Because the decadent Terran Empire revives archaisms, Dominic Flandry is a skilled fencer and therefore is able to win a sword fight on a barbarian planet whereas:
"Not being even faintly a romantic, [Wing Alak] had never taken much interest in archaic sports." (p. 261)
Therefore, Alak must resort to trickery when challenged to a sword fight on a barbarian planet.
When he has been warned that this will happen unless he leaves:
"Alak stood for a while in silence." (p. 262)
Wind often fills the silences in Poul Anderson's works. On schedule, the text continues:
"Beyond the walls, he could hear the night wind of Ryfin's Planet." (ibid.)
Wind often carries a message. Sure enough:
"Somehow, it was a foreign wind, it had another sound from the rushing air of Terra. Blowing through different trees, across an unearthly land -" (ibid.)
Next, Alak discusses his problem with his colleague Drogs and the regular reader expects something else to happen. It does. In mid-sentence:
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Alak's attitude was unconvincing to me. I'm sure you can find people in Lancaster who enjoy archaic sports like fencing, falconry, or crafts like personally making pottery ware by hand. There might even be chapters of the Society for Creative Anachronism near Lancaster. Anderson was a founding member of the SCA as "Sir Bela of Eastmarch."
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But many, like me, do not fence and Alak is one of us.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
But I get a possibly mistaken impression of you disapproving of such archaicisms as fencing or falconry.
For a few years, long ago, I indulged in archery target shooting, another archaic thing.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Whether I disapprove is another matter!
I was merely making the point that Alak is one of many people who are not interested in sports like fencing.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I understand, what you said about Alak. But, there would or could have been times, as it was for Flandry, that expertise at fencing would have been useful.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment