‘Winds of Winter’ Fan Theories: Arya Stark And The Faceless Men
Arya Stark is one of the major characters in "Winds of Winter." The author, George R. R. Martin, has a sample chapter about the character on his blog. The chapter describes the transformation of the character after joining the guild of Faceless Men. Here are some of the fan theories about the character in the upcoming book. [Warning! Spoiler Alert]
Arya has learnt some skills under the guidance of her new teacher, Izembaro. She works at a theater run by Izembaro. The work helps her to try different roles with costumes and wigs. She has taken the assumed name of Mercedene, but people call her Mercy.
However, the author may have dropped some hints about her leaving Izembaro soon. According to some of the fans at the Westeros forum, she may return to Westeros with an anonymous face and hide her identity not only from the people there but also the assassins of the Faceless Men.
The sample chapter from "Winds of Winter" shows Arya killing a man without the orders of the Faceless Men. The murder may create trouble for not only the Sealord but also the envoy from Westeros. The envoy was supposed to be a guest at Izembaro's play, so there may be trouble for her mentor and colleagues too.
There have been multiple witnesses of Arya leaving with the murdered man. One of the fans points out that this may be a good opportunity for the Faceless Men to send Arya away. A possible destination for her next assignment may be King's Landing, to assassinate someone as a warning from the Iron Bank. The theory is that the Iron Bank will hire the Faceless Men to send a message to the Iron Throne to start repaying the huge debt.
However, if Arya had to run from Braavos, having displeased the Faceless Men, she may find an assassin being sent after her. Her skill of wearing disguises and hiding her true identity may be put to the test in "Winds of Winter." She has already hid her sword Needle from the guild and killed without orders before. Will Arya arrive in King's Landing in the next book? Please leave your comments below.