Dancing To The Song of Ice and Fire (Part 2)

“It’s just a stupid sword,” she said, aloud this time…
… but it wasn’t.
Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell’s grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan’s stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow’s smile.” — Arya Stark in A Feast For Crows

Another awesome character I love is Arya Stark. The daughter of Ned and Catherine Stark, a young girl who refuses to accept what girls should be like. Unlike her elder sister, Sansa, who is everything a noble girl should be, Arya prefers the freedom of doing what she loved most — dancing with the sword — always remembering to use the pointy end.

When the Iron Throne was besieged with intrigue after the “accidental death by a boar attack” of then King Robert Baratheon, and Ned Stark’s execution as a traitor, Arya’s world fell into chaos. She fled and went off the grid, far from Queen Cersei and the new King Joffrey’s grasp. She was whisked away by Ned’s friend to be taken to the Wall and therefore had to pretend to be a boy named Ari. Became a captive for a time by the House of Bolton, but was able to escape with the help of Jaqen, a mysterious man from Braavos. She eventually travelled to Braavos and joined the assassins’ Guild of Faceless Men.

After the death of Ned, the Starks were forced to go on separate ways to face an unbelievable stroke of fate. And the adventure goes on. Vallah morgullis! All men die.

Meanwhile, on the far south of Westeros, Daenerys Targaryen, rightful heir to the Iron Throne, marches to claim what is rightfully hers. She marches with a whole army of Dothrakis, Unsullied . . . and dragons. I simply adore her!

If you haven’t read the book, you might want to check it out at George R.R. Martin’s website http://georgerrmartin.co.uk . I highly recommend it.