Peter:
> > Yeah, but the point is that "heat" is not quite an
> cause of death one
> > expects from the Fimbulwinter. It would
> > be like leaving a note that somebody had been
> killed by a tripod
> > during the blitz - it's unexpected and
> > it jars with the general information of the
> period.
RR:
> On the other hand, it stands out *because* it's not
> part of the general
> conditions of the time. Lots of people dies of cold
> during the Fimbulwinter;
> that's not news. But Ashart died of heat - something
> so out of place that it
> was recorded for posterity. The real question
> becomes "how did Ashart die of
> heat in the middle of the Fimbulwinter?"
OK, here's the relevant few lines from Minaryth Blue's little diary:
1618 — Ashart is born. I purchase half a team.
1619 — Ulandrosi the Barker is in town. Lunar army
seizes Karse.
1620 — Lunar army seizes all Holy Country. Black ram
is mine.
1621 — Whitewall falls. Ashart dies of heat.
1622 — Rostalos born.
1623 — Leika born, dies. Lunars take my oxen and pony.
So general events like "Whitewall falls" *do* get mentioned, as well as the personal details. But no Fimbulwinter. No loss of magic. No list of what these generic bad things did to him and his family. This was not the year when the Lunars or anyone else took his oxen and pony.
Ashart is three years old at the time he dies. What heat-related accidents could befall a small child? Fever?
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