There is this moment in Tiamat's Wrath when Naomi is musing about what a lasting peace looks like and the ways on which it is different from victory. I'm trying to do this without spoilers, so no specific references, but it really got my attention. I've had a front row seat to a lot of history, initially from an Eastern Bloc perspective and subsequently from a Western perspective. It inspired me to study, at one point, International Relations and then to quit the field in disgust. That one moment underscores a better understanding of that landscape than I saw in any of the leading voices. I've watched decades of wasted victories and unlearned lessons and this one reflection captures it so eloquently.