Making predictions is usually a losing game, but who knows, there’s always the chance of guessing just right. I haven’t been following the trilogy’s reddit or reading any other fan speculations, but here’s what I’ve deduced after re-reading the books and watching just about every Patrick Rothfuss interview on YouTube. (Also, fair warning – this contains spoilers to the first two books, so stop right here unless you want to ruin this amazing book series for yourself.)
- The third book will come out sometime this decade, but not before November 2017.
- Simmon will die. (In both books, Kvothe speaks of him very fondly – the sort of fondly one would use to describe somebody who is no longer with us.)
- Kvothe and Fenton (the second-best sympathist at the University) will end up having a bona fide sympathy some point. (If only to settle once and for all which one is better.)
- It’ll turn out that Ambrose has been quietly killing everyone who stands between his father and the throne. His family is, after all, known for their connection to pirates.
- After Ambrose becomes a king, Kvothe will kill him. (There will be a lot of other stuff before that, of course.)
- Whoever the unfortunate soon-to-be-king is, the assassination will happen in Imre, by the fountain. (See the “you’re him!” scene at the beginning of Book I.)
- At some point, Kvothe will save a princess from a barrow king (see the boasting paragraph in Book I), possibly revealing that the shamble-men (sp?) are, in fact, real, just like every other allegedly mythical creature in the trilogy.
- Kvothe will cross over into the fairy realm, where he’ll make enough of a splash that Bast’s father (a fairy king, I believe) will give him over as an apprentice.
- Bast will briefly see Denna (see one of the interludes in Book I, possibly while eavesdropping during “the big goodbye” scene between her and Kvothe.
- At one point, Chronicler said Kvothe met a god and killed an angel in order to get to him. I’m afraid the latter was Auri, if only by accident…
- It’ll turn out that Kvothe’s world is just a barbaric imitation of the grand civilization that existed beforehand (as Skarpi said in Book I, the University was built on top of another, older university). Sort of a “Planet of the Apes”-type scene that shows just how backward the world is, by comparison.
- Even with the barbarism, arcanists have the cold fusion technology. (See the minor comment Kvothe made about cold-forging iron in the Fishery – can’t recall which book it was in.)
- Lorren (the Archivist) is one of the Amyr – pretty obvious, considering how quickly he got to Kvothe when he requested Chandrian and Amyr books from the Stacks, and how he asked Kvothe which Ruh troop he was from during his University admissions.
- We’ll meet Abenthe again. (Kvothe said so in Book I, at the beginning of the Tarbean narrative.)
- Late in Book III, we’ll meet
- Kvothe will end up collecting the 7 old artifacts left over by the survivors of the ancient civilization and using them to open the Lackless door. (See the “Seven things stand before” rhyme by a traveling troupe’s boy in Book II.)
- The magic Denna mentioned (whatever you write down will come true) is a subtle sort of magic, much like Bast’s explanation for the power of one’s self-identity. The Chandrian slaughter musicians and any potential witnesses because having their names written down (or even spoken out loud) will give readers or listeners a degree of power over them.
- Kvothe’s adopted name – Kote – means “disaster” in Cealdish. (Briefly mentioned in Book I.)
- Kvothe’s overall story is that of pride and arrogance – he starts a civil war and somehow opens the stone doors and lets the demons into the world, not to mention gets his friends killed, all because he thought he knew better. (See the shortest chapter of Book I – “Pride” – for a small example of his hubris backfiring.)
- Elodin’s reaction to Kvothe’s question about names (end of Book II) suggests that it is, in fact, possible to fundamentally change one’s name. There may be a ritual for it and it’s not as easy as just adopting a new name. A story (in Book I, I believe) mentioned that a legendary character’s name was concealed in several hidden objects. The mysterious trunk in Kvothe’s room has his name locked away, and he’d need to be in the “Kvothe mode” to open it up. (“Open, damn you. Edro.” Book II,Ch.151)
- Perhaps the most interesting part: in one of the YouTube interviews, Rothfuss reluctantly said that a gearwin (the popular gadget made in the Fishery) is a device that can “transform heat into angular momentum.” Essentially, the hotter it gets, the faster gears turn. That shines a whole new light on the myth of Tehlu binding the top demon (forgot his name) to an iron wheel and throwing him into a fire pit. Considering all the ancient devices with giant gears in the Underthing, that means gearwins are just a small vestige of the old technology. (Kvothe, as always, didn’t make the connection.) Furthermore, Kilvin has some secret place where he dumped the overflow energy from the fire at the Fishery. It might be connected to the world’s biggest gearwin – the one gearwin to rule them all!
- The name of the wind is Steve. 😛
Questions? Comments? Counter-theories? Post them here!
Grigory Lukin.com 
Don’t forget that Kvothes mother is probably a member of the Lackless family.
Yup, good point! I almost forgot about that one.
Perhaps the magic that Denna mentioned is being used by Chronicler to create Kvothe’s story at the same time that he is telling it. I believe that could explain the similarities between Kvothe and Taborlin. What do you think? Also what do you think is in the Lackless box? Perhaps opening it releases the demons?
I think Kvothe will need to get his own mojo back haha. Have you read “The last unicorn” yet? Rothfuss mentions it fairly frequently, and in a way, it’s a blueprint and an inspiration for a lot of his ideas. One prominent theme there was the unicorn trying to recall her true identity after certain events transpired. Whatever happens to Kvothe, I think it’ll be a combination of his recollections and some outside event. (That inn sure has been getting a lot of visitors lately!)
As for the Lackless box – not a clue. I’ve been deliberately avoiding the Kingkiller Chronicles reddit page, so maybe they have some better ideas. Personally, I still think they’re all prancing around amidst the ruins of a super-advanced ancient civilization. Since we know for a fact that Kvothe will somehow be responsible for demons entering our world and that he’ll travel to the Fae realm, my best bad guess here is that the box contains some particularly powerful gadget that lets you travel to parallel universes, through waystones or other means.
By the way, Rothfuss is doing his annual charity fundraiser again. If we reach the top stretch goal, he’ll host a bona fide Q&A about the third book. :^D The downside is that the stretch goal in question is $2 million. The upside is that they’ve already raised $1.5 million, and a mysterious benefactor is matching every donation, dollar for dollar. So, basically, we just need another $250K to get some solid information out of him. (Also, the money will go to a good cause – Heifer International seems pretty awesome.) https://worldbuilders.org/
$2M Goal has been reached.
No doubt, the most asked question will be about the release date of book 3.
Interesting to see what Rothfuss will have to say.
Solid list! I think Kvothe will have ended up going back to Felurian at some point as promised (Even if he didn’t intend to. Maybe with Bast to see his dad).
I think it will come to light that Elodin has met Felurian too. Maybe even learned from her in some capacity. Author makes a ton of references comparing their likenesses.
I also think Kvothe will acquire the rings the boy mentioned in one of the interludes. “One of ice. One of fire. Etc etc”. Or at least some of them in some capacity.
I think Kvothe will get taken captive by pirates in the last book.
I wish I had speculation about Denas patron. But that one has left me quite clueless.