Wednesday 12 July 2017

Ythri And Avalon

We are used to reading about Avalonian Ythrians:

two short stories describe successive stages of the joint human-Ythrian colonization of Avalon;
The People Of The Wind is about the Terran War on Avalon;
Hloch, who edits The Earth Book Of Stormgate, is of Stormgate Choth on Avalon;
Erannath, who later spies for both Domain and Empire on Aeneas, is also of Stormgate Choth.

However:

"Wings of Victory" is about the Grand Survey discovery of Ythri;
Avalon, provisionally called "Gray," is explored by Ythrians from Ythri;
Hirharouk of the Wryfields Choth on Ythri is captain of the chartered ranger Gaiian (Dewfall) that transports Nicholas van Rijn and Coya Conyon to Mirkheim.

Hirharouk makes two significant contributions to the History of Technic Civilization. Not only does he transport van Rijn to Mirkheim but he also prophesies:

"'In the end, God the Hunter strikes every being and everything which beings have made. Upon [van Rijn's] way of life, I see His shadow. Let the new come to birth in peace.'"
-Poul Anderson, "Lodestar" IN Anderson, The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1979), pp. 368-410 AT p. 407.

And I apologize to any blog readers who do not share my fascination with every detail of the Technic History.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

No need to apologize! I too share your fascination for Anderson's Technic Civilization series!

I'm not sure I can entirely agree with what Hirharouk said. I would NOT think it good for anarchy and chaos to come upon us. Because the chaos of the Time of Troubles is what happened following the collapse of the Polesotechnic League and Solar Commonwealth. Even tho the Empire eventually arose to restore interstellar order, the Troubles were not GOOD.

And it seems odd for Hirharouk to say that something like the Troubles should come peacefully to birth. The Time of Troubles was anything BUT peaceful!

Sean