An elderly man named Dulse, also known as Enhemon, the wizard of Re Albi, lives in a hut on Gont mountain. He lives a quiet, pastoral life and raises farm animals. He reminisces upon the time one of his students, a man named Silence, installed wooden floorboards in his hut. Silence had first come to his doorstep around twenty five years ago, as a boy, wanting to learn wizardry. Dulse had wanted to turn him away at first, but Silence revealed that he had already learned all he could from Roke, a wizard’s school. Seeing the boy might have great promise, Dulse takes him on as a student and gives him living accommodations, on the condition that the boy remains silent, so that he doesn’t disturb the peace of the house.  Dulse had been a student of Ard, a woman. His choice of mentor had deeply irritated his father, who had died without forgiving him for it. Presently, during a severe storm, Dulse feels a vibration under his foot, which he recognizes as very faint tremors from an earthquake soon to strike. This sort of natural disaster had once devastated Gont Port, as he had not recognized the signs of the impending earthquake then. He thinks frantically about how he should prevent this disaster.  Dulse recalls a spell Ard had once taught him. It involved going to the Dark Pond and “reading” the Mountain, becoming one with the earth, an irreversible transformation spell which he had forgotten until this moment. Dulse makes his way to the Dark Pond and asks it where the quake is centered. He learns that the epicenter would be in Iaved, where a quake could bring avalanche and tidal waves, destroying the entire city. He calls Silence, now known as the wizard Ogion, to help him. He plans for Ogion to hold the faultline of the quake from slipping on the outside, while he holds it together from inside the mountain. Without telling his student he will not return, Dulse casts the transformation spell that Ard had once taught him and in doing so becomes a part of the earth, holding it steady and preventing the worst of the earthquake. The people of Iaved see Ogion holding the land together and believe him to be their savior.  After the crisis, Ogion goes back to the hills of Gont Port, having realized that his mentor is gone. Ogion morns Dulse and goes back to visit the hut where he used to live. He thinks about moving in.