Sparrowhawk, born Duny in Ten Alders village on Gont, displayed innate magical talents early. His mother died in his infancy, leaving him with his bronzesmith father. At seven, he observed his aunt, a village witch, and mimicked her spells to control animals—especially wild sparrowhawks—earning his use-name. By twelve, he surpassed her knowledge. During a Kargish invasion, he defended his village by conjuring fog and illusions, an act that drained him and attracted the mage Ogion. Ogion healed him, performed his naming ceremony to reveal his true name Ged, and took him as an apprentice.

Impatient with Ogion’s methods, Ged enrolled at the School for Wizards on Roke. His arrogance sparked rivalry with another student, Jasper. In a pride-fueled display, Ged summoned the spirit of Elfarran but unleashed a malevolent shadow instead. The entity scarred his face and killed Archmage Nemmerle, who contained it. Ged lay comatose for weeks, awakening transformed—solemn, fearful, and guilt-ridden. His friend Vetch restored Ged’s confidence by sharing his true name, enabling Ged to complete wizard training.

Haunted by the shadow, Ged fled assignments to protect others, driving off a Pendor dragon by learning its true name. The shadow pursued him relentlessly, once possessing a corpse (gebbeth) to lure him to the Court of Terrenon. There, Ged resisted corruption from an entity within the Stone of Terrenon. After escaping with Lady Serret’s aid, he flew as a falcon to Gont, where Ogion found him. Ogion urged him to hunt the shadow. Ged sailed his boat Lookfar across the sea, joined by Vetch, beyond the known world into the realm of the dead. Confronting the shadow, he recognized it as his own darkness, reclaimed it by naming it Ged, and achieved wholeness.

Years later, wearing a fragment from a Kargish castaway, Ged identified it as part of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe—whose destruction shattered Earthsea’s peace. Tasked by Havnor’s princes to find the missing half, he traveled to the Tombs of Atuan in Kargad. Captured by high priestess Arha, he was imprisoned in the labyrinth. Through patience and empathy, he earned her trust, revealed her true name Tenar, and persuaded her to abandon the Nameless Ones. Together, they recovered the ring’s other half, restored it with a patterning spell, and fled the collapsing tombs. Ged took Tenar to Havnor to return the ring, then settled her with Ogion on Gont.

As Archmage of Roke, Ged oversaw Earthsea’s magical affairs for over twenty years. When magic faded, he investigated with Prince Arren (later King Lebannen). They found the sorcerer Cob had breached life and death’s boundary seeking immortality, causing imbalance. Ged and Arren entered the Dry Land, where Ged sacrificed his power to force Cob to confront mortality and close the rift. Powerless, Ged was carried back by the dragon Kalessin. He retired to Gont with Tenar and her adopted daughter Therru (revealed as dragon-human hybrid Tehanu), rejecting royal summons but later advising a sorcerer troubled by visions of the dead. He spent his final years there with Tenar, embodying quiet wisdom.

In the film adaptation, Sparrowhawk saves Prince Arren after the boy murders his father and flees. Investigating a drought and decay-causing imbalance, he takes Arren to Hort Town, where Arren rescues Therru from slavers. Sparrowhawk brings them to Tenar’s farm. When Tenar is kidnapped by the slaver Hare (under Cob’s orders), Sparrowhawk infiltrates Cob’s castle, learning Cob’s immortality quest ruptured the Balance. Captured and weakened, Sparrowhawk is freed by Arren and Therru. Arren severs Cob’s staff-hand, causing Cob to age rapidly; Cob is killed by Therru, revealing her dragon form. Sparrowhawk departs with Arren, who returns to face justice, as returning dragons signal the restored Balance.