The True Naming by Izahne Tiller

Preface- Raised on the stories of the glory of The Gauntlet, I believed many of its members to be heroes and living legends. Upon the passing of my Aunt, a former Gauntlet member, I traveled to the island to reconnect with her. Despite my best efforts, I failed to live up to her memory, but, the true moral of this story? Never meet your heroes, you can only be disappointed.

I write this tale, as I tell it to you, as my account, understanding, and reasoning behind the events of The True Naming which occurred in the autumn of AR 174 (1374 DR). Most of those involved shall remain anonymous except where their involvement is important, but they shall only be named in title. Of course, I believe I have done nothing wrong, but, I shall tell the tale with my full intent to allow you, the reader, to make that judgment on your own. Even now, I write this for you only thanks to the efforts of the many that tried to aid me. The memory stone I hold within my hands is the only thing giving me the power to recall these details, as it was created before the knowledge was removed from my mind.

Chapter 1, Theodor Helbrecht:

A vile man, despised across the surface and elder brother to The High Watcher, who shall appear in many roles within this tale. Having arrived at the island near the new year of 173 AR (1374 DR), I soon was recruited to join the Cordor Guard by the then General and Admiral. I quickly learned about Theodor as enemy number one of the city and the surface. I will not go into much detail on him, as he has written his own books, but the man was pitiable. He always claimed to want to be loved yet had no understanding of the concept and could only warp and manipulate people for his own pleasure.

The real details of the event began when he surrendered to capture, full well knowing of his likely execution, over his betrayed lover, The Drowess. It had turned out that The Drowess was actually working in conjunction with Theodor's brother, The High Watcher, and had manipulated Theodor into believing she loved him back. With a falsified threat of capture and torture of The Drowess, The High Watcher convinced his older brother, Theodor, to surrender for the release of his lover, The Drowess. To this day, I believe that the drowess is still in service to The High Watcher and rumored to be his lover.

As the Executive Officer of the Cordor Guard, I took it upon myself to guard the prisoner, escort his visitors, and prevent his escape even before being ordered to do so. I spent hours and hours, days and days, keeping Theodor in my eyes and under my ward. He was not going anywhere, not under my watch. I interrogated the prisoner many times and only once alone for a brief period (Give them honey and they do not stop talking, a lesson I learned the hard way and a mistake that still haunts me to this day). Despite being a known liar, I found him refreshingly honest. Instead of lying to me about something, he would just refuse to answer. The man was rather transparent in his goals and motivations, if not the specific details, but at this point he had no need for lies. He wanted everyone to know what he had done. Theodor?s only wish at this point was to not be forgotten.

Chapter 2, The Visitors:

During Theodor's many visits from those he had wronged, he told the same story, over and over, the man really did enjoy bragging about his 'accomplishments'. I was not disappointed to see him executed for his nigh endless list of crimes and villainy. However, during his imprisonment there were only two real curious visits, one by a woman, most commonly known as The Speaker of Fortunes, and the other by his brother, The High Watcher.

The Speaker of Fortunes, as written within Theodor's own books, is a curious being. Once human, millenia ago, she has since achieved a modicum of immortality through the practice of magic. As one could imagine, the mortal mind is not meant to live for an eternity and thus she has found herself detached from her past being. She seeks new knowledge, experiences, and magics that she has never seen before. With a vast amount of magical prowess she makes deals for information. Theodor had one such deal with her. She would grant Theodor knowledge, which he chose not to share, in exchange for him bringing her individuals that wished to barter. Both of them refused to give the exact details on their arrangement, but I am certain that it is not entirely fulfilled as of my writing this.

Personally, I found The Speaker to be surprisingly polite and well mannered. She is straightforward and her motivatations are clear. While she may keep her goals secret, her interest is purely upon making consensual deals. She has long since left the concepts of mortal morality and only leans on her principles. She will trade with anyone, but will only take what is freely given. If you deal with The Speaker remember that she is very literal, and unless clearly specified, will take liberty upon herself to enact the deal however she sees fit. This was the foley that Theodor, and myself, had fallen prey to.

