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One day in fairyland, there is an immensely bright flash of light a about a mile above the ground. Something like a metal house is suddenly flying through as if it came through a portal, faster than all but the fastest fairies.
It's flying, not directly down, but still very much towards the ground. It does not take long for it to stop flying and start carving through earth and trees. Eventually it runs out of momentum near a certain lake. The thing seems to still be in one piece, which is rather miraculous considering the two miles of destroyed trees behind it.
After a few minutes, a mortal covered in unusually bulky clothes emerges from the thing. All that is visible is his face. He starts inspecting the outside of his space oddity.
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imeanforever
Promise scopes out the room, and writes, Hello. Call me Promise. Can you tell me about your magic?
She summarizes the magic in more or less the same way Nick did, adding a few tidbits Promise didn't know already here and there and a lot more detail on the renaming ritual, including the fact that it will take several hours of repetition of the same few actions to complete, and the exact phrases she'll need to say - things like "Let what is old be destroyed to make way for the new."
"I can't tell you much more without specific questions. I'd describe how it feels, but you lack the proper context to understand."
"I can't tell you much more without specific questions. I'd describe how it feels, but you lack the proper context to understand."
imeanforever
Do you anticipate any interactions with my name being magically mine to begin with, unlike a mortal's? Do you offer any assurances that you won't use knowing my new name against me?
"I know the power of names, but I am being paid more money than Princess Onfrie will see in her entire life to be placed under an invisible knife wielded by the captain. He ordered me to be fair and merciful to you on pain of death, so I will. Alas, I will not be able to forget your name. Apellodynes do not forget names. However, once I am paid I honestly and truly intend to leave this abhorrent world where names can cause slavery and never return."
"As to unexpected interactions, I cannot rule them out, but I sincerely doubt they will harm you. I have interacted with another system of magic involving names before, a race of people who could swear promises upon their name and be literally unable to not follow through. I could change their names and release them from promises, and those they swore to only realized it when they began to act in ways the promises forbade. They could still swear promises under their new name, and as far as I could tell none of them suffered in unexpected ways."
"As to unexpected interactions, I cannot rule them out, but I sincerely doubt they will harm you. I have interacted with another system of magic involving names before, a race of people who could swear promises upon their name and be literally unable to not follow through. I could change their names and release them from promises, and those they swore to only realized it when they began to act in ways the promises forbade. They could still swear promises under their new name, and as far as I could tell none of them suffered in unexpected ways."
imeanforever
Can my new name possibly be unpronounceable or include parts that are?
"You must say your new name at the conclusion of the ritual. Therefore, no."
imeanforever
Could it have parts that are not, strictly, pronounced, but require elaborate movements or sorcery? The effect I'm after is for someone commanding me to speak my name either getting nothing or in so doing offering me more freedom than they expect.
The apellodyne thinks for a while. "I believe that concept requires scientific testing. I can prepare a ritual to rename a small object, and another to rename a small creature known as a dog. You can attempt to give them such a name and I will be able to tell whether the magic accepts it."
imeanforever
Okay. Will the general principle hold if I give the object and the dog names which do not take twenty minutes to 'pronounce' or should I come up with long ones for them if I want one for me?
"Extremely long purely spoken names act normally. My truename would take forty-five minutes to say. But to be safe I would suggest trying at least one long-form name before your renaming ritual. Do keep in mind that the name you choose will change you. I can direct the change to some extent, but what it means to you will also affect the result."
imeanforever
I'll try to pick something suitable, but can you go into more detail on how and how strongly people as opposed to fruit trees are affected by their names?
She has a long list of examples. Physical form is the most commonly affected thing, superficial habits and preferences can sometimes change (this is useful for removing chronic panic attacks and so on), but only rarely can someone's core personality be modified in any significant way.
imeanforever
I am perfectly happy with my physical form. How can I best avoid perturbing it, and if it does wind up perturbed can I put it back with sorcery without adverse effect?
"You must change something or the new name will not take. I can direct the change towards your habits and preferences instead, but this is not certain to work. I do not know what sorcery is capable of, but if your form changes it will be your natural form. Any magic to change it back must be permanent."
imeanforever
Sorcery can do permanent. I'd rather have to cut my hair and turn my wings green again or something than adjust to new habits and preferences. I have a tree which is magically connected to me. Is there a risk that it will no longer be mine in the right way when I am renamed?
"There is no precedent. We can create one if you can acquire a creature or object with a similar magical link."
"It is a property of your species? With proper preparations and some considerations to the structure of the name I can deliberately avoid modifying your race."
imeanforever
To the extent that a fairy kind is like a species, yes. I have a tree because of my kind.
"As long as you make sure the name in no way implies a change in your kind and I adjust the ritual slightly, I can keep that part of you completely stable."
imeanforever
All right. What advice do you have on name structure? Can I include variant "pronunciations" so that I may render different valid forms of it including, say, either explosions or dramatic temperature changes, as I please?
"The most important thing is that your new name must not include the names of any other fairy kinds you are aware of, or any fairies' names that you know, even as part of a larger word. Pronunciation is flexible to an extent, but I think this is another factor to experiment with on some less intelligent target."
Other than that, it's time for another long list of examples.
Other than that, it's time for another long list of examples.
imeanforever
And then it's time for Promise to compose long silly names for a dog and an object.
And then go study up on de-aging mortals.
And then go study up on de-aging mortals.
A month's experimentation determines that the dog and object will accept names that include sorcery and motion. The exact form of the sorcery has moderately flexible 'pronunciation.' 'Light' can include a single fairylight or a blinding flash filling the whole room, 'heat' can be ice or fire. However, the 'kinds' of sorcery must be in a specific order at specific times to properly count as a name. The motions play out similarly, but 'fly in any direction and/or hover during the entirety of the name' is valid.
Nick tries to learn sorcery. He gets very good with fairy lights and fire in under a week, and then asks for suggestions and advice once in a while. Always with a tentative "If you don't mind."
Nick tries to learn sorcery. He gets very good with fairy lights and fire in under a week, and then asks for suggestions and advice once in a while. Always with a tentative "If you don't mind."
imeanforever
Promise (who still hasn't fixed her ears except while alone inside her tree, and still finds it weird to speak aloud while deaf and unable to moderate her volume) suggests learning to help plants along, or purify water, or make candied dewdrops.