True Name

True Name can act as an irresistible anchor that pulled useful things such as skills, fragments of knowledge, insights, and patterns of thought towards the true self of an Awakened. Just like a body had a memory of its own, a soul had one as well. Knowing one's name, the true name, was the key to unlocking it.^[5]

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.^[6]

Everything that exists has a name. It is a fact that a thing only starts to exist after it is 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.^[7]

True Names hold both literal and symbolic power. They serve as an anchor of oneself, playing a crucial role in understanding oneself, which is the first step on the Path of Ascension. True Names also possess a more obscure power that will be understood through the study of Shaping.^[8]

Revealing one's True Name is a significant decision: while sharing it freely can act as a powerful boon; it also carries the risk of becoming a curse. Some, like Seishan and the Sovereigns, choose to keep their True Names secret, demonstrating a deeper understanding of this dual-edged power.^[8]

The original one true language was believed to be woven into the very fabric of existence. The one true language is a language where every word was a True Name, the language of the gods.^[9]

Unlike human languages that were invented, this one is inherent to reality, both shaped by the world and shaping the world. Speaking its words is no different from reshaping the world.^[9]

Main article: Sorcery

The Sorcery of Names and the Sorcery of Runes have a positive correlation, both relying on invoking True Names.^[10] One invoking them directly and the latter etched through a written language. However, weaving did not rely on words to create enchantments, instead the runes in the spellweave were translated from corresponding string patterns to express the name of the Memory, its description, and the True Name of its master, if they possessed one.^[11]

• 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.^[12][13]
  • People who learned the True Name of things could share in that power. However, the authority was obscure and fleeting since it can only be invoked when someone say it aloud. Saying these names with mortal mouth was not an easy feat.^[12]
• Without a True Name, a thing lacks pull and influence, making it difficult for sorcery to stick. Nameless things won't be influenced as much, but it will also be unable to exert much influence in turn.^[13]

True Names are the core of the Sorcery of Names, and they are channeled and assembled into Verses by Shapers to change the world in accordance with their will. This is the essence of Shaping: manipulating reality by invoking these fundamental words of power.^[9]

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."^[9]

Main page: Category:True Name Awakened

“	[You have been bestowed a True Name: Lost from Light.]	”
― Chapter 15 Shadow Slave

Awakened who have been bestowed a True Name.

• Starting at Third Mastery of Shadow Dance, Sunny needs to remember his True Name to keep the risk of losing himself.^[14]
• Anyone with a True Name deserved acknowledgment, even from a scion of a great clan.^[15]
• True Name can be used to unlock memories or bring one back from being lost.^{[5][16][17][18][19]}
• In Chapters 1109-1110, 1852, when the Saints are listed, they were all referred to by their True Names such as Wake of Ruin, Whispering Blade, Beastmaster, Silent Stalker, Sky Tide, Dire Fang, Raised by Wolves, Changing Star, Summer Knight, Shield Wall, Not So Funny Anymore.
• Runic sorcery and shaping relied on True Names, one etched through a written language, the other invoking them directly.^[20]
• In Chapter 2036, it was revealed that Rain had a True Name, but it was not bestowed by the Spell since she naturally awakened.
• Not all True Names are equal. Some are so violent and destructive that one could not channel them without annihilating their own soul.^[9]
• Rain had an easier time speaking True Names due to her innate Attribute, [Poet], which made learning and building Verses feel natural to her. Nephis, on the other hand, was described as indomitable. Once she learned a True Name, that Name could never escape her.^[9]