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The Two Travelers at the Waystone Inn Are Simmon and Wilem

plausible identity · popularity 1183 · 4 source threads

The well-dressed travelers who nearly recognise Kvothe at the Waystone Inn are his University friends Simmon and Wilem.

About: Simmon, Wilem

Also involves: Auri, Bast, The Eolian, Imre, Kvothe, Newarre, Talent Pipes, The University, Waystone Inn

The theory§

In chapter three of The Name of the Wind, a band of travelers shelters at the Waystone Inn, among them two well-dressed, well-spoken young men, one sandy-haired and one dark. Later that evening the sandy-haired man recognizes Kote as Kvothe, swaying with drink, and says he once heard Kvothe play in Imre and 'cried his eyes out afterward.' This theory identifies the pair as Kvothe's University friends Simmon (sandy-haired) and Wilem (dark): the descriptions match the colouring Rothfuss assigns each, the tearful reaction matches Simmon's documented breakdown after the Lay of Sir Savien Traliard the night Kvothe won his talent pipes, and the nose-tapping gesture and the trigger of Kvothe singing 'Tinker Tanner' echo their shared Eolian nights. Some versions add that Kvothe insisted Bast dose the traveler with mhenka — 'devil root' — rather than a gentler sedative precisely so the alchemy-trained Simmon would forget the encounter rather than merely sleep, and that Kote avoided the caravan the next sober morning for the same reason; a further extension supposes Kvothe's renaming altered his old friends' memories, leaving only a partial, dreamlike recognition. The identification is strongly contested: Kvothe and Simmon were extremely close, and a true reunion would not be a hesitant 'You're Kvothe' from a man who only ever knew him by reputation, while the traveler is framed as a merchant rather than the noble Simmon.

Evidence§

  • Two young men in good clothing are mentioned, one with dark and one with red blonde hair. This description perfectly fits Wilem and Simmon
    OP's opening observation: the travelers' colouring matches Wilem (dark) and Simmon (sandy). — u/Coco_Lore
  • the red blonde man recognizes Kote as Kvothe. He says that he wasn't sure at first, but was sure when he heard Kote singing along to Tinker Tanner. (Notably the only time Kote allows himself to sing, maybe prompted by the closeness of his old friends.)
    The recognition triggers when Kote sings, the one time he allows it. — u/Coco_Lore
  • The man says, that he remembers hearing Kvothe singing in Imre, where he cried extensively. This is exactly what Simmon did, after listening to Kvothe singing the Lay of Sir Savian. He also tips his nose knowingly, a gesture that Simmon is described to use as well.
    Tearful Imre memory and nose-tap gesture both match documented Simmon behaviour. — u/Coco_Lore
  • This led me to the theory, that Kvothe changing his name to Kote, or something else, led to him being forgotten by his friends and everyone who knew him. He altered their memory in some way
    OP's mechanism for why a close friend would only half-recognise Kvothe. — u/Coco_Lore
  • Kvothe insists on a different one, which surprises Bast, but we're never told why. I wonder if Kvothe, knowing that Simmon is an Alchemist, chose a specific plant who's side effects wouldn't give away to Simmon that he was poisoned.
    OP reads Kvothe's unusual drug choice as targeted at alchemist Simmon. — u/Coco_Lore
  • It sounds like mhenka can be extremely dangerous, and I took the fact that he was willing to use it on this guy as evidence of how serious he is about being forgotten. … Would kvothe really drug his friend with something called devil root? Or does the possibility of it being Simmon go some length to explain why he’s making what Bast thinks is an unusual choice?
    Comment supplies the mhenka 'devil root' canon and frames it as evidence of Kvothe's intent. — u/Thursday-42
  • Simmon and the merchant son in the Waystone are the only two people described with 'sandy-hair' in the whole book.
    Textual rarity: only Simmon and the traveler share the 'sandy-hair' descriptor. — u/Sandal-Hat
  • Given how close Kvothe and Sim were I think they'd both lose their shit if they saw each other, Simmon would be a lot more emotional and familiar than "Oh I remember when you sang". Also wasn't the guy in the frame story that recognizes him like a merchants son or something? I thought Sim was nobility.
    CounterCounter: a true reunion would be emotional, and the traveler is a merchant, not noble Simmon. — u/SkangoBank
  • The sandy haired man who recognises Kvothe is described in the text as a merchant's son. Sim is the son of a Duke.
    CounterCounter: the traveler's stated class contradicts Simmon's nobility. — u/TasyFan

Book refs: NOTW, WMF, NOTW ch 3, NOTW ch 59

Tier reasoning§

no dupes; plausible holds given strong contrary commenter pushback

Contributors§

Source threads§