November Spotlight Series – The Bard’s Choice – Week 3

Titles are a big cultural component in The Bard’s Choice. The main character, Kaeya, is known to all but a few as The Alchemist, because as a pawn dealer of stolen goods she can ‘turn any item into gold.’ She goes up against The Gilder (real name – Andros), who runs a functional gild shop as a cover for an underground magic business.

But what do these titles really mean? Read on for five facts about how titles function within this fictional society.

Names = Power

In this world, having one of these titles is a way to protect your real name when doing business. Names hold a great deal of power in their culture, so knowing a person’s true name is valuable information. Of course, no one ends up with a title without being powerful and dangerous, so even if you do know someone’s real name, it’s probably not smart to use it.

Nobles think it’s silly

Probably because they think it diminishes the authority held by their actual titles (and they’re not wrong.) It’s a subculture that exists only among the lower classes, but to anyone within that subset, the titles are more significant than true nobility titles anyway.

You don’t pick your own

Titles are like nicknames on the Appalachian Trail, other people have to pick it for you. Now, that doesn’t mean certain people don’t cheat a little. When Andros was first rising in power, people were referring to him as The Gold Man, which he didn’t like, so he paid off a bunch of peasants to start using The Gilder instead, and it stuck.

How it started

Before titles were used in this world, names were still considered important and valuable. Powerful people in the underground cultures of these cities chose not to reveal their names as a way to create an aura of mystery. But others still needed to refer to them as something, so the first titles were just the most basic description of their profession: the assassin, the thief, the spy. These individuals started referring to themselves with the same terminology, capitalizing it to The Doctor, The Interrogator, etc.

No Repeats Allowed

Once a title is used, it’s off limits for all eternity. Although, an exception is made if a person disgraces themselves to the point where they lose their title. If that happens, someone else might step up and claim it. Additionally, since there’s no such thing as a registry of these titles and it’s primarily word of mouth, it is possible for a title to be repeated in another region. This is actually common, but it’s rare that anyone notices the duplication.

Bonus fact

You have to squint to see it, but another one of my books also also mentions these titles. Sisters, A Sorceress, Curses, and Songs takes place in the same world, many years after the events of The Bard’s Choice. Emilin, while not nobility, aspires to be seen as respectable by the upper class. She therefore shares their opinion of ‘commoner titles’ being insignificant, so the titles aren’t heavily discussed in the book.

Enter to Win a Copy! – LAST DAY TO ENTER!!

Don’t forget, since November is the spotlight month for The Bard’s Choice, two lucky winners will receive a signed hardcover copy of the book (Or the Audiobook version! Your choice), plus extra goodies! To enter, just comment on this post! Winner will be announced on November 30th.