The blue flame? - Frana's Prophecy

[Er Aldaric]

In page 82 (Frana's Prophecy) we get this:

Behind him came a Danish skipper; he took his sword and clove through the Finn’s skull. Out flowed blood that was black, and a blue flame hung above it.

This puzzled me since I had first read it. What does the blue flame represent? Is it just colorful language? is there any other stories that reference something like it? Is it supposed to be representative of a soul? It was obviously important enough to be immortalized in this story.

[ott]

Good question.
I have also wondered but have not tried to find an answer.
It's also relevant from the hoax-perspective: how would a supposed creator have gotten this idea?

[Coco]

The imagery employed herein may be interpreted as a metaphor for a lantern or oil lamp, with the black blood symbolizing the oil and the blue flame representing the light from a lantern. This interpretation could be seen as foreshadowing the eventual extinguishing of the lantern. However, the black blood could also be interpreted as a symbol of malevolence flowing in the subject's veins, with the blue flame representing a vision of the soul departing from the body, as previously suggested.

[Wil Helm]

Possible fysical/medical repercussion of blood low of oxygen.

"Oxygen-rich blood is deep red and causes your skin’s normal color. Under-oxygenated blood is bluer and causes your skin to look a bluish purple."

"Causes of peripheral cyanosis include:

...
heart attack or heart failure
shock
...
"
https://www.healthline.com/health/skin- ... ish#causes

So the "flame" could be intrepreted as "hue"?

[Kraftr]

Interesting. Arterial bleeding looks much more shockingly dark then less bloody cuts, and thick (dried)pools would look black, so I didn't think much more about this and forgot about the flame. I think it likely show his evilness, linked to the dark side. Black blood is dead blood and still used in horrormovies. A blue flame is not as common, maybe a sign of his unnaturalness. A red fire reminds of a loving hearth. Maybe also the burning of different substances or herbs can change the color of a flame, and the color would be associated with the symbolism of this substance/herb. A blue flame is in fact a more pure flame, less soot/smoke, plenty of oxigen, like produced with the bellow or blowpipe of a smith for melting metal.
I think the pagans associated different substances, plants, animals and persons with different elements(water,fire,earth, spirit)Another possibility; a blue flame, being the hottest, maybe relating to his person(Findas children were hotter then Fryas children). Or his blood would be dark because the oxidation process, like the flame, is supposedly faster with someone who should die, signifying his deserved rapid journey to hell.

[Nordic]

Many years ago I and Ott found from a Viking saga a note of a hit causing a blue flame. This was very exciting, but upon closer study of the Old Norse original we could not find anywhere that reference, suggesting to us then that it was a mere poetic language invention by the modern era English translator. Begging the follow-up question, if that English academic had actually been a naughty boy, read OL and actually used an OL metaphor in his freeform academic Viking saga translation.

[MelissaePhylax]

My take is somehow this is related to sulfur. Known widely in ancient times and used for many different things, practical and religious. This almost seem like a riddle without other context because sulphur literally appears like dark blood like when melted and burns very very blue. Additionally. Finda was yellow, like sulfur. Perhaps some sort of metaphor?

[half life over]

In page 82 (Frana's Prophecy) we get this:

Behind him came a Danish skipper; he took his sword and clove through the Finn’s skull. Out flowed blood that was black, and a blue flame hung above it.

This puzzled me since I had first read it. What does the blue flame represent? Is it just colorful language? is there any other stories that reference something like it? Is it supposed to be representative of a soul? It was obviously important enough to be immortalized in this story.

It could mean the complete destruction of the consciousness or no afterlife for that person. I am looking for any meaning or references to blue flame in old manuscripts, but I am not finding anything that would shed light on the meaning. In Homer he refers to black blood and we do know black blood relates to poison and or bad blood. So it could mean the Finn he struct down had a venomous mind and the blue flame could mean the complete destruction of that mind aka no afterlife for such an evil mind. blue flame is considered the hottest part of the flame.

[Er Aldaric]

sulphur literally appears like dark blood like when melted and burns very very blue.

This is a good direction, I wish I had thought of this myself. Perhaps the association with damnation and sulphur started first with the Fryas? The connection to spirit / afterlife is there. The mention of sulfur also has me wondering if some rudimentary form of alchemy was being practiced by the Fryas. It is moments like these especially that I wish we had some supplementary texts.

[Nordic]

MelissaePhylax's note is a clever one. If the source of that poetic language, it could be the original concept of sulphur-as-devil-smell concept. In later eras Norse and Finnish saga kings were re-written as 'demon' commanders and Christians posed fighting against Finns as fighting non-human beastmen.

An argument for this is the fact that the very same Danisk skipper of that 082 episode in next chapter 086 was the role model for skipper in Egyptian echo of story of "Wenamun" ('Väinämöinen', same as Anglo-Saxon Beowulf's "Wægmund"). Thus the very real possibility that blue flame of sulphur allusion also went on to enter the larger world literature field.