The Naming Art originated in the need to recognize and refer to something when it first came into being.
Just as the name parents and elders gave a newborn baby would become his lifelong label.
Devils born in Hell also had such a label.
However, a devil's true name was not given by parents or elders, but arose from his own characteristics.
Greed, hatred, cruelty, lust, envy, gluttony, pride...
These negative forces within the minds of intelligent beings gave rise to devils.
That was why, in many folk legends and mythological tales, recognizing a devil's true nature could help intelligent beings resist and control him.
Throughout the ages, mages had studied and tried to unravel the mysteries of true names.
It was no easy task.
But Leilide's True Name Pact took the opposite approach. He had no intention of studying or deciphering a true name; instead, he forcibly bestowed a name in a manner that superseded the existing rules.
Research into spells of this kind had a long history. Leilide had not invented them, nor were mages the only ones who could use them.
Throughout history, across all lands and eras, the same thing often had many names.
For example, pet names given by parents and relatives, nicknames used among friends, courtesy names, and honorifics bestowed after achieving fame and success.
Or common names in various dialects and vernaculars, scientific names recorded in textbooks...
Coding systems in scientific research, auto-incrementing IDs in databases, UUIDs...
Of these, only those that were unique and immutable truly met the definition of a true name.
Mages had once researched this in depth. Runic Mages, in particular, who drew power from language and writing, hoped to master the laws governing these characteristics to achieve their own ends.
Yet they had reluctantly discovered that devils were,