Who will Arya be sent to assasinate?

[Manderlay]

I think Arya will be sent to assassinate Tommen in KL, Arya's journey began at her escape from KL its fitting that she return there and kill more people as well, she will take widow's wail with her as well, I would like to see Ice reforged.

[ricardoromell]

CRACKPOT THEORY - (mainly to fulfill foreshadowing.)

I would assume that Arya will probably assassinate Lancel Lannister and take his identity.

At the same time Lancel(Arya actually) is the champion of Seven in trial by combat against Gregorstein/Robert Strong (champion of cersei)

(I dont know how but it would come to be, but lets say Arya/Lancel win)

Finally it will result to Cerseis death and the valonquarr prophecy of Margery..

(Little bro / Sister - Lancel / Arya)

Plus strike two of Aryas list - Gregor & Cersei. (though she wont know that was Gregor & will indirectly be responsible for Cersei. Keeping in line the principal that you donot assassinate those you may know)

[Winter'sHerald]

CRACKPOT THEORY - (mainly to fulfill foreshadowing.)

I would assume that Arya will probably assassinate Lancel Lannister and take his identity.

At the same time Lancel(Arya actually) is the champion of Seven in trial by combat against Gregorstein/Robert Strong (champion of cersei)

(I dont know how but it would come to be, but lets say Arya/Lancel win)

Finally it will result to Cerseis death and the valonquarr prophecy of Margery..

(Little bro / Sister - Lancel / Arya)

Plus strike two of Aryas list - Gregor & Cersei. (though she wont know that was Gregor & will indirectly be responsible for Cersei. Keeping in line the principal that you donot assassinate those you may know)

Lancel is an only child.

Although I can definitely see Arya fulfilling the little sister position.

[IRON BANK]

or Tommen i suppose.

I agree: I would also add Myrcella, a couple of the sand snakes, and Margery Tyrells girls in waiting to that list. It provides Arya with alot of accesss to alot of people. And would be easier to take the place of someone the same build and gender as herself.

[ricardoromell]

Lancel is an only child.

Although I can definitely see Arya fulfilling the little sister position.

Lancel fought and was injured in the battle of black water.

Poisoned Robert barratheon

Bedded cersei

Married amerei frey became lord of darry.

Relinquished his lands joined the faith militant under the warrior sons.

Also he has become pious in an attempt to reform and attorn

Edit-sorry I mis read.as lancel is only a child and not an only child. Agreed but he is her cousin and lil cousin brother.

[Razha]

CRACKPOT THEORY - (mainly to fulfill foreshadowing.)

I would assume that Arya will probably assassinate Lancel Lannister and take his identity.

At the same time Lancel(Arya actually) is the champion of Seven in trial by combat against Gregorstein/Robert Strong (champion of cersei)

(I dont know how but it would come to be, but lets say Arya/Lancel win)

Finally it will result to Cerseis death and the valonquarr prophecy of Margery..

(Little bro / Sister - Lancel / Arya)

Plus strike two of Aryas list - Gregor & Cersei. (though she wont know that was Gregor & will indirectly be responsible for Cersei. Keeping in line the principal that you donot assassinate those you may know)

I dont think it works on many levels. Even timing-wise - at the end of ADWD Arya just begins her training with Isimbaro, or whats his name, while KL is quite ready for the trials. I think by the time Arya reaches westeros all these trials will be long over.

[Othersrcute]

I find the theory unlikely as well, no way in hell Arya could kill UnGregor in a trial of combat. She is an assassin not a brawler... going against the undead giant tank being that feels no pain and can only die by flame... yeah, i would give long odds on that unless she brings a jar of wildfire to the fight. As to her training, we don't know where Isimbaro is, for all we know he could be in Westoros (is that correct spelling? I'm really hungover). Actually wouldnt be surprised if he was as that would probably surprise most fans and would allow her to arrive in Westoros (fudge it, sticking with the spelling) quicker and get involved with the other characters.

