Alright so today's headache was real – got this dark character in my story who's basically a fallen angel but naming him felt like pulling teeth. Started clicking through naming websites again, rolling my eyes at the usual 'Demonix' or 'Shadowreaper' crap. Seriously? Overdone. Took my cold coffee to the computer – bad idea, almost spilled it twice.
The Search Begins (And Sucks)
Opened a million tabs:
Bad:
- Azraelos? Too melodramatic.
- Vortheus? Sounds like a cheap energy drink.
- Malakas? Yeah no… hard pass.
Felt stuck. My character needed grit, not this theatrical garbage. Closed everything. Decided to walk away before I rage-quit writing entirely.
Went to the kitchen. Made toast. Burnt it. Perfect.
The "Lightbulb" Moment (Accidentally)
Was crunching on charcoal-flavored bread when an old phrase popped into my head - "scrying the abyss." Huh. Weird word, ‘Scry’. Started playing with sounds in my head like mumbling a spell:
- Scrythain? Too fantasy RPG.
- Scrythanos? Nope, Marvel lawsuit incoming.
- Just SCRYTH. Said it out loud. Felt… hollow. Like stone scraping stone. Tossed an 'o' on the end? SCRYTHO. Almost. Added the 'ax' for bite. SCRYTHOAX. Sat with it. Grinned. Tasted like ashes and victory.
Testing It Out
Wrote a quick scene:
"Scrythoax stepped from the smoke, wings ragged obsidian shards. The mortals whispered ‘devil’. They had no name for what he’d become."
Worked. Instantly. Solid. Heavy. No fancy Latin roots needed, just a nasty crunch of syllables that fit the character’s broken vibe like a glove.
Saved the draft. Shut the laptop. Done. Another dumb name problem solved by sheer stubbornness and burnt toast. SCRYTHOAX stays.
