“There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between.”
~ Sir Thomas Beecham ~

The Chanteurs fall into two major Guild forms. The first is that they are loosely-knit; the Chanteurs wander almost as freely as the Harbingers. But, they are also fiercely proud of their powers and Guild, and almost never fail to protect the Guild and obey the few rules that exist. As a result, a Chanteur may wander the countryside for years, having nothing to do with Guild business. But, when they return, they will be greeted as warmly as if they had never left. Perhaps no other Guild has such a sense of camaraderie as the Chanteurs. They see themselves as one big, noble family, above the rabble of the other wraiths. This position has gotten them into trouble a number of times, especially during the Guild revolt. But, every time the Guild has been broken, it has always managed to reform. That’s not to say there are no personal conflicts within the Guild; the opposite is quite true, in fact, since the Chanteurs’ pride frequently clashes. But, when pressed, the Chanteurs will almost always forget their own feuds to bind against those lower than they.

The Three Golden Rules of the Chanteur’s Guild

1. You will respect, aid, and care for other Chanteurs, regardless of circumstances and no matter your past dealings with them. For without your fellow Chanteurs, there is no order and ultimately no Guild.

2. You will respect the Guild order. We do not ask much of you, but when you are told to do something by the Guild, you will do it without question and as quickly and efficiently as possible.

3. You will build your Gifts to perfection. You must constantly practice and refine your Keening abilities until they are as strong as they can be. If your Keening abilities are weak, we have no use for you.

Sectionals: Guild Divisions

The Guildmaster

“A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn't like the tune.”
~ Anonymous ~

The head of the Guild, whose main purpose is to preside over the Chamber and to work on relations with outsiders. Along with that, and serving as a symbol of Guild unity, there’s not much to the position, since the Guildmaster does not serve as the focus for the Guild. Rather, the actual arts, both musical and Arcanoi, are what the Guild has chosen to focus on in its years of existence.

This has served as something of an advantage to the Guild. Rather than suffer greatly when their leader became indisposed, like most other Guilds, the Chanteurs simply shrug their shoulders and elect a new one with no muss or fuss. Okay, some muss and fuss.

The Chamber & Chamberlains

Serving as the leaders of the Guild, the Chamber are nine elected officials in charge of the operation and control of the Guild workings. Each Chamberlain deals with a different division of Chanteur business. There is one Chamberlain in charge of the Callers of Apollo and Clio’s Chosen, as well as ones that are in charge of apprentice training, relations with outside groups, the Guild treasury, and other tasks. The Melponian’s leader is not included in the Chamber for fear that they could use the information gathered by their agency against the rest of the Chamber. Chamberlains are elected every ten years in a staggered fashion, so that four are elected at one time and five at another. Once elected, a Chamberlain serves for twenty years.

Like many in power in the wraith world, those in the Chamber will try to get away with as much as they possibly can. However, if a Chamberlain does something not to the likings of the Guild, they can be put in trial, where the entire Guild, from the lowest apprentice to the Guildmaster, vote to decide their fate, which can include anything from demotion to execution. In this way, the Chanteurs are oddly democratic, and very rarely does the system ever fail them.

The Callers of Apollo

Throughout history, armies have always been spurred on by chants and bands. The armies of Stygia are no exception; many of their regimental bands are composed of Chanteur’s Guild members known as the Callers of Apollo. The Callers are specialized in using Keening to fire up and spur on the warriors of the dead. By skilled uses of Ballad, Muse, and even a Crescendo or two, the Callers are as valuable to an army as their most valuable warrior.

Most Callers are trained for years in both Keening and the arts of war before they are allowed onto the battlefield. Callers not only study fighting with various weapons, but military strategy and enemy tactics. A few veteran Callers have managed to rise through the Legion ranks to become generals or advisors themselves.

Clio’s Chosen

“The history of a people is found in its songs.”
~ George Jellinek ~

A name given to the historians and keepers of both Guild and Stygian information. Along with the Keening ability, Chanteurs also carry ancient history, lost culture, and other knowledge in their ballads. It was decided to create a library of song, so that these treasures and nuggets would not be lost to the ages, like many of them were during the Guild Revolt.

Clio’s Chosen work in a number of capacities. Some work at libraries around the Necropoli of the world, organizing and categorizing the songs. Others are “songcatchers,” who journey around the Shadowlands looking for new melodies and ballads to add to the Chanteur’s collection. Many Chosen choose to specialize in a particular era of Shadowlands history, but there are a few who will grab and add anything they come across. The main Chanteur library is in Necropolis Boston, but smaller ones are found in at least every major Necropoli and in Stygia.

