“The Kingkiller Chronicle” refers to actions of the protagonist, but what those actions are remains murky even after the reader completes this book. In the present day, Kote is a simple, hardworking innkeeper in a small town, described as having “true-red hair, red as flame. His eyes were dark and distant, and he moved with the subtle certainty that comes from knowing many things” (1). He is young: “Not even near thirty. Young for an innkeeper. Young for a man with so many tired lines remaining on his face” (11). Silence is his friend, and his age is ambiguous. Kote tells Chronicler the story of Kvothe’s heroism, yet in the present, he fails to use Temerant’s version of magic when a deranged mercenary threatens his inn’s guests. Regardless, Kote’s silence encompasses many things, and many consider him both a hero and a legend.

The story-within-a-story relates a time when Kvothe was just a child—intelligent and even extraordinary in terms of learning, but still a boy. He is only 15 years old when The Name of the Wind ends. During that time, he goes through a great deal, including the massacre of his parents, three years on the streets of a big city, and several terms at the acclaimed University that are not exactly trouble-free.