KKC Theory Wiki

Felurian Killed Kvothe and Revived Him as Part-Fae

fringe mechanism · popularity 54 · 1 source thread

Felurian killed Kvothe with a kiss to hide him from a Fae predator, then revived him as demi-Fae.

About: Felurian, Kvothe

Also involves: The Fae, The Shaed

The theory§

This theory proposes that when Felurian led Kvothe deep into the Fae to make his shaed, the light he foolishly bound into being drew the attention of something terrible that preys on mortals. To hide him, Felurian kissed Kvothe and drew the breath and mortality out of him, briefly stopping his heart, before breathing Fae essence back in to revive him as part-Fae. The reading rests on the text: Kvothe's sudden breathless terror and Felurian going still 'as if she were a startled deer or a cat about to pounce', the long slow breath she pulls out of him, and the endless moment in which his heart ceases beating before thumping again. Her delighted laughter afterward and the later observation that Kvothe seems 'a little Fae around the edges' are taken as signs of the transformation. The strongest objections hold that Kvothe was never short of air long enough to suffer, that no one returns from the doors of death in this world, and that his Fae quality is more plausibly explained by prolonged exposure to Fae food, air, and company, or by Fae blood inherited from his mother.

Evidence§

  • When Felurian took Kvothe deep into the forest to make his shaed and he foolishly created a light source, he drew the attention of something terrible.
    OP's premise: Kvothe's light draws a terrible mortal-preying entity. — u/StreetTripleRider
  • My forehead prickled with sweat, and I was filled with a sudden pure and breathless terror. Felurian went perfectly still, as if she were a startled deer or a cat about to pounce.
    Book quote OP cites as the moment the predator notices them. — u/StreetTripleRider
  • She cunningly tricked him into kissing her and then _literally sucked the mortal out of him_ to avoid the creature feasting on Kvothe
    Core claim: the kiss drew the breath/mortality out to hide him. — u/StreetTripleRider
  • For an endless moment my heart ceased beating in my chest. A subtle tension left the air above us. Felurian pulled her mouth from mine and my heart thumped again, sudden and hard.
    Book quote OP reads as Kvothe briefly dying then being revived. — u/StreetTripleRider
  • Now that the danger has subsided, she revives him by breathing a little bit of her Fae light into him, thus making Kvothe a demi-Fae.
    OP's conclusion: she breathes Fae essence back to revive him as part-Fae. — u/StreetTripleRider
  • There's more evidence to support Kvothe's transformation in later chapters too, such as he revisits the tavern and the barmaid notices he's different and describes him as "a little Fae around the edges".
    Supporting after-evidence: later observers see him as Fae-touched. — u/StreetTripleRider
  • I think what Felurian did was to suck a little humanity out of Kvothe and breathe a little Fae into him. Just a little. Thus, Kvothe became "Fae around the edges".
    Refinement: a milder exchange of natures, not literal death. — u/aerojockey
  • My argument against this is that it doesn't sound like he was without air very long. He didn't pass out, he wasn't panicking for air, nothing.
    CounterCounter: he was never breathless long enough to die. — u/Master_Fizzgig
  • I like fresh ideas like this one, but I'm one of those who thinks no one can come back from the doors of death. No one.
    CounterCounter: nothing in this world returns from death. — u/Putoasco

Book refs: WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier verified: fringe, speculative reading of the kiss scene

Contributors§

Source threads§