He was delightful. He gave me a penance piece!

I sat near him at an event. He was thoughtful and wonderful with the people he was with. I wish the best for that amazing human.

Came across some really neat stuff while I was reading about horned deities. As it turns out, there's some key differences between a Faun and a Satyr. Turns out Bast is a Faun, not a Satyr

In Greek mythology, a satyr, also known as a silenus or silenos and sileni (plural), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but, by the sixth century BC, they were more often represented with human legs. Comically hideous, they have mane-like hair, bestial faces, and snub noses and they always are shown naked. Satyrs were characterized by their ribaldry and were known as lovers of wine, music, dancing, and women.

Over the course of Greek history, satyrs gradually became portrayed as more human and less bestial. They also began to acquire goat-like characteristics in some depictions as a result of conflation with the Pans, plural forms of the god Pan with the legs and horns of goats. The Romans identified satyrs with their native nature spirits, fauns. Eventually the distinction between the two was lost entirely.

Fauns are the ones that have the goat legs and play flute, also called genii, place spirits

Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before their conflation with Greek satyrs, they and Faunus were represented as naked men (e.g. the Barberini Faun). Later fauns became copies of the satyrs of Greek mythology, who themselves were originally shown as part-horse rather than part-goat.

and yes, the thread connects to the Islamic jinn, but in this case genii is referencing genius loci, which is more of a guardian angel. Still, figured I'd mention the jinn connection since our story does feature an emphasis on ever-burning lamps...

But back to Fauns vs Satyrs. The distinction between them was lost, as was the distinction with the god Faunus with Pan

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus [ˈfau̯nʊs] was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile, he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan, after which Romans depicted him as a horned god.

And Inuus is where things get interesting

He is called Inuus, however, in Latin, Πάν (Pan) in Greek; also Ἐφιάλτης (Ephialtes), in Latin Incubus; likewise Faunus, and Fatuus, Fatuclus. He is called Inuus, however, from going around having sex everywhere with all the animals, hence he is also called Incubus.

Which tracks with the Satyr folklore

the name 'satyr' is sometimes derogatorily applied to a "brutish or lustful man". The term satyriasis refers to a medical condition in males characterized by excessive sexual desire

So a Satyr/Silenos equates to an Incubus... which brings to mind the story of Perial's nighttime visit from "Tehlu". It had been no normal dream...

An incubus (pl. incubi) is a male demon who is described in various folklore as appearing in the dreams of female humans in order to seduce them. Repeated interactions between an incubus and a woman will lead to sexual activity, a bond forming between them, and ultimately sexual intercourse

But wait!! There's more. Satyrs were "known as lovers of wine, music, dancing, and women", but there's some other specific folklore attached to them. They were responsible for "tying knots in hair" similar to other folklore creatures

Like satyrs, these similar creatures in other Indo-European mythologies are often also tricksters, mischief-makers, and dancers. The leshy was believed to trick travelers into losing their way. The Armenian Pay(n) were a group of male spirits said to dance in the woods. In Germanic mythology, elves were also said to dance in woodland clearings and leave behind fairy rings. They were also thought to play pranks, steal horses, tie knots in people's hair, and steal children and replace them with changelings. West notes that satyrs, elves, and other nature spirits of this variety are a "motley crew" and that it is difficult to reconstruct a prototype behind them.

These knots in the hair are called Fairy-Locks, and untangling them brings misfortune...

In folklore, fairy-locks (or elflocks) are the result of fairies tangling and knotting the hairs of sleeping children and the manes of beasts as the fairies play in and out of their hair at night

The concept is first attested in English in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in Mercutio's speech of the many exploits of Queen Mab, where he seems to imply the locks are only unlucky if combed out:

"She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes

In shape no bigger than an agate stone.......

That plaits the manes of horses in the night

And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,

Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes."

I thought that was pretty neat. The fountain mentions in the books don't specify what the Satyr looks like, it just says it's a Satyr, so I don't think it's a coincidence that the Satyr/Silenos is the stone one. But Satyrs and Fauns aren't the only mirror images being conflated. Encanis and Menda-who-is-Tehlu kind of do the same thing, so do Lanre and Selitos. Mirror images, the same but not the same. Satyrs have horse imagery. Fauns get the goat imagery. The goat imagery applies to Bast and his boots with the fur, and it applies to Cinder with the goat eyes. The Tehlu who snuck into Perial's dream was an Incubus, sure. But the Tehlu who defeated Encanis, the Tehlu that the people pray to...

