Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
    ak>  Having remembered that King Arthas "smelled like horse"   
      
    AH>  Uh... in what context? If the reference is to King Arthur   
    AH>  or to some other person who lived long ago in a faraway   
    AH>  land, I'll accept that.   
      
    ak>  No, we once discussed it, it was from "Arthas: Rise of   
    ak>  the Lich King", by Golden.   
      
      
              Hmm.  I didn't remember the details, but when I looked up the title   
   in the public library card catalogue & on the Internet I got the impression it   
   was a World of Warcraft type of thing.  I know very little about such matters.   
   What I do know, however, is that swords with names like "runeblade" aren't the   
   weapons of choice for many real-life battles in North America these days.  :-)   
      
      
      
    ak>  Arthas was silent and did not look up at Uther. He was   
    ak>  angry, embarrassed, and hurting,   
      
      
              Okay.  My guess would be that he'd fallen off a horse... [chuckle].   
      
      
      
    ak>  and wanted nothing more than a hot bath and some briarthorn   
    ak>  tea to ease the pain. His right knee was starting to swell.   
      
      
              "Briarthorn tea" grabs my attention... for two reasons.  One is the   
   spelling.  I would have spelled "briar" the same way, but according to both of   
   my Canadian dictionaries "brier" is the preferred spelling.  Okay... so my ex-   
   Brit roots are showing!  While I could look it up in the OED others could too.   
   I'll simply invoke my macro saying "either way is correct in Canada"....  :-))   
      
              Another thought which strikes me here pertains to who in this day &   
   age understands the use of herbal remedies.  IMHO we are often told there's no   
   evidence such things actually work because there's no $$$ to be made analyzing   
   what we can obtain for ourselves, free of charge, by the roadside.  I've never   
   heard the word "briarthorn" used in full Over Here.  But in case anybody wants   
   to know, my RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER'S lists two types... both native to Europe.   
      
              When & where does Golden's story take place?  Once again, the signs   
   seem IMHO to be pointing to long ago & far away.  Sir Walter Scott was writing   
   for 19th century readers who grew up on Shakespeare & the King James Bible.  A   
   lot has changed since then, however, and in more modern works the clues may be   
   more difficult to detect... particularly for those who aren't native speakers.   
      
      
      
    ak>  "At least you are in time for the prayer session this   
    ak>  afternoon." Uther eyed him up and down. "Though you'll   
    ak>  need to wash up." Arthas was indeed sweaty and knew he   
    ak>  smelled like horse. It was a good smell, he thought. An   
    ak>  honest one. "Hurry up. We'll be assembling in the chapel."   
      
      
              Uh-huh.  Typically, horseback riding has always been rather pricey.   
   Who could afford it 'way back when?  I'd say the socioeconomic class who could   
   afford to build private chapels & require others to attend services there.  To   
   me, the above response hints that Uther & Arthas live in a feudal society.   
      
              Here's an example closer to home.  Which members of the cavalry, in   
   WAR AND PEACE, can you name off the top of your head?  I'd have to consult the   
   dramatis personae... but I recall Count So-and-So & Prince Such-and-Such.  :-)   
      
      
      
    ak>  So we see here a rather modern language.   
      
      
              Yes.  But the target audience probably includes a lot of youngsters   
   who grew up on dummified versions of the classics... if they read them at all.   
   AFAIC good stories with the potential to become classics can be appreciated on   
   more than one level, and the names of people & things may be significant here.   
   It's still a good story either way.  However, because I see you're a grownup &   
   an advanced student of English, I'll leave you with a parting thought.  I have   
   now heard of two men named "Uther", the other being King Arthur's father.  ;-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)