History Literature / TheWiseMansFear

* ACupAngst: Davi can't stop expressing her envy at Fela's bust.

** Read carefully the description of Meluan Lackless. Pay attention to her reason for hating the Edema Ruh. There will be a quiz later regarding a certain relative of Kvothe's (see "StealthPun" below).

* MrFanservice: During the entire expedition in the woods of Vintas, Tempi usually wears his skin-tight mercenary reds. Except the time that he spends most of the day stripped to the waist, or the times when Kvothe and Hespa discover that the Adem have NoNudityTaboo.

* IntoxicationEnsues: The "plum bob" alchemical concoction Kvothe is dosed with completely strips him of his inhibitions and moral grounding. When asked if he would consider murdering his mortal enemy in cold blood worse than stealing a pie, he asks whether it's a meat or fruit pie. When asked what would happen if he did kill Ambrose, he says, there will probably be a trial and people will buy him drinks. Someone ''had'' just bought him a drink for messing with Ambrose, but that was ''how'' he got plum-bobbed.
** Interestingly enough, when asked if Fella should feel safe with him in this state, or if he might consider raping her, he answers that this seems just as impossible to him as walking through a wall or eating a stone, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil expressing his utter disgust at the notion of being violent towards women. ]]
* IronicEcho: Kvothe enjoys doing this to people who have previously mocked him, often using the exact same phrasing.
** Type I: Kvothe chastises Ambrose about the danger of candles after he anonymously burns Ambrose's room, echoing Ambrose's comment in ''The Name of the Wind'' when Ambrose tricks Kvothe into bringing a candle into the Archives.

* RightMakesMight: The Adem also claim that being morally superior and having more self control makes women better fighters.

* TheOmniscient: The Cthaeh, who can see all possible futures perfectly, and is "perfectly malicious." It knows the exact outcome of every single possible action it could ever make, and always chooses the one that will cause the most harm to the world. Bast describes people who come into contact with it as "plague ships sailing for a harbor," because their actions will [[ButterflyOfDoom set up terrible events to occur]]. Bast describes it as infinitely more dangerous than even the apparent BigBad of the series, the Chandrian. Chronicler, however, isn't quite as convinced that it can have as much influence as Bast believes. The Fae in general however are so afraid of it that they kill anyone who talks to it from out of hearing range. And then shoot the crows that come for the body, too.
** This is made even more chilling when you remember that [[spoiler: Haliax, formerly Larne, met with it to find a way to resurrect his lost love Lyra. The subsequent failure caused him to turn irredeemably evil and destroy the seven of the eight great cities. ]]
*** Even worse [[spoiler: the rapt of the moon by Jax is said to have been inspired to him by an old hermit met by the side of the road. Said theft caused the Creation War. Now who could've imparted him such dangerous knowledge?]]

** Kvothe's "I don't believe in faeries" line upon meeting Felurian is a ShoutOut to either ''Literature/PeterPan'' or ''[[Literature/SummerKnight Summer Knight]]'' from the [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Dresden Files]].

** Kvothe's "I don't believe in faeries" line upon meeting Felurian is a ShoutOut to either ''PeterPan'' or ''[[Literature/SummerKnight Summer Knight]]'' from the [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Dresden Files]].

* BrickJoke: In the [[TheNameOfTheWind first book]], Elodin asks Kvothe, "Do you know the seven words that will make a woman love you?" Several examples pop up:[[spoiler: "I need you to breathe for me," "I was just wondering why you're here," "I guess I'm doomed to die loveless," "You know, I could have carried you," and "For all that, she lacked your fire,"]] showing that the right words are based on context, as does Naming.

** In ''TheNameOfTheWind'', Bast sneaked into Chronicler's room at night and opened a discussion with the line, "We need to talk." Mostly, Bast talked and Chronicler listened. In this book, it's Chronicler's turn.

* RewritingReality: Invoked by Kvothe, who told [[TheStoryteller Old Cob]] a fib that Chronicler had this power.

* CantArgueWithElves: Because they'll stop teaching you if you do. During the time Kvothe spends with the Adem, they spend a lot of time proclaiming their superiority to Kvothe and calling him a barbarian. Kvothe, who usually doesn't take shit from anybody, has to take it because otherwise they won't teach him the MagicalMartialArts he's become fascinated by.

