Thoughts on Bast (Spoilers)
I'm re-reading WMF again and suddenly several events have fallen into place. It all comes down to the reaction of Bast after Kvothe divulges his encounter with the Cthaeh. Forgive me if this spin on the theory has been posted before (several theories of Bast being the Sithe have been posited) but I'm yet to read one that lines up Bast's motives like this.
Several people have speculated that Bast is the member of the Sithe that Kvothe slipped past, or that has been sent to hunt him down (or both). So Bast hunts Kvothe out, but instead of killing him becomes enamoured by him, and becomes his student of sorts. That's a common working theory.
Now, this is where I got thinking. Bast reacted not only shocked, but utterly horrified when Kote revealed his account of the Cthaeh. What if this is the confession that sentences Bast to act on his mission, rather than 'feigning dutiful ignorance' as he has been all these years- deliberately avoiding finding out Kote's past. This might also go towards explaining why he's so aggressive towards Chronicler, the scribe who wants Kote to do exactly that.
What if Reshi doesn't mean Teacher or Father, but 'Target' or 'Marked for Death'? Or 'Promise', or, if Bast was to give him this title, 'Promise Broken'?
And what happens only hours after the Cthaeh confession, after Bast is forced to activate his repressed mission? Two thugs, hired by Bast, come to attack Kote. What if this is Bast's attempt (again, half-hearted, but attempt all the same) to fulfil his duty now he can no longer hide behind the facade of ignorance, the outward guise of 'not being yet certain it's the right man'. He arranges what outwardly appears to be a fatal attempt on Kote's life.
When Bast confronts the thugs afterwards, he is not happy about 'how far they went' (I think that't a quote or implied). ALthough ambiguous, it's implied he takes revenge on them for this.
I hope this was worth the post and hasn't been noted time and again!