KKC Theory Wiki

Auri Is the Moon, Not Princess Ariel or Lyra

fringe identity · popularity 185 · 1 source thread

Auri's strange names for the world and Elodin's reaction mark her as the moon itself rather than a lost princess.

About: Auri, The Moon

Also involves: Lyra, Elodin, Kvothe, Haliax, The Lackless Box, Laurian, Felurian, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, The Boy Who Stole the Moon

The theory§

This theory holds that Auri is not a lost mortal princess but the moon itself, or the stolen portion of it that dwells beneath the University in the Underthing. Its central thread is linguistic and behavioural: in The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Auri assigns private, true-feeling names to objects and reads the hidden disposition of things, a faculty that mirrors the folk tales of the moon's naming and the cosmology in How Old Holly Came to Be. Elodin's startled reaction when Kvothe names her "Auri" is read as recognition that the name brushes against her real one. An earlier strand identified her specifically as Lyra under the anagram-homophone "Ary'l," tying her to the Lackless box as the vessel of her name and explaining why Laurian was singled out among the troupe; this identification is set aside because Auri speaks of learning from Mandrag, an alchemist, which does not fit Lyra's history, and the speculation migrates to Lyra being Felurian instead. A competing reading frames Auri as the fragment Iax stole, with Haliax seeking her to ransom back to the Fae.

Evidence§

  • Auri is not princess ARIEL, but princess ARY’L. aka LYRA. … She is also part of the moon, which is why Elodin reacted the way he did at Kvothe naming her “Auri”.
    OP's original claim: Auri is Lyra and part of the moon, explaining Elodin's reaction. — u/MrPotter35
  • The Lackless box is Lanre’s box that holds her name, and Lanre/ Haliax needs it to find her/ restore her. This explains why Laurian/ Natalia Lackless was tortured while the rest of the group were simply killed
    OP ties the Lackless box and Laurian's torture to the search for her name. — u/MrPotter35
  • After hours of research, Auri CANNOT be Lyra. … look at how she uses odd names and descriptions of the things in the world (and compared that to How Old Holly Came to Be) it seems pretty obvious that she is the moon.
    OP retracts the Lyra ID; her naming of things points to her being the moon. — u/MrPotter35
  • She talks of learning from Mandrag. Unless Mandrag is some powerful Ruach himself, I can’t imagine that Lyra learned alchemy from him and then discovered shaping from there.
    CounterCounter to the Lyra identification: Auri's alchemy from Mandrag doesn't fit Lyra. — u/kingkillerpodcast
  • You’d also have to think there would be some specific clue pointing Auri towards being Lyra in the SROST, if not the first two books, but I can’t think of one.
    CounterCounter: no concrete textual clue supports the Lyra reading. — u/kingkillerpodcast
  • Elodin reacted the way he did because he knows her real name and was impressed that Kvothe was able to call it from his sleeping mind.
    Refines the Elodin point: he recognizes her true name being called. — u/Remote-Sky-7890
  • She is the part of the moon that iax stole and is in the underthing. … Haliax is trying to find Auri to ransom her back to iax in return to the fairy world.
    Competing reading: Auri is the stolen moon-fragment Haliax seeks. — u/PmMeYourTitsAndToes
  • I prefer to think Auri doesn’t have much to do with the moon. I always preferred the moon theories based around Denna. They fit her way better
    CounterCounter: another reader rejects Auri-moon link, preferring Denna. — u/sadkinz

Book refs: WMF, SROST

Tier reasoning§

fringe confirmed; author even retracts part of own claim

Contributors§

Source threads§