Naming the Six Wardens · 4:44pm Mar 13th, 2016
Six and One!
By now, The World Within the Web has been up on Fimfiction for around a month and a half, and is almost finished with Part 1 of the story - a big milestone. So far, I've been blown away by the positive reception its received, especially seeing that this is my first time really writing something like this. In particular, several people have been asking for more details about the setting, the characters, and how each were made, so I've elected to start a series of blog-posts that answer some of these questions, beginning with this one. Before we get to that, however, I'll take the time to pass along some sincere thanks.
Behold! Two early reviews of this story have been given by two readers, both of whom have been keeping up with this story since the very start. First of all, a certain High Roller, who submitted this story for review by the site-wide acclaiming group Seattle's Angels - hopefully that will pan out in the future. And second, Architect Ironturtle, a contributor in the famous Goodfic Bin, one of the most prestigious groups on the site. It so happens that Architect both submitted this story and reviewed it here - huge thanks for that. I even got a shiny new ribbon!
I'll be amending the description of the story in the future to reflect reviews like this, so thank you all again for the support!
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Anyways, onto the bulk of this post: the Wardens. By this point in the story, you have met all six of them in some detail, and gotten a look at their characters and personalities. A lot more than just a glimpse will be offered as the story goes on, but now is a chance to expand upon a few details concerning them - such as their names.
One of the tricky parts of creating a story like this was the identity of the Wardens: they each had to be an embodiment of the same virtues of Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic as the Mane Six in the show, but they also could not be exactly the same, or else I would just be copy-pasting the show characters and putting OC titles on them. I had actually once considered not even giving the Wardens true names: instead, they would just be called by their titles of "Warden of Loyalty," etc. I decided against that, in the end (with one obvious exception), and instead chose to grant each Warden a name that I felt reflected both the personality of their respective Element, and their own distinct traits.
Feylen Mars, The Warden of Magic
Similar to Twilight Sparkle, Feylen Mars is very much the intellectual arm of his group of friends, being inquisitive, scholarly, and a good organizer. Not coincidentally, they are both involved very much in the practice of magic, both of the "Friendship is - " variety and others. On the other hand, however, Mars has a very different bend to his mind. Twilight Sparkle is portrayed as being something of a scientist in the show. Mars is more of a theologian in his personal talents, though he certain has experience in other fields as well, and he happens to be a much more distant, saturnine figure than our own Princess of Friendship, due to repeated bouts of personal illness that have left a great impact on him.
Mars hails from a land in the far north of the Known Internet, where cybramancy (called 'the gift' by his people, and 'the curse' by most others) is common. In this land - like some in our world - names are comprised of the family name first, and the given name second: thus, 'Feylen' is the name of his bloodline, and 'Mars' is the name he was given at birth.
The name Feylen is comprised of two parts, both significant. 'Fey' probably stuck out immediately: it is derived from an Old English word meaning "sickly," but morphed over time to mean "distant," "otherworldly," "foreboding," and finally to denote those with a special power - the ability to see the future. Obviously, these all fit Mars rather well. 'Len' is less obvious, and was more due to some worldbuilding I embarked on. Some aspects of Mars' homeland are based upon Scandinavian culture, and it so happens that 'len' is an old Scandinavian word for "fief," or a tract of land ruled by a noble family. In the land Mars comes from, various important families with a penchant for cybramancy rule most of the land - having this word 'len' in their name is how you can tell if a family is part of this class or not. 'Len' also happens to be a programming term, used when creating subroutines (something to keep in mind, considering that this setting is based on the Internet).
Finally, the name 'Mars' is a reference to one of his most important duties: watching the stars, in order to learn when new Seasons are approaching. Naming him after an important astronomical body made perfect sense. Granted, he and the Roman god Mars don't have a lot in common, but roll with me on this.
Jestin Jen, the Warden of Laughter
Jestin Jen has all of the happiness and optimism of Pinkie Pie, his respective Element. However, one might notice right away that there are distinct differences: Jestin lacks much of Pinkie's hyperactivity, being a much more subdued, understated person. He's less of a ball of mad-cap energy, instead radiating a more enigmatic cheerfulness. He does, however, greatly exhibit one of Pinkie's less recognized qualities: being extremely perceptive, and knowing much, much more than he lets on.
'Jestin' is, believe it or not, a real name, being a Welsh variant on the more common name 'Justin.' The obvious connection is that 'Jestin' sounds very close to 'jesting,' meaning 'joking' or 'fooling around' - a good choice for the embodiment of Laughter.
Less obvious, however, is another connection he has to Pinkie's name. Both 'Jestin Jen' and 'Pinkie Pie' are composed of nine letters, with a first name comprised of six letters and a second name with three, and both are also alliterative. They also both have much more mundane middle names (Pinkie Diane Pie)... but that's a story for another day.
