In Songborne, magic is mostly subtle, rarely spectacular (Songborne itself being the greatest exception), and always uncertain. It allows you to ‘commune’ with the forces of the world not command them.
The Chants of Zera
Magic in Miradorum comes from the Chants of Zera. These are said to be fragments of the songs the goddess Zera, the divine Sister & Mother, sang when she gave birth to the world.
These chants do not command nature—they commune with it. The earth, the wind, the beasts—these things are listened to, not ruled.
There were once more chants, but their verses are lost to time, buried in ruins, forgotten by the mystics, or hoarded by things that remain veiled.
The four surviving chants are know as:
The Beast Murmurs – A chant that soothes or rouses the instincts of beasts. It may coax birds from trees, frighten hounds, or enrage a herd—but never makes them speak or obey like men.
The Stone Tongues – A chant to feel what stone has seen. It grants impressions, echoes of emotion, symbolic visions—never a clear tale. A wall may show the fear it once absorbed, or a cracked arch the grief of its collapse.
The Ember Songs – A chant to stir the breath of flame and warmth. It might encourage a dying fire or draw heat from coals, but not kindle fire from nothing. It can heighten passion or dread in those nearby.
The Wind Calls – A chant to harmonise with the sky. It might slow rainfall or quicken the wind’s whisper, scatter mist, or thicken fog—but never tear open the heavens. It may deepen the weeping of a storm, or hush the edge of one.
These Chants are wielded by those called ‘Whisperers’. These are rare individuals attuned to the world enough to commune with it.
Chants in Songborne ask the natural world to respond—and sometimes, it does. Other times, the sky remains silent, the stone unmoved, the beast enraged.
Even those who do not have the rare gift of the Whisperers can have small effects if they chant on mass. Therefore the church maintains Houses of Zera across the land of Miradorum where nuns and monks can be employed to chant to the benefit of the paying High Born family.
To use the Chants is to risk disappointment, and yet to do so well is to evoke awe in a court obsessed with power and perception. A misjudged chant might embarrass your high born family line. A timely one might elevate it to the highest levels, who knows? Perhaps even to the throne itself.
