Monday 22 February 2021

Ythrian And Merseian Arms

Don't the legs and claws look like arms and hands? Maybe this helps us to understand how the Ythrians' legs became arms and the clinging claws at the edges of their folded wings came to be used instead for (awkward) walking?

See also Arms On Merseia.

"Ywod, Hand of the Vach Anrochin, steadcaptain of Nanteiwon, raised his arms. 'Silence!' he called.
-A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows, XVI, pp. 540-541.
 
Adzel had found that raising his arms on Merseia had the opposite effect but that was a long time ago on another planet.
 
This post has, briefly, addressed biological and social changes.

4 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I have argued that the human gesture of raising arms to ask for silence and attention might have spread to Merseians. And that would be esp. likely to be adopted by Merseians who settled on a mostly human planet. An example of cultural diffusion.

And did the Vach Anrochin descend from one of the vachs defeated in the struggles between rival vachs and Merseian nations leading to the rise of the Roidhunate?

And I assume a "steadcapain" is analogous to "Mayor."

Ad astra! Sean

Ben said...

I've been reading back through PA's descriptions of Ythrian wing/legs and remain somewhat confused. How I wish I could have gotten PA to sketch his idea on a notepad for me! In our planet's birds, their wings map onto a mammal's front arms/limbs, with the finger bones being greatly extended to form the spreading wings, and they have analogs of wrists and elbows. So where is the Ythrian foot located? Is it sited at the "elbow" or the "wrist"? Then PA mentions the alatans, a fusion of three bones to provide an optional surface to rest on or to strengthen the wing in flight. What three bones is he referencing? The analogs of fingers? If so, how many bones are left to form the remainder of the wing? I just wish someone with way more anatomical and artistry than me could have drawn a skeletal figure of how the Ythri stood and walked. Thanks as always for your wonderful blog. I'm quite a fan.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Hi and thank you.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Ben!

Good questions, on points I admit not having given much thought to. I agree, an expert on anatomy sketching out a Ythrian's skeleton is a good idea.

Ad astra! Sean