[aryagonnakill]

I find the theory unlikely as well, no way in hell Arya could kill UnGregor in a trial of combat. She is an assassin not a brawler... going against the undead giant tank being that feels no pain and can only die by flame... yeah, i would give long odds on that unless she brings a jar of wildfire to the fight. As to her training, we don't know where Isimbaro is, for all we know he could be in Westoros (is that correct spelling? I'm really hungover). Actually wouldnt be surprised if he was as that would probably surprise most fans and would allow her to arrive in Westoros (fudge it, sticking with the spelling) quicker and get involved with the other characters.

I would actually bet money that if Arya, or any faceless man had to fight ungregor, that they would walk into the combat arena with a torch. I don't actually think this will happen.

Edit: My bet line is kind of pointless but you get the point. It's not hard to see Gregors dead.

[bobbybuilderton]

Well I put this somewhere else but I'll put it here. I had an idea today. The iron bank will get sick of getting the runaround due to this war with no end in sight (once bran and rickon are revealed to be alive and Jon is revealed to have been named heir). Then they will hire multiple assassins from FM to take out multiple targets simultaneously (perhaps Stannis and Jon). Arya is one of the assassins sent for the rightful Lord of Winterfell, and she doesn't know it's Jon (to her knowledge he's still a bastard) so she doesn't tell them she can't do it as she knows him. She finds out Theon has prayed earnestly for Ramsay's death and because Theon has hardly anything he can give up besides his life, she kills him and then gives the gift to Ramsay.

So what I think will happen is they will tell her to kill a man named Jon Stark who is claiming to be the rightful lord of Winterfell. Arya assumes its some random guy who married Sansa and took the Stark name as a political move (as Jon is a bastard and at the wall, to the best of her knowledge). So she won't tell them she can't do it because she knows the man. When she gets there she will see it's Jon and reveal herself to him one night. So instead, she overhears Theon praying for Ramsay's death every night and she kills Theon since Theon can't offer anything else to the many faced god. She goes to kill Ramsay, Jon will update her on things and try to keep her close by so she can be safe. But instead she will go hunt down Sansa using her supreme awesome faceless man talents, thus making her almost being sighted by Littlefinger in the show to be foreshadowing.

[Death by Cupcakes]

Two possibilities:

Either Arya stays true to becoming a Faceless Man. In that case we wont be seeing much of her in the next book as she has just started her education in earnest (sorry, but the idea that she will be sent to kill an important person on another continent with her current abilities is ridiculous).

Or halfway through her training she will have a crisis and remember who she is and come back to finish her revenge (possibly her Direwolf has an encounter with her mother... again).

Possibly a combination of both.

[Sailor's Wife]

that said, I do think the FM training will be critical, and that she will end up killing someone, probably lots of people. I just think she bolts the FM before she completely loses her self/identity.

I think that, to the extent there is direct Stark vengeance, Arya will the prime instrument of that vengeance. I'd put LF, Walder Frey and most of his clan, and Cersei and her children at the top of the list. My first bet, pure speculation, is that Arya both saves Sansa and kills LF.

A favorite theory of mine, something I would wish for but dare not hope for. I do not think LF is the mark at this time, I'm more inclined to believe Arya is in training but may be involved in an Iron Bank contract on the new master of coin and somehow this gets her back to Westeros.

I know the High Heart crone's prophecy about Sansa indicates she kills a giant in a castle made of snow, but I would wish for this being Arya assuming Sansa's identity, killing LF and Alayne Stone 'dies' too as payment (while Sansa is reborn--if Sandor can do it, why not Sansa?). I agree with others that I'm not sure Arya knows LF, rather just who he is. I know there are threads about Sansa becoming a player, and while I don't disagree really, I don't see that translating into her doing her own killing. Sansa didn't kill Joffrey either even though someone just hearing the prophecy might draw that conclusion. High Heart crone undoubtedly saw 'Sansa' perform the deed.

So I'm a fan of the theory that Arya's warg powers are too strong to make her lose her identity.

