{"id":509,"date":"2016-06-23T00:23:48","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T00:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/?p=509"},"modified":"2016-06-23T23:05:34","modified_gmt":"2016-06-23T23:05:34","slug":"arya-stark-and-the-iron-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/?p=509","title":{"rendered":"Arya Stark and the Iron Bank of Braavos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: this post is a work in progress. \u00a0I am adding more as I go along. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iron Bank is the Iron Bank.\u00a0 There is no \u2018someone\u2019\u2026 [like] a temple is comprised of stones.\u00a0 One crumbles, and another takes its place.\u00a0 And the temple holds its form, for a thousand years or more.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what the Iron Bank is, a temple.\u00a0 We all live in its shadow, and almost none of us know it.\u00a0 You can\u2019t run from them, you can\u2019t cheat them, you can\u2019t sway them with excuses.\u00a0 If you owe them money and you don\u2019t want to crumble yourself, you pay it back.\u201d \u2013 Tywen Lannister, S4E5<\/a><\/p>\n

Looks like GoT is preparing next season to be a clash of the seven major kingdoms. \u00a0The Free City of Braavos exists as a completely sovereign kingdom of its own. \u00a0It is most known among the kingdoms as the home of the Iron Bank. \u00a0How does an Iron Bank like that exist, in a city with no visible army, and continue to prosper and accumulate wealth? \u00a0How is it not a pile of gold waiting to be looted by any passing marauder or unscrupulous monarch?<\/p>\n

The answer is the Faceless Men and the House of Black and White. \u00a0This is their enforcement wing. \u00a0It operates as a totally clandestine army, operating exactly as Tywen describes. \u00a0My hunch is that they have been\u00a0very much aware of Arya Stark’s potential since the beginning, and are ready to use her to great benefit in season 7. \u00a0They’ve been preparing her ever since season 1. \u00a0Let’s unfold the\u00a0timeline.<\/p>\n

In Kings Landing, Arya\u00a0gets swordsmanship training (water dance) from Syrio Forel, the First Sword of Braavos.\u00a0 Pretty sure if the First Sword of any country sacrifices himself so you can run away, he\u2019s got plans for you.\u00a0 Of course the fact that we don\u2019t actually SEE him dead, which in GoT is always suspect. \u00a0Especially when associated with a Faceless Clan.<\/p>\n

She runs away from Kings Landing with the help of Eddard\u2019s friend (brother?).\u00a0 Quite shortly into her journey, she runs into Jaqen H\u2019ghar, trapped in a cage with two other prisoners. \u00a0First, it means he and Syrio were in King’s Landing at the same time. \u00a0But he immediately knows her name and tells her his origins \u2013 but not the right one (free city of Lorell?).\u00a0 She saves him and the others from burning up in their cage during a melee.<\/p>\n

Once in Harrenhall, he finds her in a quiet spot and immediately talks to her in third person language.\u00a0 \u201cA man\u201d, \u201ca girl\u201d, etc.\u00a0 And he schools her in the justice he knows.\u00a0 \u201cA man pays his debts.\u00a0 A man owes three.\u00a0 Only death may pay for life.\u00a0 You stole three deaths from the Red God, we have to give them back.\u201d\u00a0 Whether he truly follows a credo or wants to build a relationship with her is irrelevant.\u00a0 It\u2019s one and the same thing.<\/p>\n

His second target is by poison dart.\u00a0 \u201cWolfsbane.\u00a0 A rare substance.\u00a0 This is no common assassin.\u201d \u2013 Tywen Lannister.\u00a0 And the funny thing is he doesn\u2019t suspect a thing.\u00a0 He thinks it\u2019s some Brotherhood nonsense. \u00a0BTW notice the name Wolfsbane, is the namesake of the Stark sigil?<\/p>\n

Okay, so at this point we know something\u2019s up.\u00a0 How does a skilled assassin get caught in some cage with two rogues, unless he intends to?<\/p>\n

