It was the early 30s, war was on the horizon, and the Sepulcherian Company of the Silver Nails had staked out some territory in the Lost District outside the city’s lightning barriers. The Severosian cavalry found that was the safest place to handle training their horses to fight ghosts, and to discourage tampering with their expensive horseflesh.
Like all the officers, Grainer was an adept. He was on an errand into the city when he saw a little girl, not even ten, chased by a ghost. He was ready to swoop in and save the day when he saw her take hold of the ghost and rip it open. When he found out she was homeless, he adopted her.
Silver is a noble metal because it does not corrode. It also holds enchantments well. When Grainer gave her the first of many silver weapons, she solemnly told him she wished her blood was silver too. After that, he gave her the nickname Red Silver. He had no way to know what her eventual betrayal would cost him or the Company, but even if he had, there’s no way to know whether he would have loved her any less.
From unpublished notes on Silver Nails and the Lost District by historian Garnel Taldorian
Man, I love that you do this! I think we’re all so used to seeing incredibly evocative stuff from you and your patreon, that we forget to speak up and encourage you in it.
So please, as long as these thoughts keep coming up, keep sharing it!
This is very cool, Andrew. Thanks for sharing it!
Amazing!
Thanks! I appreciate it. If the group started ignoring these I’d get self-conscious and quit posting them here, so thank you for welcoming them.
In the second Doskvol novel every other chapter heading explains how one of the characters got their handle and we’re through 5 of the 11.
The goal for me in writing them is to not take the obvious angle, but to come up with something that the reader would never guess but makes perfect sense in retrospect.
That’s part of the fun of bridging game play and fiction; they give each other ideas. I hope this broadens the base of what players think to do with character names. =)