Arya in TWOW Arya is in BIG trouble... (Mercy chapter spoilers)

[Gerg Sknab]

Totally agree with this. The idea that Jaqan accidentally came across Arya and sent her off to the temple of black and white because he owed her one? There was nothing accidental about their meeting, he arranged for it to be so. The FM have decided to take her in hand because they can use her. The FM have also put her in a place where they knew Raff the Sweetling would be and they knew exactly how she'd respond. JD has given a full account of their time together and they know all about her list. If anyone thinks Arya/Mercy just happened across Raff I have a bridge I'd like to sell to you.

So what are the FM up to and why did they want Arya to kill Raff? That's the real question to my mind.

pish posh.....

[The onion wight]

pish posh.....

How many people are left on Arya's list? So she just happens to bump into one of them? The Kindly man just coincidentally sends her off to learn to be a mummer where by happenstance Raff is visiting from Westeros? Posh pish.

[Gerg Sknab]

How many people are left on Arya's list? So she just happens to bump into one of them? The Kindly man just coincidentally sends her off to learn to be a mummer where by happenstance Raff is visiting from Westeros? Posh pish.

A little more versed in reality though considering as has been stated before Harys Swyft is of the Lannister clan by marriage as well a grandfather to Lancel and others...Tell me what is unusual about using Lannister men to protect Lannisters.....

Tell you what would be convienent though Dunsen being one of the guards posted inside the box...Arya could make a twofer

She then hops the first ship to Kings Landing (san iron coin) meets up with Mycella and befriends her to get close to Cersei....We know Cersei likes pretty people and "Mercy" is just that...thus giving Ayra the opportunity to take out Cersei and Trant

And all the while Ayra is communicating with Nymeria directing her to the Lannister encampment to remove the final final name from her list Illyn Payne...

[Im where whores go]

The Blinding of Arya was not punishment but part of her training. Her training was accelerated after the killing. People are placing too much stock in what the Kindly Man says and forgetting that the Kindly Man is a liar. All Faceless Men are liars. You have to be a very good liar to be a Faceless Man. I would put much more stock in what they do than what they say. So I do not think she is in any danger because she knew Raff. I also think it was clearly revealed at the end of the chapter that she was on a Faceless Man mission to kill one of the envoy's party to create trouble, the gods just answered her prayer by sending her someone she really wanted to kill.

I do agree, however with those who say she will not be with the FM much longer but not for the reason that she will be banished for killing someone. I believe she will leave because it was never part of the plan to have her become a full fledged FM. I never thought it was coincidence that brought her to the House of Black and White and still believe the FM are part of a conspiracy, the extent of which and to what end I do not know. Yet I think her story so far fits that plan and will continue to do so even when she returns to Westeros.

Agree with the first part, but have a question on the 2nd.

With all the secrets she now knows about the FM (like getting the new faces and being brought to the lower parts of tHoBW) can she just leave the FM without them trying to kill her? As mysterious as the FM are if they let people leave who knew the things Arya did their secrets would get out and I don't think they would care for that too much.

[Vivianne]

Agree with the first part, but have a question on the 2nd.

With all the secrets she now knows about the FM (like getting the new faces and being brought to the lower parts of tHoBW) can she just leave the FM without them trying to kill her? As mysterious as the FM are if they let people leave who knew the things Arya did their secrets would get out and I don't think they would care for that too much.

maybe it's like Skull and bones, she's in for life, just out on her own and Graduated, sworn to secrecy, bound by magic to be silent about their ways... :dunno:

[Uldra I]

Totally agree with this. The idea that Jaqan accidentally came across Arya and sent her off to the temple of black and white because he owed her one? There was nothing accidental about their meeting, he arranged for it to be so. The FM have decided to take her in hand because they can use her. The FM have also put her in a place where they knew Raff the Sweetling would be and they knew exactly how she'd respond. JD has given a full account of their time together and they know all about her list. If anyone thinks Arya/Mercy just happened across Raff I have a bridge I'd like to sell to you.

So what are the FM up to and why did they want Arya to kill Raff? That's the real question to my mind.

I have tried to find out if there is an solid reason to believe that Syrio=Jaqen=Whoever he was when he took his face off=Phario=the Alchemist in oldtown=Pate. It's really off topic to put the reasons for why this could be true, so I won't. Point is, Syrio had time to begin caring about Arya in KL. Also he learned about her abilities, and her darker side as well. Bet he became fond of her. I think Jaqen already knew Arya when they were being taken to the wall because he just changed from Syrio's face to Jaqens. He just kept growing more and more fond of and impressed by her. He also saw that she would make a good agent for Death. IMO, that seems the reason he gave her the coin, thinking she might need his help or want more training someday.

