Erskine waved a hand dismissively. He wasn't dismissive of Doe, or even of the janitor's question, but more generally dismissive of the answer to that question. "Mine's really not that interesting. Erskine was a Scottish surname at the time I'd always liked, and it sounded a bit like my given name. I was raised a weaver; 'unravel' was one of the words I used constantly, and I decided I'd much rather tangle things up than pull them apart." Tangling things up in order to fix them, or to create something useful. Like a length of thread. It was much easier, and a lot more fun, than trying to fix things by untangling them.

There was more to it, of course. There always was. And like any sorcerer who took their taken name seriously, even Erskine himself didn't realise half of the real meaning behind it until later. A name clicked into place when it felt right. You didn't need to know exactly why it was right.

"The thing is," he continued, a little more slowly now, "there are people who choose ridiculous names in order to seem cool. I get that. You're not one of those people. Then there are the ones who choose names on a whim because they can't really be bothered. You don't strike me as the type. You're quiet. You probably think things through a lot. So why John Doe?"

He was genuinely interested. And possibly a tad worried. Being saddled with an unwanted name for the rest of your life was probably a very terrible thing, but Erskine had the sneaking suspicion Doe chose his deliberately.

"Will Rafe be there, then?" China asked Dex as their little group reached the top of the stairs. "If he created it, I'd like to know some specific details before we start."