Why the Sealord chose Syrio to guard him

[X-Buster]

The reason has been covered here before by more than one poster.  I have my own theory and am presenting it here for the benefit of the new people.

The Sealord was guarding against the  faceless men.  He was looking for somebody who cannot be fooled by the disguise.  The effectiveness of the disguise is dependent on suggestion and the susceptibility of the receiver.  Syrio doesn't fall for the BS.  He can see right through the faceless men's tricks.  The faceless men have been around for a long time.  Important people like the Sealord and wealthy merchants will have found a way to counter their tricks.  A formal method for training Anti-Assassination personnel would have been created and those with strong minds were taught to develop methodologies for countering the faceless men.  Syrio can see through the mental fog and recognized a common cat. 

[Lord Lannister]

Occam's Razor would suggest that the Sealord just wanted someone honest who didn't try to bs him rather that some convoluted plot to escape the Faceless Men's hit list.

[Megorova]

Based on what is known about the history and structure of Braavos, it's highly likely that the Sealord has no reasons to be weary of the Faceless Men. Simply because he is one of them. Furthermore, he is the leader of the Faceless Men. And Syrio is also one of FM. I even think that Syrio and Jaqen H'ghar/Alchemist/fakePate is the same person. In Arya's chapter in TWOW there was mentioned a playwright Phario Forel. I think that could be that Phario is Syrio's brother, and that when Arya will meet him, she will find out that his brother is a servant of the Many-Faced God/FM. So Arya, based on this information, will realise that her sword-dance teacher and her Lorathi pal is the same person. Also, if the Sealord was afraid of FM and hired Syrio to guard him from them, then it doesn't make any sense for Syrio not to be in Braavos with the Sealord, because how can he guard him, if they are on different continents? And if Syrio was dismissed/fired, because of his incompetence or some other reason, then why was he hired into the Red Keep? The Sealord is still alive, and FM are still active, thus if Syrio was hired to guard the Sealord from FM, why isn't he no longer a part of that equation?

[Mourning Star]

1 hour ago, Lord Lannister said:

Occam's Razor would suggest that the Sealord just wanted someone honest who didn't try to bs him rather that some convoluted plot to escape the Faceless Men's hit list.

Occam's Razor doesn't apply to works of fiction, there is no reason to suspect simpler solution when dealing with fiction, let alone fantasy.

8 minutes ago, Megorova said:

Based on what is known about the history and structure of Braavos, it's highly likely that the Sealord has no reasons to be weary of the Faceless Men. Simply because he is one of them. Furthermore, he is the leader of the Faceless Men. And Syrio is also one of FM. I even think that Syrio and Jaqen H'ghar/Alchemist/fakePate is the same person. In Arya's chapter in TWOW there was mentioned a playwright Phario Forel. I think that could be that Phario is Syrio's brother, and that when Arya will meet him, she will find out that his brother is a servant of the Many-Faced God/FM. So Arya, based on this information, will realise that her sword-dance teacher and her Lorathi pal is the same person. Also, if the Sealord was afraid of FM and hired Syrio to guard him from them, then it doesn't make any sense for Syrio not to be in Braavos with the Sealord, because how can he guard him, if they are on different continents? And if Syrio was dismissed/fired, because of his incompetence or some other reason, then why was he hired into the Red Keep? The Sealord is still alive, and FM are still active, thus if Syrio was hired to guard the Sealord from FM, why isn't he no longer a part of that equation?

I wouldn't be quite so sure, we don't know what the politics are internally in Braavos yet. At least one Sealord died recently.

And while I agree that the Syrio we met was probably the same faceless man as Jaqen, the Alchemist and Pate, I think this is probably because the real Syrio has been dead since before the start of the series. We know the Sealord who signed Viserys's marriage pact with Dorne died, and I suspect that Phario Forel will confirm for us that the real Syrio died alongside the Sealord.

Meaning that from the start in King's Landing it was a faceless man wearing Syrio's face.

