[ADWD SPOILERS] The Blind Girl

[ledlevee]

Regarding the boy who came to die, I don't think it was necessarily anyone important. I do however think it's foreshadowing and I like the idea someone else posted that one of the important characters will kick the bucket this way before the series is over. My money's on Theon, Cersei, Brienne (if she does serve Jaime up, she'll have a hard time living with herself), or possibly Jon Connington since he's dying anyway.

I kept thinking while reading this, Arya is being trained to be sneaky, see without eyes, etc., by people who can move without being heard (so one would think eventually they'd train her to do this), and to seek knowledge and find things out about people (tell me three new things). Wouldn't that be a perfect skill set for Varys' little birds? Could he have some sort of connection to the house of black and white (I don't necessarily think he's a faceless man as some seem to)? Maybe Arya's being trained to be one of his little birds.

[Refuge]

Did anyone notice that now Arya's "nightly" prayers happen in the morning, after she wakes up from a Nymeria dream? I think that Arya is still there... but she's more herself (Arya) at night in Nymeria than she is during the day. During the day she's trying very hard to be no one. I think everything that's happening to her is a part of her training. It will be interesting to see if she ends as Arya, or a pure faceless man-- truly no one. I think right now she has feelings both ways.

[kephv]

She's still there. The morning prayer was more just to highlight the struggle between her becoming no one while still remaining Arya. She just came back from being Nymeria then reminds herself that that's the night wolf's prayer. So her connection with Nymeria will always keep her a Stark in a way.

[tidalrynoalbino]

I really liked this chapter after hearing about Arya's blindness in affc it was nice to finally read about what was going on with her and I am excited to find out what she will do next.

[Arya Ready]

I don't think the wildlings at Hardhome will be any more or less willing to go with Jon's ships just because of what happened with the slavers. Once the ships took off with the women and children, they have no idea what happened. It's not like the slaves are somewhere sending ravens back with news!

Also, I am a little confused by Arya's cat warging. Whenever anyone has warged before, they have always been asleep or basically unable to function in their human bodies while inhabiting the animal. Even when Bran goes into Hodor, he looks back and sees his own body limp and unconscious. So, I don't get how Arya can be awake and aware as Arya, while at the same time seeing through the cat.

[kephv]

There was a time with Bran (at the end of Clash) where they asked him to look at out at Winterfell and he reported what he was seeing as he was seeing it. Besides she was blind at the time and standing still or sitting down when it happened.

[Arya Ready]

Yes, and she had the strip of cloth around her eyes, so no one could really see if she was awake or not. But back at the temple, with the cat in the rafters, while she's interacting with the Kindly Man? That one, I'm not as sure about.

[kephv]

Yes, and she had the strip of cloth around her eyes, so no one could really see if she was awake or not. But back at the temple, with the cat in the rafters, while she's interacting with the Kindly Man? That one, I'm not as sure about.

It's possible. Jon's done it (he smells and feels ghost's hunger while still in his own frame of mind) so has Bran, so I see no reason Arya shouldn't be able to.

[Forelver]

Great to finally have an Arya chapter, I wish there would be more of them in the book. I was pleased to see she's keeping some secrets from the kindly man and also standing up to him a little. I loved the way she said she'd told him three things and didn't have to tell him four. And if he was the one who hit her, that means he was the owner of that deep voice she didn't recognize-makes me wonder if he could actually be someone she already knows.

I also wondered if the two dead people could be someone we have seen before.

And the part about the cat-I wasn't sure if I was understanding it so was so glad to come here and find I had it right! I have found these chapter threads to be just invaluable-it's probably taking me twice as long to read the book because I read the comments on every chapter-but it's worth it.

[Jennelyn]

I loved the earlier comment that Arya could be the Dexter of Westeros! Ha! She is becoming quite the badass! All of this training she's getting is great and I can't wait to see her develop more. She is going to be one hell of a contender. Someone said somewhere else that Ramsay wouldn't stand a chance with the real Arya and isn't that the truth?! She would eat him for breakfast.

The fact that the blindness has helped her skin-changing abilities is pretty cool. She doesn't seem to be actually fully warging the cat in this chapter as much as just seeing through his eyes. She's still Arya, but since she can use her own eyes, she borrows the cat's. Very cool!

[Jelliefishie]

Yes, and she had the strip of cloth around her eyes, so no one could really see if she was awake or not. But back at the temple, with the cat in the rafters, while she's interacting with the Kindly Man? That one, I'm not as sure about.

