Lore:Nymic

Protonymics and neonymics, often simply called nymics, make up an entity's incantatory name—sometimes referred to as a true name, which the Daedra are defined by. Daedra cannot abandon or change their Nymics, and their true names endure even when their physical form is annihilated. Daedra are bound by their Nymics, and cannot change beyond their nature, shaped by them perpetually in one changeless form for all time. As Daedra reconstitute exactly as according to their Nymic if they are destroyed, Nymics can be thought of as a pattern or formula that defines the being created when it manifests itself from the eternal chaos of Oblivion.Thus a Daedric Prince such as Mehrunes Dagon is defined as a god of destruction by his own Nymic and can't simply choose to be something else, if he is banished, he is reconstituted exactly as he was before because he is bound to his portfolio eternally. Daedra fear the possibility of an enemy learning their Nymic, and guard them preciously. Daedra bitterly resent those who exercise power over them by using their Nymic. It's exceedingly dangerous to even write a Daedra's Nymic, as should that Daedra learn even part of its name has been recorded somewhere, it will stop at nothing to destroy the writing and punish the mortal who dared to set it down.

A Daedra's overall true name can be comprised of multiple types of Nymics. A "protonymic" is the description of a kindred of species for creatures that lack the self-awareness to identify themselves as individuals such as a Daedrat. A "neonymic" is an additional Nymic that more "sophisticated" Daedra, such as Dremora, Skaafin, or Watchers, have in addition to their protonymic, such creatures can be checked or angered by the us of their protonymic alone, a summoner must also know their neonymic to banish them. A "tribunymic" indicates clan affiliation and a "hieronymic" a Daedra's rank within it, and many Daedra possess such nymics. Greater Daedra, such as the Daedric Princes, possess additional layers to their Nymics, such as the potent "egonymic", which lesser Daedra lack and of which they are largely unaware. In general, simple-minded Daedra have a single Nymic, while Daedra of stronger will and purpose have two, three, or even more Nymics. A mortal mage must make use of each one in order to bend the Daedra to their will. With the right sort of magic, it is possible to alter a Nymic, and in turn, alter the Daedra defined by it. A truly capable mage who learns a Daedra's complete Nymic could change its loyalties, limit its powers, anchor it into a different physical form (such as an object of some kind), or simply disperse it altogether. The more powerful and complex the Daedra, the more nymics it has, and the more complex the nymic, the more difficult it is to carry out such alterations or affect the Nymic via magic.

Nymics are employed as the focus for incantatory magic, allowing the user to gain substantial control over whoever the Nymic belongs to, typically by summoning or banishment. However, if the entity possesses both a protonymic and a neonymic, speaking only one of them bears little to no effect.

The invocation of an immortal Daedra's true name drains its "vital force" into Oblivion, which forces the entity to follow. It remains there until its vital force replenishes itself, a state which is described as "somewhat analogous to sleep for mortals". But as Daedra do not require sleep, it is viewed by them as a state "as close to the terror and despair of death" as they can experience. Some mages have been known to make spell scrolls which incorporate a Daedra's Nymic to imprison Daedra they wish to bind to their service. If used improperly, such scrolls will instead be destroyed and summon a different Daedra to the one the mage wished to bind in the process.

Bosmer priests known as Namespinners can perceive another person's protonymic, unweave it slightly and then chant a new suffix into it in order to alter the physical form of a person. This ability can be used to give antlers to Bosmer who are deemed worthy of this decoration.

Historical Uses

Mehrunes Dagon is banished through the use of his Nymic

One historical usage of an 'incantatory name' was in the banishment of the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon by an Apprentice during the invasion of the Battlespire in 3E 398. The sorcerer Chimere Graegyn had previously invoked the Prince's protonymic at some point before 3E 172; over two hundred years prior. Lord Dagon's full incantatory name (as recorded) is Lehkelogah, Djehkeleho-dehbe-effehezepeh. In addition to this, the Apprentice used the neonymics of three Daedra Lords, all of which were recorded within the notes of Dagon's lieutenant, Grand Vizier Imago Storm.

Maligraphies manifesting out of roiling ink

in 2E 582, Tho'at Replicanum, a Daedra Lord who had taken on the form of "vivified ink", invaded the Infinite Archive in search of something. Tho'at splintered her Nymic and imbued it into the tomes of the Archive, allowing her to create a potentially infinite number of Maligraphies, Daedric facsimiles of vivified ink that replicated the creatures and objects described in the texts that spawned them, extensions of Tho'at herself which took on a variety of forms such mortals of different races and affiliations, other daedric entities, animals, nature spirits, dragons, shades, celestials, undead, and even Dwemer or clockwork constructs, as well as their accompanying equipment such as powerful artifacts.

