adult name at puberty, but this name must be kept private as it can be used by magicians to cast spells on the person. Sattinsmen are very superstitious. They believe that to wish a neighbor "good morning" will change the weather for the worse; that dragons are fond of eating maidens; that two wizards in one town are trouble. Their resident magician is a fat, incompetent man nicknamed "Underhill" because he lives in a cave outside the village. One day, a stranger from the archipelago arrives on the island. The locals dub him Blackbeard. He hires a village lad called Birt to guide him to Underhill's home. Once there, Blackbeard reveals that he is a mage, searching for the treasure of his ancestors, which was stolen by a dragon. He believes Underhill to be a wizard who defeated the dragon and made off with the treasure.