[Gef]

Castle Chorus (6)

Just like secular guilds, the deacons of the Church of Man encourage their most broadly Gifted pupils to a career of enchantment. Of course, many of those not limited in scope are limited by circumstance, some of which are unsuitable. Dancing for instance is an undignified activity amidst a solemn ceremony, but singing – specifically chanting – fits right in. Many church enchanters can unlock their gifts only through song, and the rest find chanting helps focus the mind and cultivate their Gifts more rapidly (in other words, they take this limitation on levels of Magery above zero).

Acolytes start with Lend Energy and assist deacons of other styles to earn their keep and start networking. Then they move on to basic spells from several colleges to improve both their confidence and theoretical grounding, with Find Weakness particularly important for its use evaluating potential vessels of enchantment. When they finally learn Enchant, they receive their Clerical Investment, an exception to the general rule that Enchant is available only to masters, for they are masters of other colleges, and these are journeymen enchanters.

While the other styles are capable of enchanting within their own specialties, only the Castle Chorus can enchant arms and wizardly tools, so that’s their focus, and they teach some Air and Earth spells as prerequisites for the weapon enhancements. That’s why choirs of journeymen can be seen – and heard – shaping earth into walls and turning them to solid stone, the practice from which the style gets its name. The major cathedrals which sponsor circles have plenty of peripheral buildings on the grounds manufactured in this manner, safe enough since those grounds are routinely warded against hostile magic with rituals from the Book of Halos. In the event of a war, junior chorus deacons expect to be drafted as combat engineers.

The deacon’s masterpiece must be a work of devotional enchantment (minimum 2000 energy), which means in theory that he could be inept with spells. In practice, that’s
a trivial edge case, and in any event the church would rather have an inept master than a faithless one.

Required Skills: Religious Ritual (Church of Man), Singing (optional specialty Monastic Chants), Thaumatology, Theology (Church of Man).

Required Spells: Lend Energy.

Perks: Extra Option: Stabilizing Skill (Religious Ritual for Enchantment), Quick and Focused, Magic Weapon Bond, Shortcut to Power (Defending Shield, Link, Ghost Weapon).

Analyze Magic, Apportation, Charge Powerstone, Create Air, Detect Magic, Earth to Air, Earth to Stone, Earth Vision, Find Weakness, Identify Spell, Ignite Fire, Lend Energy, Light, Purify Air, Seek Earth, Seek Water, Shape Air, Shape Earth, Walk on Air, and all spells of the Enchantment college. Enchant itself has only 9 spell prerequisites but also requires Clerical Investment, as do all further spells that depend upon it. In addition to the usual modifiers for spells of the Deacons’ School, Chorus spells actually require Singing but have an alternate configuration that grants a further bonus, facilitating larger groups for quick enchantment. This configuration makes items so enchanted give off a flagrant magical aura even while dormant, glow when in use, and fail in the presence of mithril, conditions ill-suited to military application but fine for honest commerce.