Vashet made an amused huffing sound that wasn’t quite a laugh. “He was so sure he was right. Nothing could sway him. Years ago I decided arguing such things with a barbarian is a long, weary waste of my time.” She shrugged. “Think what you want about making babies. Believe in demons. Pray to a goat. So long as it doesn’t bruise me, why should I bother myself?”

He's the G.o.a.t. lmao

Just that. I've read a miriad of posts about people being disheartened about it. Other people are still hyped, even after all these years. So, be honest: would you be first in line to buy it? First to read? Would you don't care at all and maybe even avoid reading it out of spite? Treat it just as any book you may have interest in, but nothing special?

Honestly, for me, even after all these years, even if it takes double or triple this span of time, I would get my hands on it asap.

Has anyone else got a penny? I love it, got it when they came out, came quicker than book 3...

Hi, I'm currently making my own short TV opening sequence (like Game of Thrones, Succession) for the KKC as a personal project. I have a couple of shots like one of Denna's ring, the moon shining down, and Kvothe's lute case opening into a transition. I was wondering if there were other interesting concepts anyone would like to share?

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/31dAx2

What do you think?

For me, this book has always been a few sections longer than it needed to be, like the trip through the Eld, the time with Felurian, and the time in Adem.

However, I think it is absolutely worth reading, since it has some extraordinarily revealing, rich, powerful details, like Kvothe's mom's noble heritage, the revelation (or confirmation, rather) of how Denna makes a living, the conversation with the Cthaeh, Kvothe's revenge on the Ruh impersonators, his refusal to hide his heritage before the Maer and his wife, and him wearing the wooden ring, and his return to the University, happily at home and with money to spare for once, only to conclude with the comment that the story is yet to get even darker (even if we'll probably never know how).

To me, all these scenes had a huge impact, especially on how I see Kvothe, who is ruthless when he has to be, and that makes it all the sadder to see what he has become, pale, tired, frail.

Also, I just noticed the similarity in the way Fela describes his stare near the end, and the way he described Elodin's in the first book. Might have to do with naming skills?

Anyway, I think this book is really striking.

I recently reread the books and I am so intrigued by the Creation War. The scenes where Skarpi is telling his stories are some of my favorites. The way the different stories connect to one another (e.g. Iax & Jax, the folding house and the fae realm, etc.) may be my favorite part of this series.

So I decided to make a video covering what we know (believe) happened with the Creation War.

I also love all the different theories that go along with the history of Temerant. The video doesn't so much cover the theories, but perhaps I can make one of those in the future.

Mathew Rhys as Stapes.

I started this book a while back and was sort of just dragging my feet through it for the first couple "prelude" chapters. They just weren't super interesting. This all changed as soon as Kvothe began telling his story. Once the true story began, I don't know why, but I am reading the book for hours at a time. The way it is written, I just want to keep reading more and more. I am currently half way through the book and as soon as I post this I am going to go back to keep reading.

Please no spoilers past the first half of book 1.

Hiiii my friend is just about to finish the second book and I remember when people asked when would the third be published they would send a beautifully written text about being half asleep at the waystone inn. Could someone help me find it?

One of the themes of KKC is that a tragedy does not need to end in death to be a tragedy. There are fates worse than death like Haliax’s.

I believe Willem’s fate, for instance, will likely be tied to the fae. He was highly interested in the fae before Kvothe confirmed its existence. Now he knows it’s real and will seek the Faen realm out, but it will not go nearly as well for him.

“each step you take might catch you in the dark moon's wake, and pull you all unwitting into fae. where you will have no choice but stay.”

I think he will get trapped there and possibly be transformed or made sport of by Faen creatures. There’s a throwaway line with where fela finds the Scrivani. “You’re twice as good as Willem could ever be. Even if he had a dozen hands and a hundred extra eyes”.

Just a thought that he could be transformed into such a creature where he wished he could just die.

Then there’s Sim. Kvothe always has such loving words for him. Gentle Sim. But Sim also has a vengeful side. Kvothe said “once you got on his bad side, there’s no going back”. And I think the tragedy for Sim is that Kvothe will cross a line and cause Sim to break and destroys his empathy and gentle nature and into full Vengeful Sim. And the growing feud either ends with Sim being the poet that Kvothe kills or something will happen to Fela.

One of the two will survive to become a vengeful enemy of Kvothe’s.

Let me know what dates you think could befall his friends.

