“Music, the greatest good that mortals know, And all of heaven we have below.”
~ Joseph Addison ~

The material presented here comes from the collection of the Stygian Chanteur’s Library. It was written by Professor Lucy Schneider, a Chanteur songcatcher and instructor; these notes are taken from a lecture she intended to give a group of Choirs in training for the Chosen on the nature and history of the guild. Ms. Schneider disappeared shortly before giving this lecture, and it was at the request of Chamberlain Harris that these notes were placed in our care.

Since my inclusion in Clio’s Chosen, I have sought the songs of the Underworld in an attempt to map its history and the evolution of its society. What I want to accomplish today is simple: to teach you a complete and thorough history of our Guild’s role within the Shadowlands. Much of this was learned through the songs, chants, ballads, and music of wraiths from every sect of society. It will be up to people like me, and hopefully you in the not-too-distant future, to archive these so the knowledge we have will not disappear.

Of course there will be biases within the songs we collect and archive. Songs, and the very nature of the gift of Keening, is to sway the listener into seeing things that weren’t there before. Therefore, an examination of the songs must include the very people who create and sing them. The Chanteurs have played both heavily and lightly into Stygian history, and remain one of the most well-documented Guilds through the hidden meanings of their works.

Musical pieces clearly shows that by the 8th century at least, a rough form of the Chanteurs Guild had formed. The man songs tell as the founder, Georgus Vicitus was said to be a poor farmer in life. In the Shadowlands, he among the other Wraiths was granted the gift of Keening with exceptional ability. Eager to learn more about their powers, the loose groups of Chanteurs, who had already started to form rough Guilds of sorts, traveled to Vicitus to hear his powers and learn what they could. Vicitus became the lead figure in the Guild until his untimely destruction in the First Great Maelstrom. During that time, the Chanteurs became much better formed. Although the Guild was a bit rough around the edges compared to today, it was still functional. The Chanteurs began to have purpose, rather than a ragtag group of ragtag troubadours.

Speaking of which, some Chanteurs were not satisfied with the developing Guild and formed an offshoot, the Troubadours. They proved to be too rebellious, using their powers without regard for anyone, and brought all Guilds a bad reputation. The Chanteurs took control through spies and propeganda, rather than all out warfare like many less civilized Guilds would have done, and within a few decades, the Troubadours had reformed and rejoined the main Guild.

Chanteurs always seem to be naturally gifted in many ways, and while one must always have pride in oneself, none exceeds the pride of the Chanteurs. By the Guild Revolt, they had become quite powerful, using their skills to manipulate those in their way. They had easily taken down the powerful Troubadours, so what was Charon to them?

Pride goeth before a fall.

When the Revolt failed, the Chanteurs were shocked. How could they lose? A Chanteur never lost. So surely the blame could not be with them. Crude drinking songs from the period demonstrate that there was no love for the Artificers, who had promised victory and failed. As you should know by now, never break a promise to a Chanteur, for it will come back to haunt you. To this day, the Artificers remain our enemies among the Guilds.

Eventually, the majority of the Chanteurs swallowed what was left of their pride and again started where they had begun: traveling bards, who for a few oboli could make you forget about your worries for a little while. This period became known among those in the Guild as the Breaking, and lasted for almost thirty years.

However, someone saw the proliferation of these wandering, unorganized Chanteurs eventually as an excellent opportunity to reform the Guild. The man, Andrew Bantan, a prominent and respected figure in Wraith society, organized a few equally powerful friends to help his efforts. Wind-cry, a Native American with an immensely powerful Crescendo that ballads says he used as a war cry in life as well as death, began forming a street school for those who wanted to improve their Keening skills. Another friend, Miklos, began organizing an information network to keep the infant Guild abreast of developments in Stygian society. Lady Szuannah, an singer from the area that is now Romania, began collecting songs from Necropoli travelers and natives alike to be used by Guild members.

Bantan and his friends had quite a following within the next few years. Several hundred had joined the newly reformed Chanteurs. It was decided that a Guildmaster needed to be appointed to make the Guild “official.” Elections were held, and Bantan became the head of the Guild by an enormous majority. Bantan took the first steps to forming the Guild as it is known today. He appointed his three friends as his seconds-in-command, positions that would eventually evolve into the Chamber. While the Guild settled, the four went on a pilgrimage to the Roman Necropolis to establish the rules and standards of the Guild.

