And what lesson can we draw from Volantene history? If you want to conquer the world, you best have dragons.

I have touched more men that I can count. Some with my lips, more with my axe.

Gods and wonders always appear, to attend the birth of kings.

And pray that he is the man I think he is, he finished silently, and not the man I fear he has become.

In King’s Landing, there are two sorts of people. The players and the pieces… Every man’s a piece to start with, and every maid as well. Even some who think they are players." Petyr Baelish

I was a novelist first. But in the mid 80s, I did work in television for ten years. And yes, that was frequently the reaction to my scripts. People would say, you know, George, this is great. We love it, a terrific script, but it would cost five times our budget to shoot this.

But Tolkien doesn't ask the question: What was Aragorn's tax policy?