Genesis, Part Two, Chapter II

Poul Anderson's Genesis, Part Two, Chapter II, is a total surprise. We could be in an alternative timeline. However, this is another occasion when I have previously posted about the same chapter.

"There was a man called Kavala..." (Genesis, p. 108) recalls the opening lines of Anderson's stories based on the sagas. We begin not with Kavala's point of view but with the words of a story teller. Kavala is or has been:

tribe member;
soldier;
fighter of barbarians;
mariner;
sea captain;
plunderer;
trader;
explorer;
rich man;
farmer;
outcast;
adventurer.

We recognize aspects of other characters. This is familiar Anderson territory as were the futuristic and galactic settings of the preceding chapters. The reader must be patient to find out how everything fits together.