When Eyath grieves for Vodan, killed in the Terran War, she perches on a crag for hours in rough weather until:
"Despair was gone, burned out by the straining of her wings, buffeted out by winds and washed out by rain, as he would have demanded of her." (Rise Of The Terran Empire, p. 606)
Thus, Ythrians counteract grief by physical exertion and by oneness with the elements whereas, for a grieving human being, to be wind-battered and rain-drenched could only make things worse. Next, Eyath soars, swoops, breaks the neck of a flying reptiloid and eats it on a sea rock surrounded by shouting, spouting surf.
"Raw, it had a mild, almost humble flavor." (p. 607)
This implies that, although Ythrians can eat prey raw, they usually cook their meat. I must check what is said in "Wings of Victory," the Ythrian First Contact story. In this passage, Eyath's actions are those of her animal ancestors to a far greater extent than could ever be possible for a human being.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
The way Ythrians endured the elements and how they hunted reminded me of Larry Niven's Kzin. They took pride in enduring extremes of weather and preferred to hunt their food animals and eat the meat raw.
Sean
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