[CamiloRP]

11 hours ago, Unit A2 said:

The reason has been covered here before by more than one poster.  I have my own theory and am presenting it here for the benefit of the new people.

The Sealord was guarding against the  faceless men.  He was looking for somebody who cannot be fooled by the disguise.  The effectiveness of the disguise is dependent on suggestion and the susceptibility of the receiver.  Syrio doesn't fall for the BS.  He can see right through the faceless men's tricks.  The faceless men have been around for a long time.  Important people like the Sealord and wealthy merchants will have found a way to counter their tricks.  A formal method for training Anti-Assassination personnel would have been created and those with strong minds were taught to develop methodologies for countering the faceless men.  Syrio can see through the mental fog and recognized a common cat. 

Yeah, this has been always my assumption. The cat is glamoured, yet we know 'glamours melt before keen eyes". Syrio attempts to train Arya into having 'keen eyes'. In all likelyhood he has keen eyes, which makes him perfect for a body guard

[CamiloRP]

29 minutes ago, Megorova said:

Based on what is known about the history and structure of Braavos, it's highly likely that the Sealord has no reasons to be weary of the Faceless Men. Simply because he is one of them. Furthermore, he is the leader of the Faceless Men.

I don't think the Sealord is a Faceless Men, is there evidence for it?

The religion of the Many-Faced God doesn't seem to be the most powerful or popular religion in Braavos, their temple is never full.

 

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And Syrio is also one of FM. I even think that Syrio and Jaqen H'ghar/Alchemist/fakePate is the same person.

This I don't agree at all. Not onlt the timeline doesn't work (unless Varys is aiding him on his plans) but Syrio teaches Arya anti-Faceless Men lessons, like the sword being a part of her arm.

 

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Also, if the Sealord was afraid of FM and hired Syrio to guard him from them, then it doesn't make any sense for Syrio not to be in Braavos with the Sealord, because how can he guard him, if they are on different continents?

Well, the Sealord hired him as a guard. We know that. Then he either resigned, retired, was fired or was replaced by someone better. This is a fact regardless of him being there to protect the sealord against Faceless Men or not.

 

 

[Darksnider05]

2 hours ago, CamiloRP said:

Yeah, this has been always my assumption. The cat is glamoured, yet we know 'glamours melt before keen eyes". Syrio attempts to train Arya into having 'keen eyes'. In all likelyhood he has keen eyes, which makes him perfect for a body guard

Faceless men do not use glamours though what they do is straight up blood magic/soul magic.  A glamour is like hologram you can put your hand through it.  You touch a Faceless man nothing is going to tell. 

Not to say Faceless men do not know Glamours but it is not the changing of a face.

[Megorova]

3 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

At least one Sealord died recently.

No, he didn't. The current Sealord is the same one who 1. gave three dragon eggs as gifts to mummer-dwarfs (Hop-Bean and his children Penny and Oppo, it was 5-10 years ago), 2. gave to Syrio the title of the First Sword of Braavos, 3. signed future marriage pact between Viserys and Arianne. Sealords serve for life, the current one is old and ill, so people expect that he will die soon.

3 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

We know the Sealord who signed Viserys's marriage pact with Dorne died

The one who died is Willem Darry, not the Sealord. That Sealord, Ferrego Antaryon, is the current rulling Sealord of Braavos.

P.S. What I wrote above is not facts, it's my assumptions, based on logical deductions.

For example - one of the previous Sealords had three dragon eggs that were given to him by Alissa Farman, who stole them from Targaryens shortly prior the Dance of the Dragons war. In The Mystery Knight novel Bloodraven sent mummer-dwarfs to steal a dragon egg from Whitewalls. GRRM is using Dunk&Egg novels to give clues to readers about mysteries hiden in the main series. The current Sealord gave owned by him three dragon eggs to mummer-dwarfs, and then those dwarfs gave them to either Varys or Illyrio (whom they knew because Varys in the past also was a mummer. It's likely that Varys and Hop-Been used to be in the same troupe). That Sealord gave away dragon eggs just because those dwarfs made him laugh. Those eggs are PRICELESS, and he just gave them away. So, he's an eccentric guy. And the Sealord who gave a title to Syrio is also an eccentric guy. Both of those events happened 5-10 years ago. How likely is it that in that time slot there was two Sealords, one ruling shortly after the other, and both of them were eccentrists? Thus it's more likely that it's all was the same Sealord, the same person who still rules Braavos now.

