KKC Theory Wiki

Naming

concept · importance 88 · 58 theories

“The deep art of speaking a thing's true name to command it”

also known as Namers, Naming, names, the Name, the art of names

Appearance§

Naming has no fixed visual form, but the corpus describes its sensory signatures. Calling a name is shown as an act of total perception: looking into Felurian's twilight eyes, Kvothe knows her 'to the marrow of her bones,' sees her eyes as 'four lines of music, clearly penned,' and sings her name in four hard notes. The wind answering a named name is a recurring motif, as is the wind seeming to protect Kvothe (shoving a leaf into his mouth to stop a name). When Kvothe sees himself reflected in Felurian's eyes he glimpses a silver star on his own forehead. Names learned are rendered in italics in Chronicler's text (aelevsedi, edro, cyaerbasalien).

Description§

Naming is the deepest magic in Temerant: to know the true, or deep, name of a thing is to gain power or command over it. It works only with the existing forces of reality and creates nothing new, distinguishing it from Shaping, by which the old shapers forced their will upon the world. A true name is understood as a hundred thousand relevant things held together at once, the deep and essential nature of a thing rather than its everyday calling name; to know a thing's name one must know it entirely, down to its bones. Naming draws on the sleeping mind, an instinctive faculty distinct from the reasoning waking mind that sees to the heart of things. It cannot be forced or chased but must be allowed to surface, and pursuing it untrained is dangerous and can break a mind. Elodin is the University's Master Namer and teaches a class of would-be namers, training them to rouse the sleeping mind through the doors of the mind. Mastery over a thing's name is marked by wearing a ring of its material, such as Fela's ring of stone. The Name of the Wind and the Name of Iron are the names most commonly found, while the Name of Stone is rare. When a true name is spoken, a non-namer's mind renders it as the nearest familiar word in their own language. A person has both a calling name and a deeper true name that is the seat of their nature; changing one's own true name is possible but gravely dangerous. Kvothe is a naturally gifted namer who calls the wind, and Elodin becomes convinced of his ability after Kvothe binds Felurian by singing her name in four hard notes and returns from the Fae alive.

Relationships§

  • Practiced By Kvothe — Kvothe is a naturally gifted namer who calls the name of the wind
  • Names Draw The Chandrian — speaking the true names of the Chandrian draws their attention
  • Taught At The University — Elodin teaches naming at the University, with ranks E'lir, Re'lar, El'the marking awakening
  • Taught By Elodin — Elodin is the University's Master Namer who teaches a class of would-be namers
  • Contrasted With Shaping — Naming works only with existing forces and creates nothing new, unlike Shaping which forces will upon the world
  • Used Against Felurian — Kvothe binds Felurian by singing her true name in four hard notes
  • Practiced By Auri — Auri appears to know true names of things and names Kvothe as one of the Ciridae
  • Mastery Marked By Fela — mastery is marked by a ring of the material, such as Fela's ring of stone
  • Wielded By Taborlin the Great — the wonders of Taborlin the Great turn on commanding the name of the wind, fire, and stone
  • Untrained Risk Haven — pursuing naming untrained can break a mind, which is how students end up at Haven

Established facts§

  • Naming is a magic in which knowing the true, or deep, name of a thing grants power or control over it.
  • To know a thing's name one must know it entirely, down to its bones; a true name is a hundred thousand relevant things held together at once.
  • Naming works only with the existing forces of reality and creates nothing new, distinguishing it from Shaping.
  • Naming draws on the sleeping mind, an instinctive faculty distinct from the reasoning waking mind, which sees to the heart of things.
  • Names cannot be forced or chased but must be allowed to surface from the sleeping mind.
  • Pursuing naming untrained is dangerous and can break a mind, which is how students end up at Haven.
  • Elodin is the University's Master Namer and teaches a class of would-be namers, training them through the doors of the mind.
  • Mastery over a thing's name is marked by wearing a ring of its material, such as Fela's ring of stone.
  • The Name of the Wind and the Name of Iron are the most commonly found names; the Name of Stone is rare.
  • The Name of the Wind is everchanging, familiar from place to place yet never quite the same.
  • When a true name is spoken, a non-namer's mind renders it as the nearest familiar word in their own language.
  • A person has a calling name and a deeper true name that is the seat of their nature.
  • Changing one's own true name is possible but gravely dangerous, and holding the change too long is perilous.
  • Knowing and speaking a true name grants power to command its bearer, as when Kvothe strips Felurian of her power.
  • Kvothe is a naturally gifted namer who calls the name of the wind, sometimes without consciously understanding how.
  • Kvothe binds Felurian by singing her true name in four hard notes, showing naming can be carried through song.
  • Elodin becomes convinced of Kvothe's ability after Kvothe names Felurian and returns from the Fae alive.
  • Beyond naming lie those who would change a thing, which is Shaping; the old namers were likened to tiny gods.
  • The University ranks E'lir, Re'lar, and El'the correspond to seeing, speaking, and listening, stages of awakening the sleeping mind.
  • The wonders of Taborlin the Great turn on commanding the name of the wind, fire, and stone.
  • Speaking the true names of the Chandrian draws their attention; Kvothe avoids using their real names in his telling.
  • Felurian distinguishes the original namers, who spoke with things, from the later shapers who forced their will onto the world.
  • A name cannot simply be told to another; it must be found.
  • Auri appears to know true names of things, and names Kvothe as one of the Ciridae.
  • In the tale Kvothe tells, a boy traps part of the moon's true name inside a box.

Theories§

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