Even if the FM find out about Raff, I don't think Arya will be kicked out. It's true the KM had spoken to her about such things before, but he let her stay. He said he'd take her hearing next. I agree with whoever said the blindness wasn't a punishment, but training her to use her other senses, The same will be true of the hearing. Another reason she won't leave FM just yet is that she still has to learn glamours. She was told she'd get to learn.

In the Mercy chapter when she describes how lights seem to increase when Black Pearl walks past makes me think that woman knows glamours. Bet her next assignment will be in the home of the Black Pearl where she'll learn glamours among other things. Then she'll go home. Also I home that while she is still training, she will learn how to warg with Nymeria. I know she already does, but its subconscious. I'm not sure if she even knows that's what she is doing? Anyway, with her skills and Nym's army to back her, she'll be a hugely important character through the next book. Can't wait to find out what happens.

[The onion wight]

A little more versed in reality though considering as has been stated before Harys Swyft is of the Lannister clan by marriage as well a grandfather to Lancel and others...Tell me what is unusual about using Lannister men to protect Lannisters.....

Tell you what would be convienent though Dunsen being one of the guards posted inside the box...Arya could make a twofer

She then hops the first ship to Kings Landing (san iron coin) meets up with Mycella and befriends her to get close to Cersei....We know Cersei likes pretty people and "Mercy" is just that...thus giving Ayra the opportunity to take out Cersei and Trant

And all the while Ayra is communicating with Nymeria directing her to the Lannister encampment to remove the final final name from her list Illyn Payne...

She didn't happen on Raff though, she was sent by the kindly man. Total set up by the FM in my opinion. Perhaps they were simply testing her to see how she'd react?

I have tried to find out if there is an solid reason to believe that Syrio=Jaqen=Whoever he was when he took his face off=Phario=the Alchemist in oldtown=Pate. It's really off topic to put the reasons for why this could be true, so I won't. Point is, Syrio had time to begin caring about Arya in KL. Also he learned about her abilities, and her darker side as well. Bet he became fond of her. I think Jaqen already knew Arya when they were being taken to the wall because he just changed from Syrio's face to Jaqens. He just kept growing more and more fond of and impressed by her. He also saw that she would make a good agent for Death. IMO, that seems the reason he gave her the coin, thinking she might need his help or want more training someday.

Even if the FM find out about Raff, I don't think Arya will be kicked out. It's true the KM had spoken to her about such things before, but he let her stay. He said he'd take her hearing next. I agree with whoever said the blindness wasn't a punishment, but training her to use her other senses, The same will be true of the hearing. Another reason she won't leave FM just yet is that she still has to learn glamours. She was told she'd get to learn.

In the Mercy chapter when she describes how lights seem to increase when Black Pearl walks past makes me think that woman knows glamours. Bet her next assignment will be in the home of the Black Pearl where she'll learn glamours among other things. Then she'll go home. Also I home that while she is still training, she will learn how to warg with Nymeria. I know she already does, but its subconscious. I'm not sure if she even knows that's what she is doing? Anyway, with her skills and Nym's army to back her, she'll be a hugely important character through the next book. Can't wait to find out what happens.

Yes I agree with you I don't think she's in trouble at all. She was sent into a location where the FM knew someone from her list would be, I imagine as a test to see if she was no one or not. She's displayed her ability to be a cunning and ruthless killer, at least against people she dislikes or doesn't know. The FM want to turn her into a weapon an assassin who would kill their own brother without a seconds thought, she's a long way from being that. Her killing Raff was just another stage in her training, even though she thinks it's all her idea.

As for JD, it's simply implausible to my mind that him meeting Arya was not engineered in some way.

[Gerg Sknab]

Onion, she was sent to Izembaros troupe to apprentice as a mummer...see the Ugly Little Girl chapter.... not to complete an FM contract....Why would the FM use an apprentice to complete a contract in a place where she is recognized and known...it doesn't make sense...Raff is happenstance and Arya takes over...

And yes Mercy is going to be in trouble if for no other reason than she kept Needle...."It was a real mummers cloak, purple wool lined with red silk, with a hood to keep the rain off and three secret pockets too. She hid some coins in one of those, an iron key in another, a blade in the last. A real blade, not a fruit knife like the one on her hip but it did not belong to Mercy no more than her other treasures did" (remember the ones she threw in the canal as Arya).