Madelin Artemelia Wright, the Warden of Loyalty
Rainbow Dash and Madelin Wright share many crucial personality traits: both are competitive, brash, aggressive, and often impulsive, one top of being naturally athletic. Unlike RD, however, Madelin is not one for napping or sleeping in - in fact, she rarely sleeps at all. Contrasted with Jestin, Madelin is extremely hyperactive, as shown by her non-stop motor-mouth antics and tendency to fly off on digressions on a whim, something that makes her very exhausting to some.
'Madelin' is a variant on the name 'Madeleine,' which can either mean "great" (for her boisterous personality) or "little girl" (for her short stature) depending upon which language one takes it from. The name 'Wright' is usually taken to mean a worker of some variety, but I chose it due to its connection with a specific pair of people who carried that name: the Wright Brothers that discovered human flight. Considering Madelin's connection to the flight-happy Rainbow Dash, this is very appropriate.
Madelin's middle name, 'Artemelia,' is a combination of several historical/mythical people. First Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, then Artemisia, a warrior-queen that commanded part of the Persian navy during Xerxes' Invasion (referring to her command of the Brony Fleet), and finally the name Amelia, which means "industrious" and is connected to the famous aviator Amelia Earhart.
Lillian Semmer, the Warden of Kindness
Both Fluttershy and Lillian Semmer are deeply compassionate, caring people that believe in aiding others. Lillian doesn't have quite the same level of timidness of Fluttershy, and is far more outgoing, but makes up for that by being much more odd than her counterpart. Lilly has a tendency to speak and act strangely, as though she is not seeing quite the same thing as everyone else, and is prone to esoteric habits such as taking sudden vows of silence without telling anyone or fasting for days on a whim.
The lily flower has numerous varieties and thus has a number of different meanings attached to it. Some of the highlights of these, however, are the symbolic use of lilies to represent innocence, purity, devotion, sympathy, and friendship. The name Semmer, on the other hand, is a play on "summer," which is held as the time of year that best displays life and vitality.
Violet Brushshape, the Warden of Generosity
Violet and Rarity are probably the closest in terms of personality of all the Wardens and Elements, both being elegant, creative, courteous, charitable, and just slightly devious. Violet does, however, differ in some ways. One of Rarity's most emphasized qualities is her artistic side, being a dressmaker and designer by trade. Violet is more fond of painting, but in general her artistic side is less important to her than to Rarity - her specialties are more concerned with diplomacy and politics, similar to Rarity's ability to charm and convince others. Violet is also less concerned with romance, but both are still consummate workaholics that love their jobs and are deeply concerned with helping others.
Violet's name has an obvious connection to Rarity, due to it being on of her Element's primary colors (Rarity's purple mane, most notably). At the same time, the color violet itself has other dimensions to it: that color has long been associated with the regal, the opulent, and the noble - since Violet is easily the most genteel of the Wardens, this was entirely appropriate. 'Brushshape,' by comparison, is a reference to the other side of her work, since the Generous Friends are involved in both diplomacy and artistry. Her name, then, reflects both of the main duties to which her branch attends.
It's also worth nothing that Violet is one of only two Wardens to have taken "Brony names" - invented pseudonyms received by fandom converts, meant to be similar to standard pony names. The only other person to have done this is...
The Warden of Honesty
In some ways, the Warden of Honesty and Applejack match up very well. Both are simple, pragmatic, and not given for flowery speech or grand displays. They are both practical people, who value hard work and efficiency over anything else, and both are devoted to the point of being inflexible and stubborn. And they are both very... well, honest, seeing falsehood as wrong in most very situation. On the other hand, of course, the two are probably the most different of the Wardens and Elements. The Warden of Honesty has none of her folksy charm or easygoing friendliness: he is a sour, rigid, cold person by most accounts. He shares a profound devotion to those close to him, but does so in a highly fanatical way, that breeds both respect and fear from those around him.
The Warden of Honesty's name is probably the most straightforward, obviously. He is the Warden of Honesty, and he insists that people simply call him that, if they have to call him anything. This choice of name, however, does reflect a deep-seated part of the Warden's personality: selflessness. The Warden refuses, absolutely, to consider himself to be a human being or a person worthy of any amount of recognition or appreciation in any way. He thinks of himself solely as a tool to be used by others, no matter what anyone else tells him. He takes Applejack's willingness to sacrifice and defend her friends faithfully to the logical extreme. The Warden of Honesty is, more than any of the other Wardens, a reflection of certain parts of his Elements' personality pushed to the limits, while ignoring many other parts.
Why does he think this way? Well, that's all to be saved for another time. Keep reading.
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Anyways, that's a basic rundown of who these Wardens are, and what I was thinking when inventing them. Enjoy the new chapter released today, if you haven't already! I'll continue giving posts like this in the future to detail more parts of the world, if you are interested in reading that. If so, let me know what you'd like to hear about or read about next! Countries, fandoms, history, factions - everything is on the table (aside from spoilers).
Thanks again for reading, and for the support! It means a lot to me. Until next time, friends.
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I knew that the names were based on some pretty complex stuff, but I had no idea they were so deep.