Stretching a deadline
I have decided to extend my personal deadline for having the first book finished to the end of April, since the end of March is upon me and I’m still plugging away on that last chapter. The hard drive crash cost me, mostly in terms of getting off track and not being able to get back on than in actual content lost. (Though there is that. And I’ve been especially missing my lost outline this week.)
Fanfic is mostly done, and I’m losing the urge to finish it. This is good, because it means that I’ve got that out of my system and can move on, mentally. It’s a good scene, to me at least, and I think it will actually end up helping me write Raphel’s prequel. (Going to try to write his backstory in first person. Gods help me, but I think I know him well enough to do it.)
I’ve decided that my characters in Shades need last names, or at least more than just a first name. I’ve made such a big deal over the power of a name this second time around that I need to make sure that names are as unique as possible. Also, there’s just something more…iconic…about a character with a first and last name, you know? So on Verre, names are: first, second, hometown, son/daughter of (mother’s name). You give your first name as a sign of trust…if you don’t trust someone, you give a nickname, or say nothing at all. Refusal to give your true name can be prudent in some circumstances, and a grave insult in others. It marks you, qi-wise, but not as thoroughly as the whole name would. (That’s why Saeli was able to find Raphel through the sorarc…he was close enough that his first name was enough.) A person’s hometown is usually common knowledge; an informal name is first+hometown. Saeli’s professors would call her Saeli of Aschera in a formal setting, and just Saeli in a classroom setting. The mother’s name is used because determining a baby’s mother is simple, while paternity can be a more complicated issue.
Your whole name is something you reveal to a person you really, really trust…like a spouse or a mentor, something of that ilk. It’s that second name that’s really the hidden one, the one that makes you very vulnerable to someone else’s qi.
Pertinent to the story itself:
I’ve only picked out Saeli’s and Raphel’s full names. I’ll come up with the others if/when I need to.
Saeli Neyel of Aschera, Tammar’s daughter
Raphel Kalias of Amiri, Danae’s son
The High Priestess knows Raphel’s full name, but she was not able to use it before his big fight with her because she wasn’t absolutely sure it was him until he revealed his face. It is telling that although she knew his name, she was still unable to defeat him (however, when you are face-to-face with an opponent, names don’t matter so much anymore). Raphel doesn’t even know the HP’s first name.
Saeli knows Raphel’s full name after the High Priestess reveals it to her. I haven’t decided if Saeli will do anything with this knowledge, or even whether she will ever reveal to Raphel that she knows. Raphel knows everything except Saeli’s second name, which he’ll probably pick out of her head when he becomes a god. She won’t willingly surrender it, anyway.
Kaladan knows the HP’s full name. That’s part of the reason she freaked out when Saeli revealed that he was still alive, and a Cowl. However, Kaladan keeps that knowledge to himself until after the Priestess dies, out of respect for the woman he used to love. Raphel didn’t know Kaladan knew that name, and that argument becomes the first of many moments where Kaladan proves that he’s capable of working against what Raphel wants.
All student full names are on record at Aschamon, open only to professors and the High Priestess. Professors never use full names in the classroom, though they can be used during formal ceremonies (usually in a low voice, so that the general audience does not hear). Professors never reveal their full name to students. The High Priestess didn’t give hers to Kaladan until after he graduated, and only because she was his mentor and they were both part of the siege of Iadnah.
Everyone in a cabal is on a first name basis with each other, but the exchanging of full names is frowned upon (in the event that someone in the cabal is captured and questioned…you can’t reveal what you don’t know). A ras and his/her second almost always know each other’s full names, and a ras may share his/her full name with other members, if necessary. Mora and Kaladan both know Raphel’s full name. Raphel knows Mora’s. Incidentally, nobody knows Kaladan’s second name now (except Kaladan himself), because Yuril changed it when he took the Cowl. The High Priestess knew Kaladan’s original full name.
Immortals can pick out a full name out of anyone’s head, but only rarely do they use it as a weapon against the person. (Edges very close to tampering with free will, and breaking the Oath). Occasionally a god will reveal a person’s full name to others, if they ask, either to enforce a sense of trust or to make that person’s life difficult.
Tomorrow is Friday, which hopefully means I’ll be able to get some writing done.
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