Meigan
Meigan asked Pippa DaCosta:

Hi Pippa. Is there a reason why the more archaic sounding names were used in Wings of Hope vs their modern-day counterparts, Akil and Damien? We all have our theories and are dying to know :) Meigan

Pippa DaCosta Hi Meigan,

Thank you for your question. There are several reasons why the names are different in the Veil Series prequel, Wings Of Hope.

Ahkeel is the original name he chose for himself when he first started ‘wearing’ his human vessel (thousands of years ago). Over time, he’s shortened and modernized it, to suit contemporary America. Characters from his ancient past often refer to him as Ahkeel. Later in the series Muse uses his original name to get his attention or when she's offering respect (the latter doesn't happen very often ;) ). The pronunciations are virtually the same; but Ahkeel has more syllables than Akil (Ah-kee-al vs Ah-keel).

There’s also a more practical reason, in regards to worldbuilding. I wanted the language of Wings Of Hope to reflect the dark, brutal beauty of the netherworld. Reading the modern version of Akil’s (and Damien's) name would spoil the immersion, so I made a deliberate choice to utilize Akil's archaic name to help fully immerse the reader.

Similarly with Damien. In the prequel he's Da'mean, but through the eyes of modern-day Muse (during the rest of the series) while she's desperately trying to be human and wants/needs to move on from her past, she humanizes and modernizes the name in her head and refers to him as Damien, as a coping mechanism.

I hope this helps explain it.

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