The Melponians

“...If one plays good music, people don't listen, and if one plays bad music people don't talk.”
~ Oscar Wilde ~

Many would not think that such a showy, prideful group would make good spies, but the Chanteurs have one of the best groups of espionage specialists in the Kingdom. They are known as the Melponians.

Chanteurs can make effective spies through their abilities to read and change emotions, create distractions, and their welcome status in Stygian society. Melponians are trained to take advantage of all of these abilities and use them in collecting information across the Empire. Melponians can be anyone from the town crier to a patron of a rich Gaunt. They always manage to work themselves in or near with someone of power so that they have the quickest and best access to the information at hand.

The Virtuosos

Virtuosos are the Guild elders, and are usually the most respected Guild members, even more so than the Chamber and Guildmaster, to a point. Although they are not formally recognized as a group per se, they are respected by the entire clan and are treated by many with reverence bordering on worship. In order to be recognized as a Virtuoso, a Guild member must serve the clan for centuries and have done something of some major importance. Most Virtuosos have been Chamberlains at one time or another, and many still work in the other divisions of the Guild, particularly Clio’s Chosen, where their age and memory prove invaluable to those who work there.

The Soloists

Although they are also not an official Chanteur group, nor a welcome one, any discussion of divisions in the Guild must include the Soloists. Soloists are one-time members who, by choice or through accident have left the Guild. While the Chanteurs are a more loosely associated group, they frown on those who would simply cast them off. Soloists can be spies for the Legion who were caught, defectors to other groups, or simply a member who has flagrantly broken one of the Three Rules of the Guild. “Going solo” is a derogatory term used about these rebels.

Since the Chanteurs have one of the most far-reaching networks throughout the Shadowlands, Soloists are constantly on the run and in fear for their life. Unless they leave the Dark Kingdom of Iron, their chances of survival greatly diminish with each passing day. If caught, they are usually punished by having their own art turned against them, perhaps with a Dirge that urges them into Oblivion, or an extremely powerful Crescendo.

From Solo to Ensemble: The Makings of a Chanteur

“If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing.”
~ Zimbabwe Proverb ~

The Chanteurs are not the most organized Guild, yet they are also not nearly as unorganized as outsiders see them as. The wandering minstrel is a façade the Guild is only too happy to accept, as it takes the focus off the true workings of the Guild.

Because of their acceptance on the streets, recruiting takes place there openly but subtly. Groups of Guild members nicknamed “talent scouts” are sent to scour the streets of the Shadowlands, the alleys of Stygia, and all points in between. They are on the lookout for lost, hopeless souls with inherent charm and wit that can be molded into Guild members. Unlike many Guilds, a potential Apprentice does not necessarily have to have Keening to be accepted into a Guild; however, they must undergo more rigorous training to get the same results.

Once a scout spots a potential target, the future Guild member is followed and watched by the Chanteurs for several weeks. If they prove themselves to be as valuable as initially thought, then the scout will present themselves to the target, and ask them to meet at a place and time for an “Audition.” If the target chooses to meet them there, then they are asked to undergo a few simple tests. If the potential member already possesses Keening, then they may be asked to demonstrate their abilities. If not, then a series of carefully chosen tests and trials measure the target’s potential.

If the Audition is successful, then the target is immediately invited to join the Guild as an apprentice. They are given their own personal copy of the Book of Stygian Standards to help them in their new Guild duties. If the potential member makes it through their apprenticeship, they will become a full-fledged Chanteur.

Chair Assignments: Guild Ranks

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best."
~ Henry Van Dyke ~

Apprentice: All Guild members, regardless of skill, are apprenticed at one time or another. The Guild uses a new recruit’s apprenticeship as a time to measure the potential of their skills, refine the ones they have, and see if they may have a higher station in the Guild. Groups of Apprentices are tied to a Madrigal or Master who is specialized in teaching and refining the Apprentice’s Keening arts.

Choir: The Choir is the most diverse level of the Guild. Those who have Keening may choose to not to explicitly serve the Guild further, and only support it; these Guild members are Choirs. Those who have finished their main apprenticeship but need further training in Keening are also Choirs; they may act on their own, but require additional aid from the Guild.

At the Choir level, a Chanteur may choose to specialize for the Guild. At this level, they may begin the training necessary to join the Melponians, the Callers, or Clio’s Chosen. A few select Choirs may also be invited to become future teachers to the apprentices themselves.

Madrigal: A majority of the active Guild members are at this level. Most members of the Chosen, Callers, and Melponians are here, doing the active Guild work. To be a Madrigal, one must have completed their specialized training. A few of the independent Guild members who have been around for ages but not specialized in training are also considered Madrigals.

