"...the gods..." have been mentioned since p. 21 but that becomes just a phrase, a part of the spoken language. At last, we get some sense of what is meant:
"...those great shadowy powers of sky and earth, fire and water, growth and death and destiny, before which men quailed." (p. 72)
Powers to be feared and propitiated? Elsewhere, Poul Anderson shows us "the gods" developing beyond that earliest and most primitive of roles. See Gods And Men.
A Unitarian that I knew in Dublin read the Roman philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, and told me, "He talks about 'the gods,' you know, but you could easily replace that with 'God' and the rest would remain the same."
I am happy to have "the gods," including the monotheist versions, angels and saints etc, in speech and literature, provided only that we have moved beyond that earliest stage of fearing them as if they were ghosts.
The universe is haunted by an awesome presence.
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