Waterside and Hillside
Striking is the imagery of the city Tarbean which is divided into the poor and the rich section-the Waterside and the Hillside. As the name implies the Waterside is near the water and it is described as dirty, crowded and dangerous. The Hillside is above the Waterside, literally and metaphorically. It is where the rich and noble of the city live; streets are clean and guarded, especially from accidental wanderers from the Waterside.
The Forest
A large section of the novel takes place in the forest. It is a place easy to hide, as well as easy to get lost in. Deena and Kvothe take on a quest to find the culprits of the fire disaster and spend a large portion hiding and following tracks in the forest. There they stumble upon a charming shepherd and a large drug-eating lizard that is the source of fire and which they need to fight against.
The unknown
The main plot of the novel is Kvothe searching for his parent's killers and trying to find more about them in order to defeat them. The antagonist in the novel is, for the most part, not even there and unknown. Kvothe himself doesn't really know whom he has to fight against. Are they demons, possessed people or other unknown deities? The answer is left ambiguous. All is known that it is a cloaked unknown capable of controlling people and disappearing into thin air.
