Sunday 2 October 2022

Tachwyr

"...Tachwyr the Dark, whose rank of mei answered somewhat to lieutenant j.g...."
-Poul Anderson, Ensign Flandry IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, January 2010), pp. 1-192 AT CHAPTER ELEVEN, p. 105.

"'Lieutenant Flandry.'
"'Mei Tachwyr.'
"They stopped and stared, and both mouths fell open."
-Poul Anderson, A Circus Of Hells IN Young Flandry, pp. 193-365 AT CHAPTER ONE, p. 200.

Flandry makes a formal Eriau salutation:

"'Greetings and good fortune to you, Tachwyr of the Vach Rueth.'
"'And...may you be in health and strength, Dominic Flandry...of Terra,' the Merseian replied." (ibid.)

(Technic History equivalents of "Live long and prosper...")

"Captain Dominic Flandry and his opposite number, Qanryf Tachwyr the Dark..."
-Poul Anderson, A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows IN Anderson, Sir Dominic Flandry: The Last Knight Of Terra (Riverdale, NY, March 2012), pp. 339-606 AT IX, p. 454.

"Tachwyr the Dark, Hand of the Vach Dathyr..."
-Poul Anderson, The Game Of Empire, CHAPTER SIX, p. 264.

...has become Protector of the Roidhun's Grand Council.

(Flandry got Tachwyr's Vach wrong on Irumclaw.)

The Council members think that:

"...this gaunt and aging male in a plain black robe, had brought them to triumph." (p. 265)

He had not.

Tachwyr's rise from mei to Hand and Protector parallels Flandry's rise from Ensign to Fleet Admiral and informal Imperial advisor. We travel a long way with both characters.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I've wondered what was the Terran analog of "Qanryf"? The impression I got from A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS was of it being a rank higher than that of captain.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

"Goodbye" was originally "God be with you". Modern English is notably less formal in salutations than it was, or than other languages often still are.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

Even now, people can still be formal in Modern English, as was seen in many of the official declarations following the recent death of Elizabeth II and the accession of Charles III.

Ad astra! Sean