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kote-the-inn-keeper · 7 years

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Rings: Theory.

So, I was talking with someone earlier today about several topics, and one topic that came up were all of Kote’s rings. Why does he have so many? Does he really know all the names of those things? Will he ever get all of these? I’ll try and talk about this the best I can in this post.

To save the poor eyes of some, I will be putting this under a cut.

Hello, hello! Here we go.

Now, as we know, rings go on specific hands in places yadda yadda. I will get there, just wait. Where we are going to start is that Kote has said he had TWO hands of rings. One on every finger: Stone, Iron, Amber, Wood, Bone on one hand. The other hands: Blood, Air/Wind, Flame, Ice, Unnamed.

That’s 10 rings. I’ll be going over the ideas of every ring. So get ready as you go ahead past this point. Left hand for Namer’s earned rings for mastering of skill, Right hand “something none of you can comprehend yet” as said by Elodin. But,as for the right, I will be going with the idea it is gifted rings to Kvothe, not whatever Elodin was trying to possibly imply.

Let’s start general, shall we, with one question: Does he really know the name of all these things? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

So before you jump and scream ‘All things have names’, that is NOT the argument I am making here. All things DO have names, but he doesn’t KNOW all of them. The way he presents the rings establishes the idea that he knows names of all these things [listed above], when in fact, he does not. As much as our little red headed boy is a genius and prodigy, he took a book and a half to call Wind, his first and major goal. Even then, it isn’t mastered or under control until [assumedly] the scene at the Adem Mercenaries when he calls the wind to stop so he can walk out from the tree of leaves that are like knives. That’s is ONE, not nine different rings. But, he does have some of these other ones; not through naming.

TL;DR: He didn’t learn the names of all these things / will not. He has picked these up as time has gone in some manner.

1. Wind.

Since that is literally the name of the book and his main mission in life. Wind has been obsessed over and searched for and brought many troubles to Kvothe through his time of learning it. It is assumed that he has the ring, by what he says to Elodin and such interaction on the bridge at that point in The Wise Man’s Fear. To loosely cap, the two were on the bridge talking, and Kvothe was being himself and snarky. Elodin lead into explaining the nature of knowing names is to have a ring of said element; then asking Kvothe if he HAD a ring of air/wind. To which Kvothe basically replied ‘you don’t know lmao get rekt’, and never said if he did or not directly. So, it’s okay so assume he has Wind/Air ring on his hand, since he said it in his own shit eating grin manner. But that’s one of nine he has ‘named’.

Before I continue, on a side note, it has been mentioned that NAMER rings go on a specific hand. If you read the passage that speaks of the rings Kote owns, it’s not specific. It says “One one hand.... On the other hand...” Which can lead some people to be confused. But this actually opens the door the thought that not all these rings come from naming; but other places and are on his hands for other reasons. The rings are also listed in a manner to tell us this hand is the gifted / possibly stolen hand, these are the named hand. It starts with the normal hand first, then the ‘magic’ hand, so keep that in mind!

And backtrack, since that point came in, apologies!

2. Iron and Wood.

All things have names, sure. But, I think where this one came from was rather obvious. Well, these two, at least.

Following along the lines of this hand of rings being presented as a gift in one way or another, if we go back to The Wise Man’s Fear, there was a ring system to show respect, status, and more in Vintas [where the Maer lives]. Gold is those above you, silver for equals, and iron for those below. Now, as we read further, we know Gold and Silver and Iron are most common, but not the only ring possible. The tradition came from the common people, where the rings are / were: Grass to women one is ‘courting’ [that’s sex fyi just in case you were not aware tbh I wasn’t don’t feel bad], Leather for promises, Horn for power and enmity, Bone for debt that is ever lasting, Wood was used for those FAR below you and a serious offense. “But, Sam, you listed half the rings on that hand in one go!” Yes, I know. I’m getting to some points, but focusing on stone first.

As we know, he had a bowl of rings, and had many different ones; the inflow of them changed after events; but started off mostly Iron and and Meluan [fanon / heavily assumed to be Kvothe’s aunt] having the guts to send one of wood. With this, we know he worse some of them, unknowingly of course at first.

