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A Full Doors of Stone Prediction: Cinder, Denna's Betrayal, and the Moon

fringe timeline · popularity 68 · 1 source thread

A speculative DoS arc where Kvothe breaks after Denna sides with Cinder, then is renamed by Auri to restore balance.

About: Kvothe, Denna, Cinder

Also involves: The Chandrian, Auri, The Doors of Stone, The Moon, The Amyr, The Fae, The Lackless Box, Iax, The Four Corners of Civilization, Folly

The theory§

This theory proposes a complete arc for the unwritten final volume, framing the fall of Kvothe into the innkeeper Kote around a sequence of betrayals. In it, Kvothe discovers that Cinder is the patron Denna calls Master Ash; when he tries to kill Cinder, Denna sides with her patron, and this loss fulfills the line from his own catalogue of deeds: 'I trouped, traveled, loved, lost, trusted, and was betrayed.' The Chandrian's larger scheme is read as an attempt to seize the moon, which Iax stole and bound behind the Doors of Stone, with the Lackless box holding the key to that prison. Broken by the failure to kill Cinder and the loss of Denna, Kvothe locks away his name and his power becomes Kote, until Auri renames him to restore him and set him toward the Fae, the Amyr, and the Doors of Stone to protect the moon and undo the imbalance Iax's theft created. The king Kvothe kills is held to be a poet-king rather than Ambrose, with Folly possibly being Cinder's own sword, taken when Kvothe killed him.

Evidence§

  • Kvothe becomes Kote after he found out Cinder is Deanna’s master, betraying his outh. He tries to kill him but Denna takes Cinder’s side which he feels is a betrayal.
    OP's core claim: Cinder is Denna's patron, and her siding with him is the betrayal that breaks Kvothe — u/Freshofftherun
  • The setup for this is that the Chandrian are trying to do something really bad that threatens the four corners, maybe steal the moon from the Lackless or something to that extent.
    Motive: the Chandrian scheme to seize the moon, tied to the Lackless — u/Freshofftherun
  • The Chandrian enlist a king to their cause (maybe Ambrose himself or related) which is the one Kvothe kills.
    Identifies the king Kvothe kills as a Chandrian ally — u/Freshofftherun
  • The battle ends after Kvothe fails to kill Cinder and loses Denna. Cinder disappears the way he did in their last encounter and broken Kvothe becomes Kote.
    The double failure (Cinder escapes, Denna lost) is what reduces Kvothe to Kote — u/Freshofftherun
  • Then Auri turns up to give Kote a new name that will restore his power and give him a new meaning, he goes back to the fae world, learns more about the watchers and the Amyr and even meets them. He also enters Gets his mission to protect the moon and restore the balance Jax ruined.
    Resolution: Auri renames Kote to restore him and set him on the moon-protecting mission — u/Freshofftherun
  • I wish he killed Ambrose, but think it's another king he kills. I think Ambrose or his father takes power, and are the ones who put such a hefty bounty on Kvothe.
    CounterCounter/refine: doubts Ambrose is the slain king, casting him instead as the bounty-setter — u/SteveDad111
  • I also (lots of theories about this) think Folly the sword is Cinder's sword. That Kvothe killed him.
    Adds supporting detail: Folly is Cinder's sword, taken when Kvothe killed him — u/SteveDad111
  • I think the Poet King that Kvothe kills is the one that Vashet served. She calls him "my poet king" all the time.
    CounterCounter on the king's identity: a poet-king Vashet served, not Ambrose — u/Ramza-Metabee

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

fringe confirmed: full-plot speculation stacking many unproven claims

Contributors§

Source threads§