KKC Theory Wiki

Bast May Have Lured the Scrael and the Skin Dancer to Newarre

plausible motive · popularity 109 · 1 source thread

Just as Bast arranged the soldiers' ambush, he may have drawn the scrael and the possessed mercenary to the Waystone to provoke Kvothe.

About: Bast, Scrael, Skin Dancer

Also involves: Kvothe, Waystone Inn, Newarre

The theory§

Bast openly admits engineering the soldier ambush on Kote, hiring mercenaries to beat him and spreading rumors to draw Chronicler to Newarre, all to shock his Reshi back into being Kvothe. This theory asks whether Bast was likewise behind the two other frame-story threats: the scrael and the skin-dancer-possessed mercenary. The case for is that Bast's advertising of Kote's location would draw creatures already hunting Kvothe, and Bast need only have hastened them. The case against rests on two textual points: Kote reacts to the scrael not with surprise that they exist but with the remark that he did not expect them 'this far so soon,' implying they were coming regardless as a symptom of a world Kvothe has broken; and Bast appears genuinely startled by the skin dancer, noting none has been seen in a long age. Bast's stated reverence for Fae law cuts against him deploying a skin dancer, since the same powers that guard the Cthaeh also hunt skin dancers, work a lawful Bast would not undertake. A darker variant holds that even if Bast set these threats in motion, he did so before learning Kvothe had spoken with the Cthaeh, leaving him unsure whether his own schemes are tainted by its influence.

Evidence§

  • was responsible for the Scraling and the Possessed dude? I mean, he was responsible for the soldiers… have people speculated on this before?
    OP's core claim: since Bast arranged the soldiers, he may also be behind scrael and skin dancer. — u/prayingforsuperpower
  • He tells Chronicler that he spread rumors to bring him in. He hired the mercenaries who beat up Kote.
    Establishes Bast's confirmed manipulations as precedent for the theory. — u/countryguy-georgia
  • Bast has been advertising kotes location and they are likely "looking" for kvothe.
    Mechanism: advertising Kote's location would draw creatures already hunting Kvothe. — u/TheLastSock
  • So maybe Bast took advantage of an already present threat and lured them there quicker than they other wise would have.
    Refines theory: Bast hastened a pre-existing threat rather than creating it. — u/SelitosOne-Eye
  • He doesn’t seem surprised to see the scrael. He’s just surprised they’ve made it this far so soon.
    CounterCounter: Kote's reaction implies scrael were coming regardless, a symptom of a broken world. — u/SelitosOne-Eye
  • Bast genuinely seems surprised by the skin walker though. He says no one has seen them for a long time.
    CounterCounter: Bast's surprise at the skin dancer argues against him deploying it. — u/SelitosOne-Eye
  • Bast mentions that the same people who guard the Cthaeh also hunt the skin dancers, considering how lawful Bast is about fae stuff I don’t think he would use a skin dancer.
    CounterCounter: Bast's reverence for Fae law makes deploying a skin dancer unlikely. — u/Deleoel
  • all these things were put into motion before Bast knew Kvothe spoke with the Cthaeh. Now Bast is worried that all his extracurricular efforts to push Kvothe out of his self imposed exile might not be as sanitized of Cthaeh influence as he would have assumed when he crafted them.
    Darker variant: Bast's schemes may be tainted by Cthaeh influence he learned of later. — u/Sandal-Hat

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

builds on canon (Bast did engineer the ambush); plausible retained despite commenter pushback

Contributors§

Source threads§