"Nay," he tells her. "These were not like our Narnian giants. There was a race called the Ettins, in Ettinsmoor. Much larger, very stupid, and terribly violent. They had either two heads or four arms, but not both. The giants of the Great Northern Plain beyond were much more intelligent, but they too were vicious and cruel."

He watches as she undoes the cord holding her braid, and steps forward, offering to gently undo the plait for her. "And yet it is, Su. All of it. More real than real."