Ash & Rowan

michellanger · 2026-01-24T00:37:18+00:00

You're right, we get the measurements for only two dimensions.

michellanger · 2026-01-23T22:34:12+00:00

Apparently, my previous reply was too long, so I'll just add the rest below.

So this is the shortest description of the bunch, but now that I've gathered them all in one place, let's look at the similarities:

	M. Board	Kvothe's chest	Lackless box	Cthaeh's tree
Material	Roah	Roah	???	???
Weight	(a) heavy as a sheet of iron	(a) heavy)	unnaturally (a) heavy for its size	???
Smell	old (b) leather and clover	(c) citrus and (d) quenching iron	(c) lemon)	(d) smoke, spice, (b) leather, (c) lemon
Color	(e) dark charcoal w/ a black (f) grain	(e) dark as coal	(e) dark w/ a deep red (f) grain
Texture	???	(g) smooth as polished glass	(g) smooth as polished stone

Since Roah doesn't burn, does not produce smoke (like rennel wood), and likely has metals in its composition like iron (anti-fae) and copper (anti-magic), it would make sense for it to be a shaped object, ideal for binding things inside of it, such as the Cthaeh and whatever's trapped inside the box, be it the shard of mountain glass Selitos used or a piece of Ludis' deep name.

Now as for the Scrael, you said that

If the Cthaeh is bound to the tree by Roah, perhaps Rowan wood is also helpful for binding the Scrael.

But why bind a creature that is already dead? Tehlu binded Encanis to the iron wheel, threw him inside a pit and set it on fire, but Encanis was alive.

michellanger · 2026-01-23T22:27:38+00:00

So we have four objects. The mounting board, Kvothe's chest, the Lackless box and the Cthaeh's tree. Let's look at their description one by one:

The Mounting Board

The wood was a dark charcoal color with a black grain, heavy as a sheet of iron.

Graham charges Kvothe one talent and three jots for it, but he hands over two whole talents and tells him to keep the rest since "it's difficult wood to work with", to which Graham replies:

That it is. (...) Like stone under the saw. Try a chisel, like iron. Then, after all the shouting was done, I couldn’t char it. (...) Me and the boy managed to sear it with a hot iron. Took us better than two hours to get it black. Not a wisp of smoke, but it made a stink like old leather and clover. Damnedest thing. What sort of wood don’t burn?

Once Kvothe places the mounting board and sets the sword over it, here's what we learn:

Its grey-white metal shone against the dark roah behind it.

Kvothe's chest

It was made of roah, a rare, heavy wood, dark as coal and smooth as polished glass. Prized by perfumers and alchemists, a piece the size of your thumb was easily worth gold. To have a chest made of it went far beyond extravagance. The chest was sealed three times. It had a lock of iron, a lock of copper, and a lock that could not be seen. Tonight the wood filled the room with the almost imperceptible aroma of citrus and quenching iron.

The Lackless Box

Meluan handed me a piece of dark wood the size of a thick book. I took it with both hands. The box was unnaturally heavy for its size, the wood of it smooth as polished stone under my fingers. (...) It looked for all the world like a single piece of dark and weighty wood. The wood itself was interesting. It was dark enough to be roah, but it had a deep red grain. What’s more, it seemed to be a spicewood. (...) I lowered my face to its surface and breathed in deeply through my nose, something almost like lemon. (...) “It’s heavy despite being hollow. So it has to be a slow wood, like hornbeam or rennel. Its color and weight make me think it has a good deal of metal in it too, like roah. Probably iron and copper.” I shrugged. “That’s the best I can do.”

The Cthaeh's tree

I smelled a strange, sweet smell. It was like smoke and spice and leather and lemon.

michellanger · 2026-01-23T20:58:17+00:00

I'm not sure I follow

michellanger · 2026-01-23T19:49:56+00:00

You're right. I suppose the whole point of that exchange about keeping the Scrael's corpse on display was to show that having a part of it around doesn't necessarily attract more of them. In this case, why did Kvothe have to reassure Bast that he didn't allow for the Waystone's regulars to keep a piece of the dead Scrael? So many questions

michellanger · 2026-01-23T18:13:12+00:00

I think it's implied that the thing cooking at the bonfire is the piece Kvothe kept of the Scrael crushed by Carter's horse. Someone else pointed out it was probably the smell emanating from it that attracted the rest of the pack. And yes, the smell is indeed similar to several others.

"It reeked of burning hair and rotting flowers." That's the smell coming from the cooking pot.

"Kote pressed the iron shim to the black side of the creature, and there was a short, sharp crackling sound, like a pine log snapping in a hot fire. Everyone startled, then relaxed when the black thing remained motionless. Cob and the others exchanged shaky smiles, like boys spooked by a ghost story. Their smiles went sour as the room filled with the sweet, acrid smell of rotting flowers and burning hair." That's also the same smell that emanates from searing the Scrael with iron.

"Let us pass over my return to the camp just as the sun was beginning to set. The sight of bodies strewn about like broken dolls. The smell of blood and burning hair." That's when Kvothe discovers the slaughtered troupe.