2 hours ago, CamiloRP said:

I don't think the Sealord is a Faceless Men, is there evidence for it?

There is no "evidence". Though, isn't it obvious?

This ->

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Uncloaking_of_Uthero

is an evidence that Braavos was founded by Faceless Men, that FM and Iron Bank are parts of the same organisation (when people don't pay their debts to IB, they are visited and dealt with by FM), and that the Sealord is the leader of FM (there's zero information about any political of factional confrontations, rebellions, or civil wars in Braavos. Ever. Unlike what happens in Volantis, Lys, Pentos, Tyrosh, etc. Thus, isn't it logical that nothing like that ever happens in Braavos, because this city, unlike all the others in Essos, is ruled by a single organisation, headed by a single ruler, who is chosen for life, and commands both Faceless Men and Iron Bank?). FM stole all those riches that were used to create Braavos and Iron Bank. So if they were not Ok with the revealing/uncloaking of Braavos, then the Sealord wouldn't have been able to do what he wanted.

2 hours ago, CamiloRP said:

The religion of the Many-Faced God doesn't seem to be the most powerful or popular religion in Braavos,

Just because the rulers of the city worship God of Death, they don't require all other citizens to also worship him. Because they are not like Valyrian slavers, from whom they escaped. They allow their people to worship whoever they want. Also, their policy is that sooner or later everyone will die, thus sooner or later everyone will serve to Death.

2 hours ago, CamiloRP said:

their temple is never full.

Because while people are still alive, they serve to other gods, and they go to visit the Many-Faced God only if they want to die or to kill someone (the price is high, thus people usually deal with problems like this on their own, and hire FM only in special cases).

2 hours ago, CamiloRP said:

Syrio teaches Arya anti-Faceless Men lessons, like the sword being a part of her arm.

I don't consider anything he taught her as anti-FM.

2 hours ago, CamiloRP said:

the timeline doesn't work (unless Varys is aiding him on his plans)

The timeline does work. Both Syrio and Jaqen were at the Red Keep at the same time period, while Ned was there. I think Ned was FM's target. Not in a sense that they wanted to kill him, more like they thought that he had information that they needed. Jaqen was held in Black Cells, that have access into the Hand's Tower (Tyrion killed Tywin using that same path). When he didn't managed to find whatever he was looking, while he was sneaking out from his cell and into the Hand's chambers, he took off his mask and approached Ned as Syrio, and used Arya as a means to get more access to Ned and his people.

Varys is definitely not aware of FM's presence in the Red Keep. He doesn't know about their activity in 7K. It seems more likely that Varys and the Sealord/FM are in opposing factions. Because the Sealord was supporting Willem Darry and Targaryen-kids, while for Varys that marriage between Viserys and Martells would have been unfavorable for fAegon. I think that Willem's death was caused by Varys, that he was slowly poisoned, and after that Varys removed Dany and Viserys from under the Sealord's control, and took them under his control. Illyrio admitted to Tyrion that he and Varys were watching Targaryen-duo for many years prior Illyrio invited them into his mansion. I think that Varys' agents were intentionally making Viserys paranoid, they convinced him that he and Dany are always chased after by the Usurper's dogs, and because of this reason they never settled anywhere, and never stayed anywhere for long. That way other people (including the Sealord), who would have wished to become patrons of Targaryen-duo, and either to use them or to help them, were unable to do so. Thus, if Varys and Jaqen were conspiring together, then there would have been no reason for Jaqen to pose as a prisoner, to get wherever he wanted in the Red Keep, because Varys had access everywhere in there, including the Hand's Tower.

