Jaqen's capture

[Bironic]

On 18.11.2016 at 8:30 PM, Light a wight tonight said:

An alternative is that "Jaqen" had been inserted into Jory's party by Varys, and had never been an actual prisoner, just in the Black Cells for the purpose of being sent to the Wall for some unknown reason. It's noted that the paperwork for the prisoners going to the Wall was irregular.

But if his target was at the Wall and/or a member of the NW, why didn't he just take a ship from Braavos/King's Landing to Eastwatch and then volunteer to take the black? Or he could pose as an Iron Banker, a northman, or an Essosi merchantman, the NW would probably not restrict his movements.

And then he doesn't proceed to the Wall, he makes a 180degree turn and shows up in Oldtown. For me that means whatever his target was during or prior to his time in the Black Cells and with Yoren has been eliminated. Thus fullfilling his contract and freeing him for a new mission.

Crackpot: His target was someone in the Black Cells, and who was later supposed to take the black. The only valuable target at this time that fits the descripton was Ned Stark. Furthermore since Ned Stark died, there was no need to pursue to the NW, so he abandoned Yoren as soon as he could and took on a new mission that led him to Oldtown. To get into the black cells, respectively in Yoren's party, the FM posing as Jaqen commited a severe crime. I agree with the idea that he somehow showed some of his abilities to Rorge & Biter. There are two main problems to this theory though. First: Motive who wants Ned Stark to be killed? Only LF and Joffrey come to mind. Of those two only LF had access to the Faceless Men. But why should LF use such an expensive method, when it was way easier for him to influence Joffrey to do his bidding. Maybe the FM were a very expensive failsafe of LF. Second: If his target is in the Black cells or on his way to join th NW, it would have been easier to volunteer as NW recruit or to break into the black cells. It's hard to break out of the black cells but less difficult to break into them.

Another option is that it wasn't his intention to end up in the black cells. He ended there just as most criminals end in prison.

[Northern_Star]

In my opinion Jaquen was hired to kill Ned, he was meant to take the black but got jeooffed instead. He let himself getting captured to get to Ned in the cells. He later on was informed that Ned will be offered to take the black if he confesses.  I think there is a littlefinger connection here.

 

Edit: I just saw Bironics' post - I agree ...

[Nevets]

31 minutes ago, Northern_Star said:

In my opinion Jaquen was hired to kill Ned, he was meant to take the black but got jeooffed instead. He let himself getting captured to get to Ned in the cells. He later on was informed that Ned will be offered to take the black if he confesses.  I think there is a littlefinger connection here.

 

Edit: I just saw Bironics' post - I agree ...

Jaqen was in the black cells before Ned's arrest.  According to AFFC, there were 3 criminals that Ned gave to the NW, then Ned, then Pycelle, then Tyrion.  That's it for the black cells.  Jaqen has to be one of the 3 criminals.  I don't why anyone would want to kill Ned once he was arrested anyway (except maybe Cersei, but she didn't want him dead).  If you're going to kill him on the way to the Wall, easier to become a regular recruit (there were several in Yoren's party).

I expect there are at least a few people in KL who have enemies, rivals, or heirs willing to pay good money for their demise.  Jaqen probably got caught killing (or trying to kill) one of them.  I see absolutely no reason to arrange to be chained in a wagon on a long journey.

[Northern_Star]

3 hours ago, Bironic said:

First: Motive who wants Ned Stark to be killed? Only LF and Joffrey come to mind. Of those two only LF had access to the Faceless Men. But why should LF use such an expensive method, when it was way easier for him to influence Joffrey to do his bidding. Maybe the FM were a very expensive failsafe of LF.

First of all: there is also Cersei, however I think its Littlefinger. Its an extra cost that helps to in-debt the crown further with the iron bank.

