So it is done

Jonathan Goodman

Jonathan Goodman paused for a moment, examining his notes lying on the table in some sort of creative disarray. The notes in the margins here and there, made the document difficult to read, but Jonathan himself knew which parts he could safely ignore, and which ones actually carried the bulk of the information. Which symbols, scrawled in the corners of the pages, he could discard with complete confidence, and which ones required his full concentration and further refinement.

Surely, who but the creator of these notes and inscriptions could have known about the peculiarities of the dry document encrypted in the lines. It's almost a form of encryption in and of itself.

There may, however, be a few other people in this world besides Jonathan that could read it, but all of these people, Jonathan trusted... well, almost all of them.

Jonathan Goodman. Mage, king, cripple, hero, outlaw, future headmaster of the Hermes Hunter Academy.

How many titles Jonathan Goodman has managed to gain in his not-so-long life?

Twenty-four years, it's amazing how much can happen in a short twenty-four years of life. In six years, or even in one day.

One day was all it needed for Jonathan Goodman's life to turn upside down, when Jonathan Goodman found himself in a world so unfamiliar, and so strange.

One decision to reach out to Cinder Fall, and when he made the decision to stay in Glenn. One fight for him to bring the shards of the moon down to earth.

One day for him to announce the organization of the Glenn Monarchy.

One day to find himself on the brink of death without feeling a noose attached to his neck.

Just one day could change a man's life so dramatically, their future, even their entire identity.

What would have happened if Jonathan Goodman had not been in Atlas when he had first arrived in Remnant, but in Mantle instead? Vale? Or even in the land of Grimm?

Who would Jonathan Goodman have been then?

Jonathan glanced in the mirror placed on his desk and looked away.

Who was he now?

Jonathan Goodman.

That was not Jonathan's real name.

Mages of the Order of Hermes had always had a special reverence for names.

And every mage of the Order of Hermes had four names.

The name given to them at birth. Darwin Alexander Bradford.

A young naturalist.

A craftsman's name. The name a mage received in the course of their training, a name by which the mage was known in their 'professional' circles. Jonathan Arian Goodman, bani Hermetica.

A Shadow Name. A name that mages rarely used, a combinatorial name used exclusively in old rituals and ceremonies. This name Jonathan never officially managed to get.

A shadow name was generally made up from a combination of the name of a mage's birth name and a craft name, peppered with a list of titles and metaphorical descriptions. The name was only used on rare occasions. When a mage is appointed to the position of Master, an official duel, certamen, the court of the bani Quaesitor.

Such a name was usually bequeathed to a mage from the hands of their teacher, then confirmed in front of the Council of the Order, and afterwards added to according to their liking.

There were no direct rules in making a Shadow name. Anyone could add any title or any phrase they wished. And, while high-sounding statements such as the most powerful mage in the universe would only elicit laughter and anger from some, strictly speaking, there was no official ban on such things.