Arya and the series length.

[All Men Must Rhyme]

There's always been a bit of mystery surrounding Jaqen's intentions. Whether he was in Oldtown working for the FM, or whether he was still with the FM at all. It's been mentioned that maybe he'd gone rogue so to speak. I could see her arc involving him again as well. Firstly, if Jaqen does turn out to be a former FM, it shows that leaving them is possible, so Arya could leave the organisation of her own volition, or secondly, I could see her being sent to take him out. Being a FM, there's no knowing who Jaqen truly is, so Arya could be chosen. Crackpot theory, but I like it.

[Lummel]

On the face of it the faceless man mission to westeros allowing the return of Arya seems to me unlikely - either *nod to Free Northman* this involves her successfully lying to the kindly old man or other godfather of the faceless men, in anycase it requires her to return to braavos on completion of her mission and if she doesn't then won't faceless men want to bump her off to keep their faceless secrets safe before they appear in next sunday's "News of Westeros"?

Either she gets out of the faceless men somehow or contributes to the bittersweet ending by being unable to return to her family (and that really seems too sad, I'd need a mountain of sugar to offset the bitterness of that ending :crying: ).

[Free Northman]

Oh gods, not Sam :o

I find it hard to believe that the FM would send someone as young and inexperienced as Arya on mission anyway. Their training takes years the Kindly Man said (I think anyway). Sending her down the block to take out the insurance crook was one thing, but sending her to some far off place (likely on her own) is different imo. That kind of work is for the professionals.

More likely, I think Arya will just hear some news from Westeros (likely about Jon or maybe about Sansa being in the Vale) that prompts her to retrieve Needle, reclaim her identity and go back to Westeros. Hopefully with no hard feeling from the FM, I would really hate for them to go hunting after her if she decided to just take off. I don't think she has learned too much about their order at this point, where she would be any kind of threat to them.

She was supposed to spend 5 years with them, before the 5 year gap was cut. Hence, it was always Martin's intention to have her fully trained and ready to be sent on a contract to Westeros.

Now he will just have to speed it up, hence her already killing her first man in Dance, after only a few months with the Faceless Men.

[Free Northman]

I think a certain event at Harrenhal in the last episode of the TV series - which was a deviation from the book storyline - will set a foundation for Arya's eventual killing of Littlefinger.

Not sure how much we're allowed to mention about the TV series spoilers here, but to me that would be an excellent reason for said deviation in the Old Gods and the New Episode.

Those who have seen it, will know what I'm talking about.

[I'm the Ghost in Harrenhal]

I feel Arya's time with the FM is kind of her path to redemption, ironically. Right now she holds a lot of grudges, her list etc.

I think we kind of already saw this in ADWD. She wanted to justify the killing of the insurer so badly, she is never going to see death as a gift like the FM do.

My thought is that some job or training she is subject to will kind of snap her out of this vengeful dark path, and send her back to whats left of her family to start mending things.

[Lyanna Stark]

She was supposed to spend 5 years with them, before the 5 year gap was cut. Hence, it was always Martin's intention to have her fully trained and ready to be sent on a contract to Westeros.

Now he will just have to speed it up, hence her already killing her first man in Dance, after only a few months with the Faceless Men.

I think that is a bit of a leap of logic. Even if the 5 year gap had been in place, it's possible Arya could have trained and left in that time. There is nothing that absolutely demands that we have to see her leave Braavos, that could possibly be told via flashbacks.

[Free Northman]

I think that is a bit of a leap of logic. Even if the 5 year gap had been in place, it's possible Arya could have trained and left in that time. There is nothing that absolutely demands that we have to see her leave Braavos, that could possibly be told via flashbacks.

Nothing major would have happened off screen.

It is pretty obvious that Sansa, Arya and Bran were to be in their "training phases" during the 5 year gap. And possibly Jon as well, as he learned the ropes as commander of the Watch.

[Ser Wun Wun]

She was supposed to spend 5 years with them, before the 5 year gap was cut. Hence, it was always Martin's intention to have her fully trained and ready to be sent on a contract to Westeros.

Now he will just have to speed it up, hence her already killing her first man in Dance, after only a few months with the Faceless Men.