I believe Littlefinger is actually the connection between Iron Bank and Faceless Men, and a lot of things make sense if you subscribe to that thought. Just to get the thought train started:

Littlefinger is not as smart as it seems, we have Ned discover that he wasn't a master with the coin at all, he just borrowed it from the Iron Bank. According to Ned that is madness.

Now, continue on from here or better rewind how did Littlefinger become Master of Coin? He excelled in Gulltown by borrowing from the Iron Bank? We dont know! 

 

[Light a wight tonight]

On 11/19/2016 at 0:15 PM, Bironic said:

But if his target was at the Wall and/or a member of the NW, why didn't he just take a ship from Braavos/King's Landing to Eastwatch and then volunteer to take the black? Or he could pose as an Iron Banker, a northman, or an Essosi merchantman, the NW would probably not restrict his movements.

And then he doesn't proceed to the Wall, he makes a 180degree turn and shows up in Oldtown. For me that means whatever his target was during or prior to his time in the Black Cells and with Yoren has been eliminated. Thus fullfilling his contract and freeing him for a new mission.

Crackpot: His target was someone in the Black Cells, and who was later supposed to take the black. The only valuable target at this time that fits the descripton was Ned Stark. Furthermore since Ned Stark died, there was no need to pursue to the NW, so he abandoned Yoren as soon as he could and took on a new mission that led him to Oldtown. To get into the black cells, respectively in Yoren's party, the FM posing as Jaqen commited a severe crime. I agree with the idea that he somehow showed some of his abilities to Rorge & Biter. There are two main problems to this theory though. First: Motive who wants Ned Stark to be killed? Only LF and Joffrey come to mind. Of those two only LF had access to the Faceless Men. But why should LF use such an expensive method, when it was way easier for him to influence Joffrey to do his bidding. Maybe the FM were a very expensive failsafe of LF. Second: If his target is in the Black cells or on his way to join th NW, it would have been easier to volunteer as NW recruit or to break into the black cells. It's hard to break out of the black cells but less difficult to break into them.

Another option is that it wasn't his intention to end up in the black cells. He ended there just as most criminals end in prison.

Good point about the Wall. That wasn't my main idea, just an afterthought. I just can't buy into an FM staying in prison unless he wanted it that way. Easy enough for a highly trained FM assassin to kill a guard, assume his identity, and stroll on out. 

[Makk]

On 11/20/2016 at 9:15 AM, Bironic said:

Crackpot: His target was someone in the Black Cells, and who was later supposed to take the black. The only valuable target at this time that fits the descripton was Ned Stark. Furthermore since Ned Stark died, there was no need to pursue to the NW, so he abandoned Yoren as soon as he could and took on a new mission that led him to Oldtown. To get into the black cells, respectively in Yoren's party, the FM posing as Jaqen commited a severe crime. I agree with the idea that he somehow showed some of his abilities to Rorge & Biter. There are two main problems to this theory though. First: Motive who wants Ned Stark to be killed? Only LF and Joffrey come to mind. Of those two only LF had access to the Faceless Men. But why should LF use such an expensive method, when it was way easier for him to influence Joffrey to do his bidding. Maybe the FM were a very expensive failsafe of LF. Second: If his target is in the Black cells or on his way to join th NW, it would have been easier to volunteer as NW recruit or to break into the black cells. It's hard to break out of the black cells but less difficult to break into them.

This does actually make a decent amount of sense. My own initial impression was just that it was something that GRRM had not thought out 100%. He needed Arya to meet a faceless man, and rescue the faceless man from death to gain sway over him. Having an assassin come from the cells is logical, such a good assassin? Not too implausible.

But having Littlefinger hire a faceless man to kill Ned is quite believable imo. I am not worried about about it being cheaper to influence Joffery to kill him (which he did anyway). Littlefinger could have hired the faceless men some time ago, he pays the price but it seems they don't have any control over how or when the mark will be killed. He effectively set something in motion and then had no idea how it was proceeding. Jaqen would have studied Ned, learned of Neds capture and plan to take the black, and then got himself captured trusting his skills to break him out and finish the job at some stage.

