When did we find out the Targarians are from Valyria? And I'm not sure that I agree with most of your geography nits, however this is the sort of nittery I enjoy, and I would like to hear more reasoning behind it. Why can't Qarth stand alone? Are there no historical examples of such cities? A sort of waypoint on the road, an oasis, where if you are denied entry your chances of survival on the road are slim... I'll do some wiki'ing, I'm pretty sure I can come up with an example.