KKC Theory Wiki

Caudicus Already Knows Who Kvothe Is Before They Meet at Severen

fringe connection · popularity 73 · 1 source thread

As a former University arcanist who travels Vintas, Caudicus has likely heard gossip about Kvothe before he arrives.

About: Caudicus, Kvothe

Also involves: The University, Vintas, Maer Lerand Alveron, Severen, Ambrose Jakis, The Chandrian

The theory§

This theory holds that Caudicus, who studied at the University before entering the Maer's service and who travels widely among the noble families of Vintas, would have heard of Kvothe's notorious University exploits before the two ever meet at Severen. Such prior knowledge would explain why Caudicus flees so readily once Kvothe begins probing the Maer's medicine and asking pointed questions about the Chandrian. Counter-reasoning notes that Vintas is generally hostile to the arcane and lies a thousand miles from the Commonwealth, so University gossip may not travel there, and that Caudicus has served the Maer for over a decade, likely placing him past the age of caring for old University news. An alternative reading proposes that what truly exposes Caudicus is Kvothe spotting his deliberate slow-poisoning of the Maer, rather than any prior recognition.

Evidence§

  • Say you spent years studying at the top university in the world. Wouldn’t it then be natural to keep up with the latest gossip about what's been going on at your old school?
    OP's core premise: a former University arcanist would follow news from his old school. — u/InsaneBySanity
  • We already know that Caudicus travels a lot and visits other noble families in Vintas. During these visits, he probably meets other arcanists (or perhaps students). Wouldn’t it be plausible to think that he has heard about Kvothe during one of these meetings?
    Mechanism by which gossip about Kvothe reaches Caudicus via his travels. — u/InsaneBySanity
  • The next thing you know, a red haired guy named Kvothe struts up to your door and starts asking questions about the Chandrian and the Maer’s medicine. This makes Caudicus realise that he might need to flee and is therefore quick on the uptake when shit eventually hits the fan.
    Payoff: prior recognition explains why Caudicus flees so readily. — u/InsaneBySanity
  • And Caudicus did spend time with the Jakis family. Maybe he's familiar enough for them to share Ambrose's beef.
    Refines the mechanism: a specific channel for Kvothe gossip via the Jakis connection. — u/bluesy22
  • I like it, but I know Vintas is generally pretty anti-arcane so a lot of news may not reach there
    CounterCounter: Vintas's anti-arcane culture may block University news. — u/Gatechap
  • Natural to keep up on things happening at a University 1,000 miles away … Even if Caudicus is well traveled in Vintas, that's just in Vintas, not the whole of Temerant. … Caudicus has been working for the Maer for over 12 years … The older one gets, the less they hang on to old connections
    CounterCounter: distance, limited travel range, and Caudicus's age undercut the gossip premise. — u/Toes14
  • I feel like what tipped him off was the conversation he had in the middle of the night with the mayor's manservant, Stapes, and how he grabbed the bottle of acid Caudicus asked of him when he was supposed to be a noble's child who knew nothing of medicine.
    CounterAlternative reading: detection of poisoning, not prior recognition, exposed Caudicus. — u/elericksote

Book refs: WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier confirmed: speculative inference from travel habits

Contributors§

Source threads§