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Bredon Is Book Three's Hidden Villain Manipulating Vintish Politics

fringe identity · popularity 127 · 1 source thread

Bredon is Denna's patron and a master strategist pulling strings to overthrow Calanthis rule and elevate the Maer.

About: Bredon, Vintas

Also involves: Denna, Maer Lerand Alveron, Caudicus, Cinder, Felurian, Dennas Patron

The theory§

Bredon, the white-haired, owl-eyed gentleman who teaches Kvothe to play tak at the Maer's court in Severen, is recast as the concealed architect of Vintas's political upheaval and as Denna's secret patron. He is established as a former power of the courts grown bored with their revolutions, a black-and-gray-clad practitioner of old Vintish pagan rites, and a tak player who prizes setting and springing traps over simply winning. The theory reads Caudicus's slow poisoning of the Maer with lead and denner resin, the broader instability in Vintas, and the historical wedding massacres of old Vintish lore as moves in Bredon's long game to install Alveron, a strong ruler, against the Calanthis crown. Bredon's tak philosophy, that the bold risky path with a larger payoff is more interesting than the safe one, supplies the supposed character of a schemer willing to engineer a near-fatal crisis to shape his chosen king.

Evidence§

  • Bredon is pulling strings to over throw the Calthanis rule. He follows the old Vintas religion and is working to put the Maer in the throne.
    OP's core thesis: Bredon manipulates Vintish politics to enthrone the Maer. — u/SimilarAd8501
  • Bredon is an expert strategist. He discusses in length the importance of setting traps and heading into them headfirst with a plan to turn the trap against the enemy.
    Establishes Bredon's character as a patient master strategist via tak. — u/SimilarAd8501
  • There are two events where alchemy or poison are mentioned for political attacks. In fact, it is so taboo that I find it unlikely these two events are not linked.
    Links the wedding-massacre poisoning and Caudicus's poisoning of the Maer. — u/SimilarAd8501
  • Bredon then has Caudicus poison Alveron to speed up marriage as it was becoming worrisome he was to die a bachelor, thus ending the Alveron line.
    Core mechanism: poisoning serves Bredon's dynastic goal of an heir. — u/SimilarAd8501
  • His great-great-grandfathers were the kings of Vint, back before the empire stomped in … If not for a few quirks of fate a dozen generations back, Alveron would be the royal family of Vintas, not the Calanthis, and my friend the Maer would be the king.
    OP-cited book text giving the Maer a real claim to the throne. — u/SimilarAd8501
  • Bredon's tak strategies imply that taking a risky path that potentially has a bigger payoff is much more interesting to him than choosing the path of least resistance. He doesn't just want to win, he wants to see how far he can push his luck.
    Comment reinforces the psychology behind risking the Maer's near-death. — u/Lawlcopt0r
  • I am not sure if I am on board with Caudicus working for Bredon, personally, but the rest of your theory is awesome.
    CounterCounter: doubts the key Caudicus-Bredon link. — u/GhostOfConansBeard
  • The plum bob at the wedding was supposed to be 50 years ago … Given what we know about his age your numbers don't work … The numbers don't add up.
    CounterCounter: Alveron's age makes the wedding-massacre timeline inconsistent. — u/NakedandFearless462

Book refs: WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier kept: speculative master-schemer leap from tak skill

Contributors§

Source threads§