I don't find it convincing that he was studying Arya all the time. There is just way too much out of his control, particularly in regards to Yoren.

 

[aryagonnakill#2]

On 11/19/2016 at 3:15 PM, Bironic said:

But if his target was at the Wall and/or a member of the NW, why didn't he just take a ship from Braavos/King's Landing to Eastwatch and then volunteer to take the black? Or he could pose as an Iron Banker, a northman, or an Essosi merchantman, the NW would probably not restrict his movements.

And then he doesn't proceed to the Wall, he makes a 180degree turn and shows up in Oldtown. For me that means whatever his target was during or prior to his time in the Black Cells and with Yoren has been eliminated. Thus fullfilling his contract and freeing him for a new mission.

Crackpot: His target was someone in the Black Cells, and who was later supposed to take the black. The only valuable target at this time that fits the descripton was Ned Stark. Furthermore since Ned Stark died, there was no need to pursue to the NW, so he abandoned Yoren as soon as he could and took on a new mission that led him to Oldtown. To get into the black cells, respectively in Yoren's party, the FM posing as Jaqen commited a severe crime. I agree with the idea that he somehow showed some of his abilities to Rorge & Biter. There are two main problems to this theory though. First: Motive who wants Ned Stark to be killed? Only LF and Joffrey come to mind. Of those two only LF had access to the Faceless Men. But why should LF use such an expensive method, when it was way easier for him to influence Joffrey to do his bidding. Maybe the FM were a very expensive failsafe of LF. Second: If his target is in the Black cells or on his way to join th NW, it would have been easier to volunteer as NW recruit or to break into the black cells. It's hard to break out of the black cells but less difficult to break into them.

Another option is that it wasn't his intention to end up in the black cells. He ended there just as most criminals end in prison.

Your train of thought is exactly why I come the the conclusion in your last sentence.

Ned is the only target that explains his actions, if they were intentional, but we know that they charge based on the person doing the hiring and the person being killed.  Killing Ned for LF should have meant giving up at least half his brothels and half his money, but he does not.

[Light a wight tonight]

2 hours ago, Makk said:

 

But having Littlefinger hire a faceless man to kill Ned is quite believable imo.

 

I don't see that LF would want to kill Ned. His personality is such that it would be more pleasing to have Ned fallen from power and disgraced, so that he (LF) could gloat while Ned suffered.

[devilish]

I agree that mistakes can occur and honestly I wouldn’t raise an argument if let’s say a faceless man was captured in Bolton’s, Lannister’s or Martell’s territory. However the fact that he’s been captured by the cold cloaks, which are the synonymous of everything that is amateur and corrupted in Westeros raise heavy suspicions. I mean we’re talking about glorified sentry men who were killed by an old and unarmed Barristan Selmy and were swayed to defection by LF. Surely someone whose services are worth two armies of common sellswords could kill, unarm or corrupt these glorified sentrymen. Not to forget that KL is hardly a city that is difficult to flee from. If the likes of Renly, Arya Tyrion, Sansa and an old and disarmed Selmy could do it then surely Jaqen could do the same.

So here’s the drill, KL is in turmoil. The King keeps piling debt, the old hand of the king dies suddenly and in a suspicious way and the king is reduced to travel to the most Northern part of his kingdom to convince Eddard to become the new Hand of the king.  The Starks end up kicking a hornet nest, with Cat kidnapping a Lannister and Jamie and Eddard clashing swords. Surely that would make the IB nervous. Exactly before shit hits fan three elite people from Bravos appear out of nowhere and quickly find their way in the Red keep. Former first sword of Bravos Syrio Forel becomes Arya’s tutor Ilyio is caught by Arya scheming with Varys while Jaqen is arrested and ends up just few levels away from the royal chambers. Is it a coincidence? Maybe it is. However you have to admit that its quite a striking coincidence to have the magister of Pentos, a faceless man and a first sword of bravos all under the same roof, at a time when shit is soon to hit fan. 