[CamiloRP]

39 minutes ago, Darksnider05 said:

Faceless men do not use glamours though what they do is straight up blood magic/soul magic.  A glamour is like hologram you can put your hand through it.  You touch a Faceless man nothing is going to tell. 

Not to say Faceless men do not know Glamours but it is not the changing of a face.

There are three ways of face-changing: artifice (the Handsome Man), Glamour (the Kindly Man), Solid Face-Change (Jaqen; Arya). I don't think all Faceless Men are able to do a solid face change, the Handsome Man shows up looking the same every time but with a different nose, that makes me think that he's can only do artifice, not solid face changes or even glamours. The only ones we see perform solid face changes are Arya and Jaqen, which makes me think it's a natural ability, it's skinchanging a dead face. The rest rely on glamours or artifice, things that Syrio is trained in spotting.

[Lord Lannister]

3 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

Occam's Razor doesn't apply to works of fiction, there is no reason to suspect simpler solution when dealing with fiction, let alone fantasy.

Because you arbitrarily say so? I guess that's red meat to every tin foil theorist in the fan base. You can spin theories out of anything. That doesn't mean they're going to be true and more often than not the simpler solution is going to be the true one. 

[CamiloRP]

21 minutes ago, Megorova said:

There is no "evidence". Though, isn't it obvious?

Not to me.

 

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This ->

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Uncloaking_of_Uthero

is an evidence that Braavos was founded by Faceless Men, that FM and Iron Bank are parts of the same organisation (when people don't pay their debts to IB, they are visited and dealt with by FM)

We never get an instance of people who don't pay to the Iron Bank being sent a Faceless Man. Cersei is still alive, and the Iron Bank had enough time to send Tycho to the North. 

 

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, and that the Sealord is the leader of FM (there's zero information about any political of factional confrontations, rebellions, or civil wars in Braavos. Ever. Unlike what happens in Volantis, Lys, Pentos, Tyrosh, etc.

If the Sealord was the leader of the Faceless Men, then Braavos should have won every war easily, by killing their enemies's commanders and such.

 

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Thus, isn't it logical that nothing like that ever happens in Braavos, because this city, unlike all the others in Essos, is ruled by a single organisation,

Yes, that organization is the Iron Bank. Every powerful family in Braavos has shares in the Iron Bank, which forces them to keep the status quo. No one would rebel, because they'll lose money.

 

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FM stole all those riches that were used to create Braavos and Iron Bank.

Is there evidence for this?

 

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I don't consider anything he taught her as anti-FM.

He tells her to never loose her sword, that it's a part of her. The Faceless force her to get rid of the sword. 

 

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The timeline does work. Both Syrio and Jaqen were at the Red Keep at the same time period, while Ned was there. I think Ned was FM's target. Not in a sense that they wanted to kill him, more like they thought that he had information that they needed. Jaqen was held in Black Cells, that have access into the Hand's Tower (Tyrion killed Tywin using that same path). When he didn't managed to find whatever he was looking, while he was sneaking out from his cell and into the Hand's chambers, he took off his mask and approached Ned as Syrio, and used Arya as a means to get more access to Ned and his people.

If that was the case, why didn't Varys or "Ruguen" realised Jaqen was missing for all the time he was teaching Arya? The logistics of it also make little sense, did he have a secret hideout, a Batcave, where he left Syrio's clothes and face?

 

 

[Mourning Star]

2 minutes ago, Lord Lannister said:

Because you arbitrarily say so? I guess that's red meat to every tin foil theorist in the fan base. You can spin theories out of anything. That doesn't mean they're going to be true and more often than not the simpler solution is going to be the true one. 

Haha no, because of the definition of Occam's Razor, you cannot meaningfully use it in reference to fiction. There is no reason to think a simpler solution is preferable in fiction, that's literally the point I was making. Simpler theories are preferable according to Occam's Razor because they are more testable, nothing about theories about a fantasy series is testable. Unless you meant to make an argument about divine miracles, in which case I'm all ears lol.