* DoYouWantToCopulate: The Adem are like this. They consider sex to be nothing particularly special, to the point where Kvothe's teacher asks the question almost verbatim when she realizes he is DistractedByTheSexy. In contrast, the Adem also have strict cultural taboos against showing emotion and playing music in public.

* TheDreaded: The Cthaeh, a being that can see the future perfectly and is one of the most evil things in existence. It specializes in [[ButterflyOfDoom creating butterflies of doom]] by acting as a malicious oracle, telling visitors whatever truths will cause the most damage. And if that weren't enough, the flowers that surround it act as a panacea so there's always someone trying to talk to it. Bast says that he would rather fight all the Chandrian together than exchange ten words with Cthaeth. There is an ancient order of immortal Fae, wielding bows that can kill a man with perfect accuracy from half a mile off. Their ''only'' purpose is to make sure ''no one'' speaks to the Cthaeth, and no one even goes near anyone who went near it.

** When Kvothe is in the process of trying to connect with Tempi, the two stop at a tavern and accidentally start a bar fight. One of the patrons makes a gesture "that you didn't need to be Adem to understand", shortly before Tempi makes short work of both the patron and their crew.

* ChekhovsGun: As in ''Literature/TheNameOfTheWind'', exposition and important future plot points get mentioned in stories the characters tell.

* CoolOldGuy: Bredon quickly befriends Kvothe by teaching him to play a strategy game and giving him advice on how to manuever through court politics. Bredon doesn't seem to care what other nobles think of him, and might even indulge in pagan orgies.

* OldMaster: Shehyn.

** Kvothe, in turn, thinks this of the Maer.

* XanatosGambit: Alveron's scheme to send Kvothe after bandits would result in either the bandits being removed or Kvothe's position in the court and the Maer's obligations of support, significantly weakened.

* FlippingTheBird: When Kvothe is in the process of trying to connect with Tempi, the two stop at a tavern and accidentally start a bar fight. One of the patrons makes a gesture "that you didn't need to be Adem to understand", shortly before Tempi makes short work of both the patron and their crew.

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: The martial art practiced by the Adem mercenaries, the Ketan, runs on artistic license. It's based on moral clarity rather than strength, size or physical coordination. Women, being more moral, are better fighters. The style is so effective that Celean, a 10-year-old girl presumably trained from birth, routinely manhandles the much larger and stronger Kvothe. In real life, size, strength and athletic talent are major factors in fighting skill. There's a reason why all combat sports are divided by gender, weight class and junior/adult division.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Skarpi has yet to reappear.
** In [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/05/rothfuss-reread-pat-answers-the-admissions-questions a recent interview,]] the author has stated that [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Sovoy]] "lives on a farm out in the country now. He's happy there. He has pleny of room to run and play." This is the stereotypical lie parents tell their kids about pets that have been put down.

* TheDreaded: The Cthaeh, a being that can see the future perfectly and is one of the most evil things in existence. It specializes in [[ButterflyOfDoom creating butterflies of doom]] by acting as a malicious oracle, telling visitors whatever truths will cause the most damage. And if that weren't enough, the flowers that surround it act as a panacea so there's always someone trying to talk to it. Bast says that he would rather fight all the Chandrian together than exchange ten words with Cthaeth. There is an ancient order of immortal Fae, wielding bows that can kill a man with perfect accuracy from half a mile off. Their ''only'' purpose is to make sure ''no one'' speaks to the Cthaeth, and no one even goes near anyone who went near it.

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: The martial art practiced by the Adem mercenaries, the Ketan, is so effective that Celean, a 10-year-old girl yet trained presumably from birth, routinely kicks the less experienced but still much larger and stronger Kvothe's ass. In real life, it would be difficult if not impossible for a child to manhandle a teenager the way she does to Kvothe, if only because his reach and strength advantages (added to his own basic knowledge of the art) would be enough to compensate the difference in skill. There's a reason why all combat sports are divided in weight classes and junior/adult divisions.

* BarefootSage[=/=]DoesNotLikeShoes: The HermitGuru Jax encounters in Hespe's story politely refuses Jax's offer of shoes, saying he has no need of them.

