"On a blustery fall day, with the smell of rain in the keen air and leaves turned to gold and copper and bronze, Ketil and a few comrades rode forth to hunt." (p. 42)
They feel bluster and keenness, smell rain and see colours: three senses.
After chasing a huge noble white stag, Ketil is separated from his companions and:
"A thin chill wind whimpered through dusk." (ibid.)
Later, when Valgard seeks his now lost brother, Ketil:
"Wind whirled dead leaves through the air like ghosts hurrying down hell-road, and its whine gnawed at Valgard's nerves." (p. 44)
Wind blusters when the hunt is good, whimpers when Ketil is separated and whines when Valgard follows him. Poul Anderson's winds always follow his narratives. Will these autumnal Northern winds whirl two brothers down hell-road? Maybe but not tonight. I am going back to Stieg Larsson, then to bed.
Good night if you are in a part of the world where it is dark right now...
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Our old friends, the winds!
Ad astra! Sean
That's a classic intro to a supernatural story in European folklore, btw.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I should have thought of that, once you pointed it out. Esp. because of that mysterious huge white stag.
Ad astra! Sean
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