After listening to my partner absolutely butcher some of my characters’ names, I decided to audio record myself saying them for your (eventual) reading pleasure. Be forewarned, my voice sucks.
Keep in mind that some of these are *actual* names, and while I tried to keep to their real pronunciations, sometimes a variation worked better in my head or fit better with the cadence of the other names. So please don’t send me hate mail saying THAT’S NOT HOW YOU SAY IT, DUMMY because I KNOW, I PROMISE.
Tikran
My boy Tikran is my MMC. I invented (or thought I invented) his name, but apparently there’s a river in India with the same name. Luckily, they are pronounced the same way, as far as I can tell.
Coxani
The FMC, whose name, as far as I can tell, is archaic and no is no longer in use. Where did I get it? I was looking at a historical record of children from the Eurasian steppe who were sold in Egypt as slaves. It was a register of the children’s names and ages, along with the buyer’s name. One child was listed as “Coxani, age 8.” Then, when I did a random search for the name, Wikipedia provided me with this:
OBVIOUSLY it had to be her name! DUH!
Naran
I took liberties with this name… But the way I pronounce it goes with the above two names beautifully, IMO.
Mago
Ah, my beloved slave trader… This, too, is apparently a real name, and I think I pronounce it correctly… Who knows…
Bilguun
The fierce king of Dilovar’s name is Mongolian, and while I listened to recordings of how to pronounce it correctly, I don’t think I physically can. Thus, you’ll have to deal with my artistic interpretation.
Ogedei
This is the capital of Dilovar, and I shamelessly stole this name from history: Ögedei Khan was the second ruler of the Mongol Empire and the son of Genghis Khan. As you can tell, Dilovar is very loosely based on medieval Mongolia.
Durai
Last but not least, durais are retired, successful Manzakars who own land and are “lords” in their own right as reward for their loyalty and excellent service to the king. Think of them as “nobles” who aren’t white, are beneath Anzori nobility, and are still technically slaves.
Welp, that wraps up this this episode of “Rima listens to her own voice and cringes for twenty minutes.” Stay tuned for a map, class diagram, and some fantastic character art soon to come!