KKC Theory Wiki

Skin Dancer

creature · importance 55 · 5 theories

“Body-stealing Fae creature hunted by the Cthaeh's guardians”

also known as Skin Dancer, Skin Dancers, Skin-dancer, Skindancer

Appearance§

A skin dancer is known not by its own form but through the body it wears. At the Waystone it occupies a bloody mercenary whose sword and metal have rusted, a key visual tell. It presents otherwise as the human it inhabits, betrayed mainly by rusted metal, strange archaic speech, and aggressive reaction to sudden movement. The possessed mercenary does not have the all-black eyes attributed to figures such as Cinder. When the creature leaves a host, it appears as dark shadow or smoke.

Description§

Skin dancers are body-stealing creatures of the Fae that take over and animate a victim's flesh, riding the host from the inside and passing from body to body. When a skin dancer leaves a host, it appears as dark shadow or smoke, and the host dies. Rusted metal on a person, notably a rusted sword, is a folk-song warning sign of one, as is the verse 'When your bright sword turns to rust? / Who to trust?' A skin dancer appears at the Waystone Inn near the close of The Name of the Wind, inhabiting a mercenary and addressing Kvothe in an old tongue with the words 'Te Rhintae?', apparently asking whether those present are Rhinta. Kvothe is badly wounded fighting it, with a large bonfire present, and Bast stitches up his many gashes. The same guardians who guard the Cthaeh also hunt skin dancers, treating them as a distinct menace, and none has been seen in a very long time. Skin dancers are not the same as the Chandrian. Lore at the Waystone holds that holly can trap or bar them.

Relationships§

  • Fought By Kvothe — addresses Kvothe with 'Te Rhintae?' and badly wounds him in the fight
  • Distinct From The Chandrian — skin dancers are not the same as the Chandrian
  • Creature Of The Fae — body-stealing creatures of the Fae
  • Wounds Stitched By Bast — Bast stitches up Kvothe's many gashes after the fight
  • Hunted By Guardians The Cthaeh — the same guardians who guard the Cthaeh also hunt skin dancers
  • Appears At Waystone Inn — appears at the Waystone Inn near the end of The Name of the Wind
  • Appears In Newarre — the Waystone Inn encounter occurs in Newarre
  • Asks About Rhinta — asks 'Te Rhintae?', apparently whether those present are Rhinta

Established facts§

  • Skin dancers are creatures of the Fae that take over and animate a victim's body, riding it from the inside.
  • A skin dancer appears at the Waystone Inn near the end of The Name of the Wind, inhabiting a mercenary whose sword and metal have rusted.
  • It addresses Kvothe in an old language with the phrase 'Te Rhintae?', apparently asking whether those present are Rhinta.
  • Kvothe is badly wounded fighting it, and Bast has to stitch up many gashes; a large bonfire is present during the encounter.
  • When a skin dancer leaves a body, it appears as dark shadow or smoke and can pass into a new host.
  • A host dies when a skin dancer leaves it.
  • The same guardians who guard the Cthaeh also hunt the skin dancers.
  • None has been seen in a very long time when one possesses the mercenary.
  • Rusted metal on a person is presented in folk song as a warning sign associated with these creatures.
  • Skin dancers are distinct from the Chandrian.
  • A skin dancer is capable of making a victim eat their own tongue.
  • Lore at the Waystone Inn holds that holly can trap or bar skin dancers.
  • This skin dancer never left its host, and the characters afterward question whether it was truly a skin dancer.

Theories§

Appears in theories§

Top contributors§

People on r/KingkillerChronicle who built the theories above.