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The Cthaeh

creature · importance 80 · 50 theories

“An all-seeing, malevolent oracle bound to a tree that speaks only ruinous truths”

Appearance§

The Cthaeh is never seen directly; Kvothe perceives only the flowering tree it inhabits, which he at first takes for a person. The tree resembles a vast spreading willow with darker leaves and pale, powder-blue blossoms, and it bears the Rhinna, a flower said to heal any illness, cure any poison, and mend any wound. The air around it carries a distinctive scent of smoke, spice, leather, and lemon. Butterflies fill the glade, and the Cthaeh destroys them by colour as it speaks, having driven the red ones to extinction; the last large crimson butterfly shot through with metallic gold is torn apart, its halves fluttering separately to the ground. The creature itself remains unseen and disembodied, a voice among the branches.

Description§

The Cthaeh is a malevolent, all-seeing being bound to a flowering tree deep in the Fae. It is not the tree itself; when Kvothe addresses it as the tree, it answers, "I am no tree. No more than is a man a chair. I am the Cthaeh." It speaks only the truth, yet sees every possible future and chooses its words solely to steer those who hear it toward the most catastrophic outcomes. Because its influence spreads like a contagion, the Sithe's oldest and most important charge is to keep the Cthaeh from contact with anyone, killing those who approach its tree from half a mile away with poisoned arrows. The old stories say both Iax and Lanre spoke with the Cthaeh: Iax before he stole the moon and sparked the Creation War, Lanre before he betrayed Selitos and became Haliax. When Kvothe reached it, the Cthaeh confirmed that the white-haired, dark-eyed bandit leader he had seen in the Eld was Cinder, taunted him over his parents' deaths, told him Denna's patron beats her, and steered him toward staying near the Maer, who it said would lead him to the Amyr's door. Bast, who reacts to the encounter with terror, describes anyone who has spoken with the Cthaeh as carrying its influence like a plague ship into a port, and names it the most dangerous thing in existence.

Relationships§

  • Manipulated Kvothe — steered Kvothe toward the Maer, Amyr, and taunted him over his parents
  • Revealed Secret Denna — told Kvothe that Denna's patron Master Ash beats her
  • Counseled Haliax — Lanre spoke with the Cthaeh before betraying Selitos and becoming Haliax
  • Identified Cinder — confirmed the white-haired bandit leader in the Eld was Cinder
  • Pointed Toward The Amyr — told Kvothe the Maer would lead him to the Amyr's door
  • Bound In The Fae — a malevolent oracle bound to a single tree in the Fae
  • Counseled Iax — Iax spoke with the Cthaeh before stealing the moon
  • Revealed Secret Master Ash — named Master Ash as the patron who beats Denna
  • Guarded By The Sithe — the Sithe's oldest charge is to keep the Cthaeh from contact with anyone
  • Bears Flower Rhinna — the Cthaeh's tree bears the Rhinna panacea flower

Established facts§

  • The Cthaeh is a malevolent oracle bound to a single tree in the Fae and cannot leave it.
  • It is not the tree itself: "I am no tree. No more than is a man a chair. I am the Cthaeh."
  • It sees every possible future and never lies, but speaks only truths chosen to cause the greatest possible harm.
  • Everyone who speaks with the Cthaeh carries its influence outward like a plague ship into a port, spreading ruin.
  • The Sithe's oldest and most important charge is to keep the Cthaeh from contact with anyone.
  • The Sithe kill those who approach the Cthaeh's tree from half a mile away with poisoned arrows.
  • Bast names the Cthaeh the most dangerous thing in existence and reacts to Kvothe's meeting with intense terror.
  • Iax spoke with the Cthaeh before stealing the moon, the act that sparked the Creation War.
  • Lanre spoke with the Cthaeh before betraying Selitos and becoming Haliax, so the Cthaeh predates Selitos's curse.
  • Kvothe initially mistakes the flowering tree for a female being before the Cthaeh corrects him.
  • The Cthaeh confirms that the white-haired, dark-eyed bandit leader Kvothe saw in the Eld was Cinder.
  • It taunts Kvothe over his parents' deaths and names Cinder as the one responsible for what was done to his mother Laurian.
  • It tells Kvothe that meeting Cinder again would be a "twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity" he has wasted.
  • It says Cinder once did the Cthaeh a bad turn.
  • It tells Kvothe to stick by the Maer, who has already come close to the Amyr without realizing it, and who will lead him to their door.
  • It tells Kvothe that Denna's patron, Master Ash, beats her, most recently with a new walking stick, and that she is closely bound to him.
  • It tells Kvothe he survived his family's massacre because the Chandrian were sloppy, he was lucky, and something scared them away.
  • The Cthaeh's tree bears the Rhinna flower, a panacea able to heal any illness, cure any poison, and mend any wound.
  • Fae seek the Cthaeh for answers, glimpses of the future, or a flower, despite knowing its malign nature.
  • The air around the Cthaeh's tree smells of smoke, spice, leather, and lemon.
  • The tree resembles a vast spreading willow with darker leaves and pale, powder-blue blossoms.
  • The Cthaeh kills the butterflies around its tree by colour as it speaks, having driven the red ones to extinction.
  • A large crimson butterfly shot through with metallic gold is torn in two as it speaks; crimson and gold are the Calanthis colours.
  • The Cthaeh declines to attack Kvothe, instead needling him about Denna and pointing him toward the Maer, the Amyr, and the Stormwal.

Theories§

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