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In Firefight, Regalia asks David if he's ever heard of the Rending, that special time in an Epic's life when they go briefly insane and murder all their friends. The name is taken from the verb rend, which is a little-used synonym for the verb tear. Which makes sense—an Epic is being torn from their previous lives and sense of morality, and the word rending is appropriately ominous enough to convey what is happening. However, according to my good friend Thesaurus.com, rend is not the only synonym Sanderson could have used. With one small difference in word choice, Regalia could have told David about…. The Cracking ("Release the Cracking!") The Division (fourth-grade students scream in terror) The Plucking (chickens beware) The Scratching (new Epics are itching for murder) The Evulsion (not conjuring pleasant images here) The Shredding (this probably happened to the Epic Sk8er Boi) The Extraction (of justice!) The Snatching (because new Epics just escaped from a D-list horror flick?) and, my personal favorite…. The Frazzlement