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: The Adem mercenaries practice a martial art that is so powerful that 10-year-old girls can kick the snot out of men. The Adem also claim that being morally superior makes women better fighters.

* AlchemyIsMagic: One of the courses taught at the University. It is very explicitly ''not'' "chemistry with a bit of magic," as shown when a fireproofing balm becomes extremely flammable when exposed to water--something that Kvothe thinks is a prank until he sees it with his own eyes.

* ApothecaryAlligator: Caudicus has one. It actually was his predecessor's. He admits he doesn't know why he had one, but kept it anyway. Kvothe is actually quite amused to see it.

** Kvothe at times. Sometimes he calls himself on it, as when he's complaining to Felurian that light acts like a wave, not thread, and then realizing how silly this is. Played straight with his reaction to the Lockless Box and the suggestion its sealed with magic, however. Its made pretty clear this is a mix of his university training and disdain for vintish superstition talking.

--> I was one of '''those'''. I meddled with dark powers. I summoned demons. I ate the entire little cheese, including the rind.
** "Oh perfect, a musician on top of everything else." The Adem, part of whose hat is being TheStoic, consider musicians equivalent with prostitutes because they express their emotions. To a whole room. Again and again.

* AttemptedRape: Implied rather strongly with [[spoiler:Kvothe, in a flashback to his beggar-orphan days. He manages to fight them off, though he had failed to previously at least once, and the memory of it saves him from Felurian's mind control]]

** Kvothe continues to have trouble confessing his feelings to Denna
** It's implied that the reverse is also true in Wise Man's Fear making this a case of EveryoneCanSeeIt. Kvothe has started doing much as Denna is doing(slighty different in that she is mostly doing it to survive, and he doesn't do it for money/presents), i.e. Essentially becoming a ChivalrousPervert. He and Fela have a conversation about this wherein this exchange occurs:
-->'''Kvothe:''' I refuse to throw myself at her like every other man she's ever met. she hates it. I've seen what happens.

* CantArgueWithElves: Because they'll stop teaching you if you do. During the time Kvothe spends with the Adem, they spend alot of time proclaiming their superiority to Kvothe and calling him a barbarian. Kvothe, who usually doesn't take shit from anybody, has to take it because otherwise they won't teach him the MagicalMartialArts he's become fascinated by. He doesn't even argue when they insist that sex has nothing to do with reproduction.
* TheCasanova: Subverted--Kvothe discovers that, even though AllWomenAreLustful, their idea of what constitutes a working relationship involves more emotional commitment than he can offer.

** Kvothe works on an intricate and difficult bit of artificiery that uses a kind of chemical that can seep through the skin[[note]]This is a real thing, as is much of the magic in the story, albeit with fantastical effects. DMSO, or dimethyl sulfoxide is an example of such a delivery agent, many compounds will dissolve in it, and it moves readily through the skin, making it an effective delivery agent. It gets even worse when the sulfoxide group is replaced with mercury. The main researcher on dimethyl mercury had a drop of the compound fall on her rubber gloved hand, and was dead five months later of severe mercury poisoning.[[/note]], and the text stresses the danger when, after getting ''a single drop'' on his sleeve, he cautiously lifts the cloth away from his skin with tongs and cuts it off with scissors rather than risk touching it. Later, he's drugged using that exact same method.

* ColdSniper: Kvothe singlehandedly kills 17 bandits from long distance using sympathy while in the Heart of Stone, which strips away the user's emotions.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Than the first book. YMMV, but Kvothe kills a ''lot'' of people in this book, and in some pretty nasty ways. Also, a lot more sex. The author got complaints about the sex. [[SkewedPriorities The violence death and torture, not so much.]]

* TheDreaded: The Cthaeh, a being that can see the future perfectly and is one of the most evil things in existence. It specializes in [[ButterflyOfDoom creating butterflies of doom]] by acting as a malicious oracle, telling visitors whatever truths will cause the most damage. And if that weren't enough, the flowers that surround it act as a panacea so there's always someone trying to talk to it. Bast says that he would rather fight all the Chandrian together than exchange ten words with Cthaeth. There is an ancient order of immortal Fae, wielding bows that can kill a man with perfect accuracy from half a mile off. Their ''only'' purpose is to make sure '''no one''' speaks to the Cthaeth, and no one even goes near anyone who went near it.

