8 Dead Game Of Thrones Characters You Forgot Existed (And Why They're Important)

Life And Death:

Syrio Forel was a master swordsman from the Free City of Braavos, where he spent nine years as the First Sword of the city before crossing the Narrow Sea to King’s Landing where he would eventually get a job as Arya Stark's swordplay teacher. Syrio was halfway through a lesson with Arya when her father Ned – who had been digging around into the death of Jon Aryn and the whereabouts of Robert’s bastard children – was arrested for treason.

When Ser Meryn Trant and members of the Kingsguard interrupted their session and attempted to take Arya into custody, Forel told Arya to leave them to him, sacrificing his life so that Arya could escape. Despite her pleas for him to follow her, he told Arya that the First Sword of Bravos does not run.

Why He Was Important:

Now that Faceless Man Jaqen H’ghar has taken over as Arya’s resident oddball mentor, it’s easy to forget about Syrio, though the light-footed Braavosi was the first to teach Arya how to use Needle and is the reason she is still alive today. Without his sacrifice Arya would have been captured and most probably killed, and without his lessons Arya would not have been able to defend herself on her own after her caravan was attacked on her way to the Wall.

Of course, Forel's death happens off-screen, and, despite his demise being insinuated on the show, there is always the chance he could have killed his attackers with his wooden practice sword and made good his escape. Time will tell, though one thing that's for certain is that Arya's training has come a long way since Forel had her chasing cats in King's Landing.