Based off the description of how she warged in to the cat at the inn and saw the men before her, it was very much saying that she *glimpsed* the people. She just dove in to the cat very quickly, saw the men, then retracted back in to her own body immediately after. She must have done the same while fighting the Kindly Old Man -- just very quickly saw through the cat's eyes, then returned to her body. It's like quickly alt+tab'ing to another window on your computer, then quickly alt+tab'ing back. You can glimpse it and see what you need to see, then return to your main program. This is actually a very impressive technique for Arya to employ, especially if she's going to use her warg abilities to assist in espionage and fighting. She gets the advantage of another pair of eyes from another vantage point, without leaving her true body completely at mercy.

Another thing I'm quite impressed with is that she can warg in to a cat, of all creatures. During the other skinchanger chapters, including Sixskin's chapter, they mentioned that the easiest things to warg in to are canines. The shadowcat was very difficult, Sixskins had noted. Though a housecat is not the same as a shadowcat, house cats are still regarded as having one foot in the realm of the wild. This is in the sense that dogs will obey humans and give us their loyalty easily, but that is not true with cats...anyone who has ever met a cat knows this. Trust is earned, and even then they do not always obey. So maybe I'm reading too much in to it, but Arya's ability to connect with felines shows me that she is a strong warg. Yes I know, all the Starks are, but still :)

From a previous page....sorry I didn't go back to quote it, but...

Someone was saying that maybe Jaquen can also warg, because Weese's beloved pet dog started to eat him after his owner's death. I disagree with this theory; even in real life, dogs and cats will sometimes eat their dead masters. It's not unheard of, so I think it's reading too much in to the actions of Weese's dog.

[kephv]

This is in the sense that dogs will obey humans and give us their loyalty easily, but that is not true with cats...anyone who has ever met a cat knows this. Trust is earned, and even then they do not always obey.So maybe I'm reading too much in to it, but Arya's ability to connect with felines shows me that she is a strong warg. Yes I know, all the Starks are, but still :)

Cats like her for some reason too. They're known to follow her in her Cat of the Canals chapter for instance. Sort of like Nymeria in a way that she seems to be able to attract a following. Perhaps that made it easier for her.

Someone was saying that maybe Jaquen can also warg, because Weese's beloved pet dog started to eat him after his owner's death. I disagree with this theory; even in real life, dogs and cats will sometimes eat their dead masters. It's not unheard of, so I think it's reading too much in to the actions of Weese's dog.

It's the basilisk blood that makes the dog go crazy and eat him (explained in Arya's last chapter in Feast).

[Fryie]

So finally the good chapters are coming!

Loved this one, love Arya, love Braavos (I love its atmosphere, much more so than the Slaver cities which seem so clichéd to me), love the kindly man and the waif and Brusco and everything.

The business with Arya being able to warg shows one important thing to me: There are many people in the world who have some kind of magical power, and they do believe in some god or the other, but neither of them knows the whole truth. The Faceless Men probably don't know the first thing about warging, and so Arya can make up her own new skillset which nobody else probably has.

I hope GRRM does not try to explain or clarify whether there are Gods, and which ones (he kind of did that with the Old Gods, though), but to my impression it just doesn't matter: There are just various kinds of power, be it "Old God", "R'hllor" or "Many-Faced God" power, and people use them believing it's given them by a god, but this doesn't have to be the case ...

I wonder if some kind of Septon Magic is gonna crop up or if that religion will have to rely entirely on its armed men. Probably yes, seeing the Maesters at the citadel are so anti-magic.

[never trust a bard]

Hello ... first post here.

Very happy to get an Arya chapter, but like many of you guys, I'm holding out hope that she doesn't become a FM. I would love nothing more than to see her become Arya Stark again ... maybe just wishful thinking though.

It's the basilisk blood that makes the dog go crazy and eat him (explained in Arya's last chapter in Feast).

Can you please explain this one more?

[kephv]

Can you please explain this one more?

In AFfC the waif explains to Arya that the basilik's blood paste gives cooked flesh a savory smell and when eaten it produces violent madness - a mouse will attack a lion after taking basilik's blood, according to the waif. After Arya hears that she asks "would it work on dogs?" obviously thinking about how Jaqen made Weese's dog go crazy and kill him.

[never trust a bard]

In AFfC the waif explains to Arya that the basilik's blood paste gives cooked flesh a savory smell and when eaten it produces violent madness - a mouse will attack a lion after taking basilik's blood, according to the waif. After Arya hears that she asks "would it work on dogs?" obviously thinking about how Jaqen made Weese's dog go crazy and kill him.

Thanks!

