Chapter 39: Contradictions

Late the next morning, Kvothe walks with Wilem to meet Simmon at the Archives. Along the way, Wilem reveals Simmon’s concealed nobility: son of a duke from Dalonir in Atur. Because Simmon preferred alchemy and poetry over his father’s martial and hedonistic ideals, he entered the Arcanum and became estranged from home.

In their reading hole, the friends settle prior bets with hastily gathered sources. Simmon presents texts labeling greystone festivals as “pagan,” others proposing ancient trade markers, and one folkloric account linking a “stone door” to Felurian’s realm. Kvothe’s books favor ancient routes; Simmon’s emphasize pagan rites. Wilem judges the tally inconclusive.

They move to Wilem and Kvothe’s second bet about the Amyr’s status. Wilem cites a proclamation implying the Amyr once held judicial power under the empire. Kvothe counters with a source asserting the decree was issued by the church, not the emperor. Comparing Feltemi Reis’s Lights of History with Greggor the Lesser’s The Fall of Empire, they find irreconcilable, factual contradiction.

Disturbed that reputable histories disagree on a public decree central to the empire’s collapse, Kvothe rejects “contrary facts.” With no clear resolution, Wilem proposes a higher authority. The chapter ends with the decision to consult Puppet, the Archives’ enigmatic figure whom Sim had quietly sought for guidance.