We don’t actually know Sho-Tahn’s real name. In fact, we are not sure if Sho-Tahn even knows his real name. He was brought to an orphanage at a very young age. His father was called Sin-Tahv, but we don’t know his real name, either. Sho-Tahn has no memory of him or his mother, who is never mentioned by name in any recorded history. It has been suggested that she died during childbirth. Sho-Tahn is the only name he remembers ever using or being called. It was not until adolescence that he learned it was a title or label, not a proper name.
Unlike most other children in this orphanage, Sho-Tahn was taken under the tutelage of a battle master and sage. He was rigorously trained in martial combat, both hand-to-hand and small weapons. He was also trained in the mystical arts, including both silent and verbose magical conjuration and development of his mental abilities, including psionics and telekinetics. Throughout his developmental years and into adolescence, his instruction in mental discipline matched his martial and magical training. He was taught the unbreakable laws of honor, primary codes of justice, and self-mastery. It has been said by those that knew him, his mental acuity and intellect was comparable to his physical and mystical abilities. This was no barbarian but a highly intelligent agent of stealth and power.