It ties nicely to the first encounter protocols of the Arcanans. The protocols directed the units encountering a foreign civilization to peacefully secure those encountered so that Arcana would have the information before the encountered civilization. This preference for control ties to the preference for Toppled vs. Fallen. Toppled implies an action forcing a fall where Fallen is the past tense of simply moving downward. Fallen also has the connotation of having died.
It follows that Toppled fits the scene better for Arcanans whereas Fallen fits much better for Sharonans.
brnicholas wrote:I haven't read the whole eARC. Thanks for the info on the translations. So either a small continuity error or the diplomats were using a diplomatic translation crystal which allowed the other side to check the translation while the Arcanan soldiers are using a standard one. If it gets into the final text I will be quite content assuming option two.
As for the Toppled Timber / Fallen Timbers distinction. The Arcanans got the name Fallen Timbers for that battle from Chan Tesh. Unless DW is using the distinction to indicate which language people are thinking in, and I don't have a clue why he would do that, I should still all be Fallen Timbers.
Nicholasbkwormlisa wrote:After reading the whole eARC, I noticed that the Sharonians (aside from Shaylar and Jathmar) are still using Fallen Timbers. It appears that Toppled Timber is the Arcanan version of the term. I can't argue with the others, however. Though by the end of the book, the Sharonians do know the Arcanan language (possibly from prisoner interrogation), so I wouldn't think changing hearing the untranslated voice would matter.