[Ladywhiskers]

Where did this idea that the faceless men will send Arya to kill members of her own family/loved ones as a final test come from? That doesn't seem to be in keeping with character of either of them. And I certainly don't agree that she's "a bad seed". She's of that world, she's a survivor, she seeks vengeance, justice. She's one of the few characters (along with Jon) who seem to stay true to themselves and the honor they were taught. Arya is badass! It is fun, however, to think of her becoming a young girl Dexter in Westerosi!

If Arya had been a Bad Seed, we'd have seen her terrorizing Mycah, not playing with him. She would not care that he died for being her friend. But she takes it very much to heart, even as the people around her try to tell her it's okay because it's not her fault and he was only a commoner anyway. Arya never bought that. She's not a bad seed.

A bad seed would have killed Balerion kitty when she caught him on the stairs, instead of kissing him. A bad seed would have tormented Rickon, Bran, and Sansa for being smaller, and would not have even thought about what was going to happen to Nymeria after the wolf bit Joffrey, much less made a painful personal sacrifice for the wolf's survival. And a bad seed wouldn't have cared that Lady was killed. Arya is a strange girl, but she's not a bad person.

Although yes, she does kill people and rationalize it, she also rationalizes not killing people. She didn't kill The Hound, and he was on her list. She said he didn't deserve the gift, but it did seem that there was more to it than that.

[Born by Fire]

I'm really impressed with this character development of Arya, and think it's following well with the development of the remaining Stark children. In fact, each character's individual path seems to be well suited to their own resources.

For Bran, that talent is the green sight--his warging is the most developed (and I think it's only coincidence that he's crippled. So more than this being a "get over it just accept that you are crippled", I think the crippling helps him more readily accept his destiny to become another wooden man--and not seek to be a knight.)

For Sansa, she clearly is the most adept at courtesies and using her beauty (and people underestimating her intelligence) to advantage. Tutelage under Littlefinger couldn't be more appropriate.

For Jon, he is the born leader and, more importantly, geniunely sympathetic to the plight of others. He is destined to make the hard choices. Right now, I think he's lost a little sight of what those are.

Arya's talent is to be the most resourceful and flexible of the bunch. She has never fit as a typical "lord's daughter" nor would she have ever been successful as such. She is too much like Lyanna, and likely would have been subject to the same destiny. Instead, she is becoming something truly unique, truly unexpected.

I look forward to watching them all reach their fullest potential...can only imagine the great terrors and incredible achievements ahead of each of them.

Rickon...he's the one I'm really concerned about. His influences are a crazy wildling, reckless wolf, cannibals and unicorns. Hmmmm....

[Heavy Horse]

I'm really impressed with this character development of Arya, and think it's following well with the development of the remaining Stark children. In fact, each character's individual path seems to be well suited to their own resources.

For Bran, that talent is the green sight--his warging is the most developed (and I think it's only coincidence that he's crippled. So more than this being a "get over it just accept that you are crippled", I think the crippling helps him more readily accept his destiny to become another wooden man--and not seek to be a knight.)

For Sansa, she clearly is the most adept at courtesies and using her beauty (and people underestimating her intelligence) to advantage. Tutelage under Littlefinger couldn't be more appropriate.

For Jon, he is the born leader and, more importantly, geniunely sympathetic to the plight of others. He is destined to make the hard choices. Right now, I think he's lost a little sight of what those are.

Arya's talent is to be the most resourceful and flexible of the bunch. She has never fit as a typical "lord's daughter" nor would she have ever been successful as such. She is too much like Lyanna, and likely would have been subject to the same destiny. Instead, she is becoming something truly unique, truly unexpected.

I look forward to watching them all reach their fullest potential...can only imagine the great terrors and incredible achievements ahead of each of them.

Rickon...he's the one I'm really concerned about. His influences are a crazy wildling, reckless wolf, cannibals and unicorns. Hmmmm....

Well put... :agree:

I think Arya is an equal warg to Bran. She seems to "quick" warg for close battle and line tactics. Recieving input without full control or by extension sending orders. Where Bran maybe more of a Multi-Warger/commander. Controlling many beasties as once. Like BR's raven gagle and/or CH and his Elk. Each method appropriate to their skills and methods. OMG I think I just made up RTS units... This totally needs to be a RTS Game. :drool:

Otherwise, I love the chapter. She's gonna ditch the FM at her first oportunity. Get to Eastwatch and to Jon. Probably as soon as she finds out he's been stabbed. Alternatively, Bran could make contact thus getting her back to business. She's NOT going to be doing any FM deeds against her family. Although I could see her taking out Cersi... That would be sweet.

[kephv]

There's a huge spoilers in your post. This is the still reading section where people can post when they've finished a chapter. You should probably edit that out or put it in spoiler tags.