Path of the Choir: Resonance and you

[Ninja D!]

Alright now, how and why did you choose the title "Choir"?

I'm trying to be somewhat helpful.  If I'm not, I can stop.

[Superfluous Crow]

Nono, please continue. :)
I don't know whether you saw it, but i had a long discussion with some people in tavern about a good name. I think i came up with choir through the following process: Echo rod, echo, echoer, echoir, choir. And it seemed kind of appropriate since Choirs, if we see it from a metaphorical point of view, wield the second "voice" (the echo rod) that adds an entirely new meaning to the primary "voice" (the object's resonance).
Okay, that probably made no sense :-p Hope you got it.

[Ninja D!]

I actually think I might have seen part of that, now that I think of it.

Alright, so Choirs are rare.  How rare?  Rare as in there is some kind of guild hall or gathering place only in large cities or rare as in most people will never in their life encounter one?

[Superfluous Crow]

Probably rare in that common folk only hear rumors of them, although people in big cities might be lucky to see or hear of their work once or twice during their lifetime. Well-educated people have probably heard of them, but only a few select institutions have the necessary knowledge to train choirs and produce echo rods.  

[Ninja D!]

Is there any central organization that all (loosely speaking) or at least most choirs belong to?  Or are there multiple smaller organizations?  Or are there any at all?

If these organizations do exist in any form, what impact do they have on society?  Though they are small in number, these choirs seem to have the potential to be influential.  Maybe they pull strings behind the scenes of economies or even governments to some extent?  Or maybe they consider themselves to be better than others or outsiders and don't do anything in relation to the rest of the world either because they consider themselves superior or they just don't care?

[Superfluous Crow]

The knowledge is monopolized by a few powerful merchant organizations who take in bright students and train them to become Choirs. Most Choirs are therefore indebted to the institutions they were trained by. So most choirs are only influential in that the organization they belong to is influential. Others, who've gained their independence, almost never belong to an organization and therefore have little power.
This is just my current idea, so if you have a better one i'd be happy to hear it.  

[Ninja D!]

How are echo rods made?  What goes into their construction that makes them so rare?

[Superfluous Crow]

Fulgurite. Fulgurite is the rare product of lightning strikes in the desert, also called petrified lightning. It's an actual mateerial, although the material's occult capabilities of course only exist in my setting. After you have found a fulgurite tube long enough to produce a rod it must be processed without ruining it, and then a complex mechanism of gold and other exotic materials must be built up around the tube so it can be wielded and its power used.

[Ninja D!]

Alright, that makes sense.  What of their use?  Could anyone, in theory, pick on up and use it?

[Superfluous Crow]

I'm pretty sure it says that in the first post. And yes, technically anyone could pick it up. But they would have absolutely no control over what they are doing with it. Fixed cadence rods, that is, rods that only affect one thing, can be used with some trial/error by anyone.

[Ninja D!]

Aside from getting inside the field, what threat do the rods pose?  What could happen if they were handled improperly?  If some random idiot used one, could he accidentally destroy the rod?

[Superfluous Crow]

They can be broken, but it's hard to ruin it through use. But breaking the fulgurite tube or part of the mechanism can ruin the rod easily.

[Ninja D!]

I like the fact that things often turn to lead.  Do they stay that way, or change back?

[Superfluous Crow]

Lead is by definition very stable, so if it turns to lead, it stays that way :D
So if Choirs run crazy, the world will eventually run out of anything but lead. Not very likely though.
Anyway, in theory, a very, very, very powerful rod could perhaps bypass the Merkotz Limit.