But obviously, "tinfoil", in your words, is more likely to be true in a fictional fantasy story than irl, which shouldn't be surprising.

3 minutes ago, CamiloRP said:

If that was the case, why didn't Varys or "Ruguen" realised Jaqen was missing for all the time he was teaching Arya? The logistics of it also make little sense, did he have a secret hideout, a Batcave, where he left Syrio's clothes and face?

There is no reason to think the faceless man would have taken the face (and place) of Jaqen in the Black cells until after Syrio disappears. I don't think anyone thinks he's returning to prison every night to sleep.

Isn't the better question, is (or was) Varys a faceless man? He's the first man we see change his face after all.

The logistics actually make total sense, since Ned was supposed to be leaving with the Night's Watch, and King's Landing was on lockdown, taking Jaquen's place provided a logical way out of the city for a faceless man who wanted to stay close to Ned.

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"The younger girl escaped Ser Meryn and fled," Varys told him. "I have not been able to find her. Nor have the Lannisters. A kindness, there. Our new king loves her not. Your older girl is still betrothed to Joffrey. Cersei keeps her close. She came to court a few days ago to plead that you be spared. A pity you couldn't have been there, you would have been touched." He leaned forward intently. "I trust you realize that you are a dead man, Lord Eddard?"

A Game of Thrones - Eddard XV

 

This is an odd thing to tell a man you are about to convince to admit to treason so his (and his daughter's) life will be spared.

[CamiloRP]

19 minutes ago, Mourning Star said:

There is no reason to think the faceless man would have taken the face (and place) of Jaqen in the Black cells until after Syrio disappears. I don't think anyone thinks he's returning to prison every night to sleep.

Oh, I agree, but that's what @Megorova claimed. Or at least what I understood.

 

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The logistics actually make total sense, since Ned was supposed to be leaving with the Night's Watch, and King's Landing was on lockdown, taking Jaquen's place provided a logical way out of the city for a faceless man who wanted to stay close to Ned.

Yeah, the logistics where a problem only in the weird scenario in which Jaqen is in the black cells from before Syrio's death.

To in the other case, the timing is a problem, IMHO. Things point to Rorge, Biter and Jaqen knowing themselves from before being arrested. Jaqen named Biter, yet Rorge calls him that; they all stay together after they are freed and they where incarcerated together, pointing to the same crime. So what's whit them before Syrio ceased to be? Syrio 'died' a few days before Ned, so when where they given to Ned? In fact, Ned gives Yoren leave to take anyone from the Black Cells, but save for Jaqen's posy they where empty, where they locked in the Black Cells at that time? 

[Mourning Star]

51 minutes ago, CamiloRP said:

To in the other case, the timing is a problem, IMHO. Things point to Rorge, Biter and Jaqen knowing themselves from before being arrested. Jaqen named Biter, yet Rorge calls him that; they all stay together after they are freed and they where incarcerated together, pointing to the same crime. So what's whit them before Syrio ceased to be? Syrio 'died' a few days before Ned, so when where they given to Ned? In fact, Ned gives Yoren leave to take anyone from the Black Cells, but save for Jaqen's posy they where empty, where they locked in the Black Cells at that time? 

I'm not sure where you get this impression.

"A man does not choose his companions in the black cells," the handsome one with the red-and-white hair said. Something about the way he talked reminded her of Syrio; it was the same, yet different too.

It always seemed to me that Rorge and Biter were a pair, but not Jaqen. 

I never got the impression they were arrested together, but I suppose it's not impossible. 

If Syrio took Jaqen's place in the Black Cells then it was likely because Ned had publicly given them to the Night's Watch already, and the paperwork had been completed, before Ned himself ends up in the Black Cells. Meaning the very reason to replace Jaqen was that they were going to be leaving Kings Landing (with the Red Keep and city on lockdown) with Yoren, and if all had gone to plan, Ned himself.

