The The If conflict is a driver of stories, and it is, you know that.

There's little that can match an apocalypse. It

destroys entire civilizations. It changes everything. The very fabric of reality is

eviscerated and has to be rethought. Moral boundaries are obscured and recreated based on an entire set of values.

In fantasy, such events are influenced by or outright created by supernatural means.

Long before fantasy authors were a thing, however, our own world produced many such tales

originating from cultures in all corners of the globe.

It's often said that even myths have seeds of truth in them, and that's a lot of our focus

today.

One of the most popular, most recent, and most grim examples is North mythology.

Actually, I could use that same description of a Song of Ice and Fire. It's one of the most popular. It's recent, historically speaking, and very grim, right? And it checks out.

George is undoubtedly heavily influenced by Norse mythology, and this episode is also dedicated to one notable aspect of that, the wealth of parallels between Ragnarok and the Long Night.

Both are ends of the world, so to speak, with the world ringed in ice and fire.

But there's also new beginnings, a dream of spring, if you will.

Both involve a lasting darkness coupled with extended winder, massive final battle between great heavenly powers,

forces of nature, and otherly beings.

They're even called the others in both.

Yet we're not just concerned with the apocalypse itself, but what comes before, the signs

and portents that tell us it's coming, all that, and then the recovery of civilization itself,

making it all into a cycle. And this one will delve into how real-world events transform

into myths, and in turn how George has applied this concept to a song of ice and fire.

We've got ice and fire giants, flaming swords, world trees and heart trees, cirruses, serpents,

...