The Speaker, ever so polite, likes to know the names of whom she is speaking, and thus will regularly ask for them. I recommend caution with this, and only offer your mundane name. In their deal, The Speaker asked for the names of many people around the island and Theodor happily obliged, giving the names of many of those he reviled. Without clarification, The Speaker then happily learned the True Names of the fifteen individuals that Theodor had offered (I shall not go into detail on the nature of the Language of Creation within this work as there are already many such tomes on the subject. I recommend reading them to fully understand the gravity of the situation). Reports of individuals experiencing a 'sensation' of learning came in across the island. I had confronted Theodor on this matter and his silence spoke louder than any words could have.

The second visit, which shall come in much shorter detail, was when The High Watcher, as the acting Magister, read the charges against his brother. This was a tense situation, and the list of crimes long, Theodor seemingly proud of them. Having been under direct orders from The General, I was not to leave the prisoner alone with anyone, an order I followed to the best of my ability. This is why I found it odd when The High Watcher, and acting Magister, had asked everyone to leave the prison. Under the BSCoC, section 8, subsection 2, the General?s orders supersede anyone else's, save for the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, so I refused to leave the room. There was also concern from the prisoner that The High Watcher would use torture to extract information. Whether Theodor was sincere or not, it was not a risk I was willing to take, I would guarantee his life until his execution. Of course, I did not let Theodor know that I was opposed to torture, but I did inform The High Watcher. The two of them conversed in a very tense conversation that I was not privy to, but, Theodor's health remained well enough for him to live until his execution.

Chapter 3, The Execution:

The day had finally come to end Theodor?s story, but little did I know, it would be the beginning of this one. Theodor's 'grand' plan seemed to use a device which channeled the essence of captured souls to rip a hole in the prime to allow his master's servants in, Orcus. He unleashed this vile plan moments before his head was put in the guillotine. A great battle ensued, but those present were able to stem the tide of unrelenting demons. With the rift efforts began to sanctify his remains and collect the device for study, but moments before we could grab it Laeh, the cat familiar of The Speaker of Fortunes, snatched the device from Theodor's corpse and whisked it away to a pocket plane.

Upon returning to the square we witnessed Laeh walking the streets. While I attempted to speak with the creature someone had shot it with some arrows causing it to immediately flee again. It was at this point that The Speaker herself began sending messages about the device. Having previously spoken with her, read Theodor's book on her, and spoken to Theodor at length about it, I believed myself to be the most familiar with her and how she operates. It was at this point, standing outside the meeting hall with over a dozen citizens, a few ministers, and some fellow guards, I decided, in agreement with most of those present, it would not hurt to hear her out. With that, we moved into the meeting hall lobby and invited her to join us.

It was immediately after inviting her that The General entered the meeting hall, pulled me aside and informed me that he told me to take this out of the Pax. This being the only person present with the authority to give me orders, my failure to hear him and failure to comply was worth reprimand. Though, after he informed me, he realized that it was a little too late and decided he didn?t want to be involved. I took this to believe that The General had trust in me, and I am certain he still does to the moment I am writing this. When the group spoke with The Speaker we learned that she had the device and the True Names of many people, some of which I knew and were in danger with this knowledge available for trade. There were many, many people there, each one with their own ideas, but, under section 8, article 2 of the BSCoCI was the highest ranking officer of the state present at the time.

As the crowd squabbled it was brought to my attention that the device possessed by The Speaker, was well known in the depths of the underdark. This meant that keeping knowledge from The Speaker was no longer the best course of action. It was also clear to me, from conversations with Theodor, that The Speaker would take a piece of someone's memory, a part of who they were. As this was discussed amongst the crowd, I decided that I would not let anyone else risk their lives or their being, not under my oath. This is when I realized I had something of material worth, a powerful artefact gifted by Her Majesty Eldren, around a half dozen in existence. At this moment The Speaker had made it clear that she would give up all of the True Names to study that device. This is when I realized we could have it all. The names returned and knowledge on how to disarm the device.

