Kalavala seeks counsel from the skythinker, Ilyandi. When he is told that she will receive him, he sees:
"...purple dusk shade toward night in the east. In the west the storm had ended, leaving that part of heaven clear for a while." (pp. 113-114)
We are used to storms as threats in Poul Anderson's works. When a storm approaches, so does war or some other danger for the characters. See the blog search result for "Hunnish midnight," here.
By the same token, this storm has ended. A heaven that is clear at least for a while signifies that the skythinker's advice will light Kalvala's path - at least for a while. This is not fanciful. I am sure that each reader gets this message but usually immediately forgets it.
Dusk has become night here. May we come to port in the sunset boat...
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
That last line of yours has echoes of the quote from THE BOOK OF THE DEAD we see at the beginning of THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS!
Ad astra! Sean
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