Kevin's Watch

While struggling through the repetitive extraneous passages of meat, bread and cheese eating in AATE it suddenly struck me: apart from Ranyhyn and non-magical horses (and the imaginary insects that accompany She Who Must Not Be Named), have any animals ever been mentioned in the Land at all? I can't recall even a description of birdsong, and certainly not any cows. So what's this meat: Waynhim? Jheherrin cheese?

Also, where does the bread come from? I don't remember any mills or farmers in any of the Chronicles; everyone is Stonedowners or Ramen or Woodhelvnin. I've a vague memory that maybe out the back of Revelstone there's some kind of agrarian pasture to see them through a siege, but I'm not even sure about that.

Anyone?

You're thinking too much.
It's just one of those things that doesn't have to be mentioned like toilet paper and bathrooms and the like.
Where do clothes come from if they don't have sheep or leather for that matter?

Also remember the rhysh zoo in TWL and that Covenant evidently recognised many of the animals in there as belonging to the Land.

Maybe it's all dead Quellvisk meat? Perhaps the Elohim with mighty theurgy ensorcelled all the Quellvisks into neatly packaged and perma-preserved Quellvisk jerky and distributed this around the Land, while leaving their bones neatly piled up for later discovery. And maybe the cheese is exclusively made from milk from the Demimages of Vidik Amar?

Well, at least it'd give a reason for bothering to name the now deboned Quellvisk as a distinct species and those pesky Demimages as a separate race...

Cambo wrote:Also remember the rhysh zoo in TWL and that Covenant evidently recognised many of the animals in there as belonging to the Land.

Actually I didn't remember that at all: it's something like fifteen years since I read the first and second Chronicles. I looked it up on here and I dimly recall it now. Still, it seems strange that Covenant and Linden wouldn't notice and look at things like birds and squirrels and deer while they're on their holidays. I suppose there *are* kresh and griffins though.

High Lord Tolkien wrote:You're thinking too much.

That was sort of my complaint about it. I was so disengaged with this recurring rest and recrimination sequence that I started to look for holes in the fabric. Hopefully there'll be a lot less of this kind of thing in TLD now that

Spoiler

Jeremiah's cogent and able to make gates

.

TheFallen wrote:Maybe it's all dead Quellvisk meat? ... it'd give a reason for bothering to name the now deboned Quellvisk as a distinct species

I notice in the index that Quellvisks are "now thought extinct" which seems pretty much a giveaway we're going to see some live ones. I expect (and this is all speculation of course)

Spoiler

Jeremiah and Covenant and possibly Linden will combine powers to build some prehistoric portal through which Quellvisks can come through to, I don't know, scare off the Worm by roaring at it or something.

lborl wrote:I can't recall even a description of birdsong, and certainly not any cows. So what's this meat: Waynhim?

It's the missing meat in Taco Bell's "taco meat filling," being translated out of our world into the Land. The barrier between the worlds is obviously starting show some serious "seepage." Those "deeper plans" which which Foul hasn't revealed yet? Franchises in the Land. Make a run for the border between the worlds!

Zarathustra wrote:

lborl wrote:I can't recall even a description of birdsong, and certainly not any cows. So what's this meat: Waynhim?

It's the missing meat in Taco Bell's "taco meat filling," being translated out of our world into the Land. The barrier between the worlds is obviously starting show some serious "seepage." Those "deeper plans" which which Foul hasn't revealed yet? Franchises in the Land. Make a run for the border between the worlds!

That was beautiful.

Very early on in LFB, Triock's occupation as a cattle-herd is mentioned.

Also, the giants worked on their own farms, remember in TIW they put their tools away, while awaiting their murder from Kinslaughterer.

It never really bothered me.. With so much going on in the Land, I don't have a problem with not getting the details of where all the food comes from..
But some points - in the 1st Chrons, I believe Triock was a cattle-herder as a youth.. Or someone was.. Then the 2nd Chrons came along and the Sunbane had made it impossible for much farming, and very hard to keep animals alive.. 3rd Chrons.. Well we spent a night in Mithil Stonedown, then most of our travel since then has been magical, save for the Ranhyn ride from revelstone to Salva Gildenbourne.
And IIRC most of the bread / cheese / meat is suppled by the Ardent - who knows what food resouurces the Insequent have?

I could find more references if I felt like it.



LFB:

Chapter Five:

'As she and Covenant started down toward the Stonedown, Lena said, "Five times a hundred people of the South Plains live here-rhadhamaerl, Shepherds, Cattleherds, Farmers, and those who Craft.'

TIW:


Chapter Five:

'COVENANT turned back to the southward view from Revelstone. He had many things to think about, and no easy way to grasp them. But already his senses seemed to be swinging into consonance with the Land. He could smell the crops in the fields east of him...'

Chapter Eight:

'The seats were starting to fill when Bannor and Covenant arrived. People from all the occupations of the Keep, including farmers...'

Chapter Fifteen:

'Revelwood was a thriving city, amply supplied by the fertile lowlands of Trothgard; and the Loresraat was busier now than at any other time in its history. The Lorewardens and apprentices of the Sword and Staff did all the work of the city-all the cooking, farming, herding, cleaning...'

Do you reckon Skurj meat would be any good? After it cools down, of course...

drew wrote:Very early on in LFB, Triock's occupation as a cattle-herd is mentioned.

Also, the giants worked on their own farms, remember in TIW they put their tools away, while awaiting their murder from Kinslaughterer.

This is like the question of why so few Stonedowns and Woodhelven are mentioned in the Chrons, after all, the Clave requires a lot of blood. They are there, they just aren't mentioned.

Zarathustra wrote:

lborl wrote:I can't recall even a description of birdsong, and certainly not any cows. So what's this meat: Waynhim?

It's the missing meat in Taco Bell's "taco meat filling," being translated out of our world into the Land. The barrier between the worlds is obviously starting show some serious "seepage." Those "deeper plans" which which Foul hasn't revealed yet? Franchises in the Land. Make a run for the border between the worlds!

Priceless!

They ate Kresh at one point in the first chrons.
Birdsong is referenced frequently in every description of Andelain.

in LFB, 'the Celebration of Spring' - the Unfettered who intervenes and makes possible Atiaran and TC's escape from the ur-viles brings with him a whole posse of kamikaze-animals;

rabbits, badgers, weasels, moles, foxes, a few dogs.

in TIW, 'Runnik's Tale' - Hyrim, Shetra and the Bloodguard encounter all manner of wildlife in the Sarangrave.

Birds and monkeys gibbered at them; small, furry animals that yipped like hyenas broke out of the grass in front of them and scurried away; and when the jungle gave way of either side for dark, rancid pools or sluggish streams, waterfowl with iridescent plumage clattered fearfully into the air.

SleeplessOne wrote:in LFB, 'the Celebration of Spring' - the Unfettered who intervenes and makes possible Atiaran and TC's escape from the ur-viles brings with him a whole posse of kamikaze-animals;

rabbits, badgers, weasels, moles, foxes, a few dogs.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg

the holy hand grenade!

you tit ! I soiled my armour I was so scared !

Okay; thanks. I was hoping I was wrong on the larger scale; glad I asked it here and not in the GI.

Now to rejoice and feast upon the lambs, and sloths, and carp, and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats.

Skip a bit, Brother Maynard.