"The fruit knife belonged to Mercy. She was made for eating fruit, for smiling and joking, for working hard and doing what she was told"....The fact she used Needle and reverted back to Arya only exacerbates the situation

[Uldra I]

Onion, she was sent to Izembaros troupe to apprentice as a mummer...see the Ugly Little Girl chapter.... not to complete an FM contract....Why would the FM use an apprentice to complete a contract in a place where she is recognized and known...it doesn't make sense...Raff is happenstance and Arya takes over... And yes Mercy is going to be in trouble if for no other reason than she kept Needle...."It was a real mummers cloak, purple wool lined with red silk, with a hood to keep the rain off and three secret pockets too. She hid some coins in one of those, an iron key in another, a blade in the last. A real blade, not a fruit knife like the one on her hip but it did not belong to Mercy no more than her other treasures did" (remember the ones she threw in the canal as Arya).

"The fruit knife belonged to Mercy. She was made for eating fruit, for smiling and joking, for working hard and doing what she was told"....The fact she used Needle and reverted back to Arya only exacerbates the situation

I agree she was sent to learn acting. An important skill, as Varys can tell you, if you have to be no more noticeable than a shadow. I didn't get the impression that she even carried Needle, or for that matter, has even taken it out of hiding. It read, to me, that she used a razor sharp finger blade, because when she cut his femoral artery his response was as if he felt a slight pinch. The blade she used on his throat had to be one small enough to conceal in her clothing. It is possible the FM knows about Needle, but I just haven't gotten that impression yet.

Realizing, I know nothing yet, I CAN'T WAIT for the new book!!! Arya has been my favorite character from the beginning. If she gets to stay with the FM and they make her deaf. I wonder how she'll learn to cope with that. Also, if they send her to the Black Pearl to learn glamours and possibly other skills, what that story will bring us. :drool:

ETA: I thought the dense, almost living fog from the Mercy chapter was really interesting. The way she ran across the bridge even though she couldn't see what was on the other side, seemed potent foreshadowing that she doesn't know what she is diving into with the FM. :eek:

[Giorgio Corrado]

I don't see why the FM will punish Arya just because she kept needle since I believe most likely they knew she still had needle and where she kept it. Added to the fact that the FM had some idea that Arya would come too need needle in the future while performing a contract for the FM. As for Raff I call that just bad luck for Raff for being in the wrong place at the wrong time while in turn it turned out to be a very good thing for Arya in testing her abilities as a mummer and attracting prey and then killing Raff.

[armidil0]

I don't see why the FM will punish Arya just because she kept needle since I believe most likely they knew she still had needle and where she kept it. Added to the fact that the FM had some idea that Arya would come too need needle in the future while performing a contract for the FM. As for Raff I call that just bad luck for Raff for being in the wrong place at the wrong time while in turn it turned out to be a very good thing for Arya in testing her abilities as a mummer and attracting prey and then killing Raff.

FM don't want Arya to keep needle. If she needed needle then they would give her a new sword. Needle has too many memories and feelings attached to it. Why would they want that? it would just keep her unstable and unpredictable for them to control her.

[Giorgio Corrado]

FM don't want Arya to keep needle. If she needed needle then they would give her a new sword. Needle has too many memories and feelings attached to it. Why would they want that? it would just keep her unstable and unpredictable for them to control her.

Needle can be used as a reward or punishment on Arya since she is still a recrute with the HoBW. But I agree most likely when Arya has completed her training and begins assignments for the FM they will give her a proper sword. Remember when Arya was placing needle in it's hiding place Arya mentionning that needle wasn't much of a sword and that one day she would need a true sword which she could find in the temple BW.

[The onion wight]

Onion, she was sent to Izembaros troupe to apprentice as a mummer...see the Ugly Little Girl chapter.... not to complete an FM contract....Why would the FM use an apprentice to complete a contract in a place where she is recognized and known...it doesn't make sense...Raff is happenstance and Arya takes over...

And yes Mercy is going to be in trouble if for no other reason than she kept Needle...."It was a real mummers cloak, purple wool lined with red silk, with a hood to keep the rain off and three secret pockets too. She hid some coins in one of those, an iron key in another, a blade in the last. A real blade, not a fruit knife like the one on her hip but it did not belong to Mercy no more than her other treasures did" (remember the ones she threw in the canal as Arya).

