[night_dream] Arya Stark

Arya Stark, however goes by the name Arry.


Eleven years of Age


Female


Human


House Stark


Princess of Winterfell


Despite her young age, Ayra has many sides to her personality, and most opposite to what a Princess of Winterfell should be.
From a young age she has been rebellious and obsessed with activities fit for a prince, rather than a princess, and a heavy dislike for all things girly. Because of this she often got herself into trouble, which only seemed to escalate with her harsh words of honesty and the inability to hold her tongue.

Yet despite her rebellious nature, Arya was a caring girl who loved her family deeply and was hurt easier than she often let show, feeling the pressure to measure up to (in her eyes) her perfect older sister. Because of this, and her choice in activities, Arya has often felt like the 'odd one out' which strengthened her bond with her half brother, Jon Snow.

The feeling of loneliness only seemed to grow in her heart after their move to King's Landing, where the young Princess began to learn the value of silence and how to keep her opinions unspoken to avoid causing pain to those she loved, or getting into trouble. Yet all which was once the wild and free spirit of the young Winterfell princess seemed to shatter the day she watched her father's beheading, and the day her life fell into darkness.

Arya was always a cleaver girl, yet it never seemed as important as the small trait became when she began her journey back to Winterfell. Needing to pretend that she was a boy seemed to make matters simpler as she could finally act the way she always did without being questioned. This, despite the situation she was in, helped lift her spirits and the wise words of those who care for her gave her strength to undertake this dangerous task.

Arya turned from her rebellious, wild and childish self, to a silent, careful and strong minded girl, being forced to mature far too early in her life. Events in her life which followed the tragic death of her father and the fall of her family caused Arya's hatred to grow, filling her lust for blood and the sweet taste of revenge upon those who had harmed her loved ones. This lust for revenge was the key which drove Ayra into becoming capable of taking one's life without the weight of regret falling upon her shoulders.

However, despite all the darkness which looms over her shattered soul, Arya still yearns for the love of her family and the warmth of friendship. Often upon first meet, the young girl appears shy and silent, never knowing who she can and cannot trust, avoiding the risk of exposing her true identity. Despite having learnt the dire importance of keeping her opinions to herself, when asked a question her replies are often cleaver and brutally honest, yet in a way to avoid getting herself into trouble.

Being forced to hide her identity, Arya has learnt the true meaning of trust, and seldom finds it within someone. However, once that trust is established, she is a loyal ally and will do all in her might to land a helping hand. It is only to those who earn her friendship that Ayra allows some of her old self to shine through the hardened shell she had to place around herself. Her wild actions and reckless, yet brave, behaviour often surprises and shocks her friends.

Despite having her own dreams and desires of becoming a great assassin like the Faceless Man who has helped, Arya's loyalty remains with her family, and her selflessness shines through as her determination to find her family grows. Because of this, Ayra is foreseen as stubborn and at times reckless.


The young Princess gazes upon the world with delicate blue hues which appear almost a grey/silver shade when the delicate rays of sunlight fall upon her face.

Although the grime which is almost always coated on her delicate skin, Ayra's complexion is a pale Caucasian shade, smooth as silk to the touch, despite the slightly rough and calloused hands.

The locks upon her head were once long enough to reach below her shoulders, often held back in a plats leading away from the pony tail at the back of her head, however being forced to disguise herself as a male, Arya cut her hair short so the longest strands do not reach below her ears. They remain uncurled and often messy, their usual brunette shade which is coloured with natural highlights of
light brown and black now appear mostly black from the grime which covers her body.

Arya stands at a short 1 meter and 52 centimetres, or 4 foot 11. Her attire, although once consisted of lightly coloured dresses and fine gowns (despite her distaste for them), have been replaced with dark, common clothes of poor craftsmanship.

They consist of dark pants which must be tied with a string around her waist to hold them up, and a dirty white-cream coloured shirt which sleeves which reach down to her wrists. Over top, she wears a brown lather jacket, fastened by a few buttons and held together in place with another leather belt. Although being slightly big on her, it hides her small size well.

Unlike her sister or mother, Arya has not yet fully developed and lacks the womanly curves of a young woman, or the delicate breasts which so easily cast the glances of passing males. It is her flat torso and slender hips which lack the curves of a grown female which aid in her disguise as a boy.

Because of her young age and the hard accent of the North which lingers with each spoken word, Arya has yet to develop the delicate tone of a young woman, giving her the appearance of a boy who has yet to break into the deep voice of a man.


Being human, Arya does not possess any supernatural powers like other creatures, but what she lacks in certain aspects, she easily makes up in others.

