Prominence of Mercy

Something I found interesting in the Word for World is Forest was the prominence of mercy (or lack thereof). I found myself questioning whether Selver's display of mercy towards Davidson near the end of the book (p 177-180) was truly because of Lyobov, as Selver stated ("...but Lyobov prevented you. As he prevents me now from killing you." [181]). I believe at least in part it was Selver exercising his power over Davidson. While he refers to them both as gods, his tone is one of condescension and coolness, a calm he didn't display when he'd first confronted Davidson after the rape and death of Selver's wife. By showing mercy, Selver was really showing his control of the situation, utter mastery over the human who had not shown mercy to Selver's wife.