The Fatal Metaphor

Is it a bad sign that the novel you've chosen to read has an unintelligible title? Having just enjoyed The Fatal Revenant by Stephen R. Donaldson, the eighth in his Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, I'm still at a loss to understand exactly what transposed in several passages due to the archaic and obscure language. Without reverting to a dictionary every few minutes, some sections will remain forever mysterious to me. For instance, can someone translate this line for me:

       Limned in argence, they performed a florid masque.

I am familiar with the individual words, but they're combined in an unusual way.

And these words are from a single chapter: orogeny, surquedrey, glode, chthonic, lambent, theurgy.  This esotericism may deter some readers, but I adore it. Rather than using prosaic and mundane language, his creative use of obscure words adds to the atmosphere of awe and splendour and intrigue. Even though it's a minor riddle to be unravelled, it's enriching and rewarding.

And no, I never worked out who or what the Fatal Revenant was. They could have at least sketched one on the front cover as a clue.