Game of Thrones has taught us a few things: all men must die, and everyone has their price. Author George R.R. Martin's is apparently $20,000. For that fee, Martin will write two 'lucky' people into his next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, before killing them in a "grisly" way. The money won't go into Martin's blood-soaked hands, though — the author is using his celebrity status to raise money for a New Mexico wolf sanctuary.

The two deaths have already been claimed

Martin had two characters to kill, one male, and one female. The offer was too tempting to last long: a day after the Prizeo campaign went live, two people had stepped forward and pledged $20,000. Lesser tiers, including the chance to have breakfast with Martin for $15,000 or to obtain one of the author's hats for $7,500, have also been bought out. Lower donations will yield much smaller prizes — $50 gets a T-shirt — but as with J.J. Abrams' ongoing Star Wars charity competition, every donation earns an entry into a wider prize draw. The randomly selected winner of that contest will be flown out to Santa Fe to hang out with Martin and visit the Wild Spirit wolf sanctuary the author is raising funds for.

Much has been made of Martin's tendency to kill off his fans' favorite characters, but the author at least offered the two people who paid $20,000 the chance to choose their station in his low-fantasy world — "lordling, knight, peasant, whore, lady, maester, septon, anything" — before they meet their horrible doom.