Fantasy books may hold legends of heroes comprised of many tales. Some tall, some not. For some storytellers love to enhance details to make it more awe-inspiring. Or simply, details are lost through the passing of each generation. Such is true for this book which holds the tales of many such as Taborlin the Great, recognized for knowing “the name of the wind” which allowed him to call on it and bend to his will; The Fae, who live in a different realm and govern supernatural powers. Then there is the story of Kvothe, the protagonist of this book. A man of many names, Kvothe the Bloodless, the Arcane, and the Kingkiller to name a few and whose stories have taken many variations during the countless tellings of it. Whether all of the tales are true are yet to be seen, but none can argue his wits, his mastery of the lute, and skills as a fighter. He is wanted dead by many, and for that reason he decided to fake his death and continue his life as Kote, innkeeper of the Waystone Inn.
A traveling scribe known as the Chronicler, recognizes Kote as Kvothe and pleads to record his story. He reluctantly agrees and begins with a recount of his childhood, when he was a part of a traveling troupe named the Edema Ruh. A scholar that joined the troupe saw much promise in Kvothe and recommended he attend the university when he was of age. The Edema Ruh would meet their demise under the Chandrians, which up until that point were nothing more than villains from a children's story. Kvothe, traumatized, manages to flee and resolves to attend the university to become an arcanist and hopefully discover more about the Chandrians who killed his troupe.
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