The Name of the Wind

“You may have heard of me.”

The Name of the Wind is the story of a hero, although in the course of the entire book, readers never exactly find out what it is Kvothe is known for. Within the narrative, a scribe, Chronicler, seeks out Kvothe to record the hero’s story for posterity. As he begins his tale, Kote offers tantalizing hints: He goes by many names, including Kingkiller, the Thunder, and the Broken Tree. He adds, “I’ve never told this story before, and I doubt I’ll ever tell it again” (51). Kote uses this intrigue to guide Kvothe’s story and foreshadow what is to come.

“Though I didn’t know it at the time, I was looking for the name of the wind.” 

The first major event of Kvothe’s young life is meeting Abenthy, the arcanist. This happens when his family’s troupe enters a small town and has a bit of trouble convincing the town’s officials to let the group stay and perform there. Later, Kvothe sees another man having similar trouble. When Kvothe learns that Abenthy is an arcanist, he has no qualms about welcoming the man in. Abenthy’s ability to perform real magic moves and amazes Kvothe: “The sort of magic I’d heard about in stories of Taborlin the Great. The sort of magic I hadn’t believed in since I was six” (64).