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Lorren's Trip to Tarbean Coincided With Skarpi's Arrest, Hinting at an Amyr Link

fringe connection · popularity 106 · 1 source thread

Lorren personally fetched Kvothe's recommendation from Tarbean just as Skarpi was arrested, suggesting an Amyr connection.

About: Master Lorren, Skarpi, The Amyr

Also involves: Tarbean, The University, The Archives, Chronicler

The theory§

When the masters interview Kvothe for admission, he claims a recommendation is held in a book in Tarbean, and Master Lorren offers to fetch it himself rather than sending a guilder or scriv to run so trivial an errand. This theory reads that personal trip as a pretext: Lorren had his own reason to be in Tarbean, and that reason coincides with the arrest of Skarpi, the storyteller who openly boasts of friends in high places. If Lorren, and perhaps the other masters, belong to the Amyr, then Skarpi's broad knowledge of the world's hidden figures marks him as connected to or one of them. The chief objection is that Skarpi names his powerful friends as being in the church, pointing to ecclesiastical ties rather than the University; a secondary thread instead links Skarpi through Chronicler, who was himself once a scriv in the Archives.

Evidence§

  • When Kvothe talks to the masters at the University, he is asked a recommendation letter which he says to be in a book at Tarbean. Then Lorren says he was going there and could pick it up.
    OP's setup: Lorren personally offers to fetch the recommendation from Tarbean. — u/fofita1
  • The thing is, what was Lorren going to do there? I it was simply picking up a book for the Archives, one of his guilders could do it or him. So, it must be something only he could do.
    Core argument: a master making the trip implies a hidden personal errand. — u/fofita1
  • What do we know to be happening at Tarbean around that time? Skarpi's arrestment. He did said he had friends in high places, and Lorren is a master at the University.
    Links Lorren's trip to Skarpi's arrest and his boast of friends in high places. — u/fofita1
  • If the theory of Lorren (and maybe all the masters) being Amyr is true, then it would mean Skarpi has connections to them, possible even is one of them. It would make sense that he knows so much about the world and important figures when he is one of the ones helping protect it.
    Conclusion: Amyr link explains Skarpi's broad hidden knowledge. — u/fofita1
  • Skarpi said he knew people in the church....
    CounterCounter: Skarpi's friends are ecclesiastical, not University masters. — u/sjc1986
  • we can pretty easily assume that Chronicler was a scriv in the archives, he also happens to know Skarpi. Maybe there's a connection there?
    Alternative link: Skarpi tied to the Archives via Chronicler the ex-scriv. — u/Zebestt
  • Lorren could be there for any number of reasons we've never had any chance to know anything about and probably never will.
    CounterCounter: we know nothing of Tarbean's hidden life, so the trip proves little. — u/Fluriio
  • If Skarpi knows Kvothe's name, and Lorren knows Skarpi and Arliden and Abenthy, is it safe to assume Skarpi learned Kvothe's name from Abenthy? … Skarpi = amyr. Abenthy and Lorren = Amyr. Kvothe is being manipulated by the Amyr into going to the university and becoming Amyr.
    Extends theory into a network of Amyr knowingly steering Kvothe. — u/chainsawx72

Book refs: NOTW

Tier reasoning§

speculative coincidence-based link, fringe stands

Contributors§

Source threads§