Vinesinger

The world of Jhembaz, where most of the people live in the enormous trees that cover the disk of the world, lacks many things that many other worlds have in relative abundance. Stone and metal are hard to come by here; there are arboreal seas, but they are not as expansive or as navigable as the oceans of other worlds. But one that that it does have, of course, is plant life—not just the trees themselves, but the multitude of epiphytes that grow upon them. And the people of Jhembaz have found many ways to make use of this resource, both mechanical and magical. Prominent in the latter category are vinesingers.

As the name implies, vinesingers are people who have developed the ability to control the growth and motion of vines and similar plants by singing to them. It is a magical ability, but one separate from spellcasting; the vinesingers are not working spells, but are making use of a paracarminical curel. The song is a necessary part of their power; the vines may not actually be able to hear them, but the vinesingers cannot work their magic without singing, and the exact pitch and tempo and voice of their song affects how the vines react.

Some vinesingers use their powers for entertainment, making vines and other plants "dance" to the accompaniment of their song. This is more difficult than it sounds, because the vinesinger's song is not necessarily melodic or otherwise pleasant to the human ear, and it takes talent and artistry to compose a song that will both sound appealing and have an interesting effect on the vines. Of course, once the song is composed, any vinesinger can use it, and so performing a "vine dance" is much easier than composing the song for it. Masters of the vine dance, however, not only compose their own songs but also are skilled enough to add flourishes on the fly, and may attract considerable audiences and command rich fees.

Much more commonly, however, vinesingers turn their power to more practical purposes. A vinesinger may make vines serve as temporary workers of a sort, twisting and moving about to convey objects or perform other tasks. They may also induce the vines to form themselves into more permanent structures—hammocks, quickbridges, even buildings made of woven vines. Many communities on Jhembaz employ vinesingers on retainer to help with any maintenence or construction tasks the city needs; if a particularly large and difficult job comes up, they may temporarily hire more vinesingers as well. Vinesingers are also invaluable for explorers or anyone venturing into the jungly wilderness; they can sing blocking vines out of travelers' paths, or sing them into temporary bridges or shelter.

No musical instruments are necessary for vinesinging other than the vinesinger's vocal cords; the vinesinger's voice is enough to produce the magical effects of the song. Many vinesingers do, however, prefer to augment their song drums, akotings, and other instruments, partly just for the æsthetics—if the vinesinger is going to hear their own song so much, they want it to be as pleasant as possible to listen to—and partly because it helps them focus or helps them keep the notes and rhythm of their songs.