Meanwhile we know that Varys was pushing Robert to have Danny killed. An assassination attempt would surely infuriate Khal Drogo enough to consider invading Westeros. Ilyio seem to have the golden company under his thumb too. So here’s what I am thinking
a-    There’s a failed assassination on Danny. Drogo marches his armies to Westeros with Ilyio providing his ships for transportation. Ilyio seals a deal between Viserys and her nephew Aegon. 
b-    Jaqen escape and murders the royal family. The blames falls on Eddard sending Westeros in turmoil with Starks-Tully-Arryns fighting the Lannisters and Stannis on one side and Renly and the Tyrells on the other side.  Eddard tries to mend bridges with Stannis but knowing Stannis, he won’t accept Eddard explanation and would declare him as a traitor. Meanwhile Syrio is tasked to keep Arya safe.  
c-    Viserys arrives in Westeros. Varys convince Eddard to negotiate with him with Jorah acting as some sort of middle man. He forgives Eddard with him marrying Arya Stark after being appointed King. An army of Dothraki+golden company+Arryn+Starks+Tully+Martells should be enough to break the rebels backbone.  The first to bend the knee would be Mace who will see his precious fields being burnt and pillaged by the Dothraki screamers. He’ll probably settle to a pardon, Willas marrying Sansa and Margaery marrying Lord Connington
d-    The war is won, Ilyio becomes master of coin while his puppet Aegon will be given the Westerlands. That would secure the IB’s mind. Connington will become LP of the Stormlands and Khal Drogo would be given a rich tribute for his part in this war. 

Viserys and Khal Drogo’s death + Eddard’s brainfart upsetted Varys-Ilyio plans. Once that happened, the ‘rebels’ had to redesign their plan, which means it made no sense for Jaqen to remain in KL. However Arya’s importance remain relevant to their plan and considering that Syrio is dead, Jaqen is the only person the rebels have on the ground to keep tabs on the girl and convince her to join the dark side.
 

[Lord Vance II]

About to delve down a rabbit hole that I don't personally believe, but where I came when pondering this. I kind of got stuck on why he would about face from heading North to Oldtown. 

Jaqen was either supposed to be in the cell or not. If not, then hey, shit happens. But if he was, there can only be so many reasons for him to be there. Kill Ned? seems pretty pointless considering his state. Kill someone else? No targets really come to mind that where being in the cell would be a benefit. So, for arguments sake, let's say he got caught on purpose and wanted to go to the Wall.

Everything is going according to plan until the party gets attacked and Jaqen stops his journey north to scout out Arya. But when he leaves Arya, he apparently doesn't go north like he had been, but ditches and heads the total opposite direction to Oldtown. Why would he change his mark from The Wall to Oldtown? What moved? 

Sam, Aemon and possibly the Horn of Winter. 

Maybe Lord Randyl wanted his eldest son dead once and for all, but this seems pretty unlikely, you don't need a FM to kill Sam (or so Randyl would think at least). Tarly's got coin but not enough to spend a fortune to kill a son who was already adequately dealt with. 

Maybe the FM sought Aemon in the face of Dany and the return of Magic, but if that was the case and they knew he moved they could have grabbed him when they stopped in Bravos. Maybe that was their plan B until he showed up nearly dead, at which time they defaulted to Jaqen who had already gone ahead to Oldtown to intercept him. With Aemon dead, maybe the best shot at the knowledge they sought is now in Oldown, which is why Jaqen took Pate's face. 

And then there's the Horn. We don't know if it really is the Horn of Winter, and personally I doubt it, BUT if it is, surely that would be something any powerful group would want. I'm not going to try to delve into why they would want it. But, if they were searching for it but did not know where it was, sending someone to blend into the NW would be a good place to start looking. I don't know how they would identify that it was with Sam though.

Not really prepared to defend any of this, just sharing where this threat took my thoughts. 