** When Kvothe persuades Anne to let him try the stew while it's cooking, she says it won’t be her fault if his stomach starts aching. He laughs and says, "No, Mother, it won’t be your fault." [[spoiler: It will be his own fault, because he is secretly adding poison to it.]]

** He asks them if they know how to play "Piper Wit." When they don’t, he picks up his lute and says, "Let me. It’s a song every one of us should know." [[spoiler: A real Ruh would have known the song.]]
** When they ask how long he will travel with them, he replies, "Until no one objects to my leaving." [[spoiler: After he kills them all, he asks their corpses if any of them object to his leaving.]]
** He declares, "I swear on my mother’s milk, none of you will ever make a better deal than the one you made with me tonight." [[spoiler: None of the fake Ruh will survive to make another deal.]]

* EloquentInMyNativeTongue: Subverted with Tempi. He speaks with broken grammar, yet seems to be very wise and knowledgeable. When Kvothe gets to Ademre, he finds out that most Adem can speak fluently, and that Tempi is rather dumb for an Adem.

* FailureHero: Kvothe believes this about himself which is why he is hiding out as an innkeeper.

* FamedInStory: Partly due to his own efforts, Kvothe is becoming this by the end of the book.

* GenreBlindness: Rather perplexeingly, given how [[GenreSavvy savvy]] he usually is, Kvothe does not realize that Elodin's inane and pointless requests are not designed to directly give answers, but to enable a person to find the answers themselves, until long after he has left the class. [[spoiler:This directly ties back to his FatalFlaw: impatience.]]

* HornyDevils: Felurian magically causes men to be overwhelmingly attracted to her. She has sex with them until they go insane. Kvothe's memory of AttemptedRape saves him.

** Type I: Kvothe chastises Ambrose about the danger of candles after he anonymously burns Ambrose's room. Echoes Ambrose's comment in The Name of the Wind when Ambrose tricks Kvothe into bringing a candle into the Archives.
-->'''Kvothe:''' "Candles are dangerous things. Honestly boy, I don't know what you were thinking. You'd think a member of the Arcanum would have more sense."

* LittleMissBadass: Kvothe is paired with a fighter of a comparable level of skill to his own. This turns out to be Celean, a little girl, no more than ten years old. [[spoiler:She wins. Over and over again.]]

* TheOmniscient: The Cthaeh, who can see all possible futures perfectly, and is "perfectly malicious." It knows the exact outcome of every single possible action it could ever make, and always chooses the one that will cause the most harm to the world. Bast describes people who come into contact with it as "plague ships sailing for a harbor," because their actions will [[ButterflyOfDoom set up terrible events to occur]]. Bast describes it as infinitely more dangerous than even the apparant BigBad of the series, the Chandrian. Chronicler, however, isn't quite as convinced that it can have as much influence as Bast believes. The Fae in general however are so afraid of it that they kill anyone who talks to it from out of hearing range. And then shoot the crows too.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Kvothe casually asks [[spoiler:a band of Ruh]] if they know the song "Piper Wit." The fact that they do not confirms to him that they are not who they say they are.

** In [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/05/rothfuss-reread-pat-answers-the-admissions-questions a recent interview,]] the author has stated that [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Sovoy]] "lives on a farm out in the country now. He’s happy there. He has pleny of room to run and play." This is the stereotypical lie parents tell their kids about dead pets.

->''"There are three things all [[TitleDrop wise men fear]]: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and [[BewareTheNiceOnes the anger of a gentle man.]]"''

Kvothe, now a young man studying at [[WizardingSchool the University]], decides to take a few terms off and travel the world after a particularly eventful month leaves him on the outs with the Masters. Armed with a letter of introduction from a noble friend, Kvothe travels to Vintas, where he becomes embroiled in [[DeadlyDecadentCourt courtly politics]], bandit attacks along the King's Road, a beguiling faerie enchantress, training from the legendary [[WarriorMonk Adem mercenaries]], and a troubling homecoming. All while trying to come to grips with his growing love for Denna, and trying to tease out information on the mysterious Chandrian, as well as [[TheKnightsTemplar the Amyr]], a band of warriors who even the Chandrian still fear, despite the Amyr supposedly being disbanded hundreds of years ago...