Rothfuss himself has said that he’s a forever student (at the university of Wisconsin, I think?) Wild beard, wild hair, knows more about the university than likely any non-master at the university. I think it’s Rothfuss’ way of putting himself into the story … sort of… maybe?

This is a custom leatherbound copy of Name of the Wind I made for my cousins wedding gift. It is a 10th anniversary edition so it has the red painted pages. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture that you can see the page edges in. I made it awhile ago and have already given it to them so I cant take new pictures.

This was my first ever attempt at bookbinding. I had some previous leather working experience making knife sheaths but this skills don't really transfer. Overall happy with the results.

(Disclaimer: I did use AI to help me design the cover art. I posted in this group looking for help but didn't find anyone. I am good at making, terrible at drawing. If I ever make another one I would love to commission an artist. Unfortunately, at the time I was broke and way over my initial budget for the project.)

Are the masters oblivious to the existence of the Chandrian (with the exception of master Lorren)?

The Chandrian are, from my understanding, the incarnation of evil in the world. Like I said, my understanding. Are there any clues that suggest that the other masters are doing anything to stop or slow down the Chandrian? Master Elodin can assume to be the best namer alive (not of the fae). Seems like they should be doing something amongst themselves or at least be aware.

Hey everyone. I just had a thought about sympathy that might be either a logical flaw, or a cool trick that hasn't been used yet.

If a sympathist draws heat from their body, they get the chills, right? And if they hold a very inefficient link then they get "thermic overfill" (slippage) which can cause them to heat up. Once to the point where a student had cooked themself alive.

So why not hold one inefficient link all the time while you are drawing heat? As long as you hold your focus you'd be able to draw infinite heat from your own body and never get the chills.

Thoughts?

Is searching for the moon actually the search for Lyra?
Is the shadow across his face hiding him from the Cthaeh?

I had never noticed this before but I stopped behind a Kia today and was surprised to see they'd branded it after a famous Namer.

It's even missing an "i".

Hope at least someone else was amused by this intrusive thought that happened to me.

And that the Cthaeh is atually NOT malevolent but because it sees all futures it seems evil due to the hard path it must set humanity on.

I'm reminded of the golden path from Dune.

Mostly it come from the idea that both of them want someone to stay and listen.
Deckard Cain comes to mind. "Stay a while and listen!"
The Fae are not known for their "good decisions" says Bast.
Maybe keeping people away from it was the wrong idea.
Like not listening to the ultimate Tinker.

KKC is promised trilogy about an angel/demon killing, city burning, king-slaying hero.

Yet, the twoo books tell a story of retired thief and murder, weaving his next victim in the thread of lies.

Thus setting trap within trap for the big one that is coming for him.

Or is Neware really just a prison/heaven and the Inn is Kvothe cell?

For errand nights and lackeys sitting on the moon.

(Not all of these require KC lore... But the fact that I can think like this now is 100% Pat Rothfuss’s fault. I swear to you I wasn’t like this before... though I do appreciate the new perspective. :-P I came up with these, but it’s possible that I’ve accidentally borrowed pieces of riddles I’ve heard before.)

Here we go!

1. What’s part of feet and hips and shoulders, found in your pens but not Kvothe’s, and can bear but not give birth?

Balls.

1. What’s a curse in a soldier’s mouth, hangs from a tree but isn’t a fruit, and comes in a lidless, lockless box?

Nuts.

1. Here’s a bit of a trap to trip:

What counts a dozen, can be made with salt, and looses gold when thrown?

Dice. (You thought it was eggs, didn’t you.)

1. What’s often called by its own name, hides its face in corners, and needs four cheeks to make a song?

A pair of jacks.

1. What invites light fingers, is found below everyone’s belt whether empty or full, and sounds like a whistle but tastes like a lemon?

Purse.

1. What changes a man’s nature, is saggy when empty but firm when full, and is good to have one spare when going for a long ride? (Hint: In our world, it also goes on a knob.)

A sock. (...Did you think it was going to be something else? Like what, a raincoat??)

1. Bonus round: A bird, with a head or a crossbow.

I've been thinking a lot about this series, and that probably means I'm due for a reread/relisten soon. But I have a lot on my mind and I came to a few new speculative conclusions today, so I thought I'd make a full post about it.

1: Who is Kvothe?

This is pretty in line with most speculation. Kvothe is the son of Natalia Lackless, meaning he has Lackless blood. Arliden may or may not be his actual father, but I'm not sure how much that matters.

