KKC Theory Wiki

Selitos Is the Cthaeh and Lanre Is Tehlu Across the Myths

fringe connection · popularity 193 · 1 source thread

The creation myths are one story with the roles reversed: Selitos becomes the Cthaeh and Lanre is Tehlu.

About: Selitos, The Cthaeh, Tehlu

Also involves: Haliax, Iax, Lyra, Myr Tariniel, The Chandrian, The Lethani, Encanis, Aleph, The Fae, Trapis, Skarpi, The Creation War, Tinuë, Perial

The theory§

This theory reads the creation myths of Skarpi, the Adem, Trapis, and the tale of Old Holly as a single story told with the moral roles reversed. In each, a man is born of or sung to life by a great woman, hunts a great enemy through falling cities, saves one city, and slays the enemy at the last city, binding himself to that foe. By this template Lanre is identified with Tehlu and with Old Holly, while Selitos, far from the compassionate seer of Skarpi's account, is recast as the true destroyer who is ultimately bound, becoming the Cthaeh imprisoned in its tree within the Fae. Skarpi's version is therefore held to be a lie that paints Selitos as hero. The saved city is read as Tinusa, the future Tinue, protected by a Lyra/Perial figure who remembered the Lethani. The strongest objections are that Skarpi portrays Selitos as compassionate even in ruin, that Tehlu's binding is to a wheel rather than a tree, and that the books establish Lanre visited the Cthaeh before betraying Selitos, which separates the two.

Evidence§

  • In all the story’s a man is created from a great woman a city is saved and the enemy is slain at the last city. The enemy is always bound to whoever slays it in some way.
    Core thesis: the myths share one template of a man, a saved city, and a bound enemy. — u/ContributionShort634
  • Selitos binds lanre by his own blood, tehlu binds himself and encanis to the wheel, old holly binds himself with the spear made of himself.
    Parallel bindings across the four tales establish the repeating slayer-binds-enemy motif. — u/ContributionShort634
  • Skarpi said he lied a little during his story of lanre, in reality Selitos is destroying the cities and lanre is following behind banishing demons to the fae
    Key inversion claim: roles flipped, making Selitos the destroyer and Lanre the pursuer. — u/ContributionShort634
  • So lanre who is old holly(the great holly tree) and tehlu(mind, body, and soul) sends selitos who is the cthaeh to the fae to the fae binding himself to the cthaeh so he cannot leave the tree.
    States the identification: Lanre=Tehlu/Old Holly binds Selitos=Cthaeh into the tree. — u/ContributionShort634
  • Lady periel/lyra had no evil in her heart aka the one who remembered the lethani, so she sings holly into a great holly grove protecting tinusa which turns into tinue
    The saved city is read as Tinusa/Tinue, protected by the Perial/Lyra figure. — u/ContributionShort634
  • In a box no lid or locks lackless holds her husbands rocks, the obsidian rock selitos used to bind the two together. It is her husbands rocks because they are one in the same.
    Lackless box riddle offered as supporting clue to the binding stone and shared identity. — u/ContributionShort634
  • it's a hard sell on the respect that Selitos being responsible for the burning of the cities is more then a little lie. It makes skarpi either ignorant or malicious. If you read the story again, selitos is compassionate even in the face of losing everything he loves. … Tehlus wheel is problematic as it's not a tree.
    CounterCounter: Skarpi shows Selitos compassionate, and Tehlu's wheel is not a tree. — u/TheLastSock
  • I think that it's more likely that selitos was Tehlu and lanre was one of his angels that went bad because we hear Lanre as bad from skarpi who seems like a respectable source
    CounterCounter: alternative reversal where Selitos is Tehlu and Lanre a fallen angel. — u/Creepy_Recipe114

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

distinct Cthaeh-identity theory (Selitos); requires Skarpi lying, fringe holds

Contributors§

Source threads§