In the story I’m currently working on, there exists a race of beings I call wraiths, which is just a placeholder for something else I make up. Wraith just isn’t right and really doesn’t fit what I intend these creatures to be. I don’t think I’m alone in my struggle to create a name for these entities that is memorable—I think this is a challenge many Fantasy writers face. In ‘Jericho Solus’, I never felt the need to dwell on the name of the Kurrin. The motivations of the subterranean creatures are simple and played only a small role in the overall story.
My wraiths are different in that they are my antagonist in the story. They yearn for warm blooded creatures…it gives them strength and substance. Like people, there are wraiths that can control their desire for power and those that madly seek it. As the wraiths consume (through various methods depending on the state the wraith is in) they become more substantial and begin to take on an amalgamated form of those consumed. Of course those wraiths that consume only people appear like people. Wraiths that are indiscriminate can appear grotesque and are easily identifiable and killed. But typically the wraiths are smart and cunning and blend quite well among people…maybe even infiltrate the hierarchy of the Dyran Dominions? Okay, enough of the teaser and back to the creature name. As a byproduct to a wraith consuming (called clutting), the victim is coated with a layer of frost. So I’m leaning toward a name something like Rimesect (Rime being a kind of ice) or Rimeman or Rimebeast or Rimefiend. I like rime over frost because I think ‘frost-this’ and ‘frost-that’ are done enough. My goal is to come up with a creature name that reflects or alludes to what the creature is. How about Cruelrime? Feel free to jump in and offer a suggestion.
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