Dino Riders, by Sad Irfan
Haven’t been posting much on this blog lately because I’ve been working on a novel… one aspect of which I will share here.
Figuring strongly in the novel is a decadent nation where magic-using warriors ride dragons into battle. Dragons are, in fact, bred by the island’s royal family for that purpose. So it stands that these mounts must have names by which they are referred, and that those names have a similar style so those in military know they are dragons and not, say, horses or slaves. Yet the names must also be individually distinctive since every dragon is different in appearance and temperament, so that when a wing captain says to an underling “Prepare Warbru for riding” the underling knows who Warbru is and how he must be handled.
So I came up with a two-syllable system of limited vowels and sharp-sounding distinctive consonants, easily shouted and easily understood. The names are assigned to the dragons at birth, likely in a random fashion.
That system could work similarly for other scenarios in which monstrous mounts (think gryphons, pterosaurs, t-rexes, etc.) are bred and used for battle. (A review of one fantasy book that used the concept, The Dinosaur Lords, is here.)
This list gives an idea of it. I used vowel sounds and consonants based on the Czech language but you can just as easily substitute your own.
Names for Monster Mounts
| Aadni
Ansa Babsa Borszi Czaatni Czorchi Ebha Essla Hishzwa Hwedna Idna Mamra Oshzu |
Raaghi
Rozhro Satza Sirma Tarctza Totzu Tozha Tuctzi Turra Ucra Warbru Worta Zwimdza |
