Why I believe Arya is Azor Ahai

[Roadside Rose]

Who is Azor Ahai is the most debated question for readers. I believe the character that turns into Azor Ahai is someone we already know.

In an interview, GRRM remarked that Azor Ahai was an eastern prophecy. And by what he said - ‘He who was promised’ is the Westerosi translation of ‘Azor Ahai’.

The existing candidates for Azor Ahai seem to be the following characters:

• Daenerys Targaryen
  
• Jon Snow
  
• Stannis Baratheon
  

Some even argue that Gendry could be Azor Ahai. because Gendry is a smith, and so he could forge Lightbringer. But besides him being a smith, there seems to be no other foreshadowing of him being Azor Ahai.

Dany: The first and most likely candidate for Azor Ahai has been Dany. With Master Aemon believing that Azor Ahai/Prince who was Promised could be a ‘Princess’ and not a ‘Prince’. So Master Aemon believes that Azor Ahai need not be male, it could be a female. And this is our first hint. Most of us, including me believed this prophecy had to be fulfilled by a man. But this hint makes us look out for all the possible female candidates who could fulfil this prophecy.

Dany: On the Dothraki sea, Dany does seem to have hatched dragon eggs from a funeral pyre (smoke?). She is also believed to have descended from Aery’s and Rhaella’s line. According to the wood’s witch, the Prince who was Promised would descend from Aery’s and Rhaella’s line. Later Illyrio reflects how Dany was reborn in ‘blood & fire’ on the Dothraki sea.

Dany: Now if Dany did hatch those eggs out of stone, there are still some parts of the prophecy that fall short when you think of her as a contender. Where is her legendary sword ‘Lightbringer’? Could she even wield a sword like ‘Lightbringer’? Could she forge it? Dany seems to be the biggest red herring.

Stannis: The other candidate Stannis Baratheon seems to be a case of a prophecy being forced into be true. And prophecies never work when they are forced. Master Aemon suspects that the sword he wields is not the true Lightbringer.

Jon: The third most important candidate is Jon Snow. When Melisandre prays for Azor Ahai, all she sees in the flames is ‘snow’. Melisandre probably suspects Jon to be Azor Ahai. But I believe seeing Jon’s face is different from seeing ‘snow’. The snow, winter, cold, ice could refer to any Stark.

It was during a re-read of Storm of Swords that I first noticed a foreshadowing.

Arya in SoS,

"I wish I had a flaming sword." Arya could think of lots of people she’d like to set on fire.

Even though Arya is talking about Beric Dondarrion’s flaming sword, there is a hint here that Arya could possess Lightbringer at some point.

I still thought Arya being Azor Ahai was far-stretched. And then I re-read this.

"Sansa’s work is as pretty as she is," Septa Mordane told their lady mother once. “She has such fine, delicate hands." When Lady Catelyn had asked about Arya, the septa had sniffed. "Arya has the hands of a blacksmith."

It’s funny how we dismiss this as Arya being a tomboy. Or Arya having a future romantic liaison with Gendry (who is a blacksmith). But if you re-read that you realize Arya’s hands were not made for knitting. They were made to forge swords. And a legendary sword.

If Arya is Azor Ahai, then who could be Nissa Nissa? And this paragraph from CoK gives the answer,

The Maiden lay athwart the Warrior, her arms widespread as if to embrace him. The Mother seemed almost to shudder as the flames came licking up her face. A longsword had been thrust through her heart, and its leather grip was alive with flame. The Father was on the bottom, the first to fall.

For Arya to forge Lightbringer using her sword (Needle?), she still needs a soul to combine with the blade. Who better than Lady Stoneheart herself. The Mother has often been associated with Catelyn. Note: The leather grip of the longsword was alive with flame when it had been thrust through the Mother’s heart. This foreshadows how Lightbringer will be forged.

Remember Master Aemon asks Sam whether the leather was scorched when Stannis drew the blade.

“Yet you felt no heat, did you? And the scabbard that held the blade, it is wood and leather, yes? I heard the sound when His Grace drew out the blade. Was the leather scorched, Sam? Did the wood seem burnt or blackened?

