Arya and the series length.

[kephv]

I don't think the length will be a problem. She's been working through their ranks pretty fast already, and she'll probably only have to learn a few more major things and do something to prove herself before becoming an official Faceless Man.

Nothing major really happens in Arya's AFFC and ADWD chapters either. ;)

That's just not true. Her introduction to the House of Black and White, the FM and their philosophy, and the subsequent changes she goes through and things she learns are all pretty essential to where she's headed. Sure GRRM could've skipped it all and told it via flashbacks, but being so flashback reliant was one of the major reasons he ditched the five year gap to begin with.

[Kittykatknits]

Arya is two years younger than Sansa, according to AGOT.

I don't know if we'll see a time gap exactly, but I wouldn't be surprised to see things move a little more quickly in WoW if 7 books will actually tell the whole story. Arya definitely needs to grow some more, and I think that is more for the physical nature of being an assassin (being a FM is supposed to be a lifetime gig, and being a child assassin won't last long).

The mental scarring for Arya is, IMO, no worse than the scarring that happened to the rest of the Stark kids. True, she has killed some people, but so have Robb (by the thousands by calling his banners and going to war...RIP), Jon (holding the Wall against the wildlings), Bran (as Summer, letting Jon escape), Sansa (by agreeing to go with Dontos), and the Old Gods know what Rickon and Shaggy Dog have done on Skaggos. They've all been seemingly abandon by their parents and other adults who were supposed to raise them, forced to survive any way they could. Let's be happy that Arya is becoming a self-reliant assassin instead of a child whore (the more realistic outcome).

What deaths did Sansa cause by going with Dontos? There were deaths, but those were by LF's hand, not hers. Am I missing something?

I'm glad Arya was not foced in to prostitution, but, having known former child soldiers, I can not be happy for where her character has gone either.

But, I do agree, all the Stark kids, have really been put through the ringer. I feel for all of them.

[WinterWarrior]

I think Arya will stay with the FM and her main mission will be against the dragons. The FM want to kill the dragons, that is why Jaqen Hagar is now at the Citadel and needed the key to the basement where the one book is stored that tells how to kill them (at least that is where Tryion says the book is in DWD). I predict that she will work with other FMs towards this objective.

The dragons might be special to all of us, but the more the story progresses the more dangerous they are. Their existance has unleashed old magic back into the world, whoever controls them is the most powerful force in the world, and the FM have their story of their order being born out of the suffering of slavery induced by conquerers with dragons.

The dragons in the hands of men and women are tools of power that intoxicates and becomes evil. They are the ASoIaF equivalent of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings. I believe that destroying them will be the main story line in the future, with these rivalries between families taking a back seat to the story of the dragons - good vs evil and will humans let the power of fire take over the world or will they destory it.

It is my belief that Arya will be part of this FM army against the power of the dragons in the north. Of course his is just my opinion. The dragons could also save the north from the Others by burning them all.....so the dragons may not end up being part of the Arya story at all.

Only GRRM knows.

[Payme]

Not that i really believe this will happen, but an uncomfortable thought came to my head this morning:

A Sansa POV has "Arya" killing Sansa... But as Sansa is dying and and asks "why?", Arya's face melts away...

Basically, the thought concludes that Arya was given "the gift"... a FM was sent to off Sansa, and used Arya's face to get closer... So i guess Arya would meet with her siblings again...well, her face would...

Like i said, i don't think that will happen, just a thought i had that kinda threw off my morning...

---

As for the topic of a time gap, i hope like hell GRRM makes it happen... I want this series finished before one of us dies (i'm young, but chit happens)... I've read here that GRRM has changed his mind and has "ditched" the idea of a time gap... If he can change his mind once he can change it twice, and by-God i'm pulling for the double flip-flop!

[ledlevee]

I don't think Arya will be sent back to Westeros, unless she goes there on her own. The Faceless men say they can't kill people they know, and since Arya was a noble girl in Westeros and lived in both Winterfell and King's Landing for a while, I don't think they'll send her there. She knows too many people and would be too tempted to seek revenge. I see it more likely that she would be sent to kill Dany or someone else in Essos, since she has never met her nor really had anything to do with her. Or they could send her to Old Town to help Jacquen with whatever he's doing there. Maybe she'll be sent to kill Sam. That seems like a GRRM twist. Send a beloved character to kill another beloved character. I just don't see the revenge thing happening for Arya at this point. Most of her worst enemies are already dead, anyway.

[dreamcatcher]

I think that now is the time for GRRM to stop doing horrible things to the Starks (and I think he thinks so too).

[Stark@heart]

I don't think the FM have ever seen Arya as a true candidate for their order.