Arya's height and petite figure give her the edge of stealth. Despite lacking the strength of a grown man, Arya has learnt to become a graceful fighter using the water dancer technique taught to her by Syro Forel, a man of Essoss. She has learnt to adapt this technique to the few swords skills she has picked up while watching fights during her 'captivity'.

Despite lacking the skills and knowledge a Princess should possess, Arya has learnt to be well skilled with other weapons apart from a sword such as bow and arrows.

Like the other Stark children, Arya has dreams of seeing through the eyes of her DireWolf, Nymeria. The dreams show, what Arya perceives to be, the day's adventures of her loyal guardian.


Strengths
Physically, Arya's strength's lie in her ease of stealth and speed in her young legs. She is capable of delicate movements which are near sounless as she creeps her way along. Her training in Water Dancing has also trained her in gracefulness of a fight and ease of wielding her sword. Similarly to her brother, Arya finds ease in climbing structures, although her footing and grip lacks the natural talent of young Bran.

Emotionally, however, her strength is divided between her undying love for her family and the need to be reunited with them once more. The events which have separated the Stark family have proven to her how deeply she cares for those the young girl once claimed to hate.

On the other hand, the darkness of hatred has cast a veil over her soul with the chanting of the names she wishes her revenge upon. To avenge the death of her father and the blood spilled over the war her older brother has set out upon.

Weaknesses
Physically, the young girl's weaknesses lie in her small height and lack of strength in her delicate arms. She is fragile, regardless of the façade she tries to put on, and unaware of the torment brought upon by physical pain of torture which many of the men know.

Emotionally, Arya is near blinded by her will to be reunited with her family. Her determination often leads to reckless behaviour which can lead to dangerous situations, costing someone's life. Being forced to cast away her childhood so early in life has also left an invisible scar upon her heart.

Despite never caring much for the teachings, Arya yearns for the freedom she once had. To so carelessly and innocently explore the world and share the experience with her family. Instead, she is haunted by the horrific images of the past, her father's beheading often leading to sleepless nights and fogged from exhaustion mind.


Arya does not use any armour besides the simple leather jacket she wears to protect herself from the cold winds as she makes her way North, away from the heat and humidity of King's Landing.

As a weapon, Arya preferably wields Needle, the sword her bastard brother had given her on the day he set out to join the men of the Wall. The sword was forged by the blacksmith Mikken of Winterfell upon Jon Snow's request. The sword, which Jon explains, is skinny like herself. Unlike the heavy swords used by the men, Needle is much smaller, with blunted (in comparison) edges and a much sharper tip to allow her "stick them with the pointy end" as her brother teased. However, when she cannot use Needle, Arya prefers to use daggers and other similar sized knives rather than heavy swords.


Childhood in Winterfell
Arya is the youngest daughter and third child of Lady Catelyn and Lord Eddard Stark, head of House Stark and Warden of the North. She was born soon after Eddard Stark's return from the Greyjoy Rebellion and raised at Winterfell. Arya has an older brother, Robb, and an older sister Sansa. She also has two younger brothers, Bran and Rickon, and a bastard half-brother Jon Snow who falls close to Robb's age.

In her nine years, she has quickly shown herself to be an independent and wild-spirited girl. Unlike her sister, she rejects the notion that she must become a lady and marry for influence and power, showing no interest in the womanly arts of dancing, singing, and sewing; instead she revels in fighting and exploring, to the bemusement of her tutor Septa Mordane and parents. Because of this, Arya often found herself in trouble and mocked by her sister and younger brothers. Unlike her sister, however, her two younger brothers were jealous of her fighting and shooting skills which they had yet not mastered, being frowned down upon by her sister who yearned to become the Lady she was being trained to be.

Being the wild spirit that she was, Ayra often went out to explore Winterfell and the surrounding woods, similarly to Bran's love for climbing the tallest walls of the castle. The routine soon however seized when her older brothers and father came across a litter of pups. These weren't ordinary pups however, but the young of a Direwolf, the proud animal faced upon the Stark Crest. Coincidently, there were enough pups for each of the children to take one, including an all white wolf for her half-brother; her best friend.

Arya named her pup Nymeria, after the legendary Queen of the Rhoynar (a culture of river-faring people who dwelt on the banks of River Rhoyne in Essos). Like the other children, Arya kept Nymeria as close to herself as possible, even allowing the quickly growing pup to sleep at the foot of her bed. She tried to train Nymeria and succeeded on many occasions, although like her stubborn owner, Nymeria refused to follow her orders around others, making Arya look foolish.

