Editing The Earthsea Cycle (section)

==Earthsea itself==
[[File:EarthseaMap.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A map of the setting. As you can see, there is both much earth, and much sea.]]
One of the key deconstructive elements of the series is the setting itself which, as the name suggests, is mostly ocean filled with many islands and archipelagos. This is compared to [[The Lord of the Rings]] where the setting is one massive continent that spans several hundred, maybe even thousands, of miles.

The inhabitants of Earthsea live mostly in a bronze-age society with the basic metalwork and farming skills and live in villages and basic cities on the various landmasses. Magic exists in the form of words of power which are various sentences and phrases from the old speech, which is the native language of the [[Dragons]] (yes, they exist and, like they should be, [[Just As Planned|they're cunning motherfuckers, too]]). As such, speaking the true name of anything, be it a rock, eagle, goat, whatever, allows you to exert power over it. A spell which would make grass grow, translating it into the old tongue, would literally be the caster telling the grass to grow.

As such, the inhabitants of this setting have multiple names; those that they use in day-to-day conversation with strangers, their "use-name", and their true name which is only told to their most trusted and most beloved friends and family.

The books' philosophy is heavily routed in Taoism, and as such, magic acts much like the force in [[Star Wars]], which is from similarly derived sources. There is much talk about the responsibility wizards have in being careful and reserved when using spells so they do not upset the great balance the entire world hinges on. 

Also unlike other series, Earthsea has a distinct lack of fantastical races. There are many different fantasy creatures, but the only intelligent ones able to communicate and have structured societies are Humans and Dragons, the latter of which only have a minor role in two books and a brief cameo in the others. To make up for this, there are many different ethnicities which are native to the various islands. This also makes this setting unique as the story-telling is deeply human and at points touches on relevant themes about culture and religion in a slightly more explicit way than others tend to do.