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The FM are assassins only?


Mithras

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There is a general consensus in the forum that whenever they suspect someone being a FM, they naturally assume that this guy has to be after some target. So is killing the only thing they do?



They are expert infiltrators unmatched in the Planetos. They need to know a lot of things to do their business. They are in fact an intelligence agency. Arya's "three new things a day" should tell us something. They learn to spy much before they learn to kill. And the specific manner they kill their targets requires that they must be expert spies.



I think the realm should be teaming with FM agents. They constantly gather intelligence, report to their superiors and the superiors should return to Braavos to report and get new orders. We know that the targets are discussed in the base and the agents are dispatched for the job.



I think there should be secret bases all over the realm so that a FM can come and replenish his resources, get new orders, report the new things discovered etc.



Therefore, killer FM should consist only a small portion of the whole FM structure. We already know from Braavos that there are many servants of the House (like old Brusco) who gathers intelligence, train the new recuits and so on.


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Varys has the ability to wear at least two faces: his own and the stubbly guard in and around the red keep. I can't be sure if it is actual face-changing -- Ned seemed to recognize him in the guard outit -- but being an FM would jive well with his streetwise education and his ability to see and hear things that he otherwise wouldn't. Perhaps he can change into a serving person or a guard and overhear private conversations?

The problems with this theory is that there doesn't seem to be any mention of him having spent time in Braavos, but since the guild actually predates Braavos there may be other training sites in Lys or Pentos.

There is also some compelling suggestion that Varys might be a Targaryen -- shaves his head to hide is hair color, provided the "power of king's blood" for the warlock's ritual -- and I can't imagine GRRM would give him that many hats to wear.

But anything is possible.

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They might, but the entire theology of the many faced god is centered around death. And the assasinations seem to be going pretty well judging by their repuation. So what would be their motive for expanding their business?

I think this is a natural part of their business. How can some religious group secluded in a temple go and kill a target half a world away and at the same time makes the killing look like an accident? They must know a lot of things for their operations. For that, they must be an alive and well spread spy network.

I suspect that they also have a pretty impressive financial arm called the Iron Bank.

:agree:

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I think this is a natural part of their business. How can some religious group secluded in a temple go and kill a target half a world away and at the same time makes the killing look like an accident? They must know a lot of things for their operations. For that, they must be an alive and well spread spy network.

:agree:

I see. I sort of misinterpreted you. But yeah it makes sense they have a network of agents spread around the world to provide intel, especially when dealing with hard to reach and high profile targets.

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I think this is a natural part of their business. How can some religious group secluded in a temple go and kill a target half a world away and at the same time makes the killing look like an accident? They must know a lot of things for their operations. For that, they must be an alive and well spread spy network.

:agree:

Yeah, I think so too. I was also wondering why the agent who is at the Citadel with Sam is only waiting and listening still. I don't know if people already discussed this in detail on another thread, though... He has one of those keys which can open almost any door, right? Is he after ancient books about killing dragons or is he there also to kill someone specific? Do you guys have any clues?

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I suspect that they also have a pretty impressive financial arm called the Iron Bank.

:agree: They often kill with coins, the kings who don't pay their due are replaced... the evidence is simply overwhelming.

I also think that their relation with the IB is an indication that their murders are less disinterested then they claim when assignments are concerned. From there, it's only a small step to say that efficient murder isn't the only reason why they gather intelligence.

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Yeah, I think so too. I was also wondering why the agent who is at the Citadel with Sam is only waiting and listening still. I don't know if people already discussed this in detail on another thread, though... He has one of those keys which can open almost any door, right? Is he after ancient books about killing dragons or is he there also to kill someone specific? Do you guys have any clues?

The FM do not steal. Kindly man said they are no thieves. I think Jaqen's purpose might be obtaining the glass candles at the Citadel.

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The FM do not steal. Kindly man said they are no thieves. I think Jaqen's purpose might be obtaining the glass candles at the Citadel.