Now, Kvothe, being himself, is rather obviously going to wear the rings of Iron and Wood as a huge ‘Fuck you’ towards those who sent them to him. It’s a constant battle, due to his heritage, to not be seen as lesser. So instead, Kvothe prances such about to make everyone else look stupid and like the conceded assholes they are. So, with this, he kept the ring of wood and one of the rings of Iron. While I believe it is also as a reminder of him time there, evidence if you will, the ring of Iron has more use.

Fae don’t like Iron, as many don’t from traditional tales. While he didn’t know many fae at the time, he had meet them before. While he didn’t take more than one, he kept one on him as possible self defense -- or it became that later down the road. Say a fae grabbed him, he could grab them or swing his hand to press the Iron into their skin to get them to let go. This is a very weak link as to why he has Iron, but the ring of Iron was built up later to have more meaning than the original intention. Which left wood on his hand as a huge ‘fuck you’ and owning the ring instead of letting the meaning own him; considering his ‘aunt’ [stated before supposed and heavily implied due to his fathers poem about his mother] sent it to him soly based on his heritage and looks.

3. Bone.

This is also kind of obvious, I think, as well and in the same way is connected to the point above. Stapes gave him the ring of bone after saving the Maer’s life. These rings are generally made from the giver’s relatives to show just how dedicated and how much life the person owes the other. Pretty clear on why Kote still has that and why that one is not something named, instead, gifted. Not much more to say here... I don’t think?

It was gifted to him and he kept it.

4. Stone.

Now, we know Stone has a name, so why is this one listed on the hand that doesn’t have names? We could assume many things about this. One being that it’s a gift, another being he stole it and doesn’t know the name, and a third being it’s not the type of name that a Namer goes for. Going along the lines that this has been gifted like the others on this hand; it could be given to him by Fela -- someone we KNOW knows the name of stone canonly -- for one reason or another. We could go on for days with reasons, but it is possibly, one way or another, she gifts it to him. Or stolen from her or some UNGODLY REASON.

Going along the lines of ‘Oh, but, what if the other hand got full?’, then in the next book, we all expect him to learn the name of stone at some point. I mean, the book is called ‘The Doors of Stone.’ But, my only issue with this theory is why would he switch the hand? It’s tradition for the ring to go on a specific hand, and why would something so hard to obtain be able to possibly break so easy [a reason why some people don’t wear more than one ring on a finger depending on material] to the point it’s on the wrong hand? While there is the argument of ‘Kvothe doesn’t give a shit bout rules!!!’, he’s also not disrespectful and is extremely dedicated to Naming and learning.

If this ring doe not come from Fela, it is possible it comes from another source or person. Possibly found it and claims to know the name of stone, taken from someone who used the name of stone against him, or gifted from someone who no longer wanted it in one way or another. Possibly o help him find the name sooner? Not sure.

5. Amber

This one is... harder to get into. There was no gifts of amber, not much of anything of anyone saying a word of amber, or anything of the like. So, this one had to be gifted to him for one reason or another.

The ONLY thing I could find about amber was when Sim [and I quote very loosely] said “Amber controls demons”. So for one reason or another, Kvothe got into some mess, or was about too, and either crafted himself a ring of Amber, or someone gifted it to him.

My theory on this is that Kvothe went back to the University and told Sim and pals about his trip out. of course it was mostly laughed off, but Sim is superstitious. So while he laughed it off, he ends up gifting Kvothe a ring of Amber to keep ‘demons and stuff’ away from him and keep him safe on his next travel, or when he is leaving again after being expelled. Also in a way for him to remember Sim and his time at the University. That’s all I can really build into that one, considering not a peep of that ring has even been spilled in the books.

And back to the Namer hand!

6. Blood.

Most people, when thinking of this ring, probably think of literal blood. Kinda like blood bending in Avatar. But, I am going to disagree on this for a moment. While yes, there is something to do with blood and controlling a person [See reasons for Devi keeping contracts blood in viles to ensure payment], I still don’t think it’s to that degree; of the ring being in that sense. Calling a name Name seems rather redundant and dumb; so it’s called blood.

