- Why would he be angry at Belial’s attempt to distract him from his depressive thoughts? It is quite unreasonable, and it quite contradicts what Axis just said about them being “friends and companions”. Yes, he fails at being angry, but it still is a red flag.

Because he wouldn't be an acceptable love interest unless he was an absolute asshole and throwing up red flags every few seconds. And as someone who loves books, this fact leaves me in despair every time. There's a reason why I avoid romances like the plague.

- Axis says that he was responsible for the losses and no one else is to blame. Well… I get why he believes this, since he does not know about the role the Sentinels played. Still, I want to say that he has as much right to blame Gorgrael, since he executed the attack.

...I mean, at least he's taking accountability for what happened? Kind of? I've seen so many protagonists refusing to admit that they ever do anything wrong (or rather, the author trying to convince us that the protagonist did nothing wrong).

- Hmm, I do not know quite enough of Axis’s military career to say if it is strange that this is his first serious defeat ever, but I am somewhat suspicious.

I would think that's bullshit. Given all of the dumb decisions characters make in this book, I can't see him winning every single battle he's ever been in, unless his enemies were all literal turnips.

- Further… why would pregnant women never need to explain their actions? Because they are just so hard to understand? I do not quite like that.

I could see this one of two ways. One, which is the funnier option, is that he means it in the sense that pregnant women can and will absolutely murder your face if you do anything to piss them off. Seriously, do not fuck with pregnant women. Two, which is the one I'm afraid is what's used here, is "Oh, pregnant women can't control themselves because of their hormones. Don't mind them, they're all crazy."

- Rolling down from the north, perhaps half a league away, were great churning clouds hanging to the ground, shot through with silver and blue lightning.

You are on a flat plain. You can see for dozens of miles in all directions. How are you JUST NOW noticing this? I'm also starting to think that Gorgonzola is a very uninventive villain. Are magic storms just his go-to whenever he wants to hurt someone? Have some creativity, man!

- Ogden and Veremund had no basis at all for claiming that; they should have said that Gorgrael might attack anyway and that Axis ought to be on his guard!

Oh, look. More evidence that these people are actually trying to sabotage everything.

- Once they reach it, Axis tells Belial to have everyone “dig themselves as far into the ground as they can before the storm hits”, as that is their only hope.

If this storm is only half a league away, they would have time to dig a few inches into the ground at most, and it would probably only be about the size of a basketball.

- How would digging themselves in protect against ice spears…? I think the reason might be that the spears are more likely to hit their armour that way, though I doubt the benefit is so large that it is “their only hope”.

I'm now amusing myself with the idea of an entire army hunkering down like a bunch of spooked hedgehogs, face-down in the dirt.

- I think that swords would be the worst of these, since they do not have a surface to hold the earth with. That is not a problem with pots and pans.

Well, at least they have the sense to actually use tools, no matter how ill-suited they might be to digging. That's more than I can say for Jackass.

- We pick up with most people having dug themselves into the ground, “dragging armour and cloaks over themselves”, and wriggling in as tight as they can.

This storm must be moving so slowly it's practically going backwards. So considerate of Gorgonzola to give everyone plenty of time to prepare.

- He repeats “revelry” and then suddenly knows what he needs to do!

...dance party? Seriously, that's what it sounds like he's gearing up to do--some kind of raucous party to chase away the fear.

- The balled is now sung by three thousand people (my, that went fast!) and the cloud begins to fall apart. The lightning slows and then disappears. The whispers, claws and wings fade away. Soon there is only silence and some scraps of mist clinging to “a few shards of grass”.

I swear, all I can envision is that scene in the animated version of 'The King and I', where the characters are on a ship that gets terrorized by the illusion of a dragon, and end up overcoming it by...singing.