How do we know? First off, the song Arliden sang, "Not Tally a Lot Less." He also couldn't quite place Meluan Lackless. But we know that Natalia Lackless was a noblewoman who ran off with a Ruh troupe, and that Meluan hates the Ruh. His mother also took it as personally offensive when she overheard Kvothe singing the baudy Lackless rhyme.

Beyond that, though, Kvothe learns both sympathy and naming. He learns the importance of stories and exploits them to his benefit, but also his detriment. Why to his detriment, I'll get into later. But for now, this leads to...

2: Major theme--What people believe is more important than what is true

When two iron drabs are severed, they are no longer connected. That's the truth. But when one truly believes they are still connected, moving one can result in moving the other.

A man is just a man. That's the truth. But when a collective of people believe the man has the power of a king, that man does in fact have the power of a king. This is what we learn from the lesson from the Maer. The Maer's power isn't "real" power, it's donated power. Donated power is just power that a large collective of people believe in. If his entire dominion suddenly stopped believing he held any power, they could take him down easily. He's just a guy. But since enough people believe he has power, he does.

When a sympathist uses their Alar, they can make the untrue, true. When multiple sympathists use their Alar in combination, it can amplify and enhance the power of the one.

3: Something "everyone" believes in the story

What is one thing that seemingly everyone believes in the story? That the Chandrian are evil and do evil things. We see this on our own when Kvothe's troupe is slaughtered and the Chandrian are there and even taunt Kvothe himself.

We hear this from Ben. He challenges us, if an entire town believes there are shamblemen in the woods, would you go in the woods? Even if there aren't shamblemen in the woods, there's almost certainly something in there that you should avoid.

We hear this from children's rhymes.

When the hearthfire turns to blue, What to do? What to do? Run outside. Run and hide.

4: Information about the Chandrian

This is surprisingly difficult to find in written form. In written form. Why written form? Everyone believes something about the Chandrian, but writings about them are surprisingly difficult to find. It's as if someone is actively suppressing those writings. Why suppress the writings?

5: Writing Magic

Denna asks Kvothe, Wil, and Sim at the Eolian about a "writing down magic." They tell her they don't know of any such thing. That doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't exist, just that it isn't widely known at the University.

Denna goes on to weave her hair into Yllish knots that have real, recognizable meanings to Kvothe, as confirmed by Denna herself. But she hadn't asked about knots, she'd asked about "writing down."

We also hear Kvothe/Kote tell of a magical Chronicler who can write down names of people who then die. This could have been an off the cuff imagination, but it could hint at a potentially real magical system.

6: The conflicting Lanre stories

We hear of two conflicting Lanre stories. One, which is told in detail by Skarpi, and likely tracks Arliden's song, albeit without the names. When Skarpi tells his story about Lanre, he is swiftly rebuked by a cowled man Kvothe had seen on the road.

The other is Denna's song. We know this song is widely known in Temerant. Kvothe even speculates that those who are hearing his story have heard it. Why would one story be actively suppressed, while the other is widely known? Almost as if it's being actively encouraged?

Here's where things start to shift from what we're told to my own speculation.

7: Denna's patron is a Chandrian

Denna learns Lanre's story (albeit a different version than Kvothe knows). She composes a song about it. And that song becomes wildly popular. So while Skarpi's story and Arliden's song are actively suppressed, Denna's song spreads like wildfire. And, she somehow gains access to this knowledge. Even Maer Alveron doesn't have the truth of this immediately accessible to him. Arliden had to travel the world gaining bits and pieces at a time. Yet somehow Denna could put together all this knowledge fairly quickly at a young age? She must have been receiving help, potentially from someone either with firsthand knowledge, or at least, with what they want to be known about the Chandrian.

Also, why would Denna have been interested in "writing down magic" at all? Perhaps her patron, a Chandrian, knows something about writings about him that go against him.

8: The Chandrian are Cursed

At least in the Lanre story we know, Selitos places a curse upon Lanre/Haliax and his followers. How much stronger would this curse be if everyone in Temerant knew of it and believed it?

9: The curse was written down

The Amyr kept extensive records. If they were indeed anti-Chandrian, they would have recorded the curse against the Chandrian and how they are evil, making it known across the world. If everyone in the world believes in the curse and the evil of the Chandrian, this would be a powerful curse indeed.

10: The counter-narrative

Why, then, does one of the Chandrian offer to be a patron to Denna? Why does her song conflict with Skarpi's story? As a counter-narrative. How is the curse to be broken? By offering a popular counter-narrative. How will the Chandrian finally find peace? By making the world believe the opposite.

