If we read Poul Anderson's The Technic Civilization Saga, Volumes I-III, then we encounter Hloch's references to Lythran, Arinnian and the Terran War before reading The People Of The Wind at the end of Vol III whereas, in the order of writing and of original publication, those references were drawn from that novel and it was Hloch's The Earth Book Of Stormgate, beginning before and ending after the entire Polesotechnic League period, that had completed and concluded the first main section of Anderson's History of Technic Civilization. The Saga should be read and appreciated while also remembering and appreciating this process by which it grew and was composed.
Although Arinnian writes and translates, he also studies to become a professional mathematician - as he sees it, soaring mentally with "...the same clean ecstasy..." (I, p. 439) as the Ythrians soar physically.
His Ythrianization extends to wearing only skin paint because feathered Ythrians wear only a belt and a pouch. However, practicality intervenes - he must wear coveralls and boots to fly!
The Ythrians of Stormgate are not his "friends" but his "chothmates." (I, p. 440) Even Arinnian smiles at his earnestness of four years previously when he had received his new name.
He no longer lives under human law. Choth law and custom allow duels to settle deathpride quarrels. But choths differ. I would want to join one that combined the best of Ythrian and human traditions.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Considering how much "Arinnian" irritated me in the earlier parts of THE PEOPLE OF THE WIND, I felt some schadenfreude when he had to do such lowly human things as wearing clothes and boots!
But you would probably have to accept the existence of deathpride duels fought to the death of one of the duelists. My recollection is that all of the choths accepted lethal duels as lawful.
Sean
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