After he helps Arya escape, he continues to stalk her.\u00a0 In a really creepy fashion.\u00a0 \u201cIf you would learn you must come with me to Braavos.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cMy dancing master was from Braavos.\u201d\u00a0 Here he introduces her to the Faceless Men and knows all the names she wants dead, says she can offer them to the Red God.\u00a0 He gives her a coin \u201cof great value\u201d but \u201cnot meant for the buying of horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, at this point, Arya has learned his exacting bookkeeping credo, how to avoid being noticed, and the esoteric value of a coin.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we are introduced to some Iron Bank executives when Stanis asks them for a loan. \u00a0They too are faceless, in their own way. \u00a0Expressionless, characterless, no discerning characteristics. \u00a0They only repeat the mantra of the bank. \u00a0The fact that we think bankers are dry and boring actually works against us. \u00a0It is the credo they thrive on.<\/p>\n

And we’re also introduced to the dread the Lannisters (who always pay their debts) have to the Iron Bank. \u00a0Tywen’s quote above comes from a very informative conversation he has with Cersei, divulging the debt they owe to the Iron Bank<\/a>. \u00a0 “We all live in its shadow, and almost none of us\u00a0know it.” \u00a0A number of ironies here, namely that Jaqen had been\u00a0training Arya literally under Tywens nose at Harrenhall, and he never suspected a thing. \u00a0Tryion shares a similar dread of the vengeance of the Iron Bank.<\/p>\n

This drops us off in season 5 and drops off\u00a0Arya\u00a0in Braavos. \u00a0It’s\u00a0worth pointing out his description of the statue guarding the city. \u00a0A shield and\u00a0broken sword – implying a city that does not attack, but has a supernatural ability to defend itself. \u00a0And when Arya thanks the sailor for dropping her off at the\u00a0House of Black and White, he\u00a0says \u201cany man of Braavos would have done the same.\u201d\u00a0 See what he did there? \u00a0The whole city has a certain faceless heritage.<\/p>\n

Jaqen H\u2019ghar answers the door in disguise, and gives her the cold shoulder.\u00a0 And yet he watches her every move \u2013 from dropping the coin in the sea to intercepting her encounter with the three rogues. \u00a0He probably knew she didn\u2019t drop Needle.<\/p>\n

It’s all part of a complicated training program he puts Arya through. \u00a0Not going to get into all of it here, but there was one telling conversation: explaining the insurance agent’s corruption to Arya, and how the Faceless Men provide justice to those who’ve been cheated<\/a>. \u00a0“Perhaps the\u00a0gambler loses his bet and decides he does not have to pay after all.\u00a0 A\u00a0destitute woman and her small child, what can they do to such a man if he keeps their money for\u00a0himself? \u00a0To whom can they turn for recourse?”<\/p>\n

Ah.<\/p>\n

So, if the Many Faced God will bring retribution to such a destitute woman, what kind of retribution does he provide to, say, the Iron Bank, if a powerful family like the Lannisters decide they don’t want to pay their debts?<\/p>\n

There’s other lessons we could talk about here. \u00a0Like Arya learning what it means to be noone. \u00a0And that while faces change, credos, institutions, loyalties, house names remain. \u00a0“A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell.” \u00a0She isn’t denying she’s noone, she’s saying the Stark name isn’t just faces. \u00a0It’s a valuable lesson the Iron Bank brings to the story as a whole. \u00a0Especially to those who just see characters like Arya as Arya, i.e. individual faces with individual stories. \u00a0Alone, apart from this grand waltz, they make no sense. \u00a0“The faces are as good as poison.<\/a>”<\/p>\n

The real story is,\u00a0the House That Always Pays Its Debts owes a huge amount of money to the Iron Bank That Always Collects Its Debts. \u00a0It’s too glaring a plot twist to ignore, especially at a time when the Lannisters seem to be militarily dominant and the Starks so weak.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: this post is a work in progress. \u00a0I am adding more as I go along. \u00a0 \u201cThe Iron Bank is the Iron Bank.\u00a0 There is no \u2018someone\u2019\u2026 [like] a temple is comprised of stones.\u00a0 One crumbles, and another takes its place.\u00a0 And the temple holds its form, for a thousand years or more.\u00a0 And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[314,316,313,315,317],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=509"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":523,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions\/523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}