Material-Bound Celestials

Celestials are usually short-lived beings, existing only for so long as they are needed to fulfil the purpose of their creator. They are spoken into being by a divinity through the vocalisation of a sacred name, known as a nominate. The nominate is clothed in a numina (spiritual form) or corpus (material form) and shrouded in the radiant energy of the aureole. Once their time is done they are unnamed, and cease to be, at least until the divinity names then anew.

When a celestial manifests on Earth, they are supposed to avoid entanglement with mortals. Where a connection is formed, however, it is possible for the celestial to gain a Desmonym, or 'bond name.' A desmonym is not just a name, but an identity, mortal or near-mortal, that comes to define the celestial as truly as their nominate. It in part represents, and in part causes, a change in the celestial's nature, and both bonds them to the material and shields them against the final destruction of unnaming.
There is always an element of coersion in the giving of a desmonym. To give a bond name imposes the giver's perception over the true nature of a celestial in an act of psychic and spiritual violence, even if no harm is intended. The truth of the celestial, a truth declared by a divine being, is cloaked by mortal - and a desmonym is always given by a mortal - expectation, forcing them to conform. Sometimes this is achieved simply by one or more mortals projecting their assumptions, but there are also proscribed rites which can be used to deliberately imprison a celestial within a constructed name. Of course, this sort of behaviour is a good way to attract divine wrath, but some consider it worth the risk.
It is also possible for a celestial to be bound by divine will, in which case the binding force is called a mononym, or 'name of destiny.' Mononyms very specifically define a purpose on the material plane, and dissolve once that purpose is com­pleted.