 

[aryagonnakill#2]

1 hour ago, Lord Vance II said:

About to delve down a rabbit hole that I don't personally believe, but where I came when pondering this. I kind of got stuck on why he would about face from heading North to Oldtown. 

Jaqen was either supposed to be in the cell or not. If not, then hey, shit happens. But if he was, there can only be so many reasons for him to be there. Kill Ned? seems pretty pointless considering his state. Kill someone else? No targets really come to mind that where being in the cell would be a benefit. So, for arguments sake, let's say he got caught on purpose and wanted to go to the Wall.

Everything is going according to plan until the party gets attacked and Jaqen stops his journey north to scout out Arya. But when he leaves Arya, he apparently doesn't go north like he had been, but ditches and heads the total opposite direction to Oldtown. Why would he change his mark from The Wall to Oldtown? What moved? 

Sam, Aemon and possibly the Horn of Winter. 

Maybe Lord Randyl wanted his eldest son dead once and for all, but this seems pretty unlikely, you don't need a FM to kill Sam (or so Randyl would think at least). Tarly's got coin but not enough to spend a fortune to kill a son who was already adequately dealt with. 

Maybe the FM sought Aemon in the face of Dany and the return of Magic, but if that was the case and they knew he moved they could have grabbed him when they stopped in Bravos. Maybe that was their plan B until he showed up nearly dead, at which time they defaulted to Jaqen who had already gone ahead to Oldtown to intercept him. With Aemon dead, maybe the best shot at the knowledge they sought is now in Oldown, which is why Jaqen took Pate's face. 

And then there's the Horn. We don't know if it really is the Horn of Winter, and personally I doubt it, BUT if it is, surely that would be something any powerful group would want. I'm not going to try to delve into why they would want it. But, if they were searching for it but did not know where it was, sending someone to blend into the NW would be a good place to start looking. I don't know how they would identify that it was with Sam though.

Not really prepared to defend any of this, just sharing where this threat took my thoughts. 

 

I know you said you don't really believe, but just to play devils advocate to the train of thought, how could Jaqen have known those people left the wall, and why would he take such a needlessly hard and long journey to the wall(obviously doing so did not work and he could've just gone straight there)?

[Dorian Martell's son]

On 11/18/2016 at 8:49 AM, devilish said:

There's no better assassins in Planetos then the faceless men. Once they set their sight on somebody then that person is as good as dead. They are quite expensive too. LF state that to hire a faceless man you need to spend as much as two armies of common sellswords.

Which makes me wonder. How the hell Jaqen ended up caged? An elite assassin who can even change appearance should have been able to avoid that and even if he's captured he should be able to escape and leave the place without attracting too much attention. 

In my opinion Jaqen was at the right place at the right time and his job was to observe and even recruit Arya Stark. Think about it. Westeros was in the brink of war and economic collapse. With the IT owing so much money to the IB, its only fair for them to make sure that whoever sits on the IT is ready to pay. Arya characteristics are quite unique

a- Arya originate from one of the strongest houses in Westeros. She also have powerful relatives in the Vale and the Riverlands. Similarly to her sister she is quite powerful and her name alone can raise armies whose keen to protect her. Anyone marrying her would seal a great alliance indeed. 

b- She is a Westerosi noblewomen which means she's able to go in and out of any court without attracting too much attention

c- She's the last pupil of the first sword of Bravos, who was ready to die to keep her alive. That would probably attract attention by the faceless men who would want what's so special in this girl.

Arya can develop into a knight similar to Brienne, a faceless man and a potential queen. Such flexibility makes her a great asset indeed. 

 

A: No. Family means nothing to the Faceless Men. You strip yourself of your past and who you are to become nobody when you join. 

B: This means nothing either. Faceless Men can don the face of almost anyone, noble or otherwise, westerosi or otherwise. 

C: For this to mean something there would need to be a connection between Syrio and the FM beyond just being Bravosi. there isn't, so unless you are willing to write a whole fan fic detailing the connection, there isn't one.

