KKC Theory Wiki

Fela, Not Kvothe, Killed the Man in Imre Using the Name of Stone

plausible identity · popularity 438 · 1 source thread

The cobblestone-shattering death in Imre was Fela's doing, with Kvothe merely taking the blame for a killing he didn't commit.

About: Fela, Kvothe

Also involves: Imre, Naming

The theory§

This theory holds that the killing in Imre attributed to Kvothe was committed by Fela, with Kvothe taking the blame. The only source for the killing is a half-drunk light-haired traveller at the Waystone who says he saw the place in Imre where Kvothe killed a man, by the fountain, with the cobblestones all shattered, but he never witnessed the act and even stumbles over the word 'shathered' when describing the stones' state. Shattered cobblestones imply the Name of Stone was called, and Kvothe is never shown calling the Name of Stone in the narrative, whereas Fela is established as a namer of stone who shaped her own ring. The theory proposes that Kvothe, as he does with Fela's act in the original fire and elsewhere, assumed responsibility, and that the tale mutated through retelling in the way stories do throughout the series. A complicating fact is that a song lists Kvothe as wearing a ring of stone, which most likely signals mastery he gains later, in Doors of Stone, rather than evidence he killed the man at the fountain.

Evidence§

  • Fela did, and Kvothe took the blame for it.
    OP's core claim: Fela killed the man, Kvothe took the blame. — u/Psychological-Fall57
  • The man in the Waystone that talks about the man Kvothe killed in Imre says that he saw the *place* in Imre where Kvothe killed him, not the event itself. We have no actual way of knowing that it was Kvothe that did it, as nobody else but this guy has mentioned it and he didn’t see it first-hand.
    Sole source never witnessed the killing, only the place. — u/Psychological-Fall57
  • If we know one thing about Rothfuss, it’s that he knows the power of stories and how they change over time, especially if people help them to change.
    Stories mutate, so the attribution to Kvothe is unreliable. — u/Psychological-Fall57
  • The guy describes the cobblestones being shattered, which implies the Name of Stone was used. Kvothe has never called the Name of Stone, but Fela is able to call it fairly consistently from what we know.
    Shattered stones imply Name of Stone; Fela, not Kvothe, can call it. — u/Psychological-Fall57
  • “I saw the place in Imre where you killed him. By the fountain. The cobblestones are all shathered.”* ***He frowned and concentrated on the word.“Shattered. They say no one can mend them.”***
    Book quote: drunk traveller stumbles on 'shathered'; stones unmendable. — u/Sandal-Hat
  • afaik there has not been a reveal of stone's true name.
    Supports OP: stone's name never shown revealed to Kvothe in text. — u/Master_Nayan
  • But in the song about Kvothe, it says that Kvothe has a ring of stone, indicating that Kvothe has mastery of name of stone later on in the story, most likely in Doors of Stone
    CounterCounter: Kvothe's ring of stone, but attributed to later mastery. — u/sreenandan
  • you don't exactly need to know the name of stone to shatter them (physical force works nicely), and the thing about them not being able to fix the cobblestones is only something "they say". The guy is telling a second hand story and he's pretty sloshed, and in this book stories are often not true. That's just too many outs.
    CounterCounter: force alone could shatter stones; drunk second-hand tale. — u/aerojockey

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

single page, no dupes; tier 'plausible' fits inferential evidence

Contributors§

Source threads§