Hello, first time poster here :)
I've been slowly creating a fantasy setting for a long time now, but I've yet to come up with a name for it. Naming things is pretty hard for me in general, but naming the whole world I find to be particularly difficult. This is so because the world is extremely large and diverse in terms of different peoples and the languages they speak, easily comparable to our own planet in this manner. Obviously each and every people will have their own word for "The World", and there's no sense favoring any one of them so much as to use their word for the entire thing. Also, IMO all words should have meaning - either to the inhabitants of the world, or to the real people who will use the setting. That basically rules out using random gibberish for the name.
With the aforementioned restrictions in place, I'm left with the option of coming up with a name in english. One that is both reasonably short and catchy, and also describes the setting. This is where I could use some help.
I guess I should try and give you a general idea about the setting. I'll sum up some things that characterize it:
* Means of transportation and communication are very limited. The world at large is a wild, dangerous place that sooner separates than connects it's inhabitants. Although humanity has spread to all the continents, Men are usually only aware of a tiny portion of the world they live in. Even the most far-travelled traders and the most learned scholars of the greatest empires have only a very limited understanding of geographic & ethnic "big picture". The unknown is shrouded in mystery. There has never been an age of exploration and there won't be one for a long time to come.
* Even the local lands may not be well-explored. Hard-to-travel areas such as deep forests, deserts, wetlands and rugged mountain ranges are home to savage tribes and strange monsters, left largely untouched by "civilization". Only in the most developed, densely-populated places (which comprise but a fraction of the world's surface) is the presense of terrifying unknown, untamed wilderness not felt.
* Non-human races have a place in the world like those found in RW myth & legend. While humans have spread all over the place, the other races are only found inhabiting specific corners of the world. They typically only interact with the human peoples of their own areas, and generally any interaction between races is very limited and often violent. Most people are completely unaware of the existence of races that are not native to their own lands; they may have heard tales about some races that live in other parts of the world but such tales would be impossible to tell apart from actual myths. Humans have wildly differing relations with the other races, but generally no one really thinks in terms of "races" so much as they see themselves as "the people" and other races as "monsters".
* There is no absolute morality, though people may believe otherwise. In general it's a rough, unforgiving world where the strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must. In the midst of the grim reality, the hearts of mortal Men beat with unyielding passion, forever striving to create a better tomorrow - mostly for themselves only...
* The matter of divinity is muddled; while there is ample enough evidence that "spiritual" beings and powers exist, their actual nature is anything but clear. Legends may speak of direct acts of gods and the like, but passage of time and human nature have rendered such stories unverifiable; often the same legend is repeated in different (and contradictory) versions among different populations. Even contemporary events remain at the mercy of mortal interpretation: when a miracle happens and is recognized (labeled) as such, it is often anything but obvious to which divinity it should be attributed and what conclusions should be drawn.
* The world has 2 suns and 5 moons. Level of magic is low/rare. Technology is hard to pin down, but I'm trying to steer away from typical "high medieval" feel, so inspiration is primarily drawn from earlier time periods. Silk has a special importance in the setting, it's kind of like the spice in Frank Herbert's Dune books: produced in only one place in the world and extremely valuable.
Now that that's done with, back to the question at hand: what would be a good name for such a setting? So far I've come up with the following candidates. Comments on them would be appreciated - and if you can think of some other good name, please post it!
Dawn of Man' (seems kinda unoriginal)
* '
The Savage Age' (reminiscent of R.E. Howard's Hyborian Age, but my setting is strictly a different planet and not a bygone age of Earth)
* '
Under Five Moons' (sounds a bit romantic for such a gritty setting)
* '
A Dream of Blood' (kinda meh)
* '
Empires of Silk' (puts too much emphasis on the empires, and there are some corners of the world where the silk trade routes do not reach)
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EDIT: Getting some good suggestions already!
The Uncharted Age'
* '
Song of Blood'
* '
Savage Age: Lands of Silk & Blood'
* '
The Age of Blood and Silk'
* '
Beneath The Savage Suns'
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Well, if your world has the equivalent The Silk Road could be possible, but it has the same connotations as Empires of Silk.
