KKC Theory Wiki

Kvothe Will Steal Princess Auri From a Sleeping Barrow King

plausible identity · popularity 86 · 1 source thread

Auri is Princess Ariel, whom Kvothe will rescue from the draugr Wizard-King Feyda Calanthis beyond the four-plate door.

About: Auri, Kvothe

Also involves: The University, The Archives, Fela, The Doors of Stone, Haliax, The Amyr

The theory§

This theory holds that Auri is the princess Ariel and that Kvothe will 'steal' her from the dead Wizard-King Feyda Calanthis, who sleeps as a draugr beyond the four-plate door of the Archives. Rothfuss has confirmed that Feyda is a barrow king, the first king and clan-uniter of his people who, buried in the proper way and possessing a will to make a nation, returns as a draugr rather than truly dying. Kvothe's framing-story boast that he has 'stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings' is read as a direct promise of this rescue. The reading draws on Fela's dream that an old dead king named Valaritas lies entombed behind that door, on the pattern of undead and unkillable beings being sealed behind impassable doors of stone, and on the 'Tombs' nickname for Tomes. Auri's apparent noble bearing supports her identity as the princess, and she is further tied to the vanished student Tabetha through the 'ariel gazelle,' an alternate name for the dorcas gazelle that links Tabitha and Ariel.

Evidence§

  • Feyda is a dead king, buried in the proper way, a man with a will to make a nation and a man such as that does not merely die if he does not wish to. He comes back as a draugr, as Wizard King.
    OP's foundation: Rothfuss confirms Feyda is a barrow king returning as a draugr. — u/chainsawx72
  • I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings.
    Kvothe's framing-story boast read as a direct promise to rescue the princess. — u/chainsawx72
  • Valaritas was the name of an old dead king. His tomb was behind the door.
    Fela's dream places a dead king entombed behind the four-plate door. — u/chainsawx72
  • her careful delicacy somehow made this makeshift meal on a rooftop seem like a formal dinner in some nobleman’s hall. … She poured the beer so solemnly you’d think she was having tea with the king
    Auri's noble bearing supports her identity as the lost princess. — u/chainsawx72
  • ariel gazelle … or Tabitha (Imperial Aramaic … (female) gazelle
    Links vanished student Tabetha to Ariel via the shared gazelle meaning. — u/chainsawx72
  • beneath a hand with the hot breath smell of want and wine … She’s very nervous. Don’t try to touch her. … I’m worried someone might be looking for me.
    Auri's trauma and fear of pursuit fit a princess who fled abuse. — u/chainsawx72
  • I've always believed that Danna is a red herring and that Auri is The Woman.
    Commenter affirms OP's claim that Auri, not Denna, is 'The Woman.' — u/cyclejones
  • Wasn’t Devi the first woman introduced after his introduction to the “woman waiting in the wings?” … Chapter 50, Negotiations, he goes over the river and we meet Devi.
    CounterCounter: disputes OP's claim that Auri is the first woman introduced. — u/brd9214
  • Why would the first king of Vintas be buried on the other side of the world, a thousand miles from his kingdom?
    CounterCounter: questions geographic plausibility of Feyda's tomb under the University. — u/radioactive_quack

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier verified: multiple textual anchors (barrow-king boast, Fela's dream) keep this at plausible despite the gazelle leap

Contributors§

Source threads§