Ivar kills a crag bull. Although the women will make a stew, Mikkal will:
"'...insist that the rest of the meat be started in a proper marinade.'" (8, p. 135) (See also The Food Thread.)
Mikkal's sister, Fraina, refers to:
"'...the godlings and jus and spells of everyday.'" (ibid.)
Presumably, jus are jujus.
Tinerans speak Anglic, Haisun and the argots of the latter. (5, p. 110)
When Erannath lands, Mikkal poises his javelin but Ivar shouts:
"'Don't!...Ya-Lawa! He's Ythrian!'" (8, p. 136)
Thinking that we have read "Ya-Lawa!"before, we turn back a few pages and find:
"'Ya-Lawa!' he commanded is steed: in Haisun, "Freeze!" (8, p. 132)
Haisun is an invented language. Ivar's steed is a statha.
The Day Of Their Return is comparable not only to a film but also to a long sequence of landscapes and portraits.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I did wonder if Haisun might be a form of Chinese, because the River People seem to be mostly Oriental in origins.
I can tell THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN is one of your favorites among Anderson's stories!
Ad astra and Merry Christmas! Sean
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