Hungry Choir

The Hungry Choir or Devouring Song is a Ritual Incarnate based out of Kennet and the surrounding area.

Nature

The Hungry Choir is a living ritual, a self-organizing pattern of rules spread out over a wide area, not defined by any of their physical manifestations.

The song itself (see below) cannot be copied into text without making errors and transposing words.

Origins

Unknown, but speculated to be created by an Incarnation seeking to spread their concept and power, like most Ritual Incarnates.

The Ritual

You sign your full name up to the website. No matter what time it is, you are now in the ritual world and it is midnight.

You must then follow the singing to the ritual site, and join the other eight participants in singing the Devouring Song. Part-way through, an animal will appear; you have to eat some of it before the song ends.

The Devouring Song

“A song for your supper:”

“A morsel for a melody,”

“A ballad for your board,”

“A chorus for your collation,”

“A tune for your tuck,”

“A refrain for your refreshment,”

“A piece for the potluck,”

“A song for your supper,”

(All) “A morsel for a melody. A ballad for your board. A chorus for your collation…”

“…A tune for your tuck…”

“A refrain for your refreshment…”

“A piece for the potluck.”

(All) “A song for your supper,”

“If the tune is merry enough, will the dish be sweet?”

“If the song is jolly enough, will the plate be neat?”

“And if the ballad is lively enough, can we hope for meat?”

(All) “A song for my supper!”

“How shall we cut it, if we have no knife?”

“With our teeth, and with our nails,”

“Digging in, and singing out!”

(All) “How glad we are to dine!”

(All) “A song for my supper!”

“I’ll come to the table, every phase this moon.”

“And ne’er again find myself picking-!”

“-up a spoon!”

“Nor fork, nor blade!”

“Nor plate, nor cup!”

“Oh I’ll have stayed fully supped, and sated since this tune.”

(All) “A song for your supper!”

“I shall not miss a single beat, or else I’ll offer tonight’s treat.”

“I shall not miss a single word, or else I’ll be the one who’s served.”

“And we’ll tell you, that on these nights. Oh, we shan’t fail to take a bite.”

“To you alone, I’ll share this…”

“If a single meal I miss… Then I shall be but skin and bone… And I will be a mess,” the Beard Guy finished.

(All) “Oh, this shall be a mess!”

“A song for your supper!”

“A ditty for some din!”

“A crooning for some chow.”

“A helping for a hymn.”

“A song for your supper!”

“A morsel for your melody!”

“A ballad for your board!”

“A chorus for your collation!”

“A tune for your tuck!”

“A refrain for your refreshment!”

“A piece for your potluck!”

(All) “A song for your supper!”

“Come moons eight, I’ll be surfeit,”

“Full even when I’m emp-ty,”

[text missing]

(Waifs join) “Come moons eight, they’ll be surfeit.”

“Full even when they’re emp-ty.”

“Or else they’ll be… forever a waif, barred from the horn of plen-ty.”

On completing the ritual, you gain a tattoo corresponding to the phase of the moon, and any injuries gained during the ritual magically become healed-over injuries you had since birth. If you complete the ritual eight times for the eight phases of the moon, you will be forever satisfied - no need to eat or drink, no negative effects on your body from overindulging, and fate will arrange for you to have endless supplies of whatever food, drink, or drugs you desire.

Rules

These rules are enforced by the Waifs, which will attack anyone breaking them.

The rules governing Hungry Choir participants are drawn from the wording of the song:

• "Have no knife" - no weapons. Sufficiently armoured clothing risks breaking this rule. The waifs will attempt to take the item, only attacking if it's held onto or used.
• "Not miss a single word" - no speaking, even single-syllable cries, that isn't part of the song.
• "Not miss a single beat" - once the song starts, failure to sing along is punished.
• "Shan't fail to take a bite" - you must eat some of the sacrificial animal before the song ends. This is required to complete the ritual.
• Although not strictly a rule, you must follow the singing to the ritual site or the waifs will drag you there.

Manifestations

Waifs

Small children with horrible teeth and bloody mouths. Immune to injury. Anyone who fails the ritual is doomed to be devoured by them, and have their remains become another Waif.

Observers

People with mouths for faces. Appear only in the ritual-world, corresponding to people in the real world. Don't do anything but look creepy.

Flyers

The Hungry Choir spreads itself with magical flyers that manifest and seek out victims, generally people with issues around food, self-image, or addiction. Those who are not susceptible can't read them. They look like a misprinted combination of an ad for a buffet and for a musical show, with a lengthy nonsensical URL at the bottom.

Website

An impossible website detailing the ritual, the same pink-grey colour as the flyer, with a sign-up page. It's poorly laid out and contains distorted images. The website never appears in your browser history, it's source code is nonsense and cannot be copied, even by hand.

Universe

During the ritual, the participants are transported to a distorted version of the universe. All clocks and similar displays show a distorted countdown to "dawn" and the end of the ritual. TVs show a mess of distorted images; websites and apps are gibberish; photos show the Observers where normal people should be. Geography and layout is altered. The moon in the sky flickers between different positions.

Community

An online community exists dedicated to researching and strategizing for the ritual. Although easily dismissed at first as some kind of multimedia horror story or game, their websites contain a great deal of detailed advice, as well as links to the Hungry Choir website.

They have developed a system of hand signals to communicate without violating the "miss a word" rule. Some use specific medications to help endure eating raw flesh torn free with their teeth and nails without vomiting. == References ==

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