KKC Theory Wiki

Kvothe Is Being Gifted Taborlin's Seven Magical Items, by Women

plausible connection · popularity 157 · 1 source thread

Auri, Felurian, and Shehyn have already given Kvothe five of Taborlin the Great's seven legendary items.

About: Kvothe, Taborlin the Great

Also involves: Auri, Felurian, Shehyn, Caesura, The Shaed, The Lackless Box, Shaping, The Tahl

The theory§

The legends of Taborlin the Great enumerate seven magical possessions: his coin, key, candle, sword, cloak, staff, and amulet. This theory observes that Kvothe, in re-enacting the shape of older heroes, is being equipped with these same artifacts, and that each gift comes from a woman of strange, knower-adjacent origin. Auri presses upon him a silver coin unlike any Aturan penance piece, a key to open 'a door in the moon,' and a lavender candle; Felurian weaves him the shaed, mapping to the cloak said to be 'at the heart of Taborlin'; and Shehyn bestows Saicere, the named sword. The theory predicts the remaining amulet and staff will come from the singing witch-women of the Tahl, and that the collected items may rest in Kote's thrice-locked chest. A strong reading proposes Fela's gift of the gram schema fills the amulet slot, since Kvothe wears it on his wrist as the Amyr figure does on Nina's vase, while a competing observation notes his thief's lantern or his lute case as candidate parallels for candle and staff.

Evidence§

  • Taborlin's stories mention seven magical items: his coin, key, candle, sword, cloak, staff and amulet.
    Establishes the seven-item framework the whole theory is built on. — u/chainsawx72
  • Kvothe has already been given five of these items, by Auri, Felurian, and Shehyn. … they are also of mysterious origins. Felurian is a knower, and Shehyn descends from the knowers.
    Core claim: five items already gifted, by women of knower-adjacent origin. — u/chainsawx72
  • It was shaped like an Aturan penance piece, but it gleamed silver in the moonlight. I'd never seen a coin like it … “A key,” she said proudly, pressing it on me….. “if there's a door in the moon you can open it.” … It was a thick candle that smelled of lavender.
    Auri supplies coin, key, and candle, mapped to Taborlin's tools. — u/chainsawx72
  • Then she turned and held it out to me. “This is named Saicere.” … She looked up at me, her face intent. “would my sweet poet like a shaed?”
    Shehyn gives the sword Saicere; Felurian weaves the shaed cloak. — u/chainsawx72
  • all of this suggests that Kvothe will be receiving an amulet from the Tahl. … This would only leave a staff for Kvothe to be given, presumably by a singer/knower woman. The Tahl has magical trees, so maybe he receives a staff there?
    Prediction: remaining amulet and staff come from the singing Tahl witch-women. — u/chainsawx72
  • All of these items might be in Kote's thrice-locked chest. You'd think a staff couldn't fit in a chest, but...
    Proposes the collected items rest in Kote's thrice-locked chest. — u/chainsawx72
  • One could argue that Fela finding the schema for the gram counts as a woman gifting him his Amulet. This coupled with Kvothe wearing it on his wrist the same way the presumed Amyr on Nina's vase painting is may hint at the gram being the Amulet in question for this allegory.
    Top comment refines the amulet slot: Fela's gram, worn like the vase Amyr. — u/Sandal-Hat
  • The sword? Kvothe has learned the chain of owners for it. None of those were Taborlin, I am sure.
    CounterCounter: Saicere's known ownership chain never included Taborlin. — u/Turevaryar
  • the cloak he's got from Ferulian is explicitly different from the cloak in the legend of Taborlin. There's also 7 Chandrian with 7 symbols and objects on the vase from Nina, so maybe in order to fight the Chandrian one needs 7 objects to counteract their powers.
    CounterCounter/reframe: items differ from legend; seven may instead counter the Chandrian. — u/Pretty_Cap6074

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier verified: item-to-gift mapping is textually grounded for five of seven, plausible holds

Contributors§

Source threads§