[siknes]

In my opinion this is the most open ended cliffhanger of ADWD. Who is the mark?

a couple more questions on this topic-

Is Izembaro a person or place? Who are the current suspects if it is a person?

My suspects for Izembaro (if indeed it turns out to be a person)

- Pate, the pig boy. aka Jaqen, the obvious choice

- Missendei, she joined up as a slave (good cover and appropriate to the history of the FM), her speech patterns follow the way the waif, the kindly man, and Jaqen talk. Plus i thought it was rather suspicious the ease in which she snuck up on Barristan in ADWD when he was thinking outloud about Dany leaving for Westeros. That cannot be an easy feat. I know he is old, but he is a legendary Kingsguard. Seems to me that job requires a great deal of observational skills, kind of like a secret service agent.

Who else could be Izembaro? Thoughts.......

I see her story arc as Bravvo is her protector Syrio/Jacen, and now she is on a path that could lead her to be like Cercei (the changing of her with Tywin instead of Bolton in the show is a foreshadow of this, she reminds him of Cercei. Now the kind man is trying to teach her to rid herself of her hate and that it is not her place to say who lives and who dies. She needs to get with her pack and put them in line, Nymeria is waiting for her.

[Arya2ndFace]

A favorite theory of mine, something I would wish for but dare not hope for. I do not think LF is the mark at this time, I'm more inclined to believe Arya is in training but may be involved in an Iron Bank contract on the new master of coin and somehow this gets her back to Westeros.

I know the High Heart crone's prophecy about Sansa indicates she kills a giant in a castle made of snow, but I would wish for this being Arya assuming Sansa's identity, killing LF and Alayne Stone 'dies' too as payment (while Sansa is reborn--if Sandor can do it, why not Sansa?). I agree with others that I'm not sure Arya knows LF, rather just who he is. I know there are threads about Sansa becoming a player, and while I don't disagree really, I don't see that translating into her doing her own killing. Sansa didn't kill Joffrey either even though someone just hearing the prophecy might draw that conclusion. High Heart crone undoubtedly saw 'Sansa' perform the deed.

So I'm a fan of the theory that Arya's warg powers are too strong to make her lose her identity.

Sansa has already fulfilled the Crone's prophecy of killing a Giant in a castle of snow. recall the morning in the Eyrie where Sansa built a castle replica of Winterfell, and little robert came along with his doll. he used his doll to start to break her castle and she tore it's head off. he was then yelling that she had killed his "Giant". so technically she killed a giant in her castle made of snow, thus prophecy fulfilled.

[Sailor's Wife]

Like many others, I believe that knocking the head off of Sweet Robin's giant was a farce, leading us to believe the prophecy is fulfilled. I am in the camp the giant is LF, relating to his Braavosi roots and the fact his father's sigil was the Titan of Braavosi. At least, these are what I want to believe and hope will happen.

[Arya2ndFace]

I believe this needs to be looked at from another angle, that being who can afford to hire an FM to do a killing for them. most of Westeros is dirt poor aside from the Lannisters, Tyrells, Martels and LF himself. I do not see any of the 1st 3 needing to hire an FM to do any killing as they have enough of their own men to do so already, that leaves LF. and we already know LF knows of the FM from back when the council were discussing how to get rid of Dany and Viserys. Therefore I believe it is LF that will hire the FM but for whom to kill? With LF currently in the Vale whose death would most benefit him? not necessarily at this moment in the books but perhaps a step or two down the line as the storyline progresses. I don't think it will be a northman as Arya has met many of those throughout her time in Winterfell. I am currently leaning towards Mellisandre. I say this because as LF tried to take the north his main competition is Stannis and he does not have the army to defeat Stannis, but realizes without Mellisandre Stannis maybe in a much more vulnerable position. Arya being able to use multiple faces can get around Mellisandre's fire readings and thus approach her unknownst to Mellisandre.

[Brother Seamus]

Two possibilities:

Either Arya stays true to becoming a Faceless Man. In that case we wont be seeing much of her in the next book as she has just started her education in earnest (sorry, but the idea that she will be sent to kill an important person on another continent with her current abilities is ridiculous).