At this level, a Guild member can run to serve in the Chamber. Although they are rarely chosen from this level, it will turn a Madrigal into a Master automatically.

Master: The highest, oldest, and most powerful Guild members are at this level. Most Chamberlains are Masters, and the few Madrigals who are elected become Masters. All Virtuosos are also Masters as well. A Guild member must be at this level to be considered for election as the Guildmaster. The heads of the Melponians, Chosen, and Callers also are selected from this level.

Masters are chosen, ironically, almost like Apprentices. They must undergo an Audition in front of the Chamber to prove their worth, and if picked as a Master, undergo an initiation ceremony that is given once a year and usually reflects their performance talents, wit, and ability to use Keening.

Guild secret: The "Markings" of Chanteurs

One of the most asked questions by outsiders is why the Chanteurs insist on carrying instruments everywhere they go. After all, with no visible Guild markings, the Chanteurs have it easy, right? Why make themselves obvious by toting around accompanyment?

The real reason is the instruments in the hands of the Chanteurs are no ordinary instruments. They are specially forged tools distributed by the Guild that are used to disguise the true Guild "marking." As a Chanteur becomes more accompished in Keening, a high pitched noise begins to develop around the wraith. At first it is subtle and barely noticeable, but as the Chanteur grows in strength and age, becomes more persistant and troublesome. The noise, called the Banshee’s Scream by older wraiths and “feedback” by the newer ones, is not only annoying and a dead giveaway to a Chanteur’s identity, but also demonstrates their level of power. The louder the feedback, the more powerful the wraith; as a result, Chanteurs have taken to carrying their instruments everywhere in to help blend in with the general population. Wraiths with the gift of Keening who are not in the Guild will sometimes spend an entire fortune on similar instruments in order to hide their powers.

Interpretations: Views on the Others

"Music is spiritual. The music business is not."
~ Van Morrison ~

Allies:

Masquers
They’re artists, like us. Overrated ones sometimes, but artists nonetheless. As much as we can disagree, we also have a sort of understanding between each other. No one else understands the temperamental creator better than one of their own. And while their choice of media is...fascinating, it cannot bring the true joy or sorrow that we can. Only, and ultimately, destruction.

Solicitors
They could be our offspring, manipulating others for their own gain. They affect wants, we affect needs. We should be rivals, but we just work so bizarrely well together. Too bad the other Guilds didn’t feel that way; if they eliminated Intimation, they technically should have kyboshed Keening as well. But, the fact is they’ve become too dependant on our abilities. If the Solicitors shaped up and took more pride in their work, they could reach our level someday.

Hesitant Friends

Sandmen
Surprised? Don’t be. Like us, they work in emotions. Sometimes, they can be quite helpful, providing the sensations while we provide the feelings. But, they can also get in our way, planting ideas in people’s head that it takes us ages to undo. We work well together when we can, but they’re a little too suspicious for my tastes, not to mention flighty.

Enemies

Artificers
Hmph. The oldest and most mighty, eh? Also the ones who got their asses handed to them after the revolt. If only they had been a little more subtle and a little less proud, we might have won. Not that you’d expect subtlety; they work, speak, and live in uncaring, unemotional machines, for God’s sakes. Look at them now, forced to skulk in the forges while we sing in the courts. Who’s the most powerful now? Pity.

Alchemists
Almost as bad as their cousins, the Artificers. They’re a little more approachable and slightly more useful, but still damned annoying. If we ever did away with the Artificers, we should probably throw these guys in just for good measure.

The Other Guilds:

The Harbingers and Pardoners are very useful groups, but not people we’re particularly close to. A pity, since the Harbingers have that free wheeling attitude that can result in great art. Ah well. And the Pardoners are so dreary, but unlike the other Guilds, they have an excuse. Oracles are greatly overdramatic. No, you can’t change Fate, but you can make it work for you. Besides, why know the future when all you can do is worry about it? We simply find the Monitors creepy beyond belief, but they can and have provided us with more of a direct threat. At least they are easier to manipulate by emotion, thanks to those marvelous Fetters. The Usurers can also be friends or foes, but they’re too wrapped up in themselves and their precious commodities. Still, best to stay on their good side. The Mnemoi have a unsettling ability, but could have been useful friends just like the Solicitors. A shame they were exiled, since there’s more to them than meets the mind.

As for the “Shroud” Guilds, they can be a great drag. The Proctors get their emotional highs from the Skinlands instead of us; why all the effort? The Puppeteers are also addicts, but in a more disturbing way. Stealing other’s feelings and riding the high is simply barbaric. The Spooks are uncultured brutes, plain and simple, that know one emotion: rage. And the Haunters have a good artistic sense, but choose to waste it on the living and on their strange fetishes. We Chanteurs aren’t exactly fond of these folk, but we know they can make powerful allies if the need should arise. We deal with them only as much as necessary.

