The Rune Singers of Yorn

Rune singing is a powerful but dangerous form of vocal rune magic passed down and practiced by members of the An'sei tribe. Only certain anointed members are born with the ability to speak the words to bring forth their effects.

What is a Rune Singer? Echo’arda or “Rune Singers” are a special few people from the Priests and Priestesses of the An’sei Tribe deep within Yorn. This tribe, true to the meaning of its name “Secret Guard”, takes up the responsibility of dedicating their lives to guarding the fabled Tree Of Legend which they call “Aye’Drasil”. According to legend, the An’sei Tribe was created by their Goddess, Al’Khyneth, with the sole purpose of guarding the Tree Of Legend. This is further solidified by contract between the Goddess and tribe. In return for this devoted servitude, the Goddess blessed the tribe with the Al’Urid language, a unique runic language used by many spirits and deities. Almost every word in the language has magical potential and is associated with different magical affinities. It is easier for a Rune Singer to learn words that are associated with their natural affinities than ones that are not.   Along with the understanding of this language, Al’Khyneth also blessed the tribe with Echo’arda, or Rune Singers. Every so often, at least 10 years apart, an Echo’arda would be born in the tribe. These people are born with the Al’Urid language inscribed into their lungs and throats. This means when they speak it conjures the power of those Al’Urid words when a word is mastered and attuned to. This can be quite useful for multiple reasons. Imagine saying the word “Burn” at an attacker and a burst of flame erupts on them.   Of course it is not so simple. These powerful words have backlash on the user and overuse of speaking this language results in sore throats, eventually progressing to coughing up blood. Pushing it even further without proper rest and recovery can even result in the lungs collapsing and be potentially fatal. Use of words that one is not attuned to is chaotic and uncontrollable meaning the backlash is far worse on the speaker. Some words can be combined for more specific effects, modifying the original. For example, combining the word “Torah” (Burn) with the word “Oun” (Wound) would make the fire more damaging as it changes the intent of the word from just burning to specifically wounding via burns. The more words are combined the more severe the backlash on the speaker. Echo’arda often do not speak unless necessary or in very simple ways due to this. While masters of Al’Urid Rune Singing can say many words without issue, young Echo’arda who are inexperienced often can only use one or two powered words before symptoms set in. The Al’Urid word for “die” is a forbidden word as it is extremely dangerous if not properly directed and no matter what would also result in the death of the speaker.