( He can't say he knows much about magic. Seen a bit of it. Heard stories, but he's also heard stories of Grumpkins and Snarks, so who bloody knows how much of what he's heard is true. What he does know is war. The chaos of it, the confusion of it. Easy for a man to lose his nerve when facing down ten thousand strong, even a powerful man, if he doesn't have the training or the experience. Solvunn may have magic, but he's seen no indication that they're organized. That they're war-competent.

He hums a thoughtful noise under his breath. Gods, people who think they're gods — does it make much of a difference? If the latter's powerful enough to act like a god, they may as well be. And in either case, they're no friend of his. )

Might be they're right not to. Bunch of farm folk are relying on the good will of those gods to keep them safe. Tell me, how much has any god ever done for you when you needed them?