At the foot of the steps leading up to the throne, where the others now waited in dark rows, the two tall women halted. Her head and arms and legs were bare, and she was barefoot.

Between these two walked a child of about six. Two came, tall women looming in their black, one of them thin and rigid, the other heavy, swaying with the planting of her feet. Outside, on the steps of the Hall of the Throne, the men stood, guards, trumpeters, drummers within the great doors only women had come, dark-robed and hooded, walking slowly four by four toward the empty throne. Torches carried by black-clad girls burned reddish in the shafts of sunlight, brighter in the dusk between. They came, four by four, down the vast hall between double rows of columns. Dead leaves of weeds that had forced up between marble pavement-tiles were outlined with frost, and crackled, catching on the long black robes of the priestesses. Through cracks in the roof of the Hall of the Throne, gaps between columns where a whole section of masonry and tile had collapsed, unsteady sunlight shone aslant. The silence that followed was shaken only by the sound of many footsteps keeping time with a drum struck softly at a slow heart-pace. The Tombs of Atuan CHAPTER 1 THE EATEN ONE Now the full Earthsea collection- A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind-is available with a fresh, modern look that will endear it both to loyal fans and new legions of readers. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere, alongside the works of such beloved authors as J.R.R. With millions of copies sold worldwide, Ursula K. Will Tenar risk everything to escape from the darkness that has become her domain? Tenar’s duty is to protect the Ring, but Ged possesses the light of magic and tales of a world that Tenar has never known.

Then a wizard, Ged Sparrowhawk, comes to steal the Tombs’ greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. She is now known only as Arha, the Eaten One, and guards the shadowy, labyrinthine Tombs of Atuan. In this second novel in the Earthsea series, Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, and everything is taken from her-home, family, possessions, even her name. The Newbery Honor–winning second novel in the renowned Earthsea series from Ursula K. One of the Time 100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time

Ursula k le guin the tombs of atuan