As we know, in this universe, ALL names have power -- including people’s names. Which is why no one says Chandrian without glancing about in slight fear. Names draw people closer; even in real life. We use names to get one another attention, make self identities, and establish existence. In this universe, to truly HAVE someone’s name is to nearly own their whole existence. Probably as far as mind, body, and soul. Blood included due to the super strong link to said person.

To have a ring of Blood, Kote had to have learned someones name past the superficial. To the point of literally owning them even further than sweet Devi does with bottled blood drops as fear. We have seen naming can ‘conjure’ [for a lack of a better word], elements. So perhaps having the Name for someone’s name is, in a sense, to conjure them into doing what you please or need past asking. Like lulling them into wanting to do something for you -- like casting ‘Suggestion’ in DnD.

While it would be cool to have a literal ring of blood painted on his finger, it would more than likely wash away. Or having the ability to have a a ring of blood circulate ones finger would draw some eyes. A possibility in the manifestation of this ring, is alchemical petrification of some manner, so it’s solid like stone or wood. Another one is ‘Fuck you Sam this is fantasy and rings of blood can and won’t wash away it’s sympathy / magic mOVE ON’. Normally, I’d say yeah, okay, totally, but I DON’T WANNA cause I’m not DONE. Thinking practically and in the sense that learning the names of things give you rings, it would have to be something someone could wear; which leads me to my next idea. It could be some Fishery work where he has glass that isn’t shatter-able and he put the persons blood in it, so he has it on his person -- similar to Devi -- as a threat against them; or perhaps trust on the blood person’s end. Any and either way, he knows this person’s name and has intentions of and or has used it enough to gain a ring from it.

7. Fire.

This one has been hinted at one time in the book. Literally once; but in a good manner and possibly in the direction this one will actually be the next name he learns fully. While after the weird ‘Let’s set the whole class against Kvothe to test this little bastards alar’ session, he goes to the front of the room and talks tot he Master who runs the lass about naming. He heard only part of the word fire -- well, hears anything at all. Which the master was surprised at and comments his waking mind is more alert and open. Also it’s known that once you learn one, the others come easier because your mind is already open and hearing such becomes more easy.

Another hint is him literally [accidentally / coincidentally / whatever you wanna call it] calling down lightning to cause a ire in the camp where the bandits were. ‘But, Sam, ligh--’ It causes fire and made a huge damn explosion happen, it was fire in a way okay? Let’s just shhhhh.... Shhh. Connect it to fire since lightning isn’t a ring. It’ll be better on all of us that way. So, fire could be the next element he obtains and gets a ring for.

Putting these two instances together, and a possible third spoke n this wheel to finalize that the ring will be his after that, he gets a ring of fire. Which makes this one very clearly learned and not gifted in some manner.

Again, with the idea on how rings, look, we don’t actually know. bu following my train of thought on blood, i doubt the ring will be a literal fire circling around his lower knuckle [as sick hell as that would be]. I think it would be a material of red, with the name held inside of it in some manner. Or, at least, to keep the name of fantasy in here, it would be something solid and clear, with the gentle and warm glow of fire from inside of it as a claim the wearer knows the name of it.

8. Ice.

Boy, does this have NOTHING!!!!!!! It’s so frustrating to build theories and ideas off of a subject that has literally only been said to be on someones hand and nothing else. But god damn am I gonna try this one.

This is probably coming right after fire, if things are going to be poetic and follow cliches of the two elements. There are several ways on what ice could ‘come’ from, but also entitle in a manner of mastering it. One of the major ones being literal ice. Calling in a snow storm or having it hail; like calling wind, but with colder weather. Or using wind to aid in gaining another. Another way could be obtaining a way to force things to be cold. And I mean this in several ways: transferring the cold one gets from straining themselves over long sympathy use to another, transferring cold from one object to another, or having the name of water and forcing it to be cold on way or another.

We haven’t really eat anyone who knew the Name of ice [yet], so the ideas on how one could get a ring of it is very... complicated. As I said with blood it may not be the literals of object / subject. It could be something linked to the idea of the main Name, or, lead up to the Name of what is trying to be obtained. So bringing the temperature of a place or object [person, water, etc] down to freezing, transferring cold to something else, or literally calling ice from the sky is all a possibility. There is nothing to support or say one is more likely than another, at this point and time as far as I am aware of at least.

