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  • Katherine Baker started the topic Fantasy Names for people and things in the forum Fantasy Writers 5 years, 2 months ago

    I’ve hit a bit of a snag with my character names… (Apologies in advance, this is going to be very long)

    I’ve just finished the first draft of the story I’m writing, and almost every name needs changing (they were all placeholder names). The problem is I’ve grown really attached to many of them. Maybe you all can help me figure out what to do.

    For a bit of context, this story is set in a world that has had magic for many years, but did not originally have it. It was gifted to two Immortals and then spread to every person on earth, shattering the old world order. But that was many years ago and largely irrelevant to the plot.

    Magic is based on colors (Green – nature/elemental; blue – mind; pink – healing; black – death; orange/yellow – power; red – blood magic, capable of any feet, but kills the user).

    With that knowledge of the world, maybe you can help me with names. Here’s all the characters/ things that either need renaming, or confirmation on whether or not it works.

    PLACE NAMES

    -The Freelands. This is a desert country that many live in to flee Immortal rule. Liberty and personal glory are very important here, and magic is not highly valued beyond what it can do for the individual.

    -Wokenland. This is the most stable and oldest country of the three main ones. They put very high spiritual value on magic, and give deference to the more powerful. The evil immortal, as such, kind of lets them do their own thing, since they respect him so much.

    -Princelandia. This is probably my least favorite of the three names, and very much a placeholder name. This country was colonized, I guess, after being more like a continent of many smaller nation-states. The evil immortal forcibly united it, and it is ruled both of fear, and a propaganda-based twisting of the previously-held value of community that each mini nation held.

    “THING” NAMES

    Grayborn – A title for anyone who is born without magic. They literally are born gray, and are often referred to as ‘Walking corpses’ for their pale-as-death appearance. I think I like this name, but it also feel super simple. Do you think it works?

    The Rebels. The good guy team. Need something better, since they serve the bad immortal’s equal (good immortal). The good immortal doesn’t really have any political power, so they are a marginalized group with strong ideological differences from any country they live in, but I don’t think “rebel” is quite right.

    The Frozen Stopwatch. This is the dumbest name of all. This is the stopwatch the Blood Prince bound the bad immortal’s life to so he would die when it reached zero. The bad immortal then used green/elemental magic to freeze it (so it wouldn’t tick down to zero) and then covered it with black/death magic so anyone who touched it would die.

    CHARACTER NAMES

    Unity – the evil immortal. The plot revolves around killing him. This name was based on an earlier concept of him that has since been changed. Basically, he enjoys orchestrating world events to his favor, and rules/controls most of the world in vastly different ways. He doesn’t really care how as long as he ends up in power, and as such the three main countries the story is set in all operate very differently.

    One Master – Ugh! I hate this one! This is the good immortal, and is kind of a leftover from an old concept. I’ve thought of changing it to The One, because of a naming sequence that I’ve used for important good guys, but I’m really open to anything.

    The Blood Prince – A moniker given to the son of the good immortal after he used blood magic to tie the bad immortal’s life to a stopwatch. The moniker was originally meant to demonize him, but many of the good guys use it as well to honor his sacrifice.

    Lana – She’s the main character. She’s a grayborn who was trained to be an assassin by the bad immortal, but betrays him in hopes of letting him die so his son can take the throne in his place.

    Prince Luc – He’s the son of the bad immortal. He is a close friend and confident to Lana, even promising her liberty “once he takes his father’s place”, but can also be manipulative.

    Noah – This name might need to change for being too ‘traditional’, but I’ve grown quite attached. He’s the first ‘rebel’ that Lana encounters, and he serves as one of her guides in finding the good immortal, as well as the glue that holds the trio of mains together through all the distrust and conflicting loyalties. He’s Courtney’s brother.

    Courtney – Another one that might need to change for being to traditional. She’s the second rebel that guides Lana, and is quite a hothead, as well as insanely gifted and incredibly distrusting of Lana. She’s Noah’s sister.

    The Healer/The Judge/The Nurturer/The Preacher/ – This is the naming scheme I’ve used for anyone important to the good guy team. They have often met the good immortal before and been given the names based on a defining good deed they did for the good side. They are also entrusted with details to the good immortal’s location

    Thanks in advance for helping me out. I know this is a ton to work through, but I’ve been using these place names so long I really don’t know if they work or not. Any input is much appreciated.

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