Onomancy

**Onomancy** is a school of spellcasting in which the casters call upon the true name of a powerful entity (such as a deity, a powerful spirit or another type of mighty creature), and request magical aid from them. Onomancy is the rarest of the three main schools of magic, the others being divine astronomy and spirit chanting.

## True Names

To be able to practise onomancy, you must be knowledgeable of the true names of powerful entities. A "true name" is different from a regular name, as true names are tied to the creature's very soul. All souls have a unique true name, but this name is not set in stone. In history, there have been various powerful entities that have changed their true names.

True names cannot be expressed in mortal tongues. A true name is "expressed" spiritually, by feeling a highly specific set of emotions in combination with thinking certain thoughts. The best way to learn a true name is to be shared the knowledge through a technique called "spirit linking". By developing an intense emotional bond with someone that has knowledge of a true name, they can share the knowledge by letting you feel what they feel.

This is usually how true names are discovered as well. When a hero, before their ascendency to godhood, develops a strong emotional bond with someone, that person may remember how they spiritually "knew" the hero after the hero's ascendency. This "feeling", "knowing" how someone felt spiritually, is what a true name constitutes.

Spirit-linking is not the only way to learn a true name. Impersonal methods exist as well. Soul artists, those with a deeper knowledge of the abilities of the soul, have written special texts that put many in the exact mood necessary to call upon a specific entity. Spirit chanters have (accidentally) developed similar methods. Evocative hymns can have the effect of instilling the exact feelings necessary to "learn" a true name.

Sometimes, powerful entities themselves offer mortals knowledge of their true names. However, mortals should be cautious when offered such knowledge. These entities do not often grant such insight freely. A demonic spirit may, for example, offer its assistance in exchange for the mortal's servitude.

## Practising Onomancy

Once a mortal has learned a true name, they can begin practising their ability to call upon the powerful entity effectively. Successfully calling a true name opens a channel for communication with the entity. Such communication is not expressed in words, but in thoughts (although the mortal can often experience it as a conversation). Communicating in such a way does not come naturally to many mortals, and may be difficult. Only the most experienced onomancers can clearly express their desires and wishes to the entity they commune with. What complicates this matter further is that powerful entities and mortals think very differently. It may take decades for an onomancer to understand what a deity is attempting to communicate to them.

It is common for onomancers to swear loyalty and servitude to the entity that they commune with. The entities often wish for the onomancer to complete specific tasks in return for magical power, or that the onomancer adopts certain beliefs and lifestyles. Some mortals are categorically rejected by the entity. For example, even though deaf people can commune with the entity known as the Listener, they can never become its disciples.

Once you've become a loyal disciple of an entity, they may grant you magical boons in reward for your service. The Listener, for example, grants its followers the ability to enhance their own hearing, or to ignore sound completely. More direct aid can be granted as well. Entities can cast spells for their followers if they are asked to do so. Sytha can, for example, summon a lance of golden rays in the hands of her onomancers, which the onomancers can hurl at their foes.