Flock Attacks Fleet

We walked to Morecambe (see image) and got the bus back. Meanwhile, I am mentally immersed in Poul Anderson's Technic History. Although the Diomedeans are fliers, not amphibians, one of their societies lives entirely on a "Fleet" of sea rafts, like the floating city of Delfinburg on Earth.

Commander Trolwen of the Flock, who is "...young and gray..." (VIII, p. 386) (for full reference, see here) leads three thousand males to rescue three human beings from the Fleet. As he dives, he thinks:

"...where was that double-cursed Eart'a monster - there! The distance-devouring vision of a flying animal picked out three ugly shapes on a raft's quarterdeck, waving and jumping about." (p. 388)

Even Sandra Tamarin is "ugly," of course. When the human beings are being carried away, the Fleet decides that it is not worth the trouble to try to retrieve the "Eart'ska," as "'...the fat Eart'ska...'" (p. 391) had predicted. Thus, "Eart'a" is an adjective and "Eart'ska" is a noun, either singular or plural.

The Diomedeans of the Fleet call themselves the "Drak'honai" (p. 388) whereas their enemies in the Flock call them "Drakska." (p. 388) "Draka" (p. 390) is an adjective and an individual of the Fleet is a "Drak'ho." (p. 384) - if I have understood linguistic usages correctly...