 

[Universal Sword Donor]

Maybe the sealord just wanted another bro around who liked cats. Syrio's seen thousands of them, so he would have fit the bill.

[CamiloRP]

36 minutes ago, Mourning Star said:

I'm not sure where you get this impression.

I just listed all the reasons...

Jaqen named Biter, yet Rorge calls him that when Jaqen is gone, and George said that Rorge and Biter knew eachtoher from before the Black Cells

They all stay together after they are freed, despite having no reason to.

They where incarcerated together, pointing to the same crime. There's ample space in the Black Cells, most of it empty. Why would someone put three criminals together if it wasn't for the same crime? And furthermore, Why where them in the Black Cells? If their crime was serious enough, they should have been executed, if it wasn't, they should have been put in a regular cell or maimed or sent to the Wall.

There's also the fact that we have three protagonists that go on similar voyages in ACOK, Dany, Jon, and Arya. Those trips parallel eachother (abandoned villages, wastelands, loosing hair) and each of the three travels with a cage. Jon's cage has three ravens that can speak his name (skinchanging), Dany's cage has three dragons (dragon riding) to follow the parallel, Arya's cage should have three faceless men. Are rorge and Biter faceless men? Well, Rorge lacks a nose, I assume that the Handsome Man does as well, and that's how he uses artifice to change it. And Biter has weeping sores, like the Waif claims to be able to give Arya, and one HOBAW acolyte has, those are the only mentions of 'weeping sores' in the story. Then there's the fact that Biter stole the Hound's identity, like a faceless man would.

 

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If Syrio took Jaqen's place in the Black Cells then it was likely because Ned had publicly given them to the Night's Watch already, and the paperwork had been completed, before Ned himself ends up in the Black Cells. Meaning the very reason to replace Jaqen was that they were going to be leaving Kings Landing (with the Red Keep and city on lockdown) with Yoren, and if all had gone to plan, Ned himself.

So you think that he sneaked into the Black Cells, killed an imprisoned Jaquen, and took his face and identity? That would be hard work, getting rid of the body, and all. And Rorge and Biter would have seen him, so why didn't Rorge killed him when he had the chance? Rorge had the axe in the fire, he could've slain Jaqen or left him to burn.

[Mourning Star]

 

13 minutes ago, CamiloRP said:

So you think that he sneaked into the Black Cells, killed an imprisoned Jaquen, and took his face and identity? That would be hard work, getting rid of the body, and all. And Rorge and Biter would have seen him, so why didn't Rorge killed him when he had the chance? Rorge had the axe in the fire, he could've slain Jaqen or left him to burn.

I don't think you can see in the Black Cells... I see no reason to think they shared a cell, and I think bodies hidden beneath the Red Keep are nothing new.

Why do you think they were incarcerated together? Obviously they were in jail at the same time, but it's a pretty big leap from that to them being imprisoned at the same time or for the same thing. I still don't see that leap. 

[CamiloRP]

7 minutes ago, Mourning Star said:

 

I don't think you can see in the Black Cells...

I mean, it's dark, but if someone murders a dude next to you, you notice.

 

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I see no reason to think they shared a cell

You quoted Jaqen yourself.

"A man does not choose his companions in the black cells,"

It's a strange line if they didn't share a cell, as he wouldn't have notice them until they got out of the cells. And Arya thinks of them as companions in Yoren's cage, not in the Black Cells.

 

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and I think bodies hidden beneath the Red Keep are nothing new.

Sure, but it's a bit of work sneaking past the guards, murdering someone without anyone finding out, then sneaking out with a corpse, and then sneaking back in.

[Mourning Star]

 

20 minutes ago, CamiloRP said:

I mean, it's dark, but if someone murders a dude next to you, you notice.

Read Ned's chapters there, it's called the Black Cells because it's pitch black.

He could not see to mark the walls. Ned closed his eyes and opened them; it made no difference. 

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You quoted Jaqen yourself.

"A man does not choose his companions in the black cells,"

Black cells being plural tells me they were not in the same cell. 