True, I could see how GRRM might have planned something like that with the 5 year gap. If he actually has the FM send a 10 or 11 year old Arya on an assassination mission though, I'm going to be a little disappointed. It just doesn't seem plausible to me :dunno:

I could still definitely see her killing LF and meeting Sansa in the Vale/Riverlands, I just don't think the FM will prompt her to do it.

[Free Northman]

True, I could see how GRRM might have planned something like that with the 5 year gap. If he actually has the FM send a 10 or 11 year old Arya on an assassination mission though, I'm going to be a little disappointed. It just doesn't seem plausible to me :dunno:

I could still definitely see her killing LF and meeting Sansa in the Vale/Riverlands, I just don't think the FM will prompt her to do it.

They already sent her to kill that crooked insurance guy. In another year's time she will be even more skilled.

What's more perfect than a child-assassin? I don't think Jaqen H'Garr can morph into a child. That would be some glamour. So Arya could be their most effective killing tool yet.

[Last Eye of Bloodraven]

First post here, so bear with me.

I've this crackpot theory.

1- The FM find out Arya is a warg, something they don't fully understand but it's enough to explain why everytime she says "I'm no one" she's lying.

2- She got a lot o training but she is not a full FM yet, they send her back to Westeros via Maidenpool.

3- She gets reunited with Nymeria and The Hound now a much more centered dude.

[Lyanna Stark]

Nothing major would have happened off screen.

It is pretty obvious that Sansa, Arya and Bran were to be in their "training phases" during the 5 year gap. And possibly Jon as well, as he learned the ropes as commander of the Watch.

Nothing major really happens in Arya's AFFC and ADWD chapters either. ;) Or at least nothing that could not have been basically retold or inferred in future chapters. Sorry, I just think her Faceless Men chapters are among the dullest ones in ASOIAF. Which is sad since I used to love her chapters pre-AFFC.

I agree with your general assumption though that the 5 year gap would have been the training phase. Maybe the onset of Winter will have a similar delaying effect, since if we assume the 5 year gap, Sansa would be 17 and Arya 15 which are more reasonable ages. As of the end of ADWD, Sansa should be 14, morving on 15 and Arya 12, moving on 13 if my extrapolating the AFFC timeline is somewhat correct (no guarantee for that though).

[cuendillar]

The only major Westerosi task she can recieve at this point is likely Roose or Ramsay Bolton. Her intimate knowledge of Winterfell and the surrounding areas could feasibly make up for her lack of experience as an assassin. As far as we know, she has never met Ramsay as Bolton's Bastard would have no reason to visit Winterfell prior to his attack on it. Furthermore, she has a pretty big score to settle with him already...

Besides, those two have successfully managed to make enemies of pretty much the entire North so there are plenty of potential employers.

[Random person in the North]

Isn't she headed for Volantis as an apprentice though? Volantis which was given a big build up and lots of political background in ADWD. Volantis which also just happens to be the most likely next staging point for Danny/Tyrion/Jorah/Ser Barristan et all.

Who's to say that her "master" in Volantis isn't killed trying to steal/kill the dragons and that she's then left alone or as a captive? It would be a convergence of the storylines and one that would take her straight back to Westeros without the need to become a master assassin on a mission.

[Free Northman]

Isn't she headed for Volantis as an apprentice though? Volantis which was given a big build up and lots of political background in ADWD. Volantis which also just happens to be the most likely next staging point for Danny/Tyrion/Jorah/Ser Barristan et all.

Who's to say that her "master" in Volantis isn't killed trying to steal/kill the dragons and that she's then left alone or as a captive? It would be a convergence of the storylines and one that would take her straight back to Westeros without the need to become a master assassin on a mission.

Where on earth did the Volantis idea come from?

All we know is that her new master is named Isembaro. But all indications are that she will still be based in Braavos.

[The Sleeper]

I think the point about the FM not killing anyone they know is meant to ensure their neutrality on their assignments and to avoid havung their feelings compromise the success of their mission. In that case anyone of any significance in the political scene of Westeros is out of tthe question. She may never have met Roose or Ramsay for instance but she has a major bone to pick with them. Even Daenerys is out of the question since their families have bad blood between them. As far as the timeline goes, I don't think we are meant to see the Spring, just the end of the Long Night. As the winter is supposed to be longer than the summer (which was nine years long), I think he will stretch it as much as he can to accomondate for the young age of the characters. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a gap after the current stroy arcs are resolved, thogh I can't think of any way Westeros reaches any kind of stability.