The one argument against Arya being Azor Ahai would be - that the wood’s witch predicted Azor Ahai would come of Aery’s and Rhaella’s line. If that were true, only Jon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen would be the living contenders for Azor Ahai.

I find it hard to believe the wood’s witch was 100% right about this criteria, because if she could see the future accurately - she could have avoided the tragedy at Summerhall - that resulted in the death of Jenny & Prince Duncan. The wood’s witch either lied so that Jenny could marry Prince Duncan, or the visions she saw were misinterpreted by her.

[N/A]

well,to each his own ....i suppose

"I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai, and R’hllor

shows me only Snow."

it's a name

and i don't see much foreshadowing in her hands being blacksmiths hands (might be some in the burning of the idols)

but then again, i'm not Fire Eater so who knows

[Roadside Rose]

well,to each his own ....i suppose

Agreed.

:)

[shk12344]

well,to each his own ....i suppose

"I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai, and R’hllor

shows me only Snow."

it's a name

and i don't see much foreshadowing in her hands being blacksmiths hands (might be some in the burning of the idols)

but then again, i'm not Fire Eater so who knows

Yep. In Mel's POV, she clearly notes she sees Snow with capital "S" clearly refering to Jon Snow and not the the white stuff from the sky kind. In Jon's POV, he hears the statement said from Mel, but it printed in lower case "s" in which Jon assumes Mel is refering to the white stuff from the sky when we know from her POV that she's refering to Jon himself.

[N/A]

Yep. In Mel's POV, she clearly notes she sees Snow with capital "S" clearly refering to Jon Snow and not the the white stuff from the sky kind. In Jon's POV, he hears the statement said from Mel, but it printed in lower case "s" in which Jon assumes Mel is refering to the white stuff from the sky when we know from her POV that she's refering to Jon himself.

"white stuff from the sky" this sounds so wrong :lmao:

[jenerationx]

Jon: The third most important candidate is Jon Snow. When Melisandre prays for Azor Ahai, all she sees in the flames is ‘snow’. Melisandre probably suspects Jon to be Azor Ahai. But I believe seeing Jon’s face is different from seeing ‘snow’. The snow, winter, cold, ice could refer to any Stark.

You'd be right if the text actually used a lowercase "s" as you're using. But it doesn't. The text uses an UPPERCASE "S," meaning that it does not refer to "any Stark," it refers to a person by the name of Snow.

But if you re-read that you realize Arya’s hands were not made for knitting. They were made to forge swords. And a legendary sword.

ETA: Well... except Lightbringer already exists, and would not need to be forged again, theoretically. That's kind of why I've never bought the Gendry theory, either. The sword already exists. Whoever wields it next doesn't need to forge it. Also, along these same lines, regarding Nissa Nissa: there's nothing in any of the prophecies that says the events of the past need to be repeated. Nissa Nissa was part of the original forging; once Lightbringer has been created, there's no reason to think it needs to be re-plunged into the heart of anyone.

[AcornPaste]

An interesting theory for sure. Isn't AA born from fire and salt? Many people think salt from tears can fill half that prophecy. What if Arya is sent to assassinate her undead mother? That would certainly bring her to cry. As for the fire part, she first showed real heroism when trying to save Yoren from burning and freeing Jaqen from the cage. It's definitely farfetched but worth the speculation.

[jentario]

I honestly hope GRRM pulls something like this. He made it way too obvious that Jon is AA in ADWD. "I'm searching for Azor Ahai but all I see is Snow." Not subtle at all, GRRM, not subtle at all. At this point, Jon being AA is as obvious as Dany being AA seemed in ASOS, but then GRRM just went out and said it.

Also, I always theorized that Arya will be the one to end Stoneheart. I mean, who else would do it? Jaime? Doubt it. Brienne? Slightly more plausible but still... Doubt it. It's got to be Arya.

[Roadside Rose]

An interesting theory for sure. Isn't AA born from fire and salt? Many people think salt from tears can fill half that prophecy. What if Arya is sent to assassinate her undead mother? That would certainly bring her to cry. As for the fire part, she first showed real heroism when trying to save Yoren from burning and freeing Jaqen from the cage. It's definitely farfetched but worth the speculation.