Jaqen sent them a very valuable piece in the Game of Thrones that is currently engulfing the Westeros and they are only waiting to see how things go - with the wars and with Arya.

I think the Iron Bank and the FM are related and this too plays into their plans for Arya.

Arya had no idea what she was getting into with the coin, only that she had no one and no where else to go. She shows up and gets a bad vibe from the place at first, then smells Winter and it reminds her of Winterfell and she relaxes and "trusts" the Kindly Man and the Waif, since they don't try to make her stay. In fact, they do the opposite, which works on Arya. She decides to stay. So they train her and keep her occupied, even send her out to make her way among the Bravosi and learn the language. They are giving her skills she can use that a benefiicial to them and also keeping her close without being a captive, which she would fight against.

So, my real concern is.

Are the FM helping Arya because they truly serve the Many Faced God and since the Starks have long honored the Old Gods, she has earned that protection or Are they only seeming to help her to keep her close for their own purposes?

Arya is to smart to be a pawn for long so this would be the best way to use and control her.

I hope the FM really are on her side.

[jon rr stark]

As suggested in the OP the forthcoming winter will halt a lot of activity. There can still be fighting in the south to decide the Iron throne but no army will be able to march north to take on Stannis, who I predict will be firmly ensconced in the north either at the wall or in Winterfell with a large northern army (inclusive of wildlings etc) at his disposal. Whoever is sitting on the throne cannot ignore this, so once the immediate battles are concluded we could be in for a period of calm as winter takes hold. This could allow the characters to age in there current situations. To be a fully fledged FW Arya must have to undergo some more serious training as it doesnt appear to be the type of thing you can just pick up, rather the skills needed would take years. Dany needs time to get to westeros, Stannis needs time to get his mercenaries, Jon needs time to come back from the dead, Bran needs time to become what Bloodraven is. The Others need time to do whatever it is they do. So there is still a lot of positioning needed to get everything ready for some kind of final conflict. Given that the origonal title for the final book was 'A time for wolves' this hints at a return of Starks, but they need to be older for all of them to dominate. So maybe a long winter follows the long summer, the emphasis might just shift to north of the wall in a battle with the others leaving everyone else to grow up a bit. 5 years Arya is 16/17 plenty old in westeros to be a Queen!

[flying mosquito]

Who is hiring the Faceless-badass-guys in Westeros? Somebody who also uses "little birds" perhaps? Could that be part of the training, and an excuse to send a westerosi little girl to KL?

[Lady Grey]

I agree with those who are in support of the time-skip theory. I think it's very plausible, especially when considering all the maneuvoring the characters still have to do. Of course, you never reall know what's gonna happen when it comes to Martin's writing.

By the way, this is my first time posting; I couldn't keep to the shadows, lurking anymore.

[TheSpottedCat]

I suspect at some point Arya will discover that her order has a sinister secret that will turn her against The Kindly Man and abandon many of his philisophical teachings. She will return to The North with the skills she learned but not in the service of the faceless.

Just a hunch.

I agree with this, but I don't think it's a sinister secret she will discover. She will simply mature and realize that the Kindly Man and his order are full of BS. The way they argue that killing is a mercy and a gift of god, that you shouldn't judge the one you kill or kill for personal motives. She will grow up and realize that you can't just kill indiscriminately and that killing like that can make you kill innocents and also that the Faceless Men are paid to kill, which makes their whole holier-than-thou number beyond pretentious and hypocritical.

[Mumatil]

I dont think a time gap would work, I know what you mean by wanting to see Arya as a grown up, as we cant really see her full potential when she is only eleven. But a time gap just so the younger kids can grow up? Not exactlty the best writing technique, but if there ever were a reason for it to happen, winter would be it, that's likely the most feaible reason I've heard on these threads for time to pass.

I bet Arya runs from her training, she still has a piece of her old life(needle).

Bugger the faceless men, the pack stays together,

[Lord Martin]

My question is, what does she have time to do when she returns to Westeros.

There are several story lines that could pull Arya back to Westeros, but once there I don't see how she does everything it has been hinted at her doing.

In the North there is a fake Arya as well as her remaining family and home life. Massey is heading to Bravos and she could easily end up back in the North.

In the Riverlands we have Nymeria, her mother's homeland and Riverrun. Plus Arya knows the Riverlands a little better now from her travels there.

In the Vale we have Sansa and LF and Arya could certainly be sent there.

But she also has work in do in KL. She has Cersei to kill and cats to warg through the castle.

And she may be sent to kill Dany.

Clearly Arya can't do all of these things, and I'm not even sure there is time for her to do multiple of them. But, thats the situation we have, we need to know where Arya ends up. To me, she will be the hardest character for GRRM to wrap up.