I appreciate how candid those little world building notes are at the chapter's end. 'Maybe this is true. Maybe not. I haven't decided yet. Regardless, not like folks of the ancient world believed all superstitions. They understood what a metaphor is'
Reminds me of a potential explanation on how the ancient greeks perceived their pantheon of gods. Of how when people write of real people having been 'visited by the gods', it was more just metaphor, not that the writer genuinely believed the person they wrote of was literally visited by the gods. Athena was their prime example, that writers and readers of the time would have known, if Athena was being referenced, it did not mean a literal goddess visited a person, but rather, they experienced some keen form of insight that, to an outside observer, was truly remarkable. Or a definitely more clear example, when old map makers put a dragon in the water, it did not mean the map maker believed in dragons. It was just short hand to say to any potential reader, 'hey, water in this part is dangerous, be careful 'round there'.