KKC Theory Wiki

Kvothe Became the Seventh Chandrian and Changed His Name to Escape

fringe identity · popularity 57 · 1 source thread

After killing Cinder, Kvothe is forced to take the slain Chandrian's place and changes his name to break free.

About: Kvothe, The Chandrian, Cinder

Also involves: Haliax, Selitos, Abenthy, Elodin, Newarre, Chronicler, Bast, Ambrose Jakis, Imre

The theory§

This theory holds that when Kvothe finally kills Cinder in revenge, the Chandrian's fixed number—seven, always seven—forces him to take the slain one's place against his will. As a follower of Lanre he then falls under Selitos's doom, which decrees that one's own name be turned against you and that this curse extend to 'all who follow you'; the theory reads 'your name turned against you' as another holding ruinous power over you, as Lanre held over Cinder. To break that hold and Lanre's mastery, Kvothe changes his true name and withdraws to Newarre as the diminished Kote—an intricate name made plain. Elodin's alarmed reaction when Kvothe asks how he would regard someone who keeps changing their name is read as a Chekhov's gun for exactly this act, the same technique by which Lanre is supposed to have remade himself into the sleepless, deathless Haliax. A frequent correction notes Abenthy never says 'seven, always seven'; rather he explains that 'Chaen' means seven and 'Chaen-dian' means 'seven of them', which still underwrites the fixed-number premise.

Evidence§

  • In Doors of stone, at some point Kvothe will presumably fight Cinder and kill him, therefore getting his revenge.
    Premise: Kvothe kills Cinder in revenge in Book 3. — u/[deleted]
  • as Abenthy said, the Chandrian are "seven, always seven", and now Kvothe is forced to take the place of the seventh he killed, obviously against his will.
    Fixed number of seven forces Kvothe into the slain Chandrian's place. — u/[deleted]
  • "This is my doom upon you. **Your own name will be turned against you**, that you shall have no peace."**This is my doom upon you and all who follow you.** … Kvothe is now part of the Chandrian, therefore he is forced to "follow" Lanre and hence is affected by Selitos' curse (his own name turning against him).
    As a Chandrian, Kvothe falls under Selitos's curse on Lanre's followers. — u/[deleted]
  • I interpret "Your name turning against you" as someone else having ridiculous amounts of power over you, like what Lanre did to Cinder when Cinder tried to challenge him.
    Reads the curse as another holding ruinous power over you via your name. — u/[deleted]
  • It's heavily implied that it's possible to change your true name due to Elodin's reaction when Kvothe asked him "How would you feel about a person who changed his name?" … So, to prevent Lanre or other powerful people from having power over him, Kvothe, the new Chandrian, changed his true name, moved to Newarre and became Kote
    Mechanism: Kvothe changes his true name to escape, becoming Kote. — u/[deleted]
  • Additional proof is when the Chronicler says that there's a "new chandrian" and Kvothe says "the important people know the difference" but looks completely resigned.
    Supporting clue: 'new Chandrian' exchange and Kvothe's resignation. — u/[deleted]
  • Abenthy did not say “seven, always seven". … All he said is that you can be pretty confident there’s seven Chandrian, because their name translates to ‘seven of them’. Just like an upside down cake is likely to be upside down. Doesn’t mean you can’t turn it over.
    CounterCounter/refine: corrects the quote; seven isn't strictly inviolable. — u/nIBLIB
  • also if this were true, why would Bast be trying so hard to make him remember himself?
    CounterCounter: Bast's effort to restore Kvothe undercuts the theory. — u/Waylork

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier downgraded: rests on the unsupported 'always exactly seven' premise, which a commenter corrects

Contributors§

Source threads§