The Hierarchy:

They stifle the artists. Yet, they also have the most resources for us to survive on. We dislike them at our core, but we also must respect them, if not simply for the fact they allow us to exist. After all, art is always the first to suffer in a fascist state.

The Heretics

The most beautiful songs of all times were composed and felt through faith. Heretics appreciate our artistry the most, and we would far rather sing at a church full of those who would truly feel emotion than at a boring Legion function. For the knowledge of a few short hymns, you can get anyone to hide you away if necessary. Of course, blind faith can be just as dangerous as totalitarian control.

The Renegades

Some are nice, some are nasty. Most are far too impressionable and naive. It’s so much fun to sing, get a group of them worked up, watch them storm the Citadel, and then get wiped out in a few minutes time. Never fails to bring a laugh or two.

The Ferrymen

They shuttle us to our shows, we give them oboli. We pretty much leave each other alone, although we often wonder about their powers. After all, they do seem to have abilities similar to ours. Perhaps they’re long-lost siblings of ours, in which case, we would of course treat them like brothers. They have to prove it first, however.

The Creatures of the Night

They say music soothes the savage beast. Well, we can make just about anyone do anything. The Vampires are normally cold and emotionless, so it really makes it fun to mess with their little heads and give them a sudden warm, fuzzy feeling. The Werewolves can be a bit unrefined for our tastes. They like to beat their drums in fury rather than sit back and listen to the world roll around them. Still, I’d rather mess with them than the Mages...another group of technological wastrels. Possibly more unfeeling than the vampires. Make no mistake, however, they are no more immune to our powers than the bloodless Kindred. The Changelings appreciate us the most of all. You can soak up Pathos like a sponge when they're around, and they get their fairy dust, or whatever they call it.

Chanteur Guild Artifacts

The Book of Stygian Standards (Level 1 Artifact)
This book is issued to all Guild members upon a successful Audition. To the untrained eye, it looks like a simple songbook, filled with tunes composed by and about the dwellers in the Shadowlands. To a Guild member, the book means much more. By singing or playing a certain phrase, different for each book and tied to the owner’s voice, the book reveals a treasure trove of Chanteur information, including codewords, meeting places, leaders, and so on. The Book is replaced roughly every year, updated with new standards and new codes.

Music Box (Level 1 Artifact)
Commonly used by songcatchers and other Clio's Chosen. A Music Box, when used properly, captures and stores a song inside. The music can be heard again and again merely by opening the box. Most Boxes are plain and small and appear to made of wood or stone, but there are a few larger and more ornate ones that hold great masterpieces of music. If you ask the average Chanteur how one works, most will just scratch their heads in puzzlement. The only ones who really know how the Music Box works are ones who make them, Chanteurs who also happened to be skilled in Inhabit and/or Flux.

Ques Charm (Level 2 Artifact)
Those who are awarded the level of Choir are given this at “graduation.” A Ques Charm is a piece of jewelry, usually silver and in the shape of a bell, that is worn on some part of the Chanteur’s person. It is usually on a necklace or bracelet, but can be just sewn into clothing. The Ques Charm serves as a sort of earpiece for the Chanteur; as long as they wear the charm, they are immune to the effects of other Chanteurs and cannot be manipulated emotionally. Some whisper that the most accomplished in Keening, however, can in fact break the Charm’s effect.

Banshee Bomb (Level 3 Artifact)
Those who practice the ability of Crescendo find these items quite useful. A Banshee Bomb is an enchanted small glass bottle with a stopper. A Chanteur who has prepared the Bomb ahead of time simply has to remove the stopper to let an intensified version of the Crescendo escape. This stored Crescendo will at least twice the damage that a normal one would, and since the Bomb can be hidden easily, is a favored tool of the Melponians.

In order to prepare a Banshee Bomb, the Chanteur must have Level Four Keening. The Chanteur spends 3 Pathos and gains an Angst, the same as a regular use of Crescendo, just before opening the bottle. The Chanteur then unleashes a normal Crescendo, but instead of damaging everything around, the entire force of the ability is trapped in the Banshee Bomb.

Orpheus’ Voice (Level 4 Artifact)
A small tool used by the wealthier, more proficient Chanteurs. It consists of a choker with the charm of a lyre on it. When a Chanteur wears Orpheus’ Voice around their throat, on top of their larynx, their powers are amplified to carry across much larger areas. A less-skilled Chanteur affects a group of people rather than just one person. Truly gifted Guild members can use the Voice to alter the emotions of an entire ballroom’s worth of wraiths.