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It's a strange line if they didn't share a cell, as he wouldn't have notice them until they got out of the cells. And Arya thinks of them as companions in Yoren's cage, not in the Black Cells.

Not really strange at all, they've been a cage together for a while at this point.

I would point to this quote as a pretty clear indication that the black cells are isolation cells:

"On the upper level, there are large cells where common criminals may be confined together. They have narrow windows set high in the walls. The second level has the smaller cells where highborn captives are held. They have no windows, but torches in the halls cast light through the bars. On the third level the cells are smaller and the doors are wood. The black cells, men call them.

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Sure, but it's a bit of work sneaking past the guards, murdering someone without anyone finding out, then sneaking out with a corpse, and then sneaking back in.

Not if Rugen is in on it... or you knew your way around the secret passages yourself.

A passage to the black cells had been found, and a stone well that seemed to have no bottom. They had found a chamber full of skulls and yellowed bones, and four sacks of tarnished silver coins from the reign of the first King Viserys. They had found a thousand rats as well . . . but neither Tyrion nor Varys had been amongst them, and Jaime had finally insisted on putting an end to the search. One boy had gotten stuck in a narrow passage and had to be pulled out by his feet, shrieking. Another fell down a shaft and broke his legs. And two guardsmen vanished exploring a side tunnel. Some of the other guards swore they could hear them calling faintly through the stone, but when Jaime's men tore down the wall they found only earth and rubble on the far side.

They even lost living people down there! (or they found something they were not supposed to!)

[Mourning Star]

4 hours ago, Megorova said:

No, he didn't. The current Sealord is the same one who 1. gave three dragon eggs as gifts to mummer-dwarfs (Hop-Bean and his children Penny and Oppo, it was 5-10 years ago), 2. gave to Syrio the title of the First Sword of Braavos, 3. signed future marriage pact between Viserys and Arianne. Sealords serve for life, the current one is old and ill, so people expect that he will die soon.

7 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

We know the Sealord who signed Viserys's marriage pact with Dorne died

The one who died is Willem Darry, not the Sealord. That Sealord, Ferrego Antaryon, is the current rulling Sealord of Braavos.

P.S. What I wrote above is not facts, it's my assumptions, based on logical deductions.

For example - one of the previous Sealords had three dragon eggs that were given to him by Alissa Farman, who stole them from Targaryens shortly prior the Dance of the Dragons war. In The Mystery Knight novel Bloodraven sent mummer-dwarfs to steal a dragon egg from Whitewalls. GRRM is using Dunk&Egg novels to give clues to readers about mysteries hiden in the main series. The current Sealord gave owned by him three dragon eggs to mummer-dwarfs, and then those dwarfs gave them to either Varys or Illyrio (whom they knew because Varys in the past also was a mummer. It's likely that Varys and Hop-Been used to be in the same troupe). That Sealord gave away dragon eggs just because those dwarfs made him laugh. Those eggs are PRICELESS, and he just gave them away. So, he's an eccentric guy. And the Sealord who gave a title to Syrio is also an eccentric guy. Both of those events happened 5-10 years ago. How likely is it that in that time slot there was two Sealords, one ruling shortly after the other, and both of them were eccentrists? Thus it's more likely that it's all was the same Sealord, the same person who still rules Braavos now.

Took me a minute to see this! sorry

There is a lot going on here, and obviously both of us are speculating...

But when did Penny get a dragon's egg?!?!? did I miss something?

And then the leap from Whitewalls to Illyrio? sorry you lost me there.

It's easier for me to believe that the Sealord who signed Visery's wedding pact died, along with Syrio Forrel, his first sword. After all, the First Sword does not run.

I find it nearly impossible to believe the Sealord of Braavos gave away dragon eggs to dwarf jesters.

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"My lord jests. You will forgive me if I do not laugh. We Braavosi are descended from those who fled Valyria and the wroth of its dragonlords. We do not jape of dragons."

A Dance with Dragons - Jon IX