The The Uncharted Age is another possibility, seeing as there's no age of exploration.
Combining the two we get Uncharted Silk Roads.
My favorite of yours has to be Under Five Moons, even if it is somewhat romantic.
Savage Age works well. You could also try other X Ages: Wild Age, Sword Age, Steel Age, Shadow Age etc. Also if you find you like a word like Savage then try using it in combination with something else: Savage Kingdoms, Savage Blood, Savage Reign, etc.
Some suggestions:
* Crucible of Men (or just Crucible)
* Song of Steel
* Tales of Strength
Welcome to the CBG! :)
Your world sounds very multi-polar in that there are many large-scale empires rather than a single or dominant one. This makes for a big world but names will not come as easily.
i notice you're going for more of a generic name rather than a wrld name. This is reasonable, given the size and diversity of the world however those names will never feel as snug as a world name, IMO.
Do you concentrate on one of the areas in your world in particular? If so perhaps you can see the world through their eyes and a name will most assuredly come to you :)
Alternatively, you could go for a main title with a subtitle, such as... Savage Age: Lands of Silk & Blood, which would make a cool acronym - SALoSaB. You could also give it a personal flair such as... Cenartay: The Savage Age. Cenartay being a Turkish amalgam for Heavens & Moons.
Maybe name the setting after the larger of the two suns, or one of the moons that holds a cross-cultural appeal.
EDIT: I like the way The Uncharted Age: Crucible of Blood sounds... :)
Llum: Silk is actually produced on an archipelago unsurprisingly named The Silk Islands. Trade routes begin as naval routes to the continent and branch out in different directions, sometimes taking back to the seas along the way. So no Silk Road there as such. The Uncharted Age sounds interesting. I'll put that one under consideration.
SilvercatMoonpaw: Steel Age sounds nice. I haven't yet decided if steel is known to every culture though. I'm thinking one continent might still be using bronze, but it's still open. From your Song of Steel I could get Song of Blood maybe.
Thank you for all the suggestions :)
Quote from: Elemental_ElfDo you concentrate on one of the areas in your world in particular? If so perhaps you can see the world through their eyes and a name will most assuredly come to you :)
I don't concentrate on any area in the sense that I'd consider it more important than the others. I definitely will concentrate on some areas in the sense that they will be developed in greater detail - the world is too large that I could go in-depth on every area, and I'll probably intentionally leave some very vaguely defined areas so that there's an "empty" place to fill when needed. Even so there will be multiple areas of focus, which would not use the same name of the world.
Quote from: Elemental_ElfSavage Age: Lands of Silk & Blood, which would make a cool acronym - SALoSaB.
Wow, I like the look of that name!
Quote from: Elemental_ElfMaybe name the setting after the larger of the two suns, or one of the moons that holds a cross-cultural appeal.
Different cultures in this world have very different ideas about the suns though, including religions. They have different names for them for sure.
I'm not sure about including "blood" in the title. It seems a bit "Look at me! I'm gritty!" I'm not saying there's anything wrong with gritty, I just personally feel like having it be part of the title is almost trying to hard. Although SALoSaB wasn't bad. Partly, I think, because it's a subtitle, and partly because it's juxtaposed with silk, so it gives a combination of images instead of just "blood."
Some random ideas off the top of my head...
Two Savage Suns
Two Harsh Suns
The Age of Blood and Silk
Ages of Blood and Silk
Rough Heroes
Rough-hewn Heroes
Untamed
The Untamed Earth
The Untamed Age
Silk Empires, Savage Wastes
Savage Passions
Twin Suns
Twinworld
Beneath Two Cruel Suns
Cruel Suns
By the way, silk-powers and the like are always cool - I have one in my main setting (the Cadaverous Earth), a city called Skein (one of the last seven Twilight Cities) that has a major silk monopoly. I also have a city that more directly alludes to Dune and the spice, Moroi, a city built around a huge tree whose sap is used as an arcane drug.
