KKC Theory Wiki

Elxa Dal's Second Known Name May Be Blood, the Sympathist's Ever-Present Source

plausible mechanism · popularity 86 · 1 source thread

Beyond Fire, Master Dal may know the Name of Blood, the one energy source a sympathist always carries.

About: Elxa Dal

Also involves: Naming, Sympathy, Kvothe, The University

The theory§

Elxa Dal, Master Sympathist at the University, is established to know the Name of Fire, and this theory holds that his second known Name is Blood. The reasoning rests on the principle that fire is a sympathist's primary energy source while blood is the one source always carried on the body, making the pair a complete arsenal: Dal drills students on how much heat can be safely drawn from a living body, both in the duel with Fenton and in the blood-drawing exercises of Advanced Sympathy. Kvothe's prophesied 'ring of blood' is taken as proof that Blood is a Name one can hold. A competing reading favors Iron, drawn from a hint that Dal is among the handful at the University who know iron's Name, a rigid and unforgiving Name fitting his teaching style, and one that pairs with Fire as an anti-fae combination. Whether knowing Blood's Name grants more energy from it, or merely soft knowledge of bloodlines and living things, remains unsettled.

Evidence§

  • I think the other Name is blood. Fire is the primary source of energy for the sympathist. Blood is the one source that a sympathist always has access to.
    OP's core claim: Fire and Blood are the two always-available energy sources for a sympathist. — u/ainRingeck
  • He makes sure that the students are well acquainted with how much heat is safe to draw (the duel with Fenton in NOTW) and made the students practice drawing heat from blood in Advanced Sympathy (WMF).
    Supports Blood via Dal's teaching focus on drawing heat from living bodies. — u/ainRingeck
  • We also know that Kvothe is supposed to wear a ring of blood; assuming that the rings are not metaphorical, it means Blood is a Name one can know.
    Cites prophesied ring of blood as proof Blood is a knowable Name. — u/ainRingeck
  • My final reason is a stretch, but Elxa Dal looks like the stock archetypal villain in a bad Aturan play. There is no real evidence beyond blood magic being universally considered evil
    OP's weakest, self-admitted reason from blood magic's evil reputation. — u/ainRingeck
  • Iron. Fire and iron. A mention to the chronicler that he would only be part of a handful of people at the university to know the name of iron. I think it would be a name that reflects his personality and teaching style. Which is very rigid and unforgiving.
    CounterTop counter: Iron fits Dal better, citing a textual hint and his teaching style. — u/zzennerd
  • Blood doesn’t quite seem to fit Elxa dal to me, we don’t know if knowing blood changes the properties of it, as in get more energy from it, it seems rather a soft power of maybe knowing bloodlines
    CounterCounter: knowing Blood may be soft knowledge, not extra energy. — u/zzennerd
  • I think the Ring of Blood is metaphorical in this case. … The 'ring of blood in a flowing band' is in reference to his Lackless blood or the 'One Family' of the Edema Ruh.
    CounterCounter to the ring-of-blood evidence: it may be symbolic, not a Name. — u/Neb989
  • Add to this, if you have the name of iron you could remove iron from hemoglobin, effectively preventing the blood from carrying oxygen.
    Context bridging Iron and blood, reinforcing the rival Iron reading. — u/Lannet1

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

plausible: reasonable inference, though commenters favour Iron

Contributors§

Source threads§