True name

A true name was a creature's hidden name that, rather than just acting as a label, metaphysically truly belonged to that creature. All beings had true names, though most of these were unknown, especially to mere mortals. Knowing a creature's true name could grant power over it. There were several different accounts of true names and how they functioned in this sense.
==Knowledge==
True names were given to all creatures by an agreement between the powers (that is, gods) in an effort to control them. They were supposed to be kept secret, but some were leaked out by one or more powers. True names could be learned from a being known as the Knower of Names in the layer of Cania in the Nine Hells, who knew all of them but was limited in telling them by the gods' demanding a sizable monetary sacrifice from the asker for each name.
The gods themselves apparently did not have true names. The Red Knight, Faerûnian goddess of battle tactics, was formerly mortal and hence had a true name. However, the only entity that knew her true name was Tempus, whom she saw as a father figure. If anyone were to learn her true name, they would be privy to every stratagem and battle plan on Toril.
For some planar beings such as Errtu, it seemed that their true name was the same as their common name.
==Uses==
When a creature's true name was known, a non-chaotic spellcaster could use it to cast spells such as truename, cacofiend, ensnarement, and spirit wrack, which harmed, bound, or controlled the creature. It could also be used to bind a summoned fiend to make a pact it would be compelled to keep.
Each creature had a unique true name among the Words of Creation, a language so primal even speaking a word of it had a powerful effect. A character who had knowledge of this language could learn a creature's true name and use it to weaken the creature's resistance against different effects or to teleport it.
It was even possible that, when an individual's true name was spoken, they fell under the complete control of the speaker, directly compelled to do anything they ordered.
When using Truespeak and speaking a creature's truename, the speaker was able to hamper its ability to shrug off the truespoken incantations, or other kinds of magic. Personal truenames were seldom known to the person described, and in fact were almost always a matter of exacting research. Even when known, such a truename was not necessarily an easy one to speak.
==Notable Uses==
In the , Drizzt Do'Urden was able to draw Errtu's attention by speaking out loud his "true name".
Aumlar Chaunthoun of the Zhentarim bound a curse into his rival, the Red Wizard Pheldred, by using a fiend's true name. Nothing Pheldred tried to undo the curse worked until he found the fiend's name, on or prior to . Earlier that year, Salvarad of the Cult of the Dragon revealed knew the true name of his apprentice, Thiszult, and considered this a safeguard against the man going rogue.
That same year, Dendybar the Mottled of the Arcane Brotherhood of Luskan tormented the spirit of Morkai the Red with the help of his true name.
In 1374 DR, five Luskan mages led by Black Garius were slain by the Kalach-Cha, but were then resurrected by the King of Shadows in the form of shadow reavers, near-invulnerable aberrations under the King's direct control. Luskan's rulers, the Arcane Brotherhood, saw this as a potential political quagmire and began expunging records related to Garius and his cohorts. These records included the true names of the mages: in order to keep control of their members, the Brotherhood always collected their true names as a matter of course. Sydney Natale, however, after learning of the reavers, held back the names of Garius and the others from the records, and performed a divination upon them that revealed the true names of the reavers. The Kalach-Cha obtained the list of names following an unsuccessful attempt by Natale to double-cross them, which resulted in the mage's death. Speaking a shadow reaver's true name in its presence stripped it of its invulnerability, allowing it to be destroyed.
In Ammon Jerro's haven, the succubus Blooden sometimes offered to tell the Kalach-Cha the true name of Zaxis the hezrou, claiming that it would please her if they used it to torment Zaxis. The Kalach-Cha could then order Zaxis to open the portal to Jerro's quarters, or to stop speaking about itself in the third person (unfortunately, Zaxis was too stupid to comprehend this order). The true name could also be offered to Hezebel in order to have her open the portal.
==Known True Names==
Some known true names are as follows:
Henchman 	True name
Aribeth de Tylmarande 	Va'ardalia the Twinsouled
Nathyrra 	Qeyifalia the Skyseeker
Deekin Scalesinger 	Ixthyria the Scalesinger
Valen Shadowbreath 	Oeskathine the Demonwrestler
Gru'ul the Quarry Boss	Gargelflaw the Vile
The Knower of Names 	Pyreshi the Knower
Mephistopheles 	Thra'axfyl the Ambitious
The Reaper 	Hecugoth the Abandoned
Sensei Dharvana 	Fa'arethia the Misguided
The Sleeping Man 	Celesfa'ar the Patient
Arden Swift 	Caddisthwaite the Doomed
==Appendix==
===Trivia===
In the video game, Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark, the true name of Drogan Droganson's pupil depended on the character's alignment, as follows:
Alignment 	True name
Lawful good 	Donita'ar the Blessed, Light of Cania
Neutral good 	Ebela'ar the Kind, Light of Cania
Chaotic good 	Kagita'ar the Heartseeker, Light of Cania
Lawful neutral 	Lysisius the Firm, Judge of Cania
True neutral 	Neuthroxus the Fair, Judge of Cania
Chaotic neutral	Murdus the Wild, Judge of Cania
Lawful evil 	Dretchen the Dark, Scourge of Cania
Neutral evil 	Nel'zeben the Selfish, Scourge of Cania
Chaotic evil 	Ba'elzaden the Cruel, Scourge of Cania
===References===
Category:Magic