We do not know why Jaqen was in the black cells. Every possible reason is pure speculation. Littlefinger paying to have Ned killed enroute to the watch. Varys planning to kill Ned to start a war with the Lannisters. Jaqen being paid to kill someone and screwing up. Jaqen looking for a rare book and hearing it was at Castle Black ect. Since there is nothing in the books that show us either way, we are stuck. All we know is that a FM kills pate in Oldtown and assumes his identity at the Citadel

[Lord Vance II]

36 minutes ago, aryagonnakill#2 said:

I know you said you don't really believe, but just to play devils advocate to the train of thought, how could Jaqen have known those people left the wall, and why would he take such a needlessly hard and long journey to the wall(obviously doing so did not work and he could've just gone straight there)?

If they have any interest in Aemon/THoW they could have some ears at the Wall. Aemon, Sam and Gilly are a pretty high-profile group, it's not impossible someone saw and told someone who told the FM, who then re-directed their ace Jaqen. Message speeds are an issue obviously. 

And it's not like there's a super chill way to get to the Wall. If everything had gone according to plan hitching a ride with the NW would be a pretty direct route. Plus if the plan is to scout for the HoW/gain access to Aemon, it's not enough to look like someone, you have to know some things. 

[aryagonnakill#2]

4 minutes ago, Lord Vance II said:

If they have any interest in Aemon/THoW they could have some ears at the Wall. Aemon, Sam and Gilly are a pretty high-profile group, it's not impossible someone saw and told someone who told the FM, who then re-directed their ace Jaqen. Message speeds are an issue obviously. 

And it's not like there's a super chill way to get to the Wall. If everything had gone according to plan hitching a ride with the NW would be a pretty direct route. Plus if the plan is to scout for the HoW/gain access to Aemon, it's not enough to look like someone, you have to know some things. 

Direct from KL, not from Bravos.  Also in terms of timing, Sam and co don't leave the wall until Feast, Jaqen leaves Harrenhall in Storm, they hadn't even left yet when he changes directions.  In order to get the info they left at any point, they'd really have to have a man already at the wall, I don't see any other way for them to know they left.  

[Makk]

14 hours ago, Light a wight tonight said:

I don't see that LF would want to kill Ned. His personality is such that it would be more pleasing to have Ned fallen from power and disgraced, so that he (LF) could gloat while Ned suffered.

We have never seen a situation in the text in which Littlefinger feels the need to gloat if it could genuinely disadvantage his plans. He is pragmatic and not actually that egotistical, he has created a somewhat foolish image of himself and is quite happy to have everyone underestimating him. Basically he knew Ned was investigating, as Jon Aryn had, and if he linked the clues together and went to Robert the entire situation would be stabilised and the opportunity to sow chaos would be lost. He even complains how expensive a faceless man is.

[Tini]

On ‎19‎.‎11‎.‎2016 at 9:15 PM, Bironic said:

Another option is that it wasn't his intention to end up in the black cells. He ended there just as most criminals end in prison.

That seems the most likely explanation to me.

We know that Faceless Men can change faces. But they cannot do it without preparation - they need a face, need to prepare the face, need an opportunity to apply the face. If Jaqen got caught committing a crime (or if he got caught for a crime committed by the person whose face he was wearing), he may not have had the opportunity to change faces. Not before being sent to prison, and not while in prison.

[Light a wight tonight]

3 hours ago, Makk said:

We have never seen a situation in the text in which Littlefinger feels the need to gloat if it could genuinely disadvantage his plans. He is pragmatic and not actually that egotistical, he has created a somewhat foolish image of himself and is quite happy to have everyone underestimating him. Basically he knew Ned was investigating, as Jon Aryn had, and if he linked the clues together and went to Robert the entire situation would be stabilised and the opportunity to sow chaos would be lost. He even complains how expensive a faceless man is.

