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Kvothe's Kingkiller Title May Be a Lie, Making Him a Scapegoat for His Lackless Blood

plausible motive · popularity 114 · 1 source thread

Kvothe's titles all stem from exaggeration, so 'Kingkiller' may be a frame-up exploiting his Lackless heritage.

About: Kvothe, Meluan Lackless

Also involves: Laurian, Maer Lerand Alveron, Master Lorren, The Amyr, Arliden, Caesura, Ambrose Jakis

The theory§

Kvothe's reputation is deliberately self-constructed: at the University he lets outrageous rumors circulate uncorrected because reputation is "like a sort of armor, or a weapon you can brandish if need be." If every famous name he carries is exaggeration with only a kernel of truth, then the title Kvothe Kingkiller may rest on the same kind of distortion, casting him as a scapegoat rather than the literal regicide. The theory roots this in his concealed Lackless lineage through his mother Netalia, who eloped with the bard Arliden in a scandal still remembered in Vintish gossip. A Lackless of the blood accused of killing a king could implicate Meluan Lackless and Maer Alveron and ignite war, making Kvothe a politically convenient fall guy. Master Lorren's pointed questions about Kvothe's parentage are read as the Archivist independently deducing the heritage Kvothe himself does not know.

Evidence§

  • We know that Kvothe's titles are mostly lies that stems from some truth. He isn't actually bloodless. He didn't survive Ferulian because of his lovemaking ability. He doesn't have demon blood
    OP's core premise: Kvothe's famous titles are exaggerations with only a kernel of truth. — u/Smurphilicious
  • Reputation is like a sort of armor, or a weapon you can brandish if need be. I decided that if I was going to bean arcanist, I might as well be a well-known arcanist.
    Book quote in OP showing Kvothe deliberately let false rumors circulate to build reputation. — u/Smurphilicious
  • He is THE perfect fall guy, unsavory rumors surround him. … What if Kvothe never kills a king? What if he's just being used as a scapegoat because of his Lackless heritage? If a Lackless gets accused of murdering the King, what happens? Meluan Lackless and her husband Maer Alveron could be accused of conspiracy and sedition. War breaks out.
    Core scapegoat claim: Lackless blood makes Kvothe a politically convenient fall guy. — u/Smurphilicious
  • Lorren knows exactly who Kvothe is. Master Archives knows which troupe Lady Lackless ran off with. He knows it was with a Bard named Arliden.
    OP reads Lorren's questions about Arliden as the Archivist deducing Kvothe's hidden Lackless heritage. — u/Smurphilicious
  • I think Lorren knows that Arliden the bard famous ran off with Netalia Lackless. This scandal would be major gossip at the time and the event and is even mentioned in one of Caudicus' books. Lorren has just worked out what Kvothe himself doesn't know. His mother's heritage.
    Comment reinforces Lorren-deduction reading, adding the Caudicus book reference. — u/MattyTangle
  • Kvothe's sword Saicere, or 'Caesura' as he hears it at first, is almost definitely the sword used to kill King Roderic … That doesn't mean that Kvothe kills the King, it means that Kvothe's sword is *used* to kill the King.
    OP edit: the sword Caesura kills the king without Kvothe being the killer. — u/Smurphilicious
  • But it will be (somewhat) Kvothe’s fault the king dies. Every rumor has a kernel of truth. … It won’t be hard to blame him, and it won’t really be an outright lie anyway.
    CounterCounter/refine: Kvothe will be partly responsible, so the title isn't purely false. — u/WacDonald
  • Kvothe himself says he earned the names. While that could mean he earned them through rumor, it doesn't quite fit the spirit. … He likely has a close hand in the death, if he didn't directly kill the king. Enough that he considers himself responsible.
    CounterCounter: Kvothe says he earned the names, implying real responsibility for the king's death. — u/LostInStories222
  • A lot of people seem to not know, but Pat has said before Loren was asking about kvothes father because he was was going to ask for his help. He has a bunch of songs that he doesn’t know who wrote them
    CounterCounter: author Rothfuss says Lorren's question was about cataloguing songs, not heritage. — u/Warmachine44-

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier kept: builds on well-grounded unreliable-narrator premise

Contributors§

Source threads§