Yes, true, so maybe it's not about books, maybe just obtaining information.

They often kill with coins, the kings who don't pay their due are replaced... the evidence is simply overwhelming.

I also think that their relation with the IB is an indication that their murders are less disinterested then they claim when assignments are concerned. From there, it's only a small step to say that efficient murder isn't the only reason why they gather intelligence.

Good point. Maybe the IB hires the FM when they need some king who's in debt killed?

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The FM do not steal. Kindly man said they are no thieves. I think Jaqen's purpose might be obtaining the glass candles at the Citadel.

Well, obtaining those glass candles would be theft, right? The Kindly Men tells Arya they don't steal, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were willing to bend their own rules when it comes in handy. They are already associated with some ideologies, which means they already aren't exactly the disinterested they claim to be...

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I have wondered whether they are some sort of agents of The Great Other, which isn't actually as horrendous an entity as Melisandre's biased view makes out -- just one that provides balance to R'hllor's "fire".

The FM do seem to be some sort of counterbalance to the followers of R'hllor: they kill the living, while R'hllor raises the dead. They are darkness, the chill of the tomb, and the dead (and ice?), while R'hllor is light, heat and life (and fire!).

But then I have a rather odd theory that part of this "balance of two elemental entities" functions a bit like the concept of Yin Yang, where the nucleus of the opposite element is contained or imprisoned with its diametric other, so to speak. So the source of R'hllor is actually encased within ice, so it -- whatever *it* is -- lies beyond the Wall. This would make sense in terms of Melisandre discovering her powers are stronger at the Wall, because she is nearer "R'hllor".

This would also suggest that the source of the Great Other is entrapped within heat, so maybe the remains of Valyria, which could be the "fire" opposite of the land beyond the Wall? Both places have barriers to entry that seem slightly too oppositional to warrant a 'meh': the Wall (solid ice) and the Smoking Sea (gaseous fumes).

Thinking up all the opposites is a slight hobby of mine: if BR is a bastard Targ (fire amongst ice), then is there a old bastard Stark somewhere sat on top of a volcano, for example? :oD And what would that mean? Just as we see Melisandre's power grow at the wall, are we going to see Arya's powers (warging?) grow the further towards Valyria she reaches?

If my ideas are anywhere near the mark, then the FMs are similar to the Red Priests: both a network, a religion, a service, and, no doubt, a lot more besides -- with a definite game plan and, no doubt, a prophesy of some sort. As the RPs can birth "temporary shadows" from light, the FM can birth "half-light" from darkness by preserving the dead and giving them "new life" in the form of the FM's changing of identities? I dunno ... but it is rather fun thinking about it.

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There is no indication the FM are an all-purpose CIA-for-hire. The FM are assassins.



"It is not for you to say who shall live and who shall die. That gift belongs to Him of Many Faces. We are but his servants, sworn to do his will....We bring the gift of death."



The Faceless Men don't post a list of prices on their door. The way it works, you go to them and tell them who you want killed, and then they negotiate the price. The prominent the victim, the more difficult to get to, the more dangerous for the assassin and the guild, the higher the price. - GRRM 1999


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  • 5 months later...

The FM has non FM coworkers such as Izembaro, Brusco etc. I think some courtesans are in league with them too. If they have a lot of non-FM agents, coworkers in Braavos, why not use such people outside Braavos too?

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They're the divine gardeners of our Dark Eden.



It's about good governance. The dead aren't just killed to say "take that!" , they're being removed from clogging up society's works so that better people can grow and flourish and hopefully not gunk it up for everyone the way the murdered people were. It's the gardening of human society. Those who replace the roles of the fallen are like new branches of fate that are now able to reach for the sky and bathe in the light. There's an upside beyond "kill the annoying!" That's why it's so hot. Human governments have their limitations, and when we reach ours we have no recourse, really, nothing to fall back on as a plan B....... but Braavos just sits back and lets their shadowy cult of better living make the needed course corrections for them. It's pretty sweet, actually.


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