The direwolves in Game of Thrones were central figures in the Stark clan; a symbol for each child's fate as George RR Martin's book series A Song of Fire and Ice progressed.

But the books remain on ice as the HBO series continues at wildfire pace, with only one more season after season seven concludes on August 28.

So what of remaining direwolves' roles in the television series?

A tantalising guest appearance of Arya's wolf Nymeria in episode two was almost conclusively a farewell for her owner, as fans took to Twitter to grieve.

Showrunner D.B. Weiss revealed in the show's "Inside the Episode" segment that Arya's final words to Nymeria, "That's not you," was a reference to something she herself told her father in season one. (When Ned Stark said she'd grow up to be a lady, Arya said, "That's not me.")

So Nymeria is no longer a Stark pet, now a leader of a wild wolf pack. Just as Arya has gone on to become a faceless assassin rather than an heir of House Stark.

Does that mean a direwolf has no final role to play in future battles now "Winter is here" or, even, the "Great Game"?

Fans would like to think that the wolves still tie in to their former owner's fates. But it may come down to something as mundane as a matter of budget.

As a Reddit fan pointed out, the Battle of the Bastards director Miguel Sapochnik told Business Insider: "[Jon Snow's direwolf Ghost] was in there in spades originally, but it's also an incredibly time consuming and expensive character to bring to life. Ultimately we had to choose between Wun-Wun and the direwolf, so the dog bit the dust."

Wun-Wun the giant was killed in The Battle of the Bastards, but a white walking giant is set to take centre stage in a future battle at The Wall after it made its ominous CGI appearance in the premiere episode of the latest season.

So again that could rule out any reappearance of Ghost, who hasn't been seen on screen since Jon's resurrection.

While nothing in Game of Thrones is certain, a driving need to meet fan expectations gives a slither of hope that this may not be the last viewers see of the direwolves, or at least Ghost.

But there may be other loose ends that appear more pressing, like whatever became of Arya's travel mate and childhood crush Gendry (the bastard son of Robert Baratheon, who was last seen escaping Stannis Baratheon in a row boat from Dragonstone)?

Now that Harry's (aka Arya) fellow travel companion Hot Pie has resurfaced, Gendry may not be far behind.