Saturday, 15 June 2019

On St. Li

The People Of The Wind, XIV.

Tabitha Falkayn designed her house. Its description draws on our existing knowledge of Avalon. In particular:

"A few susin mats lay on a floor of polished oak, between large-windowed copperwood walls..." (p. 593)

Susin is Avalonian ground cover, the equivalent of grass;
oak is imported from Terra;
copperwood is imported from Ythri;
Ythrians, who must not be confined, need large windows.

Thus, four details in the first half of one sentence are significant.

Outside, Philippe rides a horse descended from the Terran species while Eyath rides a zirraukh descended from the Ythrian species. Sometimes it is necessary to reread other installments to make sure that we correctly understand the details. On Avalon, three ecologies interact: one native and two imported. Local organisms, unnamed before colonization, now have both Anglic and Planha names.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Tabitha Falkayn's house certainly sounds very nice. It reminds me somewhat of "open plan" architecture. And seems to be most practical for locations where the climate is warm and mild year around.

Sean