"The fruit knife belonged to Mercy. She was made for eating fruit, for smiling and joking, for working hard and doing what she was told"....The fact she used Needle and reverted back to Arya only exacerbates the situation

Hi Gerg

I never said she was fulfilling a contract I said she was sent there as part of her training. Arya thinks she's keeping secrets from the FM, hiding needle, lying about her being nobody, her secret kill list. I reckon the kindly man knows all of it. I think it stretches credulity to think that Arya was sent to the one place in Bravos where one of the dudes on her kill list would happen to be. I think it way more likely that the FM knew that Raff the Sweetling was going to be there and took the opportunity to test Arya who after all is a very valuable asset for them.

[WildlingPrincess22]

One thing that does confuse me about them is their motives for killing people. One of the FM tells Arya that they do not kill for money or to extend their power. But in GoT Petyr Baelish claims that the FM are extremely expensive, and there are indicated many times through the series as being some kind of service that can be bought.

I THOUGHT THE IRON BANK USED THE FACELESS MEN TO DO THEIR DIRTY WORK...AND THEY DO HAVE THE FUNDS..THAT BEING SAID RAFF WAS A COMPANION TO SER HARYS SWIFT ON HIS TRIP TO BRAAVOS TO TREAT WITH THE IRON BANK., SO MAYBE IT WAS ARYA STRAYING OFF FOR HER PERSONAL VENDETTA, BUT MY GUESS IS RAFF WAS THE TARGET.AS TO THE EXACT REASON WHY HIM AND NOT HARYS...THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES

[Uldra I]

I THOUGHT THE IRON BANK USED THE FACELESS MEN TO DO THEIR DIRTY WORK...AND THEY DO HAVE THE FUNDS..THAT BEING SAID RAFF WAS A COMPANION TO SER HARYS SWIFT ON HIS TRIP TO BRAAVOS TO TREAT WITH THE IRON BANK., SO MAYBE IT WAS ARYA STRAYING OFF FOR HER PERSONAL VENDETTA, BUT MY GUESS IS RAFF WAS THE TARGET.AS TO THE EXACT REASON WHY HIM AND NOT HARYS...THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES

Even before Mercy, I've thought that the IB may contract with the FM for assassinating the king and Cersei, maybe her whole family so that Stannis could take the throne. Don't know if the FM would give work like that to her because of her relative inexperience and because she knows those people, and FM aren't supposed to kill people they know. For a job like that, even if she was not supposed to be the actual assassin, she might be sent along for that very reason. She knows the city, the Keep, and the people and would be very useful to another FM. If she goes to KL, I bet she'll stay in Westeros. I hope so. I know she is only fiction, but it scares me to think of a young girl turning into such a monster, and yet it is thrilling to watch what she does at the same time. That's my prediction for how she might end up going home finally.

ETA: still hope she gets at little more training so she can do glamours first. I think I'm becoming obsessed with glamours...lol

ETA again:: think Arya will be heading to Braavos in ep 10?

[The onion wight]

I THOUGHT THE IRON BANK USED THE FACELESS MEN TO DO THEIR DIRTY WORK...AND THEY DO HAVE THE FUNDS..THAT BEING SAID RAFF WAS A COMPANION TO SER HARYS SWIFT ON HIS TRIP TO BRAAVOS TO TREAT WITH THE IRON BANK., SO MAYBE IT WAS ARYA STRAYING OFF FOR HER PERSONAL VENDETTA, BUT MY GUESS IS RAFF WAS THE TARGET.AS TO THE EXACT REASON WHY HIM AND NOT HARYS...THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES

I get the feeling the FM have their own agenda and no I don't think they're simple hired assassins.

[Uldra I]

I get the feeling the FM have their own agenda and no I don't think they're simple hired assassins.

What do you think they are? and why?

[The onion wight]

What do you think they are? and why?

They're an esoteric religious order. Their actions would tend to be guided by this. I have no idea why folks think they're some mafia style organization, an assassins guild hired out to the highest bidder, clearly they're nothing of the sort. I think when the red comet appeared in the sky, that word came to them that Dany had her dragons and the Others were moving south they kicked into a higher gear.

[igrewupinKL]

Part of Arya's training was learning to lie believably to the kindly man. She achieved that in AFFC (hiding needle)

I think she will just lie. And move on to her own things

[Gerg Sknab]

Really, hiding Needle, lying believably?....AFFC Arya 2 page 456 paperback..."you'll be safe here", she told Needle. "No one will know where you are but me."....She never told the Kindly Man what she had done, yet he knew.