KKC Theory Wiki

Bast

character · importance 80 · 27 theories

“The Fae student and protector of the innkeeper Kvothe”

also known as Bastas, Bastas, son of Remmen, Prince of Twilight, Prince of the Telwyth Mael, Reshi's student, prince of Twilight, son of Remmen

Appearance§

Bast appears as a handsome, charming young man in his early-to-mid twenties, graceful and dancer-like in his movements, though this is a glamourie concealing his true Fae nature. He is dark-haired and lithe, flamboyant and vain. Beneath the human seeming he has goatlike features and hooves, marking him as one of the Telwyth Mael. His Fae traits surface around iron, and his eyes can take on a blue tint. His youthful beauty masks a much older, inhuman being.

Description§

Bast is a Fae being who serves as the student and companion of the innkeeper Kvothe at the Waystone Inn in the frame story, addressing him by the honorific 'Reshi.' Kvothe introduces him as 'Bastas, son of Remmen, Prince of Twilight and the Telwyth Mael.' Though roughly a hundred and fifty years old, he is regarded as young, and has studied under Kvothe for nearly two years. It is Bast who spreads the rumor that draws Chronicler toward Newarre and the inn, and who hires the mercenaries that beat Kvothe, all part of a desperate scheme to shock his master out of his depression and restore the man he once was. He commands grammarie, the Fae art of making things be, enchanting a circle of holly to stay green and mending a tooth, and he fears the deep, weary silence that gathers around Kvothe. Reckless, flamboyant, and vain, he recoils when the Cthaeh or the true names of the Chandrian are spoken aloud. Beneath a human glamour he keeps goatlike features and hooves; iron is dangerous to him, and a ring of amber could bind him if he wore it. He genuinely loves Kvothe, stitching his wounds after the scrael attack and singing a lullaby over him as he sleeps, and grieves that his master has sunk so far into the role of Kote that he now believes himself nothing more than the innkeeper.

Relationships§

  • Master Kvothe — serves as Kvothe's student, calling him Reshi, and loves him deeply
  • Fears Names The Chandrian — reacts with fear when the true names of the Chandrian are spoken aloud
  • Member Of The Fae — a Fae being, Prince of Twilight and the Telwyth Mael
  • Fears The Cthaeh — reacts with fear when the Cthaeh is spoken aloud, calling its influence a plague
  • Resides At Waystone Inn — serves Kvothe at the Waystone Inn in the frame story
  • Recounts Iax — states Iax spoke to the Cthaeh before stealing the moon, sparking the Creation War
  • Manipulated Chronicler — spread the rumor that drew Chronicler to Newarre and warns him about the story
  • Commands Grammarie — commands grammarie, enchanting holly to stay green and mending a tooth
  • Lures To Newarre — spread the rumor that drew Chronicler toward Newarre
  • Warns Of The Sithe — warns the Sithe would burn the inn and recounts they hunt skin dancers in holly crowns
  • Treated Wounds Scrael — stitches Kvothe's wounds after the scrael attack
  • Featured In The Lightning Tree — in The Lightning Tree he helps village children and trades favors

Established facts§

  • Bast is a Fae being who serves as Kvothe's student and companion at the Waystone Inn in the frame story.
  • Kvothe introduces him as 'Bastas, son of Remmen, Prince of Twilight and the Telwyth Mael.'
  • He is roughly a hundred and fifty years old yet regarded as young, and has been Kvothe's student for nearly two years.
  • Bast addresses Kvothe by the honorific 'Reshi.'
  • Bast spread the rumor that drew Chronicler toward Newarre and the Waystone Inn to draw out Kvothe's story.
  • Bast hired the mercenaries who beat Kvothe near the end of The Wise Man's Fear, hoping the confrontation would reawaken his old self.
  • Bast desperately wants Kvothe to recover from his depression and return to being the man he was.
  • Bast commands grammarie, the Fae art of making things be, enchanting a circle of holly to stay green and mending a tooth.
  • Bast fears the deep, weary silence that gathers around Kvothe like an invisible shroud.
  • Bast reacts with fear when the Cthaeh or the true names of the Chandrian are spoken aloud, treating the act as genuinely dangerous.
  • Beneath a human glamour Bast has goatlike features and hooves.
  • Iron is dangerous to Bast, and a ring of amber could bind him if he put it on.
  • Bast is reckless, flamboyant, vain, and fond of pursuing women, contrasting with the subdued Kote.
  • Bast stitches Kvothe's wounds after the scrael attack and sings a lullaby over him as he sleeps.
  • Bast grieves that Kvothe has sunk so far into the role of Kote that he believes himself to be nothing more than the innkeeper.
  • Bast warns Chronicler that there is a fundamental connection between seeming and being, and that a mask worn long enough becomes the truth.
  • Bast teaches that a person who plays a role long enough comes to believe it, and so Kvothe has gradually become Kote.
  • Bast warns Chronicler never to ask Kvothe why he no longer performs sympathy.
  • Bast says that some Fae are physically incapable of lying while others are very skilled liars.
  • Bast states that Iax spoke to the Cthaeh before he stole the moon, and that this conversation sparked the Creation War.
  • Bast warns that anyone the Cthaeh influences is like a plague ship sailing for a harbor, spreading its corruption from person to person.
  • Bast warns Chronicler that if the Sithe learned of the story they would burn the inn and salt the earth behind them.
  • Bast weaves crowns of holly against the skin dancer, recounting that the Sithe rode out in holly crowns when they hunted skin dancers.
  • In The Lightning Tree, Bast helps village children and carries on affairs with married women of the town; Kvothe suspects he fathered one of Mary Bentley's children.
  • When Kvothe calls Bast's name from the inn, he feels it tug at him like a hand closing around his heart.

Theories§

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