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Sorcery of Names is the most common type of sorcery used by mortals based on names of things and people.[1] A sorcerer who can use this sorcery is also called shapers.[2]
Nature
The nature of Sorcery of Names differs from other types of sorcery, which acted through fixed conduits like essence threads and runes. It uses Shapers themselves as conduits.[4]
Those individuals with True Names are more connected to the mystical world and can be influenced by hidden powers and have greater influence in turn.[4]
The Sorcery of Names, like other sorcery types, did not come without a cost. While uttering the Word did not consume essence, channeling a Word imposed a strain on the Shaper's body when controlling the outcome of a Word.[4]
How to use
One only needs to invoke the Name of things and put them together into a verse. A True Name is used to serve as an anchor for the entire verse.[5]
Rules
- True Names were never meant to be spoken by mortals so one has to possess innate talent in order to master even the easiest of them.[5]
- Without a True Name, a thing lacks pull and influence, making it difficult for sorcery to stick. Sorcery is tenuous and slippery. Nameless things won't be influenced as much, but it will also be unable to exert much influence in turn. That is a rule that goes beyond sorcery.[5]
True Names
- Main article: True Name
Accessibility
While anyone could learn the True Names as long as they found one, very few could actually speak them. These Names were never meant to be spoken by a human — they were meant to be spoken by the gods. The knowledge of a True Name is described as "effervescent, straining to erase itself, as if something that was not supposed to be retained by a human mind — like an object placed into an ill-fitting vessel."[6]
Requirements
- Talent - most people lack the inherent talent to master True Names.[6]
- Practice - even the talented must practice relentlessly in order to realize it.[6]
- Invocation - channeling True Names requires a deep well of endurance, soul power, and a firm will.[6]
- Risk - faltering during an invocation could not only ruin the sorcery but also harm the sorcerer.[6]
Awakened True Names
- Main article: True Name (Awakened)
Names of Things
Names
Show/Hide Names
| Chapter Mentioned |
Names | Invoke by |
|---|---|---|
| 1299 |
|
Ananke |
| 1525 |
|
Nephis |
| 1684 |
|
Nephis |
| 1891 |
|
Nephis |
| 2440, 2695 |
|
Nephis |
| 300 |
|
True Names
- Main article: True Name
Show/Hide True Names
| Chapter Mentioned |
Name/s | Invoke by |
|---|---|---|
| 1299 |
True name of Ananke's Ketch |
Ananke |
| 1525 (Possibly), 2242, 2798 |
True Name of Fire |
Nephis, Rain (Ch2798) |
| 1897, 2242 |
True Name of Destruction Nephis burned her essence to channel the True Name of Destruction, a powerful tool that could be insidious and subtle. The True Name of Destruction was a fearsome instrument that could make attacks more destructive if channeled without guidance. If connected to an enemy's name, the enemy would become cursed, causing deeper cuts and more bruises. This power of Shaping, which allows one to bend the world to one's will, is the same as the essence of Supremacy. However, Nephis used the Sorcery of Names as its conduit, rather than her own will.[2] |
Nephis |
| 2798 |
It was described as one of the first Names Nephis had taught Rain, since it was the foundation of countless other Names. It was also described as the opposite of the Void, and therefore of Corruption. Although all Shapers had to know it, they almost never invoked it, and were incapable of invoking it, since mortals were not meant to command Divinity.[7] |
Rain |
| 2841, 2847 | True Name of Light | Nephis |
Background
Before Hope invented writing, the most common type of sorcery used by mortals was the Sorcery of Names. Everything that exists has a name. It is a fact that a thing only starts to exist after it was given a name. However not all names are equal, some are simply given and aren't worth much, while others have to be earned, the true names of things hold power over them.[1]
Names are a powerful thing and people who learned those names could share in the power. It was just that their authority was obscure and fleeting since it was only invoked when someone said the names aloud and it was not an easy feat to say them with a mortal mouth.[1]
Once writing appeared, one with enough knowledge could connect the names to material objects, granting the invocation permanence. Knowing the names of things and how to shape them into songs and phrases is incredibly hard because with the knowledge of names comes the knowledge of everything. Simply scribbling a rune without understanding its meaning would not do anything.[1]
Trivia
- Sorcery of Names is the foundation for Hope's runic magic.[1][5]
- It is important to have innate talent in mastering even the easiest of these names.[5]
- Both Cassie and Sunny had trouble learning the Sorcery of Names.[8]
- The Sorcery of Names and the Sorcery of Runes seem to have a positive correlation, both relying on invoking True Names.[8]
- There were no true practitioners of this extinct sorcery in modern-day existence.[2]
- In Chapter 2798, it was mentioned that by invoking and channeling the True Names of Fire, Divinity, and Stepping Across Thresholds into the stone can transformed the stone arch of Ivory Tower into a portal.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Chapter 693 Knowledge of Everything
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chapter 1897 Above and Beyond
- ↑ Chapter 2030 Runs in the Family
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chapter 1318 Leaving Weave
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Chapter 1299 Nameless Things
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Chapter 2296 Teaching and Learning
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chapter 2798 Abandoned Throne
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 1396 Approaching the Vortex
Sources & history
Sorcery of Names · Shadow Slave Wiki
Source revision 42466
Adapted from Fandom. CC-BY-SA
Retrieved 2026-11-04 · Article version 1