[Grammar] Steven Erikson's style of writing

[Denisius]

Hi guys! I have a few questions about this sentence: "The hearth has ebbed, its gleam and life's sparks are but memories against dimming eyes – what cast my mind, what hue my thoughts as I open the Book of the Fallen and breathe deep the scent of history?".
What role do the words "cast" and "hue" play there?
Are they verbs or nouns?
If the former then why are they in their plural forms?
Or maybe they're nouns being subject comlements with omitted linking verbs, that is those parts could have written like this: "...what cast is my mind, what hue are my thoughts...", eh?
And the last question is, what do the words cast and hue, whatever they are, mean in the context?

 

[Skrej]

Hi guys! I have a few questions about this sentence: "The hearth has ebbed, its gleam and life's sparks are but memories against dimming eyes – what cast my mind, what hue my thoughts as I open the Book of the Fallen and breathe deep the scent of history?".
What role do the words "cast" and "hue" play there?
Are they verbs or nouns?

They are nouns. Both 'cast' and 'hue' are synonyms for the noun 'color'.

Or maybe they're nouns being subject comlements with omitted linking verbs, that is those parts could have written like this: "...what cast is my mind, what hue are my thoughts...", eh?

Yes, he's chosen to omit the linking verbs.

 

[mawes12]

Or they are probably verbs that means "color" like Skrej said.

 

[Skrej]

They are nouns in these sentences. If they were verbs, they couldn't be subject compliments as the OP correctly surmised.

Verbs can't function as compliments. Only nouns, pronouns, or adjectives can.