Arya Stark

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Arya Stark
Alias Arry, Weasel, Nan, Salty
Allegiance House Stark
Culture Westeros
Born Winterfell
Book A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows

Arya Stark is the third child, and second daughter, of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark. She is nine at the start of A Game of Thrones. A spirited girl with an interest in fighting and exploring, she is a foil of her proper sister Sansa, whom she often describes as "stupid". She is particularly close to her bastard half-brother Jon Snow. Throughout her travels, Arya displays great resourcefulness, cunning, and an unflinching ability to accept hard necessity. She is said to take after her fiery aunt Lyanna in temperament. Like her siblings, she is a skinchanger, and bonded a direwolf she named Nymeria, a reference to a Rhoynar warrior-queen.

Appearance

Arya is skinny and athletic. She has strong Stark family features, with a long face, grey eyes and brown hair. A the start of the story, she is generally regarded as plain, as exemplified by her nickname Arya Horseface, and often mistaken for a boy. However, there are instances of her being called pretty, compared to beautiful Lyanna, and catching the eye of men later in the books.

Attributes and abilities

She is left-handed, quick and dexterous. She has displayed signs of being a warg. She has learned basic swordplay in the Braavosi water dancing tradition and knows how to use knives. She received a noble's education, and is said to be good with mathematics and an excellent horse rider. She has proved to know at least a bit of High Valyrian. She also speaks Braavosi with a strong accent. She has a quick and curious mind and a pragmatic outlook. Her outspoken, willful nature and her quick wits make her a natural leader.

History

Arya traveled with her father to King's Landing. On the way south to the capital, however, she was forced to abandon her direwolf Nymeria when it defended her from Prince Joffrey. Queen Cersei then ordered Arya's sister's direwolf, Lady, to be killed after Arya made Nymeria ran away, and Jofferey's "dog" Sandor Cleganebutchered her peasant friend Mycah, who had minor involvement in this fiasco. Because of this Arya harbored lasting enmity for the Lannisters. While at Kings Landing, she trained under Syrio Forel, a celebrated Braavosi swordsman. Under his strict but creative tutelage, Arya learned to fight in the Braavosi style with Needle, a slim shortsword that Jon Snow gave her. During the purge of Starks from the Red Keep, Syrio held off Arya's attackers so she could escape. She lived on the streets of King's Landing until the day she witnessed her father's public execution.

She escaped King's Landing with Yoren of the Night's Watch, and assumed the identity of "Arry", a boy headed to join the Night's Watch. Yoren planned to return her to Winterfell, but he was killed near Harrenhal by Ser Amory Lorch and his men. During this battle Arya saved the lives of the chained Night's Watch prisoners Jaqen H'ghar, Rorge and Biter. Later, she was captured by the monstruous Ser Gregor and his men and was taken to Harrenhal under the command of Tywin Lannister and later, Ser Amory Lorcch. She reunited with Jaqen and he offered her three murders for the lives she saved. Her choices were Chiswyck, Weese, and Jaqen himself. In an effort to make her unsay his name, he helped her free the Northmen in the dungeon and stage an uprising. With Harrenhal under the command of Roose Bolton, she called herself "Nymeria, or Nan", a servant girl, and became one of Roose's cupbearers. After Harrenhal was left to Vargo Hoat, Arya escaped it with two companions, Gendry and Hot Pie, boys from Yoren's party of recruits. They were captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners. Her friends joined the outlaws while the Brotherhood made plans to ransom her, knowing her to be Arya Stark.

Sandor Clegane then stole her from the Brotherhood to return her to her brother Robb and win a place in his service. Clegane and Arya reached the Twins during the Red Wedding, just as Robb and Catelyn were being murdered. Clegane prevented Arya from running to them, and decided that the only place left to take her was to the Vale of Arryn, which was ruled by Arya's aunt, Lysa Arryn. They could not reach the Eyrie and Lysa, however, and were forced to go back toward Riverrun. At the Saltpans, Clegane took a serious wound, and Arya left him to die. She gained passage on a ship headed to Braavos by using a coin that Jaqen H'ghar had given her, along with the Valyrian phrase "valar morghulis".

In Braavos Arya entered the House of Black and White, where a "kindly old man" initiated her into the Guild of the Faceless Men. She was required to discard her old personality, including her belongings, to begin the training, and she did, except for Needle, which she hid in a safe location. Arya's training required her to go out into the city under the identity of Cat of the Canals, a street urchin, and learn secrets. One night, months after, she killed a deserter from the Night's Watch and accepted milk meant for "Arya". She awoke blind the next morning.

