A possible way back for Arya

[bobbybuilderton]

I decided to give this it's own thread.

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.

Related is my belief that Jon is dead and will be revived. Since he died, he is free from his vows to the night's watch. Does this course of events make sense, or would it be a horrible route to go?

[Fire Eater]

Jon won't try to claim WF, especially since by the time he wakes up he will hear that Rickon is still alive. He refused Stannis's offer of legitimization, and so I don't think he'll want it when he wakes up.

Given the foreshadowing she is more likely to cross the Narrow Sea by posing as one of Dany's people on the ships carrying her army to Westeros. Jon will kill Ramsay when he comes to the Wall to retrieve Reek and "Arya Stark". Theon is stuck with Stannis, and he won't be going across the Narrow Sea anytime soon while he is in Stannis's custody.

[Gingerchu]

Why would the Iron Bank want to kill Stannis he has promised to make good on the crowns debts whereas the current rulers have refused

[Baelor Swyft]

I fear it might be a little obvious that it's Jon Snow if someone appears calling themselves Jon Stark. True, Jon is one of the most common names in this world (we already have two POVs with that name, for starters), but even so, I feel like they would pick up on the coincidence. I also feel like the Faceless Men would be wary of sending Arya off to kill someone with such a close political tie to her former family. Even if he is a pretender it's still like they're sending her to enact revenge in the name of her family rather than as a member of the FM.

I do love the idea that Jon will marry Sansa though. :devil:

[Ser Duncan of Flea Bottom]

Jon's not dead, I think he warged Ghost and will come back to his body, he'll be wounded but the free folk will help him

Tormund will probably kill Bowen Marsh and the other brothers who attacked Jon

[modbelle]

Arya's most likely way back is from Massey, who is suppose to recruit people for Stannis to bring to the North. Had Samwell been going back to the Wall, Arya would probably have tried to hitch a ride then. If Arya now hears there is a way likely to get to Jon, I still believe she will take it, especially if she hears he might be in danger (whitewalkers, a coup, etc.). Her priorities are still her family and revenge, training in faceless is a way to become strong enough to accomplish what she couldn't before because she was too weak and little.

[bobbybuilderton]

Jon won't try to claim WF, especially since by the time he wakes up he will hear that Rickon is still alive. He refused Stannis's offer of legitimization, and so I don't think he'll want it when he wakes up.

I was referring to the possibility that Robb named him heir. It's not about deciding he wants it, it's about him believing it's his duty to honor his brother's wish.

Why would the Iron Bank want to kill Stannis he has promised to make good on the crowns debts whereas the current rulers have refused

The current rulers are more capable of paying it back. The Lannister wealth is well known.

I fear it might be a little obvious that it's Jon Snow if someone appears calling themselves Jon Stark. True, Jon is one of the most common names in this world (we already have two POVs with that name, for starters), but even so, I feel like they would pick up on the coincidence. I also feel like the Faceless Men would be wary of sending Arya off to kill someone with such a close political tie to her former family. Even if he is a pretender it's still like they're sending her to enact revenge in the name of her family rather than as a member of the FM.

I do love the idea that Jon will marry Sansa though. :devil:

The whole basis for the idea is that Jon is known to be at the Night's Watch and bound to them by vows. So they'd think of it but then she would say "It can't be him, he's at the wall." And I don't think he'll marry Sansa...what? I meant that Arya assumes that whoever this Jon character is that shows up has married Sansa and that's why he has the Stark name. He took it as a political move (the northerners want a Stark ruling Winterfell). And political ties to Arya's family are irrelevant since the idea is to give up what makes you you.

Jon's not dead, I think he warged Ghost and will come back to his body, he'll be wounded but the free folk will help him

Tormund will probably kill Bowen Marsh and the other brothers who attacked Jon

I should have been clearer. Jon would be free of the NW vows on a technicality. Technically he did die, and the vows say that your watch doesn't end until your death. Warging into Ghost doesn't mean he's not dead. Wargs do that when they die.

[The Mother of The Others]

The first trip-up for this scenario is the Faceless organization would never be so inattentive to details. They'd never lose sight of how Arya grew up in the same house as Jon the target. She'd never be sent. (She'd have to assassinate the assassin and then go there herself to stand guard over Jon invisibly to watch for the next assassin.)

[bobbybuilderton]

How much do they know about the people though? I was under the impression that they just receive the request and it's up to the assassin to say if they know the mark or not. If they don't, then it's up to the assassin to gather more info. I didn't think they micromanaged quite so much, since they train them so well and probably figure that they can allow them a certain amount of autonomy because of that.

[The Mother of The Others]

He's totally famous. i suppose arya's training plotline could be leading to the point where she could lie to the other FM without them realizing it. (graduation from lie school). so maybe she could one day fool them about something on her end. but on the other end of this hit you'd have jon, who's totally famous.

[Lady Hodor]

Much as I would like Arya to kill Ramsay for his treatment of Jeyne Poole, it seems too much like what we want, too good to be true - George RR Martin rarely goes down such paths. It's more likely she'll head downwards into Essos, toward Daenerys. Not only does it give us a chance to explore more of Essos (as we've seen very little of it really) but it also connects Daenerys to more Westerosi characters, which has been gradually happening throughout the books: Jorah, Barristan, Victarion, Quentyn. There's a fair few people in Meeren at the moment that could need assassinating, ones that Arya definitely does not know, so avoiding the issue that heading to Winterfell poses.

[stu1987]

I dunno if Izembaro's name could give us a clue as to where Arya is headed. Doesn't sound like a Westerosi name, is there anywhere else that could be discounted?

[danm_999]

The current rulers are more capable of paying it back. The Lannister wealth is well known.

Yeah, the Lannister's being able to pay the debt back was never the issue. It was that they weren't willing.

The Iron Bank works on the same principle as a nasty bookie. They can't have people being seen to refuse to pay their tab simply because it encourages others not to. A representative of the Iron Bank visits Cersei to make good on the loans, and she tells them to wait until the war is over. Hence they fund Stannis. They're not going to turn around again and side with the Lannisters. That makes no sense in the context of what they're trying to achieve.

[bobbybuilderton]

I was under the impression they're trying to get their money, not throw their weight around. That is a key difference. I was viewing them as working, at the end of the day, on the same principle as a bank. Which is to go for the option that's most likely to get your money back. If they care more about their image than getting the money, then no it doesn't I suppose. But economically, it makes more sense for them to say the Lannisters are most capable of paying it back and will when the fighting is done, so lets end the fighting rather than put someone ELSE who we don't know will be able to pay on the throne. It's what I'd do, but I don't care about image that much.