Her life began to spiral out of control with the unwanted visit of King Robb Barathion and his wife and children to the Northan Lands. Arya, like many of the other starks, did not seem to get along with the other children very well aside from Sensa who found love with Prince Joffery. It was not long after their arrival, on one of the Kings private hunts, that her father late Eddark (Ned) Stark, was named Hand of the King.

Despite disagreements between her parents, Ned had no choice but to accept the offer and travel down to King's Landing.

It was on the final day of their stay in Westeros that Jon came to Arya's chambers.

“I have something for you to take with you, and it has to be packed very carefully.”

Her face lit up. "A present?”

“You could call it that. Close the door.” Jon pulled off the rags he’d wrapped it in. He held it out to her.

Arya’s eyes went wide. Dark eyes, like his. “A sword,” she said in a small, hushed breath.

The scabbard was soft grey leather, supple as sin. Jon drew out the blade slowly, so she could see the deep blue sheen of the steel. “This is no toy,” he told her. “Be careful you don’t cut yourself. The edges are sharp enough to shave with.”

“Girls don’t shave,” Arya said.

“Maybe they should. Have you ever seen the septa’s legs?”

She giggled at him. “It’s so skinny.”

“So are you,” Jon told her. “I had Mikken make this special. The bravos use swords like this in Pentos and Myr and the other Free Cities. It won’t hack a man’s head off, but it can poke him full of holes if you’re fast enough.”

“I can be fast,” Arya said.

“You’ll have to work at it every day.” He put the sword in her hands, showed her how to hold it, and stepped back. “How does it feel? Do you like the balance?”

“I think so,” Arya said.

“First lesson,” Jon said. “Stick them with the pointy end.”

Arya gave him a whap on the arm with the flat of her blade. The blow stung, but Jon found himself grinning like an idiot.

”You’ll find someone,” Jon promised her. “King’s Landing is a true city, a thousand times the size of Winterfell. Until you find a partner, watch how they fight in the yard. Run, and ride, make yourself strong. And whatever you do …”

Arya knew what was coming next. They said it together. “… don’t … tell … Sansa!”
Jon messed up her hair. “I will miss you, little sister.”

Suddenly she looked like she was going to cry. “I wish you were coming with us.”

”Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle. Who knows?” He was feeling better now. He was not going to let himself be sad. “I better go. I’ll spend my first year on the Wall emptying chamber pots if I keep Uncle Ben waiting any longer.”

Arya ran to him for a last hug. “Put down the sword first,” Jon warned her, laughing. She set it aside almost shyly and showered him with kisses.

When he turned back at the door, she was holding it again, trying it for balance. “I almost forgot,” he told her. “All the best swords have names.”
”Like Ice,” she said. She looked at the blade in her hand. “Does this have a name? Oh, tell me.”
”Can’t you guess?” Jon teased. “Your very favourite thing.”
Arya seemed puzzled at first. Then it came to her. She was that quick. They said it together: “Needle!”

King's Landing
The road to King's Landing was a long and tiresome one, but Ayra did not mind. She found a friend in a peasant boy named Mycah whom which they would often play swords together. Her sister often disliked the dirty which covered Ayra's face and clothes from all the tumbles she took while play fighting with her new friends, trying to find a brighter side to this gloomy journey.

It was then, when Mycah and herself were plying battle in the woods while the others took rest along the King's Road that Sansa and Prince Joffrey stumbled across the two playing youngsters. Joffrey finds amusement that a princess would find enjoyment out of playing with peasants and took it upon himself to teach the young boy the proper way to fight. Joffrey took out his own sword and forced Mycah into battling him with the stick he had moments ago pretended was a sword with young Ayra. It didn't take long before the young boy was hurt, and Ayra could not stand back and let the Prince do this to her friend. Fighting him back, Joffrey pushed Ayra to the ground and before anyone knew what was happening Nymeria bit the prince on the arm as Ayra got to her feet.

As Joffrey ran back to camp, Arya knew that Nymeria would most likely be killed in retribution, her and Jory Cassel chase the wolf away forcing her to run off and saving her life from the cruelty of the punishment.

Ayra was brought before King Robert who forced Eddard to handle the punishment himself, yet Queen Cesei was not satisfied with the choice and ordered Sansa's direwolf, Lady, to be killed in the place of the wolf which ran away. Like the wolf, the young Mycah had also fled the camp in fear for his life, yet it did him no good. Joffery ordered the Hound to find and kill the boy. Ayra saw the boy's lifeless body that night and the first spark of hatred towards the Lannisterd was ignited within her soul.

The journey to King's Landing after that was even more painful, the loss of the direwolves grew heavy upon the hearts of the children, and where Sensa found strength in her Prince, Ayra's hatred grew. She began hating Sansa for not stnading up for her when Ayra told her side of the story, instead remained silent so not to upset her new Prince. This lead to a fight early on in their stay at King's Landing where Ayra admitted her hatred towards her sister and her nany, before running off to her chamber.