The ring could be just ice, it could be a blood and fire situation where its inside the holdings of the ring and is cold to the touch, or it could be a material that is hard and crystallized to look like ice.

9. Unnamed.

I have read so many ideas on what this could be. From Denna’s ring to Shadows from the cloak Felurian gave him to the void being a ring of immortality. It’s all over the place! I will entertain some of these, but not all, and will keep with the previous ideas above on hands and assigning them.

Now, some people are ‘Oh, that’s Denna’s ring, and he’s left it unnamed!’. Right, but, why would it be on his Namer hand? If anything, that should be the ring of blood; having her name and all that implies; right [if a Namer ring]? That’s assuming you are going with the theory that’s linked to her. Going off the idea it was gifted, it shouldn’t be on that hand and should be switched out for maybe Amber or Iron [depending on how ya feel]. Makes sense int he context that as a gift, it would be on the other hand, of it was Name, it would be blood.

I could maybe see the idea it is Shadow; but why have a ring of such when he was gifted a cloak very carefully made by the equivalent of a fae goddess? You could say that it could be condensed into a ring, and I would probably go with that. Easier packing and travel, take it off and fwoosh cloak! But also, at the same time, it has been described to have mass and react to outside forces. So perhaps not? Shadow does as it pleases, so this could be a more solid theory on the ring if I had more evidence on how it worked. All the same; it was GIFTED. Not learned. So it should be going on the other hand, if that is what the ring is.

Some people say it could be another name; something undisclosed. Some say his own name [Kvothe], some say silence and it’s part of his three [which is why it follows him], and honestly; I can see this one the most. Either one of these; but the silence the most. While, yes, it’s not something object like as fire or blood, it’s something perhaps he managed on his own and is the first.

Let me explain: the silence of the inn is described to FOLLOW him, as bast says rather often. If he [Kote] isn’t paying attention, it becomes almost suffocating and very heavy, changing the way he even presents himself. The silence isn’t there when other people are around, it’s only there when he is alone. I think it s mastered, due to the timing and the placement of silence -- not only written, but the way it’s so heavily tied to Kote. It’s when he is alone, thinking too much, when there is nothing to do or things to speak about. I feel as though the silence is a way to possibly block out not only the world further than he has already with the inn, but his thoughts. Focusing on such a force would obtain all his thought processes and force him to focus in one place and on one thing. Almost a poor coping mechanism, if you will.

We don’t know how or where or when this could have been learned or even mastered, but it could have been somewhere along the road that he maybe hasn’t transcribed verbally, or, yet to happen in the books. With the way Silence is focused on, described, and relayed; it’s just like anything else Named in the books. This is just a theory, but one I support more than most.

The ring could also be his name. Literal or not [thinking literal int he sense of a ring from Vintas with his name forced off of it, but still holds it perhaps], due to no longer going by such and his reactions to having his other name / ‘dead name’ [I use this term because I feel like using Kvothe for Kote is rude and as a trans individual the way such subject is presented is like dead-naming] said is the same as the Chandrian going to where their name has been said. While he goes to it, he is usually unhappy or knows that Bast was saying it but says nothing.

If you read the post linked, I go a bit more into detail why calling him Kvothe as Kote is trauma related not okay to do, and supports the idea onto why he wouldn’t want his name being known to so many people on multiple levels. Basically safety and power over him is the jist to tie it into why it would be a ring [but that post is specifically bout not calling him by his other name cause of trauma he has]. But the possibility of it being his own name wouldn’t be off, and it fits the Namer ordeal. He obviously knows his own name deeper than anyone else, and I doubt anyone [but possibly Auri] could ever know it as deep enough to gain full power of the Name.

So that’s my... theories and readings on the rings... Um, I’m always bad at ending these posts. But, I hope you enjoyed reading and either see where my points come from, or come up with your own!! Thanks for reading <3 <3

#ooc #kkc #kingkiller #kvothe #rings and stuff #read it and shit #please #my hands are fucking dying #read and ahve fun #lots of rambling and #bullshit self talking back and forth #because i hate reading things #that have zero humor in them #i spent like... 4+ hours on this and its bad scoob #4 1/2 hours later.........

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