KKC Theory Wiki

It Was the Angels Who Called Down the Lightning, Not Kvothe

fringe mechanism · popularity 247 · 1 source thread

Cinder's flight just before the lightning strike suggests summoned Angels/Amyr caused it, not Kvothe's sympathy.

About: The Amyr, Cinder, Kvothe

Also involves: The Chandrian, Sympathy, Tehlu

The theory§

This theory questions whether Kvothe truly called down the lightning that destroyed the false troupe and drove off Cinder in the Eld. As Marten prays to Tehlu and his angels by name, Cinder suddenly cocks his head and goes perfectly still, the same posture the Chandrian adopt around their own fire when they sense an approaching power and Haliax says 'They come.' Read this way, the prayer summons a real angelic or Amyr presence that strikes the camp, and Kvothe, an admitted unreliable narrator, takes credit for a deliverance he did not cause. The dominant counter-reading is mechanical and grounded in the text: Kvothe broke his mind six ways, drove an arrow into the sodden ground, and shouted 'As above, so below', building a sympathetic lightning rod that raised the odds of a strike on the great tree he was linked to, recreating a Taborlin story. Tellingly, Kvothe never flatly claims the deed, saying only 'as far as stories go, I called the lightning and it came', which leaves room for an unseen assist while the sympathetic working remains the simplest account.

Evidence§

  • When Marten is praying to Tehlu and the Angels, Cinder looks up and around and is seen to be searching for something (we are initially led to believe it's Martin's voice, but is it something else entirely?)
    OP frames the core question: Cinder reacts to the prayer, not necessarily to Marten's voice. — u/Shizzukani
  • Suddenly the leader paused and cocked his head. He held himself perfectly still, as if listening for something. … This behaviour is also very similar to what he did when Kvothe first meets him and the Chandrian sense someone (who they're afraid of) coming for them. … 'They come,' Haliax said quietly
    OP's key parallel: Cinder's posture matches the Chandrian sensing an approaching power. — u/Shizzukani
  • This first of all, makes me think that praying to Tehlu and the Angels by name summons them. … My theory is that the Angels / Amyr hear their names and start coming. In much the same way as the first, Cinder senses their presence and runs away right before the Angels / Amyr call down lightning on the tree.
    OP's central claim: the named prayer summons Angels/Amyr who actually strike the tree. — u/Shizzukani
  • Basically the way one of the angels was described was something along the lines of a pillar of white fire. That is how dedan or martin describe the lightning, which adds more credibility to the theory.
    Comment adds evidence: angel described as a pillar of white fire matches the lightning. — u/mysteryingredients
  • When I did a re-read of this part, it seemed clear that Cinder is fleeing from something in the sky, invisible to mortal eyes. … it seems much more likely that "Tehlu and his angels" (who or whatever they really are) are responsible for chasing off the Chandrian again.
    Comment refines: Cinder flees something in the sky, supporting an angelic cause. — u/GoTeamLightningbolt
  • he is an unreliable narrator, we've been warned. It might in part be his "Folly" to think that it was all him, and not that somehow he was (unwittingly) a stalking horse for the Amyr/Angels/something all the time
    Comment supports via Kvothe's unreliability: he may wrongly credit himself. — u/rtrski
  • It is strongly implied that he used a sympathetic link between either a twig of the tree or an arrow shaft stuck in the ground to have the lightning strike it while linked to the tree. Thus creating the illusion of him calling down lightning. … he was trying to recreate the story of Taborlin the Great calling down lightning
    CounterTop counter: mechanical sympathetic lightning-rod reading recreating the Taborlin story. — u/PewterSavant
  • Tehlu's name was invoked repeatedly without Cinder reacting and Cinder reacted before Menda, Perial, Ordal, or Andan were invoked. What was different about the invocations Cinder reacted to and those he didn't? … What if Kvothe *did* call the lightning? … What if there were no summoned gods or angels answering?
    CounterCounter: timing of Cinder's reaction doesn't track the names, so no angels needed. — u/Bhaluun
  • He definitely stops short of saying he did it. "But as far as stories go, I called the lightning and it came."
    Context: Kvothe never flatly claims the deed, leaving room for an unseen assist. — u/LNinefingers

Book refs: WMF, NOTW

Tier reasoning§

tier downgraded: text explicitly shows Kvothe used a sympathetic lightning rod, so this is a speculative leap

Contributors§

Source threads§