#natalia lackless

[metamans]

Revelation

So basically Kvothe mentions how his mom hated the meter of that song his dad used to sing sometimes, and I just read past it as a piece of storytelling.

But then the last line of that song:

“Not tally a lot less”

NATALIA LACKLESS

I came across it on a Reddit chatroom and goddamn I was shook

[teccams-socks]

Wait, I'm rereading twmf right now and when Kvothe tells the Maer that he's one of the Edema Ruh and that he knows of Meluan's experience with them he says that her sister ran off with a Ruh. And when young Kvothe in tnotw mindlessly repeats that children's rhyme about Lady Lackless, his mother immediately stops him. I didn't think much of it back then but now I'm wondering whether she's that sister they were talking about! Do you know if that's already been discussed somewhere?

Thank you @philokretes and @resisting-world for your asks! 

Many people have posted about this, but this would not be a good Kingkiller blog if I didn’t talk about one of the most popular theories out there: Kvothe’s mother is the missing Lackless sister, Netalia Lackless.

Evidence

I’d started the second bottle of wine by the time I read that young Netalia Lackless had run away with a troupe of traveling performers. Her parents had disowned her, of course, leaving Meluan the only heir to the Lackless lands. That explained Meluan’s hatred of the Ruh, and made me doubly glad I hadn’t made my Edema blood public here in Severen.- The Wise Man’s Fear, Chapter 74: Rumors, pg 554

“You said your mom made your dad sleep under the wagon for singing the verse about the sheep. Did she really?”

“It’s mostly a figure of speech,” I said. “But once she really did.”

I didn’t often think of my early life in my troupe, back when my parents were alive. I avoided the subject the same way a cripple learns to keep the weight off an injured leg. But Sim’s question brought a memory bubbling to the surface of my mind.

“It wasn’t for singing ‘Tinker Tanner,’” I found myself saying. “It was a song he’d written about her….”

I was quiet for a long moment. Then I said it. “Laurian.”

It was the first time I’d said my mother’s name in years. The first time since she’d been killed. It felt strange in my mouth.

Then without really meaning to, I began to sing.

“Dark Laurian, Arliden’s wife,Has a face like the blade of a knifeHas a voice like a pricklebrown burrBut can tally a sum like a moneylender.My sweet Tally cannot cookBut she keeps a tidy ledger-book.For all her faults, I do confessIt’s worth my lifeTo make my wifeNot tally a lot less…”

I felt oddly numb, disconnected from my own body. Strangely, while the memory was sharp, it wasn’t painful.

“I can see how that might earn a man a place under the wagon,” Wilem said gravely.

“It wasn’t that,” I heard myself saying. “She was beautiful, and they both knew it. They used to tease each other all the time. It was the meter. She hated the awful meter.”- Wise Man’s Fear, Chapter 36: All This Knowing pg 303

“My lady wife has had unfortunate dealings with the Ruh in the past,” he said by way of explanation. “You would do well to note.”

“I know of her sister. Her family’s tragic shame. Run off and love a trouper. How terrible,” I said scathingly, my entire body prickling with hot rage. “Her sister’s sense does credit to her family; less so the actions of your lady wife. My blood is worth as much as any man’s, and more than most. And even were it not, she has no leave to treat me as she did.”

Alveron’s expression hardened. “I rather think that she has leave to treat you as she will,” he said. “She was simply startled by your sudden proclamation. Given her feelings about you ravel, I think she showed remarkable restraint.”

“I think she rues the truth. A trouper’s tongue has gotten her to bed more quickly than her sister.”- Wise Man’s Fear, Chapter 139: Lockless, pg 1025

My father was a better actor and musician than any you have ever seen. My mother had a natural gift with words. They were both beautiful, with dark hair and easy laughter. They were Ruh down to their bones, and that, really, is all that needs to be said.

Save perhaps that my mother was a noble before she was a trouper. She told me my father had lured her away from “a miserable dreary hell” with sweet music and sweeter words. I could only assume she meant Three Crossings, where we went to visit relatives when I was very young. Once.- Name of the Wind, Chapter 8: Thieves, Heretics, and Whores, pg 59

One evening as I was building up my parents’ cookfire, my mother caught me chanting a rhyme I had heard the day before. Not knowing that she was behind me, she overheard as I knocked one stick of firewood against another and absentmindedly recited:

Seven things has Lady LacklessKeeps them underneath her black dressOne a ring that’s not for wearingOne a sharp word, not for swearingRight beside her husband’s candleThere’s a door without a handleIn a box, no lid or locksLackless keeps her husband’s rocksThere’s a secret she’s been keepingShe’s been dreaming and not sleepingOn a road, that’s not for travelingLackless likes her riddle raveling.“

I had heard a little girl chant it as she played hop-skip. I’d only heard it twice, but it had stuck in my head. It was memorable, as most child rhymes are. 