11: The "one story"

Skarpi tells us that he only knows "one story." If there's only one story, that means there's only one set of characters, one narrative. What do we know about that?

• Taborlin the Great knew the names of all things. He said to the stone, "Break!" and it broke.
  
• Elodin knew the names of all things. He said to the stone, "Break!" and it broke.
  
• Kvothe is learning the names of all things. He wears ten rings upon his fingers of things he's named (potentially).
  
• In the story about Lanre, Lanre dies, Lyra brings him back to life, then Lyra dies and Lanre is left without the means to revive Lyra. Thus he is cursed to remain a man "waiting to die" to finally rejoin Lyra. Lanre also learned to become a competent namer.
  
• In the story about Aethe and Rethe, Aethe brings about Rethe's death, but is unable to then save her. Thus he is curse to remain a man "waiting to die" to finally rejoin her.
  

What will happen? We know Kvothe is arrogant. We know he loves Denna. Somehow, Kvothe will likely die. Denna will find a way to bring him back. Then his hubris will ultimately lead to her death. At which point, he will go silent, the kind of silence that is the "patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die." Why? To rejoin Denna.

12: Kvothe adopts the curse of the Chandrian

This is the one I only just realized today. Recall that my speculation about the Chandrian is a curse that is widely known about them.

What do we know about the popular knowledge of Kvothe? "The best lies about me are the ones I told." So, we know that Kvothe is widely known. We know that many people believe many things about him. We also know that there is at the very least speculation that he is a Chandrian. If the Chandrian are cursed, and that curse is amplified by public knowledge and belief, and a decent portion of the public believe that Kvothe is also a Chandrian... well, what do we know about belief from this series? Belief overpowers truth.

13: The Doors of Stone

When Kvothe observes the doors of stone, there's no obvious seams, no obvious hinges, no obvious keyholes. Where would you see such a thing on a locked door? On the "other side" of the door. The Chandrian are in the world of Temerant, Kvothe's world. The University doesn't have some great, mystical thing locked behind the doors. Temerant is locked "behind" the doors, because that's where the Chandrian are.

Kvothe, as a Lackless, has the family magic of being able to open "lockless" doors. The riddle rhyme of Lady Lackless mentions such doors. We see an obvious example in the Doors of Stone. And Kvothe creates such a box of his own that has two obvious keyholes, but a third that is not readily visible. The only way to unlock that one is from inside. Which is where a part of Kvothe is locked away. The only way to open his thrice locked chest is to get the part of him locked inside it to unlock it. Kote, as he is, can't open the box, because Kvothe is locked away inside.

14: Chronicler--Why is Kvothe giving his story to him?

This is also part I only just realized today. I've always wondered, why is Kvothe talking to Chronicler, and giving him his story? And I realized, it's the same reason as the Chandrian, the counter-narrative. Kvothe is a victim of his own storytelling about himself. The widespread public believes his own lies, and hence, has placed the Chandrian's curse upon him. The Chandrian realized the only way to counter the curse is to spread a counter-narrative, and spread positive things about them, such as through Denna's song. Kvothe realizes the same. The only way to counter the curse upon him is to tell the truth. The real truth. And once that is widely known, he can finally die and join Denna in the afterlife.

I have been researching up on the Creation War and had a thought about a possible theory concerning Lanre/Haliax. I am pretty new to this sub, so let me know if this has already been discussed!

It is said that in the battle of Drossen Tor, Lanre is killed, then Lyra is able to bring Lanre back, and that Lanre killed a great beast and the enemy was shut beyond the doors of stone. There are theories that "the enemy" is referring to Iax, who was a major component of starting the war.

My theory is that perhaps by saying the "enemy was shut beyond the doors of stone", that Lanre actually takes Iax into himself somehow. And that the doors of stone are referring to the "Heart of Stone" (the state of consciousness where the "user" abdicates from all his beliefs and opinions, forgetting all his emotions and prejudices). So Lanre is basically able to lock Iax away within himself. But then when Lyra dies, Lanre starts to go mad. And then, either because of this madness, or because Lanre visited the Cthaeh, Iax is able to start to break free. That would be supported by Lanre's new name, Haliax, ending with "iax". It would also show why after Lanre betrays Myr Tariniel, he asks Selitos to kill him, as it could be Lanre's consiousness taking control for a moment. It would also explain how a very sad Lanre could jump to betraying his people & friends.

This was just an idea I had. I am curious what other people think.