Rothfussians discussion

jumping off of Rasputin's comment in another thread,

I have been called Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, and Kvothe Kingkiller. I have earned those names. Bought and paid for them.

Kvothe paid for 'bloodless' by being whipped, and actively fueling the rumors of his notoriety. Do we know anything about his other titles so far?

For the record, here is the bit from the book.

My name is Kvothe, pronounced nearly the same as "quothe." Names are important as they tell you a great deal about a person. I've had more names than anyone has a right to. The Adem call me Maedre. Which, depending on how it's spoken, can mean The Flame, The Thunder, or The Broken Tree.

"The Flame" is obvious if you've ever seen me. I have red hair, bright. If I had been born a couple of hundred years ago I would probably have been burned as a demon. I keep it short but it's unruly. When left to its own devices, it sticks up and makes me look as if I have been set afire.

"The Thunder" I attribute to a strong baritone and a great deal of stage training at an early age.

I've never thought of "The Broken Tree" as very significant. Although in retrospect, I suppose it could be considered at least partially prophetic.

My first mentor called me E'lir because I was clever and I knew it. My first real lover called me Dulator because she liked the sound of it. I have been called Shadicar, Lightfinger, and Six-String. I have been called Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, and Kvothe Kingkiller. I have earned those names. Bought and paid for them.

But I was brought up as Kvothe. My father once told me it meant "to know."

I have, of course, been called many other things. Most of them uncouth, although very few were unearned.

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

Once I read this on the web site, I bought the book immediately.

Once could suggest that he earned Lightfinger in Tarbean but I rather suspect ones actions have to be a little better known to earn one a name so I think that one is still to come.

Six-string he clearly earned when he earned his pipes.

Bloodless as mentioned previously.

Isn't there a bit in the book about him at an inn hearing a story where he hears himself referred to as The Arcane?

This whole concept of earning a name is a strong one for me.

I believe he became known as 'arcane' during the time he worked for the Maer. As such, he would have earned 'bloodless' during the first book, 'arcane' during the second, and anyone could predict he'd earn 'king killer' by the third.

Unfortunately it seems we cannot trace the same pattern back through the excerpt. I imagine 'Shadicar' means something like 'one who weares the shaed,' but light finger? I expect he eventually learns to create light as Auri does, though he does do something similarly clever while accompanying Felurian to obtain the material for the shaed.

Waitaminute...Rasputin, are you unfamiliar with the second book? I don't think this post spoils anything, but if you warn us we'll refrain from going into specifics. Like what precisely is a shaed.

Ah... Second book major spoiler.
(view spoiler)["The Broken Tree" is one of the things that Kvothe's name, "the Maedre", which was given to him by the Adem, means. Could that possibly have anything to do with the Cthaeh's Tree? There are strong suspiscions that the Lackless Box is made from the wood of the Cthaeh tree, or a tree of the same type. And the meanings of his name, The Maedre, have all been slightly prophetic.
So, this may be really obvious, but could that name relate to him breaking the Cthaeh's tree? Maybe in the third book he will slay the Ctheah (Haha... That sounds so cool when you say it...). And get the wood from his tree, therefore breaking the tree. It would make sense for it to be the actual tree belonging to the Cthaeh, not one of the same type, because that would give the name a stronger meaning. And who knows, maybe that tree is special of it's type for belonging to the Cthaeh....

Or, maybe it was just referring to the tree that he caused lightning split when they were killing off the bandits in the Eld... (hide spoiler)]

Just a suspision. I'm definitely not the first one to think this....

"The Broken Tree" would not be prophetic if it referred to the tree that was struck in lightning, because he got the name afterwards.

Exactly what I'm saying.

oh ok

Sanjiv wrote: "Rasputin, are you unfamiliar with the second book?"

I am familiar with it, listened to it twice so don't worry about spoiling me. I'm pretty spoiled already.

I don't entirely remember what the shaed is so if you care to elaborate, go right ahead.

The Shaed was a cloak that Felurian sewed out of moonlight, sunlight, and shadows and such for Kvothe as a sort of present.

Campbell wrote: "The Shaed was a cloak that Felurian sewed out of moonlight, sunlight, and shadows and such for Kvothe as a sort of present."

Ahh, I thought it might be that.

There was a bit in there when he was leading the guys trying to take out the bandits where they were talking about cloaks and, I think, Taborlin's cloak of no particular color and he talks about the crappy cloak he'd gotten from a tinker and how it wasn't as good as the nice Burgundy one he'd had or the black and green one Fela had had made for him.

I thought that was a lovely way of beating us over the head with the fact that if Kvothe isn't actually Taborlin in some Wheel of Time-esque reincarnation then he's at least a very colorful character about whom stories will be told and exaggerated perhaps beyond recognition.

That's probably completely off topic and only relevant to anything in a craft of writing kind of way but I thought it was awesome.

I actually think Elodin was a parallel to Kvothe, and that he was actually Taborlin, and disappeared into Elodin just like Kvothe disappeared into Kote.
There's a bunch of evidence for that, and I pointed it all out in the Elodin character thread.
The best part for me though, is the name thing.
Kvothe- Kote (Kote is pretty much Kvothe without the v and h)
Elodin- Taborlin (Elodin sounds very close to Taborlin.)

But that's a different subject that is addressed elsewhere.

Oh yeah, I don't think Kvothe actually is Taborlin but very much like him in the sense of exaggerated stories.

Yeah, that's why I think if Elodin is Tabrolin, than Kvothe is a MAJOR parallel to him. :)

Campbell wrote: "Yeah, that's why I think if Elodin is Tabrolin, than Kvothe is a MAJOR parallel to him. :)"

Is it possible that they are all him?

Elodin and Taborlin have certain parallels.

Denna also acts a lot like Kvothe does in some respects. He leaves without notice often, fails to get close to someone who obviously (to us anyway) wants to be close to him, and does what he needs to survive (begging, stealing, etc.) and doesn't seem to regret the necessity.

He is very conscious of what people think of him, being willing to lie, even to friends, and manipulate people through rumor and more. He's willing to do virtually anything to get what he wants, much like Ambrose.

And remember, this is a story he's telling, the story of his life. In a sense anyone who appears in the story of our lives is going to be at least partly us because it's based on our memories of our perceptions of the people we encounter.

Sanjiv wrote: "I believe he became known as 'arcane' during the time he worked for the Maer. As such, he would have earned 'bloodless' during the first book, 'arcane' during the second, and anyone could predict ..."

On the point of him becoming "The Arcane" it definitely happens during the second book, chapter 147, when he's in the bar in Tarbean listening to stories about himself, he hears people referring to him as "Kvothe the Arcane" (he also comments that it doesn't seem like it's a new name because no one is surprised by its use in the story, they just nod along). The fact that he's hearing these stories after his work for the Maer does make me think that he earned the title then.

The arcane came from his abilities at dueling in his sympathy class, when he could take on two people at once...or so i thought.

Yeah, I think he said that....

Chronicler wrote (as Kvothe spoke): " I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep."

This would all be from the upcoming third book, right? How many "gods" have we heard of? Just the one? Or would the demon he chases be another? Telhu and Encanis? If those are the options, I predict he meets with Encanis, as foreshadowed in the first book, in Tarbean(?).

Rasputin wrote: "Campbell wrote: "Yeah, that's why I think if Elodin is Tabrolin, than Kvothe is a MAJOR parallel to him. :)"

Is it possible that they are all him?

Elodin and Taborlin have certain parallels.

Den..."

OMG Rasputin, that would be majorly funny if in the end Kvothe was just some raving schizophrenic, what a bust LOL


On another note....does Manling count as a name?