Chanting Chain

The Chanting Chain was an object sacred to the Talassan faith.

Description
The Chanting Chain was a massive steel chain of fourteen links treated with everbright, each link said to be large enough for a child's head to pass through. The end links of the chain terminated in hooks engraved with the holy symbol of Talos. The Chanting Chain was usually hung above a Talassan altar where it served as an object of veneration.

Function
The true function of the Chanting Chain could be activated if seven individuals, each in contact with the chain, performed at least six repetitions of a secret chant. The chant, written in a lost language of the south and referring to Talos by his Calishite appellation Bhaelros, appeared to invoke the Storm Lord, but the exact meaning of the chant was otherwise unknown even to his followers. Nonetheless, if the chant was correctly performed, plates of electrum would appear within the links of the chain, each engraved with a different spell. The plates would endure until the next sunrise or sunset or until all of the plates were thoroughly studied.

Spells
The spells that appeared on the plates comprised the following: Call lightning, tumblethorns, wind walk, weather summoning, flame strike, repeat action, fire storm, lightning lance, wind lash, storm cone, scouring wind, clear path, shrieking walls, and stormrage.

History
The first documented appearance of the Chanting Chain occurs in the western Shaar in 633 DR, when the object was exhibited at the Great Bazaar of the Master of Gargoyles by the self-described "Storm Prophet", Tothur. Regarded as a mad heretic by other Talassan clergy, Tothur clashed with his orthodox brethren on numerous occasions over the next two centuries, having used some unknown magical means to prolong his natural lifespan. Tothur used the Chanting Chain in these conflicts to augment his own spellcasting, apparently able to call forth spells from the object without the usual ritual process.

Over his lifetime, Tothur's displays of magical might managed to attract a sizeable body of followers from among the nomads of the Shaar and the smaller settlements of Tashalar. In Kormul in 888 DR, however, Tothur's life and his movement was brought to an end in a final, cataclysmic conflict with the Talassan clergy. The battle, now known as the Struggle of Storms, resulted in the death of more than forty Talassan archpriests, a loss that greatly diminished the power of the Talassan church for centuries to follow. The conflict also rent the very earth beneath it, causing the Chanting Chain to plummet into the Underdark.

The next appearance of the Chain is documented in the autobiography The Life of Rebrum, written around 1210 DR. The text mentions that the Chain was sold by drow traders at the mind flayer trade-fair known as the Eleave, held annually in the subterranean caves of Vaerndoun. The drow sellers apparently knew that the Chain possessed potent magic, but were unable to unlock its power.

In 1257 DR, a band of warriors was raised in Kurrsh near the Lake of Steam in order to confront a Talassan stronghold and its mind flayer leader. The warriors defeated the Talassans and burned their keep, bearing the Chain and other loot back to Kurrsh. There, in a tavern, the Chain hung uneventfully from the rafters of a local tavern until 1261 DR, when the tavern was burned to the ground by crazed Talos-worshipers. The Chain was borne away by the Talassan zealots, but they, in turn, were hunted down and slaughtered by militia near Shamph in what has become known as the Slaughter of the Crazed. Some Talassans escaped the battle, and it is believed that one of them escaped with the Chain.

The last documented appearance of the Chain was written about in Ormath in 1318 DR. There, a Talassan priest named Lalagos Indivvur publicly performed the chant calling forth the object's power in order to impress prospective converts to the faith. The display did succeed in converting a few of the locals, but it also initiated a struggle for power among the followers of Talos. The resulting conflict, known as the Talassan Troubles, lasted for a decade and spread through much of the Vilhon Reach.

Before being slain by a rival during the Troubles, Lalagos did manage to write down the instructions necessary to unleash the chain's power. Unfortunately, the Chain itself was lost. It is thought that the Chain was hidden by an unnamed Talassan who later perished in the conflict, along with any knowledge of the object's last resting place.

Legacy
In the town of Kurrsh, the tavern known as Cups of Fire and Lightning was built on the burned ruins of the previous tavern. The name commemorates the destruction of the previous tavern in 1261 DR when Talos-worshippers attacked the town in order to recover the Chain.