Or halfway through her training she will have a crisis and remember who she is and come back to finish her revenge (possibly her Direwolf has an encounter with her mother... again).

Possibly a combination of both.

We all have to resist reunions and plot turns that are too pat and cute and emotionally satisfying and predictable, but I still think that we will eventually see Arya reunite with Nymeria. As I say, I think Arya does not complete her FM training. I think she recovers her identity, as a result of events yet unknown, return to Westeros, and wreaks bloody violent vengeance, more than any other Stark. I think this is part of what's foretold by the old witch on the hill.

[Stannis' shadow babies]

Queen Daenerys. I won't extend on circumstances because some very good ideas have been previously explained. I say it just because it'd be a feast to see a fan-favorite kill another fan-favorite, and everything that will follow.

[jentario]

I think I know who she's going to kill (one of these or both):

UnCatelyn Stark and Theon Greyjoy!

There was a whole speech about giving people the gift of death as part of Arya's FM training. To both these characters, death would be a gift. They are only a shell of their previous selves and have little to live for but vengeance. To both of these characters, life is a burden and both of these characters deserve to be treated FM style. I think UnCat's involvement with Arya is a given, considering her involvement with the BwoB and the fact that Arya still needs to head back to the Riverlands to pick up Nymeria. As for Theon, I think Arya will return to Winterfel at some point (before or after the Riverlands) and if Theon is still around it opens the possibility. I mean, both of these are dead end characters and it seems like it's just a matter of time before they reach it. Let's say, hypothetical, that Theon survives. What then? He can't live a normal life- he's been tortured physically and mentally, de-fingered, de-balled, de-skinned, starved and broken (mentally) to the point of no return. UnCat is literally dead. The fact that she can move and breathe doesn't change that.

I don't see Arya killing anyone from her list. Most of them dead already.

[elanmorin]

In my opinion Arya won't become a full flegged FM, because:

1. She doesn't have the time to complete her training, even if she's "talented" (and she is, considering how she kills her first target) the actual training involves years of work, possibly even the mastery of forms of magic. Since we don't have the 5 years gap anymore it's therefore very unlikely she'll be able to become a true FM.

2. In order to become a FM you HAVE to become "no one". In other words you have to leave who you used to be behind you and fully embrace the FM philosophy. By hiding needle and therefore refusing to cut all ties with her old life Arya is never really going to become a FM. And they will notice this, sooner or later...

That said it may be they could decide to send her to kill someone in Westeros, given how she's westerosi and therefore knows the place better than most (although FM seem very good at fitting in, knowing exactly how to become comeone else, and training for years to eliminate even the smallest traces of accent who would give them away during an assignment), she could be sent to deal with someone the FM consider a threat. Considering their history I think the most likely candidates could be Danaerys or Aegon. Tommen IF the Iron Bank decides to do something about Cersei's betrayal.

P.S.

I don't think there's a FM rule stating they can't kill people they know: they actually "killed" their previous selves and they effectively are "no one" until they are assigned an identity (or "face") for the length of a mission.

[bobbybuilderton]

I don't think Needle will be what makes them realize she can never be no one. It's the exposure of her warg abilities. Remember Varamyr talked about how bonding with a wolf is for life? When you bond with a wolf, you become a bit of a wolf and the wolf becomes a bit of you. No matter what Arya's conscious mind decides, a part of her will always be alive in Nymeria and she will never be "no one" unless Nymeria is killed.

ETA: here's the quote

Dogs were the easiest beasts to bond with; they lived so close to men that they were almost human. Slipping into a dog’s skin was like putting on an old boot, its leather softened by wear. As a boot was shaped to accept a foot, a dog was shaped to accept a collar, even a collar no human eye could see.

Wolves were harder. A man might befriend a wolf, even break a wolf, but no man could truly tame a wolf. “Wolves and women wed for life,” Haggon often said.u take one, that’s a marriage. The wolf is part of you from that day on, and you’re part of him. Both of you will change.”