I don't think that a breach between the Crown and the Lannisters could be considered stabilizing anything. Tywin would be losing his influence in court; his daughter, and his favorite son would be executed for treason. And most likely Robert would repudiate the Crown's money debt to the Lannisters. That's the making of a rebellion.

[Makk]

22 minutes ago, Light a wight tonight said:

I don't think that a breach between the Crown and the Lannisters could be considered stabilizing anything. Tywin would be losing his influence in court; his daughter, and his favorite son would be executed for treason. And most likely Robert would repudiate the Crown's money debt to the Lannisters. That's the making of a rebellion.

I guess I have to accept that as a fair point, while there is a chance a vengeful Robert would quickly snap into action and cower Tywin, there is also a chance that Tywin would revolt. But Tywin would be up against the Tyrells who would see it as an opportunity to marry Margary to Robert, the North, the riverlands, the stormlands and the crownlands, possibly the Vale which would be much more difficult to control personally, and no matter what Dorne thinks of Robert they hate the Lannisters more. In the books, things finally spiralled out of control once Robert was dead. Personally I think Tywin would probably bend the knee and look to negotiate.

In the end with the benefit of hindsight we know things worked out perfectly for Littlefinger. Even if we don't know he wanted Ned dead at the time, we do know he wanted Ned dead eventually with the wolf and Lion at war. He could have pointed Ned in the correct direction in regards to Jofferys parentage but he wanted Joffery on the throne. But yes, there are questions over whether he would actually want Ned dead so early and in an uncontrollable way. He would need to implicate the Lannisters somehow which may be difficult as he probably wouldn't have any control over how the faceless men would do their job.

If Jaqen was in the cells deliberately, I think it was to kill Ned, nothing else makes sense in that case imo. But it is entirely possible he wound up in the cells by getting caught.

 

[devilish]

16 hours ago, Dorian Martell's son said:

A: No. Family means nothing to the Faceless Men. You strip yourself of your past and who you are to become nobody when you join. 

B: This means nothing either. Faceless Men can don the face of almost anyone, noble or otherwise, westerosi or otherwise. 

C: For this to mean something there would need to be a connection between Syrio and the FM beyond just being Bravosi. there isn't, so unless you are willing to write a whole fan fic detailing the connection, there isn't one.

We do not know why Jaqen was in the black cells. Every possible reason is pure speculation. Littlefinger paying to have Ned killed enroute to the watch. Varys planning to kill Ned to start a war with the Lannisters. Jaqen being paid to kill someone and screwing up. Jaqen looking for a rare book and hearing it was at Castle Black ect. Since there is nothing in the books that show us either way, we are stuck. All we know is that a FM kills pate in Oldtown and assumes his identity at the Citadel

Arya would still remain Arya Stark in the eyes of the Westerosi. Even though she's now a puppet in the Faceless men's hands. The fact that at one point a magister of pentos, a faceless man and a first sword of bravos were all at the red keep, with the magister of pentos scheming to become master of coin bring suspicions. I believe that were planning to cause panic only to fully control Westeros once the dust settles. 'Arya Stark' married to either Aegon or Viserys both owing Ilyio everything + with Ilyio as master of coin will give the peace of mind and control the IB needs. 

[Dorian Martell's son]

6 hours ago, devilish said:

Arya would still remain Arya Stark in the eyes of the Westerosi. Even though she's now a puppet in the Faceless men's hands. The fact that at one point a magister of pentos, a faceless man and a first sword of bravos were all at the red keep, with the magister of pentos scheming to become master of coin bring suspicions. I believe that were planning to cause panic only to fully control Westeros once the dust settles. 'Arya Stark' married to either Aegon or Viserys both owing Ilyio everything + with Ilyio as master of coin will give the peace of mind and control the IB needs. 

Not even in the slightest at all. As a FM She would  wear a face, so she wouldn't be "Arya Stark."  Her family and royalty is irrelevant to her career as an assassin