McGuiness wrote:Opal Island apparently had game animals as well, since Cayleb left Thirsk's surviving crews some arbalests and matchlocks to hunt with.
Merlin turned his eyes back to the island's forested slopes. Earl Thirsk and his survivors should be just fine until someone sent the necessary ships to take them home again. Opal had plenty of fresh water, they'd already erected sufficient shelter, especially for the summer, and landed enough provisions to carry them for at least six months, even if they were unable to add anything by hunting and fishing. And Cayleb had relented, just a bit, and left a small store of captured matchlocks and arbalests on the beach when his ships weighed anchor this morning
It's likely that the soil hasn't been consecrated, so the forests Merlin is looking at are all native Safehold species, and any game will be slash lizards and such, which may or may not be edible for humans. Unfortunately the text doesn't mention whether Merlin would see any trees if he were to look at Crag Hook, the mainland to their west at that moment. (And I really wish it did!)
If Opal Island is mostly forested, the odds are pretty good that there are some fairly extensive forests along the eastern coastline of Armageddon Reef. Those would disappear where the bombardment exposed the bedrock, but we have no idea how far from the coast that scoured area begins. None of this theoretically forested area is consecrated of course, so humans would have a rough time living there until they consecrated enough land to raise sufficient crops to feed themselves.
Yup. Also unless the 'saved' village was totally isolated by hundreds of miles, I would have thought that the bombardment could not have been too heavy otherwise the spill over - shock waves, exploded rock, ash flows etc would have covered them up. If the events had been too large scale that I just can't how that could have happened - unless the angels did more than just collect them after.
It seem to me that there was either localised precise targeting in which case the general environment would not have been [too badly] affected or largescale really heavy duty stuff which is likely to have done in Opal island as well.
On that point - was Rakurai Bay the result of the bombardment, or was it pre-existing? If the former that surely would require really really heavy bombardment - almost end of dinosaur type stuff? Can anyone point to any textev?