"Both moons of Hermes were aloft, Caduceus rising small but nearly full, the broad sickle of Sandalion sinking westward. High in the dusk, a pair of wings caught light from the newly set sun and shone gold. A tilirra sang amidst the foliage of a millionleaf, which rustled to a low breeze. At the bottom of the canyon it had cut for itself, the Palomino River rang with its haste; but that sound reached the heights as a murmur." (p. 5)
I like the wings gold in the light of the already set sun. A tilirra, a millionleaf and the Palomino River are referred to as if we knew them. Several colonized planets in Poul Anderson's Technic History become concretely realized places. It is as if we had been there. I remember Ys - and also Hermes, Avalon, Dennitza, Merseia etc.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And I suspect those golden wings belong to a flying raptor native to Hermes. And you could have included Terra during the Imperial era as well. At the end of A STONE IN HEAVEN we see mention of a hawk or falcon flying high in the sky above Flandry's country retreat in the High Sierra.
Happy New Year! Sean
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