The Roots of the Mountains · Chapter
Face-of-God Looketh on the Dusky Men explained
Face-of-god awakens in Shadowy Vale and prepares to return home with Wood-wise and Bow-may as his escorts.
What happens
Face-of-god awakens in Shadowy Vale and prepares to return home with Wood-wise and Bow-may as his escorts. Sun-beam accompanies them partway, sharing a tender farewell and visions of a peaceful future together. Their journey is interrupted by an ambush from behind the Rocks of the Elders, where arrows fly and Bow-may and Wood-wise respond with bow and war-cry.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sacrifice
Sun-beam and Face-of-god exchange vows of future peace and unity, yet both accept the present necessity of war and separation.
War and Liberation
The ambush at the Rocks of the Elders underscores the constant threat of violence and the warriors' readiness to fight for their people's freedom.
Nature and the Wilderness
The Shivering Flood, the rocky pass, and the heath are vividly described, grounding the characters' emotions and actions in the wild landscape.
Characters to notice
- Face-of-god
Awakens, bathes in the Shivering Flood, arms for the road, and shares a heartfelt farewell with Sun-beam before the ambush.
- Sun-beam
Brings milk to Face-of-god, walks with him through the outgate, speaks of peaceful times, and is forced to the ground during the ambush.
- Bow-may
Clad in war-gear, escorts Face-of-god, spots the ambush, looses a shaft, and cries a warning.
- Wood-wise
Wakes Face-of-god, leads him to the bath, escorts him, bends his bow, and gives a wolf-like war-cry during the attack.
Key passages
“This then is the new day I spoke of, and lo! it bringeth our sundering with it; yet shall it be no longer than a day when all is said, and new days shall follow after.”
Sun-beam acknowledges that this new day forces them apart, but assures Face-of-god that the separation will be brief and better days lie ahead.
Sun-beam's farewell speech emphasizes hope and the promise of reunion.
“When I drive the herds it shall be at the neighbours' bidding whereso they will; not necks of men shall I smite, but the stalks of the tall wheat, and the boles of the timber-trees which the woodreeve hath marked for felling; the stilts of the plough rather than the hilts of the sword shall harden my hands; my shafts shall be for the deer, and my spears for the wood-boar, till war and sorrow fall upon us, and I fight for the ceasing of war and trouble.”
Face-of-god describes his vision of a peaceful life as a farmer and hunter, not a warrior, vowing to fight only to end conflict.
This passage reveals Face-of-god's longing for a simple, pastoral existence and his commitment to peace.
“Yea, yea! Cast thyself on to the ground, Sun-beam! Gold-mane, targe and spear, targe and spear! For I see steel gleaming yonder out from behind the Elders' Rocks.”
Bow-may urgently warns the group to take cover and prepare for battle as she spots enemy weapons among the stones.
The sudden ambush shatters the peaceful mood and forces the characters into immediate combat.