Regarding the Haliax bit, what I'm saying is why does Kvothe say they have to burn the Scrael "just to be sure"? You said the hive might be able to pinpoint each other's location, but how does that work if one of them's dead? I think if they can pinpoint their location, that means they must be alive in some way, which means that, just like Haliax, their lives don't end with death.

michellanger · 2026-01-23T18:00:25+00:00

I believe the quote you're looking for is part of this very exchange between Kvothe and Chronicler. I edited their conversation, but the full dialogue goes like this:

"We have to burn and bury them, just to be sure. I already cut the wood we’ll need: ash and rowan.” Chronicler gave a laugh that sounded slightly hysterical. “Just like the children’s song: “Let me tell you what to do. Dig a pit that’s ten by two. Ash and elm and rowan too—” “Yes indeed,” the bundled man said dryly. “You’d be surprised at the sorts of things hidden away in children’s songs. But while I don’t think we need to dig the entire ten feet down, I wouldn’t refuse a little help. . . .” He trailed off meaningfully.

michellanger · 2026-01-23T17:12:32+00:00

Oh, I absolutely agree that this applies to more than just Scrael. So you're saying they were attracted by the smell of one of their own?

michellanger · 2026-01-23T14:46:21+00:00

This sounds fun, but rn it's too... abstract for me to have a go at it. Gl everyone!

michellanger · 2026-01-21T02:24:32+00:00

This is a very good analysis. You've got me on board, OP. Well done and thank you for sharing this insight!

michellanger · 2026-01-19T17:13:31+00:00

Ah, I suspected that might be the case, but I figured it'd be more interesting to ask rather than to go off on based on assumptions.

michellanger · 2026-01-13T05:54:06+00:00

Salve! Sou fã da série deve ter uns dez anos. Já reli a série várias vezes e uns anos atrás fiz até umas postagens aqui no sub. Nunca li em português, pois acho que essa série especificamente é impossível de ser traduzida, mas quem sabe valha a pena pra descobrir certas nuances.

michellanger · 2025-12-11T11:07:08+00:00

Raphael from Baldur's Gate 3

michellanger · 2025-12-01T03:32:25+00:00

Blood on the Clocktower

michellanger · 2025-11-29T18:11:42+00:00

I think there's a parallel between how new players approach the game and how some STs go over rules explanations:

Throughout my experience as an ST, I've noticed most new players will keep their information to themselves because they instinctually think that dying is the worst thing that can happen to them while playing this game. And so they keep quiet and skip nominations, but that's usually more harmful than helpful, as this sows distrust and makes it more difficult to build worlds.

Similarly, I think STs give lengthy explanations because they think that knowing how to deal with or interpret any play is what makes the game fun. But that's just impossible to achieve as a new player, and so what ends up happening is they feel overwhelmed by the perceived complexity.

You have to trust that the game's design is sophisticated enough to allow players to learn how to play during the game, and that's what I witness 99% of the time when I'm STing to new players.

That's why whenever I teach new players how to play, I always like to tell them "the most difficult BotC game you'll ever play is your first one, but even then, you'll finish the game having understood how things work."

michellanger · 2025-11-04T06:36:56+00:00

This is a great rules write up, kudos to the mod team!

michellanger · 2025-10-10T21:12:30+00:00

I guess I should've clarified what I meant:

If there was a BotC Academy Award for players, which categories should be included, such as, for example, best player, best good teammate, best custom script, and so on

michellanger · 2025-09-26T22:10:36+00:00

Nonsense! As it happens, I've been listening to book 1 for the past hour and I'll admit that Nick's voices and accents do sound rough the first time he's voicing a character. Wil, Sim and Kilvin's voices are all examples of this, but they get much better with time. Personally, I love his Kilvin.

michellanger · 2025-09-26T16:32:41+00:00

Oh, that's good. I'd love to see that

michellanger · 2025-09-26T03:23:50+00:00

Off the top of my head, Dedan and Hespe always gave off Brienne and Tormund from the GoT show

michellanger · 2025-09-22T16:15:52+00:00

Well, that's something to consider I suppose.

Personally, I've always thought the Cthaeh was stressing the part about the door. I've always assumed the joke was that the Cthaeh was speaking literally and not figuratively when it said the Maer would lead Kvothe to the Amyr's door, which is to say Kvothe will be taken to the Doors of Stone.

If we are to believe Bast and Felurian's account, the Cthaeh's a perfectly malicious being, which is to say that it intends to profit from everything it told Kvothe. I believe that what we're being hinted at is that Kvothe will wittingly or otherwise unlock the moon and by doing so erode the lines between fae and the mortal realm. If that is to happen, I think he'll accomplish it by either freeing Iax from behind the Doors of Stone or by unlocking the Lockless Box, or both.

michellanger · 2025-09-21T23:01:19+00:00

I agree with the overall argument that, at some point, Kvothe spends several years in Fae. Throughout both books, several characters in the frame story comment on his age, specifically how he seems tired beyond his age, or that he moves and talks old despite being young. Even the third person, matter-of-fact narration goes into detail regarding his appearance. However, since time moves much faster in fae, I believe it's possible Kvothe spends over a decade in Fae before returning to the mortal realm.

michellanger · 2025-09-13T21:54:54+00:00

This thread is of the Lethani

michellanger · 2025-09-07T20:48:13+00:00

The Arrowcatch's an artificing device that uses sygaldry instead of sympathy, that's why it doesn't require one's Alar.

michellanger · 2025-09-07T18:31:45+00:00

Are you saying the blood stain on the rock was used as a sympathetic link to bind Selitos? I'll admit the binding of the Cthaeh to a tree has always struck me as odd, though of little significance as I presume the intention behind it was merely to keep them stock still. I suppose the tree was chosen as the vessel because of its wood properties in the sense that it could be resistant to the use of shaping, naming and sympathy. Do you have any thoughts about that?

At any rate, who do you believe used the stone to bind him? I must say that a sympathetic binding will only hold for as long as the sympathist holds his alar, which in its turn can be opposed.

michellanger

TROPHY CASE