While everyone else bickered and squabbled, as the Executive Officer, and highest present authority at the moment, I made a decision. I promised The Speaker to let her study the device if she would return the names and once she has fully understood the device she will bring back the knowledge on how to dismantle it in exchange for the Queen?s gifted artefact, a green flame dagger. My foley here was not to specify the names to be returned to their rightful owners, as was my intention. It was at this moment that we shook on the deal and the immense power of the Language of Creation flowed into my mind with searing pain causing me to black out.

Chapter 4, The Punishment:

The next thing I remember is being in the barracks where everyone is discussing the matter without my input. Three options were brought up; A Mark of Justice to prevent me from using the names, a Geas to do the same, and a death sentence. After much discussion I chose to receive the Geas, as this seemed the best solution to a bad situation. Worst case scenario, I was perfectly skilled enough to remove it myself, though I did not.

Because of the concern that I may be captured and forced to speak the names, I was confined to the barracks until a suitable solution could be found. A solution to a problem I found myself in entirely by accident. The dutiful soldier, I remained within the barracks for over 2 tenday with many people coming to see me for various reasons. I underwent whatever physical and magical poking and prodding they wished, save for any mental investigation as I would not have anyone else accidentally learn this knowledge and be in the same predicament as myself. I truly am grateful to everyone who assisted me, I would likely not be alive today if it were not for all of you and I hope to return the favor someday.

During this time my memory of the events slowly recovered and my mind processed this new information. I began having strange dreams about those that were named, odd sensations of knowledge whenever I met one of them. I was dangerous, I know, but never once did I act with intention to harm. I was cooped up in a room for two thirds of a month with deific knowledge coursing through my mind. I did what I could to entertain myself and my thoughts, but even the simplest of idle habits could have brought catstrify and undo harm to others.

The worst event was when a ritual performed to help me remember was interrupted. I had passed out and was awoken by choking on water. As the knowledge coursed through my mind, my memories returning, I was startled and exclaimed the first word on my lips. I only uttered a single syllable, before the Geas was triggered, preventing me from speaking, but this was enough to shatter the local weave causing it to crash in on us and injuring the owner of the name. Even if by accident and the injuries minor, I was ashamed by this.

Chapter 5, Conclusion of the Deal:

As tensions were climbing, and those that wished me dead were growing bolder, The Speaker had finally finished her study of the device. We fled to a safe location and spoke. I gave her the green flame dagger and received scrolls detailing the method to dismantle the device. I had asked her to remove the knowledge of the True Names from me and release them to nothing. She did this in exchange for a tea date with one of the attendants.

Just as I had begun to understand the knowledge within my mind it was ripped out, a hole left where it once was. As you would cut words out of a book and remove the paper to never add the knowledge back, so is my mind, unable to retain even the simplest of details of anyone who?s True Name I possessed. I am only able to recall these events now with the aid of an emotional memory stone and divinations to recall the events. Even with the stone, the knowledge of the True Names is entirely gone from my memory, just echoes of faces within my mind.

Despite this, immediately after concluding the deal I was arrested. Confused and bewildered, I still followed the orders and was taken to a cell and read my charges. One count of treason for attempting to aid Theodor's escape. One count of bewitching for making a deal with The Speaker and/or being a member of a coven. Later, the additional charge of failure to comply with a lawfully given order was added to the charges. As absurd as these charges were, I once again was confined, but this time to Pax Cordoria. Hounded by assassins I eventually found myself in a different bed every night. While the Justice Ministry investigated, I was once again poked and prodded by mundane and magical means to ensure that I was not who they thought I was, despite my frustration. It took a fair bit of time to even remember I had this stone, let alone figure out how to use it. During this investigation I had little understanding of what was happening to me, or even why.

Then came the day for the hearing, since many were present and it was recorded in the public record, I shall keep this brief. The charges of treason and bewitching were dropped, but due to the extreme nature of the case, I was found guilty of disobeying orders. I have been barred from holding any government position and must seek the blessings from those I injured, though the list provided by the court was much smaller than the complete list of those I endangered. All that is left to do at this point is act upon the intent of the wishes of the court and truly seek forgiveness for those that I endangered.

If you are of the fifteen named and you read this, know I am truly repentant and wish to correct any undue harm caused, to anyone else, let my tale be one of caution, no good deed goes unpunished.