Hello Steerpike, and thanks for the suggestions. I loved reading what I have so far of your Cadaverous Earth, that's some great writing!
The Age of Blood and Silk sounds like a good candidate. TABS would make a sweet acronym.
From your Beneath Two Cruel Suns I would devise Beneath The Savage Suns.
A few more ideas inspired by what others have posted and your comments.
Silk Seas
Under Silken Skies/Moons/Suns
Uncharted Frontiers
Untamed Expanses
I'll also echo Seraphine that I'm not a big fan of the word blood in the title.
Savage Suns & Malign Moons
Savage Skies & Silken Roads
Age of Forfeit
Chronicles of Forgotten Moons
Two Suns: Silken Eyes
Savage Globe: Men, Beasts & Caravans
[blockquote=Ghostman]'Empires of Silk' (puts too much emphasis on the empires, and there are some corners of the world where the silk trade routes do not reach)[/blockquote]
This is not really an issue. The areas outside of the established Silk Realms or whatever they may also be called would provide an interesting contrast and uniqueness considering they are untouched by the rest of the known world. You can use this to your advantage for adventures, important locales, and stories.
Quote from: LlumWell, if your world has the equivalent The Silk Road could be possible, but it has the same connotations as Empires of Silk.
The The Uncharted Age is another possibility, seeing as there's no age of exploration.
Combining the two we get Uncharted Silk Roads.
I like 'Uncharted Silk Roads' the best because it shows how the world would be explored and known with time, how merchants will start making those maps as they advance but they may get a different grasp of the world that will change when one scholar studies the moons or something and realizes something unknown to all leading to a better knowledge of geography.
The silk trade reinforces the ancient history feel you want.
Heh the ultimate hybrid with subtitles:
Beneath the Savage Suns: An Uncharted Age of Blood and Silk
also,
Uncharted Roads: An Age of Blood and Silk, Beneath the Savage Suns
Quote from: SteerpikeHeh the ultimate hybrid with subtitles:
Beneath the Savage Suns: An Uncharted Age of Blood and Silk
also,
Uncharted Roads: An Age of Blood and Silk, Beneath the Savage Suns
I vote the latter, though I would remove the unnecessary comma.
I think I'll go for something a bit shorter though :-p
Savage Suns: Age of Blood & Silk?
Quote from: GhostmanI think I'll go for something a bit shorter though :-p
WHY!? Why wouldn't you want a mile-long name!? :-p
But seriously, most of that was subtitle. You could get away with calling it "Uncharted Roads" 90% of the time.
I still like the idea of a short succinct title with an equally short but more flavorful subtitle.
I would recommend naming your system SILK - make an acronym out of it. Are there any notable personalities or gods in your world you can throw at us? That may help, too.
Aww english only. But its so much fun to use overused ancient languages to make cool titles sound cooler :P
Like for example: via acerbus (dark road)
Nah I'm going to leave the abusing of overused ancient languages for the names of countries, cities and people :D
The Uncharted Age:Nights Under Savage Moons
The Uncharted Age:Bloodied Lands of Silk
The Uncharted Age:Spirits of the Unknown
Are options if your set on the Title:Subtitle deal.
Its too bad you don't publish your settings... I mean with all these subtitles you could have a name for every major area in your world! :)
I've decided to organize my world into several mini-settings. Basically I'm going to use something similar to Gnome Nachos's zones, and treat each area as an independent setting. Of corse they'll still be part of the same world and the borders between them will be rather blurry, but each setting should be able to stand on it's own feet.
What this means to naming is that I'll need a short name for the overall world, while the names of the zones/settings will be used as subtitles. I think I'm going to settle with Savage Age as the master name. For example, a particular zone called "Brond" would be titled as Savage Age: Brond. These subtitles won't need to be in english since they represent specific cultural spheres within the world.
Very cool. I'm glad we could help you!
Bah... I didn't get here in time to offer my suggestion. I'm going to do it anyway. I'd call it "The Verge", or perhaps just "Verge."
Savage Age: The Silken Verge... That would make a cool supplement!