But my mother heard me and came over to stand by the fire. "What were you just saying, sweet?” Her tone wasn’t angry, but I could tell she wasn’t pleased either. 

….

My mother was silent for a while, and I was beginning to hope she would leave it alone, when she said, “It’s not a nice thing to be singing. Have you stopped to think what it’s about?”

I hadn’t, actually. It seemed mostly nonsense rhyme. But when I ran it back through my head, I saw the rather obvious sexual innuendo. “I do. I didn’t think about it before.”

Her expression grew a little gentler, and she reached down to smooth my hair, “Always think about what you’re singing, honey.”

I seemed to be out of trouble, but I couldn’t keep from asking, “How is it any different than parts of For All His Waiting? Like when Fain asks Lady Perial about her hat? 'I heard about it from so many men I wished to see it for myself and try the fit.’ It’s pretty obvious what he’s really talking about.”

I watched her mouth grow firm, not angry, but not pleased. Then something in her face changed. “You tell me what the difference is,” she said.

I hated bait questions. The difference was obvious: one would get me in trouble, the other wouldn’t. I waited a while to make it clear I had given the matter proper consideration before I shook my head.

My mother knelt lightly in front of the fire, warming her hands. “The difference is… go fetch the tripod, would you?” She gave me a gentle push, and I scampered off to get it from the back of our wagon as she continued, “The difference is between saying something to a person, and saying something about a person. The first might be rude, but the second is always gossip.”

I brought the tripod back and helped her set if over the fire. “Also, Lady Perial is just a character. Lady Lackless is a real person, with feelings that can be hurt.”- Name of the Wind, Chapter 11: The Binding of Iron, pgs 86-87

The roads were safer in those days, but cautious folk would still travel with our troupe for safety’s sake. They supplemented my education. I learned an eclectic smattering of Commonwealth law from a traveling barrister too drunk or too pompous to realize he was lecturing an eight-year-old. I learned woodcraft from a huntsman named Laclith who traveled with us for nearly a whole season.- Name of the Wind, Chapter 8: Thieves, Heretics, and Whores, pg 60

* Note: Laclith also appears in Kvothe's dream after his troupe's murder. This is two mentions for a seemingly insignificant character, and the second mention is during a pivotal moment of Kvothe's life, in a dream that might be a vision.- Name of the Wind, Chapter 18: Roads to Safe Places, pg 136

“Here it is. The family was called Leoclos or Loklos, or Loeloes. They all translate the same, Lockless. Spelling was rather less important in those days.”

….

“It’s generally accepted that there was some sort of falling-out that splintered the family. Each piece took on a separate name. In Atur they became the Lack-key family. They were numerous, but fell on hard times. That’s where the word "lackey” comes from, you know. All those paupered nobility forced to scrape and bow to make ends meet.

“In the south they became the Lacliths, who slowly spiraled into obscurity. The same with the Kaepcaen in Modeg. The largest piece of the family was here in Vintas, except Vintas didn’t exist back then.”- Wise Man’s Fear, Chapter 62: Crisis, pg 467

Summary

The missing Lackless daughter, Netalia Lackless, ran off some years ago with a traveling performer, prompting her sister Meluan to hate the Edema Ruh. 

Kvothe’s mother, Laurian, was a noble before marrying Arliden. Arliden’s song ends with the line “Not tally a lot less,” which is phonetically similar to “Netalia Lackless.” Laurian made him sleep under the wagon for singing it. While she might have hated the meter enough to make her to this, that seems a bit strong of a reaction. It’s more likely she was angry at him for bringing up her past identity, or risking her exposure.

Laurian also takes it personally when Kvothe sings an inappropriate song about Lady Lackless, who is either Netalia, Meluan, or their mother/other female relative. 

Finally, a huntsman named Laclith traveled with Baron Greyfallow’s men when Kvothe was younger. Part of the Lackless family became the Laclith family long ago. They "spiraled into obscurity," so it's possible Laclith and Laurian did not recognize each other if they were relatives, but it also seems like a weird coincidence. It's possible Laclith was a Vintish Lackless, and traveled with them as a bodyguard for Laurian, under the name Laclith.

TL;DR

Based on textual evidence, Laurian, Kvothe's mother, is probably the missing Lackless heir, Netalia Lackless.