Arya Stark is a fictional character in American author George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy novel series and its HBO television adaptation Game of Thrones, where she was portrayed by English actress Maisie Williams.

She wields a castle-forged steel smallsword named "Needle" forged by Mikken, the blacksmith of Winterfell, as a parting gift from her half-brother Jon Snow, and is trained in the Braavosi style of sword fighting by Syrio Forel.

Arya is among the most popular characters in the ASOIAF book series, and Maisie Williams' performance in the HBO adaptation has received critical acclaim.

Arya was born in 289 AC ("After Aegon's Conquest") as the third child and younger daughter of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark of Winterfell, the ruling liege of the North, and is nine years old at the beginning of the book series and 11 in season 1 of the show.

She is described as "wolf-blooded", blunt, impulsive and "always difficult to tame" by her mother Catelyn, proven to be a constant source of headache for her household tutor Septa Mordane, and given the nickname "Arya Underfoot" by the guards of Winterfell.

[2] The sword, which Arya names "Needle" after her dreaded embroidery lessons, is well suited to her slender build and favoring the Braavosi "Water Dance" (fencing) style of swordplay which emphasizes speed and agility with quick thrusting attacks.

Arya is the only one out of her full-siblings to inherit the Stark features of lean athletic physique, brown hair, grey eyes and long face (for which she was teased as "Horseface" by Sansa's companions), and is said to resemble her late aunt Lyanna in both looks and temperament.

She is also a powerful skinchanger, developing purely on her own instinct the ability to telepathically control her direwolf Nymeria when sleeping (even from a different continent), as well as a psychic bond with a street tomcat in Braavos.

[4] Arya adopts one of the direwolf cubs that her brothers Robb and Jon discovered in the wild, and names her "Nymeria" after a legendary Rhoynish warrior queen.

Before she leaves, her half-brother Jon Snow has a Braavosi-style smallsword made for her as a parting gift, which she names "Needle" after her least favorite ladylike activity.

While taking a walk together, Prince Joffrey and her sister Sansa happen upon Arya and her friend, the low-born butchers son Mycah, sparring in the woods with broomsticks.

[12] At the Brotherhood's secret base, Arya encounters Sandor Clegane, where she accuses him of Mycah's murder; but the Hound survives a trial by combat and is released.

Later, Sandor plans to ransom her to her aunt Lysa at the Vale, but is unable to proceed due to the weather, so he decides to instead take her to her great-uncle Brynden Tully.

In the ensuing fight, Arya personally stabs Tickler to death and reclaims her sword Needle from Polliver's corpse, but Sandor is severely injured.

She travels to the port town Saltpan and gains passage to Braavos on a merchant galleass, Titan's Daughter, by presenting the ship's captain with the iron coin that Jaqen gave her along with the Valyrian phrase "Valar Morghulis.

"[17] Arriving in Braavos, Arya makes her way to the headquarters of the Faceless Men, the House of Black and White,[18] where she is initiated into the guild by a priest in charge, whom she calls "the Kindly Man".

The Kindly Man orders her to dispose of all her past possessions, and she complies by throwing them all in the river but still secretly hides her sword Needle, which is the one thing reminding her of sweet childhood memories.

When she successfully poisons a crooked insurance salesman without rousing any suspicion or collateral damage, the Kindly Man gives Arya an acolyte's robe and assigns her to begin her first apprenticeship inserted within a theatrical group.

When the Westerosi treasurer Harys Swyft arrives in Braavos with an envoy to negotiate with the Iron Bank for loans, Arya's theatre group is employed to perform the play to entertain the guests.

As the play is about to begin Arya recognizes one of the envoy guards as Rafford (also known as Raff the Sweetling), a former subordinate of Gregor Clegane who killed her injured friend Lommy.

Ned arranges for Arya to have sword lessons with the Braavosi Syrio Forel, who later defends her from Ser Meryn Trant after Joffrey ascends to the throne and kills the Stark household.

Ned is eventually taken to the Great Sept of Baelor to face judgment; he spots Arya in the crowd, and alerts the Night's Watch recruiter Yoren to her presence.

Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie encounter Thoros of Myr, a Red Priest who is a member of the Brotherhood Without Banners, a group of men sent by Ned to restore order in the Riverlands.

After impressing Jaqen with her ability to lie undetected by convincing a terminally ill girl to drink poison, Arya is given the assignment of assassinating a corrupt insurance salesman.

However, when she returns to the House of Black and White she is caught by Jaqen, who chides that Arya has not dissociated from her identity and that as a result wearing another person's face will poison her.

After revealing her subterfuge and her true identity to Walder, she cuts his throat, avenging her brother Robb, her mother Catelyn and the northern army murdered at the Red Wedding.

However, Arya changes her mind after learning from Hot Pie that Jon has ousted House Bolton from Winterfell and has been crowned King in the North, and decides to return to her ancestral home.

Arya breaks into Littlefinger's quarters to steal the message, which is a plea sent by Sansa following Ned's imprisonment to Robb imploring him to bend the knee to Joffrey.

Arya reunites with Jon, Gendry, and the Hound, who have all journeyed to Winterfell with Daenerys Targaryen's forces to make a stand against the approaching White Walkers.

"[29] A young character who witnesses both the unjust execution of her father and the immediate aftermath of her mother and brother's murder (including the parading of the latter's desecrated corpse), Arya works her way through a revenge death list of names of those responsible for killing all the people she cared about.