Seasons

As earlier in the King of Ys tetralogy, Poul and Karen Anderson locate the narrative of Volume Four against the passage of the seasons:

"This early in the year, the surrounding forest stood mostly bare to the blue overhead." (The Dog And The Wolf (London, 1989), p. 24)

"Most fruit trees were done with blooming..." (p. 67)

"Beneath wolf-grey heaven, wrack flew. The north wind drove it, clamouring shrill, fanged with cold." (p. 84)

"That was a chilly year, but towards midsummer a spell of heat..." (p. 113)

"...the woods beyond the Odita blazed with autumn, red, russet, yellow under the earliest sun-rays." (p. 137)

"...harvest was ended, weather still mild..." (p. 145)

"The new year might be more hopeful than the last. Weather grew springlike well before the vernal equinox." (p. 153)

"Easter Eve was clear...leaves were bursting forth..." (p. 163)

"Trees groaned in the wind..." (p. 174)

"The feast of St Johannes had taken unto itself the ancient rites of Midsummer..." (p. 182)

"That summer was cruel..." (p. 192)

"...sun, warmth, and harvest odours. Bees buzzed..." (p. 205)

"Autumn blew grey from the north. Wind bit." (p. 207)

"Midwinter's early darkness had fallen..." (p. 210)

"It was the Birthday of Mithras." (p. 216)

"Spring cast green over the low land..." (p. 216)

"Summer weighed heavily on the land. Rainfall the day before..." (p. 230)

"Wind hooted and dashed rain across roof tiles." (p. 235)

"Winter heaven hung featureless grey." (p. 250)

" 'These endless winter nights drive everybody a bit crazy...' " (p. 254)

"...this was around midwinter." (p. 255)

"A light snow fell." (p. 260)

"Willows had leaved...Migratory birds were coming home." (p. 262)

"The first breath of autumn..." (p. 296)

"In the dark of the moon before winter solstice..." (p. 305)

"Springtime dusk." (p. 311)

"Harvest brought wholeness." (p. 328)

"Winter's rain brawled on the roof and sluiced down window glass." (p. 332)

"That year Beltene in Mide..." (p. 337)

"Clouds drifted low, heavy with rain." (p. 355)

"...their first, excellent harvest." (p. 358)

"On a day in autumn when the wind went loud and sharp..." (p. 362)

"The Black Months need not be dark." (p. 365)

"Spring returned..." (p. 372)

"Summer was then well along, a bleak one this year, chill rains and fleeting pale sunshine." (p. 378)

"Thunder rolled down the sky." (p. 380)

"The storm passed over." (p. 386)

"Autumn weather came..." (p. 391)

" 'Winter draws nigh.' " (p. 393)

"A sharp summer was followed by a hard winter." (p. 397)

"As the year spun down to solstice, cold deepened." (p. 401)

"Skies hung heavy, low above old snow and skeleton trees..." (p. 411)

"The sun drew nigh to midsummer. This was a beautiful year, as if to atone for the last." (p. 427)

"Summer brooded in majesty on ripening grain..." (p. 431)

"The long day of Armorican summer wore on." (p. 435)

"Rain came..." (p. 443)

"That year they kept the Feast of Lug in Armorica without their chiefs." (p. 448)

"Harvest was done..." (p. 451)

"The storks had long since departed..." (p. 472)

"Equinox almost a month behind them, nights drew in fast...Autumn colours in the woods..." (p. 484)

"The day before solstice hung still and murky." (p. 490)

"Snow began to fall..." (p. 495)

" 'Today is the Birthday of Mithras...it began that selfsame day, five-and twenty years ago. I stood on guard on the Wall...' " (p. 497)

"Midwinter nights fell early and dwelt late..." (p. 497)

Thus, by the end of the novel, we have not only witnessed great events among human beings but have also followed the circle of the year several times.