A companion novella to The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss, The Lightning Tree follows a day in the life of Bast, as he helps local children and seduces local women.
Tropes include:
- Ascended Extra: Bast is a relatively minor character in the main series, but this novella is all about him.
- Book Ends: The novella starts and ends in the Waystone Inn with Kote.
- Exact Words: Bast's promise to answer three questions.
- Innocence Lost: Defied. Bast intentionally lies to Viette to protect her innocence.
- Innocent Awkward Question: Viette asks Bast this.
- Lies to Children: Invoked. Specifically Bast's lie to Viette (not the constructed lies he tells the other children).
- Minor Major Character: Despite likely starting the present conflict and being the modern-day Taborlin, Kvothe (or Kote) is only in the Waystone Inn.
- Outdoor Bath Peeping: Happens twice here
- Bast Invokes this with a bit of Obfuscating Stupidity by making it easy for some of the local women to follow him — a Pretty Boy newcomer — to a pond, feigning ignorance of their presence, and letting more than enough of him slip above the water to keep their attention.
- Bast trades a favor to one of the village boys in exchange for being told the location where a particular pretty young woman likes to bathe. It's implied that he allows himself to be seen spying on her and that she's quite pleased to see him.
- Rule of Three: Three questions, three children, three cuts in narrative.
- Seamless Spontaneous Lie: Bast comes up with his lies on the spot.
