High Fantasy probably from the 80’s

[megs422]

Please help. I’ve posted this in every book group I can find. I’m starting to think I am actually crazy. Between 2000-2003 I read a series of books, I want to say there were 4, that had to do with a boy coming of age and discovering his worth and powers. Pretty typical for that time frame. The specifics though, involve broken waygates (they could be called something else). The boy eventually, probably in the last books, transforms physically because of his use of magic. He gets ears like a horse, his eyes move a bit farther apart, his nails and teeth become square and harden. I remember him accepting the changes. They’re part of him. He also lived an older couple in the book. They had horses and a farm I believe. The woman was ugly, but her husband loved her deeply, because of her character. That always struck me as relatable because I tend towards liking people based on how they act rather than how they look and when you’re 16 that’s a rare trait. Or it seemed to be anyways. I remember fire magic and maybe a magic plague of some sort, though that could be from another series entirely. This book series was one of the first that introduced me to gates and I feel like they traveled between places in his world, not to other worlds. Someone has to have read these right?? Thank you!!