Lita Burke

There’s power in knowing the names of people, objects, and ideas. Secrets also have power. Combine these two elements in a fantasy like Tredan’s Bane, and a Secret Name becomes the key to a wizard’s magic.

How Name Magic Starts

The Secret Name is the closest-kept magic for an individual.  A mother gives it to her newborn at birth and keeps it clandestine between them.  The child’s maturing magical ability intertwines with its Secret Name.

Wedded couples exchange Secret Names as part of consummating their marriage. It signals the beginning of their joint lives and shared magic, reinforced by the Priest’s spells in the couple’s marriage rings.

A person also has a Common name used everyday by family and acquaintances. The world of Sye also stresses guild titles and honorifics, which recognizes a person’s stature in their profession.

Controlling Another Mage

Sharing Secret Names with a non-spouse is risky since it creates a vulnerable relationship between the persons involved. Magicians rarely share Secret Names because it can weaken their magic if entrusted to the wrong person. Abuse of a Secret Name can break a person’s ability to work spells, and in severe cases, harm their ability to use magical essence.

The flip side of this is that a magician gains stability, and usually power, with shared Secret Names.

Names are Not Made Up

All of the names in Wrath and Tredan’s Bane truly mean what the characters say they mean. The apostrophes are for decoration. For example, “Arnl’jhott” does mean “frightens eagles” for Lanith’s pet dragonette. Here are a few Secret Names for other characters:

• Lanith “Stream Daughter” (A’edredohr)
• Nyle “Dweller by the Dark Stream in the Raven Forest” (Daegal’hraefnscaga)
• Eli “Small Spear of God” (Paavo’asgeir)
• Abbent “Born in the Summer from the Ocean of Light” (Suma’ila’zara)
• Penn “Lucky Man from the Church Village” (Wapi’kirkjabyr)

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