Hi, Please ignore stuff that doesn't fit with your plans for the story.
You say the wind "felt" like a living thing but the impact is in his ears. For some reason, "felt like" seems weak to me and could maybe be better with a more active word. Maybe shift "Shrieked" to there and cut his ears? (!)
Maybe you should also put his name instead of "his" balanced stance. It might seem artificial, but it's good to get it in ASAP.
You start the second sentence with And. You do it in the third para too. You also use quite a lot of fragments - An ill omen. Or worse. And on the... As if it had... Most of those aren't sentences.
Now that isn't necessarily bad. It gives a good character voice and has a good flow. But I think starting so soon with it in the second sentence, using it twice so early, and using so many fragments, makes it seem too informal. I would establish the story a little more before being so free with this sentence structure.
"This was no normal gust" Gust is a bit tame, maybe. Would "gale" be stronger?
I'm not sure we need the entire list of cloak, coat and shirt.
"It seemed to carry the hint of" for an immediate, arresting image, there are too many words here.
Is the North of Norths an actual place in your story? If not, I might consider not using it, as there are quite a few Norths in various guises in this para.
As an opening, it has good description but quite a lot of info. It isn't clear where Dirival is or what he is doing. I think that info is more important than the meaning of the wind for the first 200 words or so.
The info is interesting though and would make me read on. Even more so if you could slip it in alongside a sense of Dirival's immediate preoccupation and his surroundings.
Hope some of this is interesting,
D