Ned found her there, calming down his daughter until he stumbled upon her sword. Realising that despite his word against her fighting, Ayra still did as she pleased, Ned decided to allow her to learn.

He called upon Syrio Forel, a celebrated swordsman from Braavosi to teach his daughter the proper way to handle a blade. Under his strict yet crative, tutelge, Ayra learnt to fight in the Braavosi style of Water Dancing with Needle. Most of her days became consumed with swordplay exercises with Forel's instructions and balancing training he had set out for her.

It was during one of the tasks set out for her by her trainer, that Ayra found her way into the secret passage of the castle where the skulls of the dragons were kept. Amazed by the discovery and feeling the same burning excitment and curiosity once more flowing through her veins, Ayra followed the passage until she heard the voices of two men speaking of Ned Stark, Cersei and Varys' spies.

When her father was taken into the dungeons and her mother returned to the North, Ayra managed to escape the purge of Starks from the Red Keep when Syrio realised that the Lannister guardman were not sent there by her father as claimed, holding off Arya's attackers whith sword's practice to give her a chance to escape. She done using the passage she found earlier, but was unable to escape the city since the gates were heavily guarded. Instead, she lived on the streets of Flea Bottom, chasing pigeons and rats to exchange for food until the day of her father's public execution. Following the crowd to the place of execution she was found by Yoren of the Night's Watch who recognised her and promised to take her back to Winterfell as one of the boys for the Night's Watch. He tried to save her eyes from the sight of her father's execution, yet despite his attempts, and unknown to him, she witnessed the deed.

Journey Home
Yoren shaved Arya's head and forced her to take on the identity of Arry, a boy recruit travelling with Yoren and his party of Night's Watch recruits to the Wall. It is there when she met her freinds Gendry and Hot Pie. She keeps her identiy secret from them for the time being, until her friendship with Gendry, the Smith's Apprentice, grows stronger. After a while she lets him know her true identity and he helps to keep it safe from the other man. Their journey was going well until they reached the deserted town near the God's Eye lake where they were attacked by raiders led by Ser Amory Lorch. Ayra, Gendry and Hot Pie are one of the few who escaped alive. Before saving their own lives, however, Ayra freed three prisoners of the Night's Watch: Jaquen h'ghar, Rorge and Biter.

Heading out with the survivors, they were captured by Ser Gregor and his men in the next town, where they were held for a period of eight days, while the Tickler questioned the villagers through torture. Their stay as toys for the Tickler was cut short when Tywin Lannister joined the Keep. He saw past her disguise as a boy, and unknowing to her identity, named her his servant. During their stay, Jaquen offers Ayra three names which he would take from the Red God in exchange for the three lives she had saved.

Firstly she named the Tickler, while beginning to form her own Hit List of the names of people she wished to take revenge upon, chanting their names before falling asleep each night. Seeing how subtle the kill on the Tickler had been, Ayra questioned Jaqen about his technique yet he would not say. Arya continued to serve Tywin Lannister, occasionally sharing a conversation with the Lord. Despite a few slip ups in the conversation, and Tywin's curiosity growing, Arya was quick on her feet to explain herself, never giving the Lord more doubt than needed. It was through this service that Ayra learnt of the Lannister's plan to attack her brother's army. One of the guard's man caught her trying to reach a raven, stealing the note she had ready to send to her brother. Frightened, she ran to Jaquen and spoke the second name. Like before, there was no trace of the killer, yet this time the guards were on alarm. She realised that she had to get out of there and warn her brother. Yet there was no way that she and her friends could escape on their own, and went to Jaquen one last time.

This time the name she gave shocked him to the core as she spoke his own name. Begging her to unname him, Ayra swears to do so, if he promises to help her and her friends escape. He does so, telling her to walk out of the main gates by exactly middnight that night. Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie did as they were told, seeing guards at the gate yet walking out none the less. It wasn't until they were passing the bodies that they discovered they were dead, hangged on poles to appear as if guarding the gate.

The three journeyed down the road for the rest of the night without seeing a single soul. Ayra was upset that she did not get to say goodbye to Jaqen, but alas upon morning they noticed him following them upon the cliffs. Arya goes to meet him on her own where she admits to wanting to learn the ways of the assasin. Given the option to go with him to Braavos, Arya decided to remain in Westeros until she found her family. In response, Jaqen gave her a coin to - when the day came - help her find him in Braavos.



Changing his face before her eyes, Jaqen left to take names for the Red God, while Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie continued their way towards the Wall and Winterfell.

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