True Name of Secrecy Physical / Metaphysical Law in Xeovis | World Anvil

True Name of Secrecy

Hide your name, for it can be used against you.

In the world of Xeovis, names are important. True names, specifically, hold a lot of weight. If one is ever to learn the true name of a divine being, that name can be used against them or can help them. Share your name only with those you trust explicitly. Most people have not learned their true name yet, and that is okay. But magic in Xeovis lives with names. Every object has a true name. Every person. Every animal. Every thing. Those names are important to them, and calling something by its true name can bind it to you or allow you to manipulate it.  

Names are Important

A true name is a reflection of all that has gone into an object. The way it is shaped, the way it has been treated. The environmental forces, the physical forces. A rock is not just a rock. It has been molded over time by rain, or by water flowing over it, or by the winter freeze cracking it. A name is just a description of everything that an object has ever gone through. Most humans do not understand this, and therefore will never grasp the nature of a true name. The wind has a name, though it is different for a gust than a storm. A tree has a true name, though different from its bretheren in the same forest, as their lives have shaped them differently.  

Understanding True Names

Most non-divine beings are unable to even comprehend the level of intricacy that a name entails, simply calling one another by names like "John," or "Jane." These names are given to them by parents as a way to differentiate their children, which is fine. That is not a true name, but a given name.

Cover image: by Midjourney

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Author's Notes

The idea of true names came from a book series called The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss, which was a very influential book in my journey to become a worldsmith.


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