the world formed and reformed about him , blended one incarnation with the next , like stirred images in a pond , the scents of animals caught fleetingly and confused , spoors mixed to suggest a truly extraordinary predator , the monster trailing him and his mare , outpacing them as if in the sun 's employ , a servant raised as the horse had been raised , given shape and instruction , perhaps charged with protecting the woman at the edge from odil 's wandering lion .