To the horror of a watching global audience the talented 29 year-old Danish footballer, Christian Erikson, suffered a cardiac arrest in the 43rd minute whilst playing for his country against Finland in Copenhagen. Play was suspended and, thankfully, due to the immediate actions of players, the referee and medics, he was given CPR with a defibrillator and resuscitated. “He was gone,” declared the Denmark team doctor, “But we got him back after one defib.” Christian was eventually taken to hospital where, thankfully, his condition has stabilised. After a lengthy interval the game surprisingly restarted. Finland won the match 1-0.
After the player collapsed his distraught Danish teammates and medics formed a circle around him to protect the star from view as he was receiving life-saving emergency treatment. During a lengthy period when the game was suspended Finnish fans inside the stadium began chanting, ‘Christian,’ to which the Danish fans replied, ‘Erikson'” These were incredibly moving and emotional scenes and we’re so relieved that Christian is recovering well ahead of further tests.
The alarming incident is very curious from The Earth Emperor’s Eye perspective. To begin with the emergency took place in Copenhagen. In the tale, our messenger, Malachi, and the ghostly Lady in Grey warn that, ‘Copenhagen comes, but it is late, perhaps too late, to act to save the natural world.’ The novel explores Norse mythology and its ecological and pagan links, so it’s curious that the incident should happen between two Nordic teams. Then, we discover that Christian was born on 14 February, Valentines Day. It’s a day given much significance in the story, as an encouragement to love Mother Nature. And with some hesitation, we note that the player’s full name is Christian Dannermann Erikson, which is oddly familiar to Christine Daines, guardian of the Whittenbury Watch and author of The Earth Emperor’s Eye. Next, we’ve learnt that the referee, Anthony Taylor, who helped save the player used his experience and skills as a prison guard at HMP Strangeways! And, lastly, we have the circle of life. In the tale, Lucy Ebbs, Mother Nature personified, performs an incantation, “I circle this world with this trust and rod, against the sore stitch, against the sore bite, against the Grim Dread, against the great horror that is hateful to us all, and all evil that enters this land.”
Make of all this, what you will, but dare we ask, “Is this the Earth Emperor’s doing? to draw us to the perilous plight of the natural world?