The series incidentally explores various pros and cons of different modes of governance as the action moves through Novaria and various other countries. Most of the stories have satirical themes – e.g., of academic conferences (the magicians' conclave, which ends "The Goblin Tower"), monotheistic religion (the toad-god Gorgolor, a minor deity in other places, but the supreme god of the universe in theocratic Tarxia), and modern poetry (Jorian's tale of a king in his native Kortoli refusing to grant an award to a poem composed of randomly chosen words).