Mistica Chronicles


Welcome to Issue 29
Created by The Mistic Pets Team

Behind the Names: Shopkeeper Edition
Written By Caustic

Have you ever looked at the name of one of Mistica’s many characters and wondered why it was chosen? Did you look up the name and find an odd connection? Some of them are derived from real words, but if you look a little deeper, some more “ordinary” names have interesting connections to their characters. In this article I’m digging a little deeper into the familiar names of a few of our shopkeepers.

Lance
At first, this seems pretty obvious, considering “lance” can refer to a weapon and the character himself is a sharp dresser (and I win the award for the most awful pun ever). But if you look at its meaning in German, it means “territory; land.” Now, read Lance’s response when you successfully buy something:

Please read the tags and care for the clothing properly. I had reservations selling to you in the first place. Go now, before I have a change of heart.

Hm. Seems pretty territorial of his clothing industry, right? I’d watch out for this guy, everyone. If he sees you on the street and your shirt is stained, he’ll probably dive-bomb you or something. Also someone needs to warn Rosebud in case he decides her costumes threaten his business. Those luxurious blonde locks of his could probably hide quite a few weapons.

Bruno
This name, somehow, makes perfect sense and yet confounds me in a hilarious sort of way.

At first there isn’t much to talk about; “Bruno” is a German name meaning “brown; armor; shining” and, well, that fits. Bruno is a Mandoran (who all have crazy strong natural “armor”), who is mostly brown in color, and he sells weapons that are often shiny. Yay for consistency?

And then you find out that there was a Saint Bruno who founded an order of monks.

I don’t think we should tell Bruno about this discovery. He’s sort of sensitive about his image, after all, and has free access to all sorts of very sharp things.

Arielle
This well-known plushie shop owner is just ridiculously adorable. She’s a furry white anya who sells toys and has a constant “cute sale” going on. The most threatening thing about this character is the potential fire hazard that is her old-fashioned stove (and desert colored plushies are highly flammable).

“Lion of God” – my gosh, people. That is what "Arielle" means. I hope Pandoria is keeping a close eye on this (seemingly) innocent anya. I mean, what if she’s some sort of spy for Queen Boreal? “Lion of God” could definitely pass as a code name. That woman has a serious complex, guys, so I wouldn’t put it past her.

Or maybe Arielle’s parents just hoped their daughter would become a battling champion with an amazing mane and were severely disappointed (but saved a lot on shampoo).

Bakr
The name of our beloved Desert Cohorts shopkeeper means…um, well, “young camel” in Arabic.

Wow. After that last one I’m disappointed.

Even so, at least now we can watch out for Lance and Arielle. Who knows the havoc those two could cause if they teamed up? Although they’d at least look fabulous doing it.


Comments

This article does not have any comments.

Go Back to Articles

Go Back To Issue Overview