In response to the invasion Master Malkhest, caretaker of the Archive, used Seekers to recruit adventurers to combat the Maligraphies. With the aid of the Vestige, Malkhest gathered enough Nymic fragments from the vanquished Maligraphies to summon Tho'at Replicanum and banish her. However, in addition to creating Maligraphic copies of the creatures in the tomes, Tho'at had already replicated herself hundreds of times across the Archive by creating Maligraphic copies of herself. Though replicas, each Tho'at Replicanum copy had a slightly different Nymic, so they were all separate beings to one another, and different Nymics had to be gathered to banish each. The Vestige and Malkhest would continue working to banish the spreading presence of Tho'at and the Maligraphies from the Infinite Archive.

Related Terms

An Ambition using Mehrunes Dagon's egonymic to banish him from Nirn

• An egonymic is a stronger, more potent version of a nymic. It is possible that only the Daedric Princes possess egonymics. The egonymic serves as an additional layer of protection against adversaries who think to compel such a being to do their bidding. They are powerful and guarded with extreme care. The Longhouse Emperors once entered into a bargain with Mehrunes Dagon whereby Dagon's egonymic was split into four parts and hidden within four mortal infants known as the Four Ambitions, granting them untold powers of elemental destruction and the ability to absorb Daedric energies by mixing Daedric power with the essence of the four mortals, a combined essence which would grow throughout their lives, eventually threatening to ignite cities and consume the Ambitions themselves. Following the fall of the Longhouse dynasty, Dagon attempted to recover his egonymic by locating the Ambitions and harvesting the power they had nurtured, as each of the Ambitions had the power to merge Nirn with the Deadlands or even destroy both realms if the merging process was disrupted. He planned to use this power to merge Nirn with his plane of Deadlands, the Ambition serving as the spark within Nirn that'd summon Dagon's fire from Oblivion and was given the power of one of the Ambitions, starting a realm merging process which was stopped by The Vestige. Ultimately an Ambition named Mairead instead used Dagon's egonymic to banish him from Nirn. the Ambitions he'd created by imprinting the four with his Egonymic were subsequently taken Lyranth the Foolkiller who stored them in a safe place in preparation for using them to fulfill a promise she'd made. The Ambitions were described by Lyranth the Foolkiller as the power to truly change one's nature, even that of a Daedra. They were said to bear part of something that wasn't themselves, Mehrunes Dagon, within them, and could sense that in each other. As the Egonymic within an Ambition belonged to Mehrunes Dagon, the Ambitions could be influenced by the Egonymic through Dagon's dark impulses. The same power and process which was to create the Ambitions was used to create the Incarnates, powerful Daedric beings described as living natural disasters.

• The term nymic-path is referenced within Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book 3, but its meaning is unknown.
• Daedric clans are known to have protracted tribunymics which are never spoken or revealed lest they be used as a weapon against them.
• Another related term is paleonymic, a name which can be used to bind a Daedra.
• Hieronymics are the classifications that Daedra use for each other (such as names and titles). They are supposedly outside of mortal understanding, as mortals don't live long enough to understand their nuances.
• Harmonic Astronymics is an ancient Dwemer text which seemingly deals with the constellations and how to harness their power.
• The term chrononymic is used in association with Sotha Sil (such as 'chrononymic will'). It also appears to be used in the context of Sotha Sil banishing Mehrunes Dagon, where it is said the word was used to cause Dagon to "explode throught all time" as well as "quake the Earthbones and "shake the All-Axle.
• Logonymic Wards are used by Hermaeus Mora in the Bastion Nymic as a defense system. During Vaermina and Peryite's invasion of Apocrypha, the wards were hijacked by the Princes' Heralds to defend themselves. This was stopped by the Vestige.
• Hermaeus Mora is said to know the Nymics of countless Daedra, which he keeps catalogued within the Bastion Nymic in Apocrypha.

Notes

• The true name of one of Vaermina's pets, a Daedric spirit called the 'Omen of Madness', is Ykal.
• Part of Malacath's true name is on the Brutal Bands.
• The topic of nymics was discussed by members of Lusty Argonian Historical Society in Frostfall 3E 432. The main point of the debate was whether a Daedra's protonymic changes or remains constant. They concluded that neonymics likely change or adjust every time a Daedra reforms, as no Daedric Princes have yet been enslaved through the use of their known neonymic.

See Also

Books

• On the Nature of Nymics by Divayth Fyr — A Telvanni mage's thoughts on Daedric Nymics
• A Summoner's Guide to Nymics by Cipher Sethali — An overview of nymics in relation to Daedra and summoning

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.