@EidolonNight
AS handles/screen-names become a less common occurrence on the web, replaced by the all-to-easy “connect to facebook”, I find myself having to explain the duality of my names. Two names, “Nicholas” and “Eidolon Night” appear scattered across the web. Given that I acquired the former through traditional means, I’ll stick to explaining the latter.
The monicker “Eidolon Night” has been mine since about 7th grade, the golden age of AOL Instant Messenger, an age where a stuttering teenage boy could take the time to plan his exact words without his hormones getting in the way. It was also an age of supposed anonymity and a modicum of privacy.
As with most 7th grade boys, I was an avid reader of Edgar Allan Poe. #snark So when it came time to pick a name, I cracked open my copy of the “Complete Tales & Poems” and let the melancholy of my favorite author guide me.
I know. It’s dramatic.
Dream-Land was a long-time favorite, as was A Dream Within a Dream (Inception anyone?) and Shadow: A Parable. As it turns out, Dream-Land, provided a great name right in the first stanza:
By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,
Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT,
On a black throne reigns upright,
I have reached these lands but newly
From an ultimate dim Thule—
From a wild weird clime that lieth, sublime,
Out of SPACE—Out of TIME.
I’ve found that most people can’t pronounce “Eidolon”, and even fewer can spell it. That’s necessary when looking for a name that you’ll use across the entire internet. Heck, I was even able to purchase eidolonnight.com (redirects here). You know that you have something unique when the domain isn’t taken.
Why do I still hold the name? Aside from it being unique? You’ll find that the majority of my network profiles all retain this nome de plume for the mere fact that changing the links everywhere would be a terrible hassle. Plus, there’s convenience that comes with consistency. Whether it’s forums or XBox, I am
Eidolon Night