story identification - Early 90's fantasy with a unskilled student wizard

Hi I'm looking for a series (at least 2) of fantasy novels I read in the early to mid 90's. I can't remember the author or titles, though I can remember some parts of the books.

The main character isn't a very good wizard When taking a wizarding test he must extinguish a flame and does it the most difficult way, sucking the heat out of the flame. He gets attacked by a teacher(?) who wields a sword at him and he grabs the blade with his hand, cutting his palm deeply. The same teacher(?) wants to take over the school using an evil artifact (a statue). The main character is friends with another student who is extremely gifted with magic, but ultimately quits the school for a normal life and dies later. I think it starts off the hero is a keep boy and a traveling wizard conjures a tree that grows, wilts and dies. Later the hero tries scrying and knocks himself out.

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