KKC Theory Wiki

Denna May Be a Secret Redhead and the Real Target of Kvothe's Assassins

fringe identity · popularity 222 · 1 source thread

The assassins keyed on a red hair may have been hunting Denna, not Kvothe, and mistook him for their target.

About: Denna, Kvothe

Also involves: Ambrose Jakis, Tarbean, Edema Ruh, Arliden

The theory§

This theory holds that the two men who ambush Kvothe outside the University were not hunting him at all. They carry only half their coin and a single hair fed into an unreliable dowsing compass, no name for their quarry, and they complain of having lost their target twice and of a bungled job in Anilin. Anilin was the destination of Broent's caravan, which Kvothe abandoned to enrol at the University, placing the hunt before Kvothe ever met Ambrose and undercutting the assumption that Ambrose sent them. From this the theory proposes the hair belonged to a different red-haired person whom the finder genuinely points at, most likely Denna, who perpetually changes her name, hides her past, and may dye or disguise her hair. The disguise angle is complicated by Denna's hair being plainly described as black in Trebon, though dark-red hair read in a dark alley could account for both the finder's match and the men's confusion.

Evidence§

  • I think however, that most people agree it doesn’t make sense for the men to have been sent by Ambrose due to their mention of a mistake they made in Anilin. Anilin is where Broent’s caravan, which Kvothe joined, was headed before Kvothe left to go to the university. Meaning that these men were probably sent after Kvothe before he had ever even met Ambrose.
    OP's core claim: the Anilin reference places the hunt before Kvothe met Ambrose. — u/djquack69
  • We know that the men use the strand of hair to find Kvothe and identify him due to his matching red hair, … “They had a dowsing compass and some of my hair. That’s how they knew I was a redhead.” … We also know they are not very good at using the “finder” as they call it, … “Half the coin and a hair.”
    Men rely on an unreliable hair-keyed finder and have no name for their quarry. — u/djquack69
  • What if they aren’t in possession of Kvothe’s hair. What if it’s someone else’s hair who was on the caravan. A person who they have been accidentally following using the compass.
    Core leap: the hair belongs to another caravan passenger, not Kvothe. — u/djquack69
  • The Yllish have red hair. Denna ties Yllish knots in her hair … Then the most damning link to red, Kvothe, a namer and knower of things, comparing Denna to a certain flower, … “Selas flower... A deep red flower... that suits you.”
    Links Denna to Yllish red hair and red imagery, naming her the likely target. — u/djquack69
  • The final pieces of evidence I have are both instances of red being mistaken for black … “I would have bet a solid mark your hair was black.” … “The wine was so deep a red that it was almost black.”
    Dark-red reads as black, explaining how a redhead's hair could be described black. — u/djquack69
  • What was the cock up? Denna gives us a hint. … “What happened in Anilin, anyway?” … “Nothing pleasant,” she said, avoiding my eyes. “But nothing unexpected either.” … I suspect the cock-up was that these men killed the wrong musician.
    Commenter ties Denna's evasive Anilin remark to the assassins' bungled job. — u/qoou
  • the 'assassins' never mentioned knowing he was a redhead, and never got their match lit to even see which way the needle was pointing … so unless that's an editing error, the last sentence is utterly unsupported by the actual events in text. it's entirely possible the hair they used wasn't red, wasn't kvothe's at all, and the finder wasn't pointing to him.
    Refines: text never confirms the hair was Kvothe's red hair, supporting mistaken-target. — u/ifatree
  • while I didn't remember it, Denna's hair is described as black at least once, in Trebon. … she frowned and brushed her long black hair back
    CounterCounter: Denna's hair is plainly described as black in Trebon. — u/turnedabout
  • there's this bit with sleat that makes me fairly certain it was in fact Ambrose who hired the men: … you put Ambrose Jakis in touch with a pair of men who have been known to kill people for money.
    CounterCounter: the Sleat passage implies Ambrose did hire the assassins after all. — u/floorwantshugs

Book refs: NOTW

Tier reasoning§

tier downgraded: own evidence (Denna's hair called black) undercuts the redhead premise

Contributors§

Source threads§