Retcon: Stan has a new name!

Yes, I know, it can be a little uncomfortable when you've gotten used to a certain name and it gets swapped out, but that happens when you're reading ahead on an unfinished story sometimes. ^^

I received a bunch of comments regarding Stan's rather uninspired name and the clichéness of the 'main character has no naming sense' trope, and frankly, I had to agree. Stan's name is probably the one I put the least effort into of all the characters I created for this story, and I felt I could and should do better.

Moreover, rereading the chapter, I just felt like it didn't make much sense for Rylan to just quickly pick a silly name for the spiritgear of his dreams.

So, here's a little piece of Chapter 44, that got retconned, introducing Stan's new name:

From Chapter 44:

[Oh! Boss, what’s my name going to be?! I’ve dreamt of the day I would be named for so long; can I have an awesome name, Boss, please? Can I have one now, like right now?!]

“A name?” Rylan repeated dumbly. “Right now?”

[Yes, right now, I’ve already waited sooo long! Come on, give it to me!]

“Well, hold your kelpies... If I’m to come up with a good name, I’ll need to know a bit more about you first. So, why don’t you tell me what it is you do?”

[Do?] the blade repeated, sounding rather baffled. [I’m... I’m a throwing knife, Boss. You’re supposed to throw me. And then I, you know, stab stuff, when I land. You know what, it’s all right if you don’t know how yet, Boss, we’ll, you know, we’ll figure things out together!]

“No, I know how to throw knives,” Rylan replied, suppressing the urge to rub his temple. “I meant to ask what your runework does.”

[My what now?]

“Your... your runework. You know, the glowing symbols etched into your blade filled with a substance that can channel mana?”

[Oooh, that’s what you mean! Not gonna lie, you had me worried there for a sec, Boss! Well, uh, my runework is, ehm, it’s really great! It makes me, ehm, stronger and-and stabbier? And, uh... more awesome?]

Rylan suppressed the urge to sigh.

While he was still incredibly grateful to have obtained a spiritgear like in the legends, he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t expected it to be a bit... smarter. “You don’t know what it does, do you?”

[Haah, you got me, Boss! Can’t fool you, can I? Yeah, I’ve had them for as long as I can remember, you know? And it’s not like there was anyone around to explain them to me...]

Rylan’s brows twitched a little at the deep sense of melancholy that pervaded the spiritblade’s words. “Do you... remember anything about the smith who forged you?”

[Nope! I just kind of woke up one day, hanging off a rack in the middle of a void, with lots of other throwing knives.]

Huh. Does this mean he’s one of those naturally born spiritgear the professor mentioned?

[Funny story, actually, I tried talking to them, you know? But I guess they either couldn’t talk or really didn’t feel like it, because I tried for so long, and they never responded, not even once!]

Rylan stared at the blade in his grip for a long moment. Great Spirits, that was... bleak. “That’s, ehm, that’s quite the story,” he replied weakly, trying not to let his pity show. “Did they all have runes like you?”

[Nah, just a few of them. But they didn’t respond either! After a while, I just went back to sleep.]

I guess his blade only formed a spirit after the Hermeans had already abandoned the city, or they would never have left him to rot, right?

[So, ehm, does that inspire any awesome names?]

Rylan pursed his lips. “Well... Give me a minute to think.”

[Sure sure sure! Personally, I was thinking something along the lines of Thunderwhisper the Flying Deathblade, or Nightshade Heartstabber, or maybe even Edgelord, Mystic Razor of Eternal Doom...]

“Those are... definitely names,” Rylan replied tactfully. “I will take them under advisement.”

[Awesome! I’ll try to remember if I had any others...]

Rylan suppressed a smile, but quickly got serious again. He was about to name a spiritgear. Despite the blade’s... interesting personality, it was actually a pretty momentous occasion.

I can’t just pick any name, it has to be meaningful. Something that makes sense, that resonates...

He blinked when it came to him. “You know... there’s this story that Helen—that’s... a friend of mine—used to read to me when I was little.”

[Oh?]

“It was my favourite,” Rylan added with a smile. “It’s about a young prince, locked in a tower by the Queen—his mother—because she fears he will take her throne.”

[She just keeps him trapped? That’s messed up!]

“Very. Especially since he doesn’t even want the throne; he just wants to see what’s beyond the horizon. He can’t however, because he’s stuck in that tower, and the horizon only moves when you move.”

[Woah. So what happens next?!]

“Well,” Rylan continued. “As he’s sitting by the window every day, looking out, the only creatures that he can communicate with are the birds. At first, they’re shy and don’t approach him. But after a while, they get used to him, and come closer. Since the prince is not very hungry, he shares his food with them, and they become friends. Eventually, the birds start bringing him gifts. Bits of string, feathers, little twigs... The prince hides them all away for when his mother visits. Every time she does, he asks her when he can leave. She always says soon, but she never specifies when.”

[But she has to let him out at some point, right?]

Rylan shook his head. “She doesn’t. So eventually, after years have passed, he stops asking. Instead, he takes the twigs, the pieces of string, and the feathers, and he starts to craft. It takes him weeks, but by the end, he’s made a set of beautiful wings. And with those on his back, he steps out on the balcony and jumps. Now, normally, if people try this, they will fall and probably die. But the prince had been sharing his food with the birds for a long time, so he’d gotten really thin and light. So as he stepped off, and spread his wings, rather than falling... he was lifted by the breeze, and carried away, towards the horizon.”

[Woah, I’m so glad he got out! That’s an amazing story, Boss!]

“I can’t really do it justice without the book,” Rylan admitted. “You’ll have to hear the full story some time. However, I was thinking I could name you after the prince, because, well....”

[Oh, because he was stuck and got free like me, right?]

“And because he weighed so little that he could fly,” Rylan added.

[Oh, that’s true! What was his name?!]

“His name was... Arphineas.”

[Arphineas... I love it!]

Rylan sighed in relief. “Good, I’m glad. It’s a bit long though, so I’ll probably mostly call you Arphin, for short, if you don’t mind.”

[Hah, of course I don’t mind! I’m so stoked I woke up you hands and get to see the world! Oh boy oh boy, this is going to be so great!]

“Me too,” Rylan replied, before his brows pulled together. “Hold on, you just woke up? But, aren’t you the one who called me?”

So there you have it, the origin of Arphin, Rylan's spiritgear's new name! ^^

Let me know what you think! :)