Isn't Arya being reborn in the House of Black & White? She has to discard her old self.

The Salt & Smoke part - Maybe, we may hear a story in future books saying how the House of Black & White ended up getting the name from salt & smoke.

[Bushido]

GRRM said that AA=The Prince That was Promised, which is a prophecy related to Targaryen family.

[Roadside Rose]

GRRM said that AA=The Prince That was Promised, which is a prophecy related to Targaryen family.

Quoting GRRM,

What is the origin behind the Azor Azhai prophecy?

The prophecy comes from the countries of the east (my own note: in Spanish it said west, but they acknowledged this was a mistake on the transcriber’s part), it’s not a Westerosi prophecy, you can infer that from the name. Westeros has its own prophecies, different from the one about He Who Was Promised.

http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/71917-new-grrm-interview/

[Roadside Rose]

I honestly hope GRRM pulls something like this. He made it way too obvious that Jon is AA in ADWD. "I'm searching for Azor Ahai but all I see is Snow." Not subtle at all, GRRM, not subtle at all. At this point, Jon being AA is as obvious as Dany being AA seemed in ASOS, but then GRRM just went out and said it.

:agree:

[Bushido]

Yes, Azor is from Essos. But the Prince and Azor (reborn) = one the same person. GRRM said this in a video made for S2 when he was discussing religions of Westeros.

[Roadside Rose]

Yes, Azor is from Essos. But the Prince and Azor (reborn) = one the same person. GRRM said this in a video made for S2 when he was discussing religions of Westeros.

And I agree...I never said they were different.

[Bushido]

That rules out Arya. :)

[Roadside Rose]

That rules out Arya. :)

how?

[Mrs.Grumpy]

Azor Ahai = Asshai

The Prince that was Promised = Valyrian/Targaryens

The Last Hero = Westerosi

So, the last hero is the most reliable prophecy/story.

[Arya_Ghostface]

The one argument against Arya being Azor Ahai would be - that the wood’s witch predicted Azor Ahai would come of Aery’s and Rhaella’s line. If that were true, only Jon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen would be the living contenders for Azor Ahai.

I find it hard to believe the wood’s witch was 100% right about this criteria, because if she could see the future accurately - she could have avoided the tragedy at Summerhall - that resulted in the death of Jenny & Prince Duncan. The wood’s witch either lied so that Jenny could marry Prince Duncan, or the visions she saw were misinterpreted by her.

Everything else in your theory is debatable, (but Mel says she saw Snow not snow, as other pointed out, so that's out too). But I don't think this particular woods witch/ghost of high heart has ever been wrong in her life. I don't think she lied deliberately because that would be stupid, and I don't think she can know everything about the future, just what her dreams showed her. And anyway, if the woods witch is related to CoTF and BR and Bran, then even if she knew about Summerhall she would not have said anything because she would know it would be futile to try and change the course of history.

So there, AA has to come from Aerys and Rhaella, Arya is not from this line, so Arya is not AA. She's still badass though ;)

[Tokando]

Can't find the passage online but when Arya is in Braavos, there is a line where she steps through the smoke of the morning and can smell the salt in the air. Thats what got me thinking that she's a contender....

[Lord of Lights Hound]

Will play devils advocate here

Mel saying Snow and seeing snow can be down to her own interpretation, she has named Arya before now and been wrong, what she sees and sees are two different things.

The wood witch can't avoid the summer hall if it will lead to the prophecy being completed, and may prophecies have a self fulfilling element so without certain events being put into motion nothing can happen. Take Mel for example she wants to find AA she is lead to Stannis who leads her to Snow, who leads her to ????, what good would it be for Mel to see Jon in her visions or Winterfell for that matter, she already has visions of unknown cities, first she needs visions of Dragonstone and Stannis who will eventually lead her to Jon. So in the same way what happens at Summer Hall will lead to tPtwP

Arya dose indeed become no one in Braavos so she can indeed be reborn, but needs to be done under a bleeding star if I remember rightly.

@Mrs Grumpy I would say that a translation of a translation is the worst story - AA will be the most accurate.

If Lightbringer already exits and needs to be reforged, it would make sense in this scenario for Ice to be reforged from Oathkeeper and Widows Wail