Having started to read about Maeloch's mission to Eriu, we are reminded of another Ysan, Rufinus, who was also safely elsewhere, in his case in Italy, when Ys was inundated. No less a personage than Stilicho, dictator of the West, informs Rufinus of the catastrophe. Rufinus, still loyal to Gratillonius, must return North. His young male lover, Dion, wants to accompany him but Rufinus, with greater realism and maturity, insists that this would be inadvisable to the point of impossibility.
In Section 3, Maeloch arrives in Eriu where he is informed of the destruction of Ys by no less a personage than Niall. At the beginning of the following chapter, we return to Drusus, one of Maximus' veterans who had been settled in Armorica. Then Rufinus returns and is reunited with his King, Gratillonius. The narrative remains multi-layered and multi-charactered despite the loss of Ys.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And, during his stay in Milan as Gratillonius' agent, we see Rufinus winning good will for himself and the Prefect/King. One way of doing that was finding out who had stolen some jewelry from an influential court lady. A reminder of how Anderson liked mysteries!
Ad astra! Sean
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