I agree that Izembarro sounds like a Braavosi name. I am inclined to believe that it is the FM with the face of the plague victim who gave her her first assignment.

[Ser Sweets]

I actually look forward to her somehow 'escaping' the Faceless Men, whether it be via an assignment that lands her unwatched in Westeros, or by simply leaving. The latter would be preferable because she would not end up hunted, but either way she would have managed to take the needed information from their teachings without sacrificing herself; I'm relatively certain that would, in a sense, be betraying them.

Why do I want that? I really hope I'm not the only one who dislikes the mentality of the Faceless Men; not the chapters, which are actually interesting to me, or the inside-view of Braavos, which I love having, but the organisation itself. It irritates me.

I guess I wouldn't really have any kind of problem with them if it wasn't Arya succumbing to their brainwashing. They serve a purpose as assassins. But I'm not fond of their mentality. I always thought the mentality of the guys in Fight Club was kind of obnoxious, too. But this is like Fight Club, religion-style.

TL;DR - Let's hope Arya fucks over the FM, because we all know she's a beautiful and unique snowflake.

[Vuron]

We don't know whether Izembaro is a person or place, but the indication is that Arya won't be back to the temple in a while. The quote below is from the books.

They brought a robe for her as well, the soft thick robe of an acolyte, black upon one side and

white upon the other. “Wear this when you are here,” the priest said, “but know that you shall have

little need of it for the present. On the morrow you will go to Izembaro to begin your first

apprenticeship. Take what clothes you will from the vaults below.

Her apprenticeship is a "get out of the timeline for free" card for GRRM. Arya, herself, doesn't have to be given a mission, so her age doesn't matter. She can follow her instructor to Volantis, Meereen, Westeros, or wherever she needs to go. Once where she's needed to be in the narrative, anything could happen to her teacher to free Arya from her FM duties.

I see her timeline moving very fast in the next book and she begins her push towards the end. My guess is that she's going to either hook up with Dany's group or Tyrion.

[Kittykatknits]

Nothing major really happens in Arya's AFFC and ADWD chapters either. ;) Or at least nothing that could not have been basically retold or inferred in future chapters. Sorry, I just think her Faceless Men chapters are among the dullest ones in ASOIAF. Which is sad since I used to love her chapters pre-AFFC.

I agree with your general assumption though that the 5 year gap would have been the training phase. Maybe the onset of Winter will have a similar delaying effect, since if we assume the 5 year gap, Sansa would be 17 and Arya 15 which are more reasonable ages. As of the end of ADWD, Sansa should be 14, morving on 15 and Arya 12, moving on 13 if my extrapolating the AFFC timeline is somewhat correct (no guarantee for that though).

I was bored with her storyline as well once she leaves Sandor. Really enjoyed it in the previous two books.

Winter will delay the story somewhat I think. From the reasearch I have been doing, Sansa is 14 years and 3 or 4 months. She may be a bit older than that but I'm not certain. I don't remember how much younger Arya is though.

Isn't she headed for Volantis as an apprentice though? Volantis which was given a big build up and lots of political background in ADWD. Volantis which also just happens to be the most likely next staging point for Danny/Tyrion/Jorah/Ser Barristan et all.

Who's to say that her "master" in Volantis isn't killed trying to steal/kill the dragons and that she's then left alone or as a captive? It would be a convergence of the storylines and one that would take her straight back to Westeros without the need to become a master assassin on a mission.

I don't think she'll go to Volantis We learn in one of the WoW spoiler chapters that

Stannis sent Justin Massey to Braavos to hire sell swords Justin took fake Arya with him to take back to the wall. But, we know that Jon has been injured so its possible that Justin will actually take him with to Braavos. I think Arya will somehow find out about Justin Massey and hop a ride with him back to Westeros. This way, she would arrive back in the North, in the same storyline as Jon and already be close to WF.

[Toccs]

I think that Arya being in Braavos will be how we glimpses into the Iron Bank's plotting now that they are getting more and more involved in the conflict.

[TheKindlyMan]

I was bored with her storyline as well once she leaves Sandor. Really enjoyed it in the previous two books.

Winter will delay the story somewhat I think. From the reasearch I have been doing, Sansa is 14 years and 3 or 4 months. She may be a bit older than that but I'm not certain. I don't remember how much younger Arya is though.

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).