When they returned after months of debate, they had with them the Three Golden Rules , the main regulations, and Guild ideals in place. That very year, the first edition of the Stygian Book of Standards was passed out to loyal Guild members. Lady Szuannah and others who were interested the history of the songs they collected formed the predecessor to Clio’s Chosen. They came to decide that since the records of the original Guild were lost in the revolts, it was their job to piece together and preserve what was left.

With Bantan in charge, the Chanteurs Guild grew in power and prestige. Wind-cry began training interested Chanteurs in the arts of war as well as Keening. His teachings became so prestigious that the Guild was indirectly acknowledged by the Hierarchy when the Legion asked Wind-cry for skilled Chanteurs to once again inspire their troops into battle. The Guild agreed to support Wind-cry’s school of war, formally creating what became known as the Callers of Apollo.

Meanwhile, Miklos’s network had spread their songs into places that the Chamber could not even imagine and most other Guilds would itch to have. Realizing the sheer number of resources at their fingertips, the Guild agreed to form another branch. They became known as the Melponians, named after the Muse of Tragedy, and used their abilities to become accepted in Legion high society. The two branches became the closest thing to active members of the Hierarchy a Guild had ever had in history, the Callers in public, the Melponians in secret.

Then, one day, Bantan simply disappeared. Some were convinced of foul play, others thought he had transcended, and still others thought he had taught the Guild all he could and left to live out his dying days in peace. The Guild would have been thrown into chaos had it not been for the swift actions of Szuannah, Miklos, and Wind-cry. They immediately called for a new election for Guildmaster, as well as an election for three new positions they had created. Wind-cry became the new Guildmaster, narrowly winning over Miklos. Wind-cry was the first to dub his six advisors the Chamber.

Wind-cry stepped down in the early 1600’s, citing a need to find transcendence. Another election put Robert Wicklow, the head of Guild Relations, in charge of the Chanteurs. And so it stayed until 1712 when he was ambushed by a group of Spectres. Again, cries of foul play went out, but most attributed the loss to very unfortunate circumstance. With the following election, Miklos became the head of the Chanteurs. He added another three offices to the Chamber, reorganized the Keening school, and began recruiting members more aggressively than he and his friend had nearly two hundred years previous.

The Guild has continued on a pretty much straight course since then. Due to both the closeness of Guild members and looseness of the Guild structure, the Guild remains flexible and able to cope with most tragedy. Indeed, the Chanteurs are the only Guild that thrives on tragedy, using the hard feelings to their advantage. In rough times, a Chanteur can do everything from making a small fortune off sorrowful wraiths to manipulating officials who are too busy to realize what is happening.

The most difficult time period of recent times is, of course, the Fifth Great Maelstrom and the disappearance of Charon. As the Deathlords pondered, the Guilds reformed and plotted, and the Heretics and Renegades organized and disbanded, the Chanteurs had the biggest Guild gathering of all time. Every member, from Guildmaster Miklos to the newest recruit, just Auditioned that morning, was there. They debated and criticized for days. Alliances were formed and broken within the Guild, the head of the Melponians and the head of the Callers nearly came to blows at one point. In the end, what special course of action did the Chanteurs take?

Nothing. They continued as they always had. Their methods and systems of working had not failed them yet. Their pride convinced them if they continued to pick at the systems in place, something would eventually unravel. What more, without the unifying force of Charon, it would be far easier than ever.

So what is the ultimate goal of the Chanteurs? To rule the Dark Kingdom of Iron? No, that’s too fussy and repressive of their our callings. To gain power over the other Guilds? While we know we are superior to everyone, and wouldn’t mind seeing the other Artificers squashed like a bug, we also know from experience the other Guilds are useful just where they are. No, the Chanteurs Guild wants none of these things. What we want is the eternal respect and gratitude from wraiths everywhere, as an acknowledgement of our contributions to art and Stygian society. A kind of symbolic worship, if you will, that leaves us free to do as we please while the others grunt and toil beneath us.

You see, the Chanteurs Guild know where the true powers of the Underworld lies. Not with the power or the organization, but with the very things that make wraiths what they are: the human soul. And by wrapping these souls around our fingers with Keening, we can ultimately rise above it all, and maybe become something more than the simple singers we appear to be.