Identities and Nicknames

One of the recurring themes in Arya's story is her tendency to hide her original identity and to be known under different names. It becomes even more prominent when she joins the Faceless Men, as it is the core of their trade.

The names she has used, identified herself with or been recognized as so far are:

  • Arya of House Stark, her real name.
  • Arya Horseface, a nickname given to her by Jeyne Poole, in reference to her strong Stark features.
  • Arya Underfoot, mostly used by Winterfell people, like Harwin, in reference to her habit of always being in their way instead of where a noble girl should be.
  • Arry, to pass for an orphan boy from Flea Bottom in King's Landing, when she travelled with Yoren.
  • Weasel, when she was captured, sent to Harrenhal and could not pass for a boy anymore, taken from the nickname Lommy Greenhands gave to a baby girl their group had rescued.
  • The Ghost of Harrenhal, when she takes responsibility for Jaqen's murders.
  • Nymeria or Nan, when Roose Bolton made her his cupbearer.
  • She-wolf or wolf bitch, when she traveled with Sandor Clegane.
  • Salty, when she boarded the Titan's Daughter in Saltpans.
  • Cat, in the course of her Faceless Men training, she poses as an orphan from King's Landing, daughter of an oarmaster on the galley Nymeria, who was killed by a bravo for saying the Nightingale was less beautiful than his wife.
  • No one, still for the Faceless Men, though she cannot use this non-identity well yet.

Arya and death

During her journey, Arya was subjected to many hard situations in the war-torn Westeros. Her fiery personality prompted her to take the initiative and fight back, and so she was led to kill and ultimately desired murdering specific characters herself. This course of action ended as of A Feast for Crows with her being an assassin trainee in Braavos, and becoming apparently indifferent to death and killing.

Hit list

Every night before sleeping, Arya repeated aloud a list of the people she wanted dead, before she was accepted as a Faceless Man trainee. Some names were added as she went, and others were dropped when the character died or became closer to her. She called it a prayer and ended it most of the time with the words Valar Morghulis. The names were:

Dead or missing

  • King Joffrey: Joffrey Baratheon, because he ordered the execution of her father.
  • The Hound: Sandor Clegane, because he killed her friend Micah and laughed about it.
  • Ser Amory: Amory Lorch, because he attacked her group, killed Yoren, and prevented her to reach the Wall.
  • Ser Gregor: Gregor Clegane, because of his and his band's atrocities.
  • The Tickler: He was Gregor Clegane's torturer, and killed many people before her eyes.
  • Polliver: He was in Gregor Clegane's company and stole her sword Needle.
  • Chiswyck: He was one of the soldiers guarding prisoners in Gregor's company, and joked about their ordeal.
  • Weese: He was a cruel understeward at Harrenhal who mistreated her when she worked for him as "weasel".

Still alive

  • Ser Ilyn: Ilyn Payne, because he beheaded her father.
  • Ser Meryn: Meryn Trant, because he killed her master at arms, Syrio Forel.
  • Queen Cersei: Cersei Lannister, because she was the one behind the fall of her family.
  • Dunsen: He was one of the soldiers guarding prisoners in Gregor's company, and stole Gendry's helm.
  • Raff the Sweetling: He was one of the soldiers guarding prisoners in Gregor's company, and killed her comrade Lommy Greenhands.

Confirmed Kills

  • A King's Landing stableboy: Stabbed in the belly, after he threatened her during the fall of the Starks.
  • Several Lannister soldiers, during Amory Lorch's attack, slashed and stabbed.
  • Chyswick: Pushed off the walls of Harrenhal by Jaqen H'ghar, after she ordered his death.
  • Weese: Killed by his own dog, turned mad by Jaqen H'ghar, after she ordered his death.
  • A Bolton guard: Throat slit, he blocked her way out of Harrenhal.
  • A Sarsfield squire: Stabbed in the belly, after he threatened her.
  • The Tickler: Stabbed many times in the back.
  • Dareon: Throat slit and corpse dumped in a canal, after confirming he was a Night's Watch deserter.

She also was the initiator of, and, along Jaqen H'ghar, Rorge and Biter, took part in the killing of eight Harrenhal jailors, an event that would be remembered as the "weasel soup", from the nickname she then used.

Connections

Organizations

People

  • Sansa Stark, her sister, is close to both regent and heir, and poised to become leader of the Vale by marriage.
  • Brandon Stark, one of her brothers, went North of the Wall to train his powers with a mysterious magical entity.
  • Jaqen H'ghar, who seems to be in the thick of a conspiracy in the Citadel of Oldtown.

Political alliances

References and Sources

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at House Stark.
The list of authors can be seen in the page history of House Stark.
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