FIRE & VERSES

GRRM’s histories are not just neutral lists of events. Sometimes, the clearest sign that an author cares about a character is not that he writes them without flaws, but that history refuses to forget them without love.

Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (2022 - )

Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (2022– ) 3.02 | Queen's Landing

• The realm requires stability, not affection. You would do well to remember as much. • They shall name us usurpers regardless of our actions. We may as well prove effective. • Do you think I desired this burden? That I find rest easily in my chambers? • History is penned by victors. We need only ensure our triumph. • The smallfolk care nothing for legitimacy. They desire full bellies and protected hearths. • I do what our father ought to have done years hence. • Sentiment is a luxury ill-afforded in times such as these. • Every choice I make serves this house. Every single one. • They were given opportunity to bend the knee. They chose steel instead. • I know well what is spoken of me in the streets. Let them speak. • The council is peopled by old men playing at loyalty. We require true allies. • Do you name me cruel? I am practical. There lies the difference. • The throne was sworn to me. I shall not beg forgiveness for claiming what is mine by right. • You desire mercy from me? Mercy delivered us to this precipice. • I protect what belongs to our bloodline. Why can you not see the necessity? • The gods may pass judgment upon me, but the realm shall remember me as its salvation. • This crown bears a weight you cannot fathom. • I shoulder this burden so you need not. Show proper gratitude. • We stand as the final bulwark against chaos. Conduct yourself accordingly. • Your conscience holds less import than our house's survival. • I shall not permit sentiment to unmake all we have built. • They desire a monster? I shall give them a sovereign. • The histories shall vindicate our cause. They always do. • I hold this realm intact with bloodied hands and you dare question my methods? • Do not mistake my resolve for wanton cruelty. I do what must be done. • The Faith stands beside us. The commons shall follow in turn. • You think them honorable? They would gladly see us put to the sword. • I did not desire this war. But I shall see it concluded. • Each day I choose duty above my own yearnings. Each and every day. • We are the rightful heirs. The law itself speaks for our claim. • I have sacrificed all for this family's future. • I know what I have become. Do you know what you are? • The hand that wields the sword commands the realm. Do not forget it. • They forced our hand in this matter. We merely respond in kind. • You seek peace? Peace demands victory first. • I stand as shield between our house and annihilation. • The crown cares nothing for your uncertainties. Bear it or step aside. • Righteousness does not win wars. Strategy does. • I undertake what you prove too craven to attempt. • This matter extends beyond any single one of us. Can you not comprehend as much? • The realm shall offer thanks when the dust has settled.

• They name me usurper, yet I am the rightful heir. Tell me you believe this to be true. • My father named me his successor before the realm. Does his word hold no weight now that he has passed? • You swore a sacred oath to uphold my claim. Have you forgotten your vows? • I shall not beg for what is mine by blood and by right. • Tell me true—which bannermen may still be counted among our allies? • My children's lives hang in the balance. I must know where your loyalties lie. • The small council is divided. I have need of your voice in that chamber. • They expect me to surrender? To bend the knee to a pretender and usurper? • Every house that declares for them is a house forsaken and traitorous. • I did not seek this war, but they have left me no recourse. • My claim is lawful and just. Theirs is theft and treachery. • You served my father faithfully. Now I stand in need of your counsel. • I shall not permit my legacy to be penned by mine enemies. • The realm shall bleed for this transgression. Do they comprehend what they have wrought? • Send forth the ravens. Our allies must be reminded of their sworn oaths. • They hold the capital, but the war is far from won. • I would have ruled with wisdom and mercy. I may yet do so. • Speak plainly—do you believe victory is within our grasp? • Each day we delay is another day they strengthen their position. • You must fly to [location] at once and secure their fealty. • The lords who falter now shall come to rue their hesitation. • They slew my son. Blood will answer for blood. • I care not what it shall cost. They will answer for their crimes. • The prophecy speaks of my line. I am certain of it. • History shall remember which claimant held true right. • Do not mistake my mourning for frailty. • I was groomed for the throne since childhood. It is my birthright. • How many must perish before they yield to reason? • I shall not be remembered as the sovereign who bent the knee. • They believe my [youth/sex/inexperience] makes me weak. They err gravely. • Summon the war council. We must plan our next course of action. • I entrusted you with everything. Pray do not make me regret that trust. • What word from the battlefield? I would hear truth, not comfort. • We command dragons. Surely that must tip the scales in our favor. • I am plagued by dreams of fire and ash. I believe them to be portents. • They wish to make an example of me. I shall make one of them instead. • Dispatch word to our loyal bannermen—your true queen/king yet draws breath. • I did not choose this conflict, but I shall see it through to its end. • Do you recall my father's final words? His wishes were made plain before witnesses. • The crown belongs to me. All else may be negotiated. • Speak without courtly pleasantries—how dire is our position? • They have underestimated me from the very beginning. That is their fatal mistake. • I would sooner die than allow them to deny my rightful claim.