Voco

First Appearance and Context

Voco is described within the mathic world as a named rite used when outside authority seeks mathic expertise. In a witnessed instance at the Concent of Saunt Edhar, distinctive bell changes—different from those used for Eliger—summoned the community to the Mynster. The Primate formally convened the assembly and read a traditional formula before calling a specific avout by name and chapter. The named avout answered in a set litany, and the Centenarian cohort sang a rare hymn of mourning and farewell.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Nature of the rite: Voco is an Aut by which an individual Avout is formally called out from a math to carry out praxic work requested by the Saecular Power.
• Conduct of the aut: Distinctive bell changes summon all avout; there is no prior notice of whose name will be called. The Primate delivers the call, and the named person answers in a brief litany.
• Farewell: The community treats it as a mourning‑and‑farewell moment; in the observed case, a five‑part hymn of mourning and farewell was sung as the Evoked stood before the chancel in the Mynster.
• Departure and escort: The departure follows immediately. In one observed instance, representatives of the Inquisition escorted the Evoked from the Mynster; in another, the rite proceeded without Inquisition presence. A documented example with escort is Paphlagon’s Evocation.
• Multiple names: While commonly a single person is named, a later ceremony at Saunt Edhar announced six names at once, read from a sealed page; one of those named was noted as “no longer among us.”
• Perceptions and beliefs: Some avout hold that the Ita convey or receive directives related to such actions; this is recorded as community belief or inference rather than confirmed practice.
• Community speculation: At Saunt Edhar, some avout have asserted that a specific Evocation and disciplinary trouble involving Fraa Orolo were connected; within the concent this is discussed as conjecture rather than established fact.

Relationships

• Saecular Power: External authority that can request and receive avout expertise via Voco.
• Primate and hierarchs: The Primate officiates the call; hierarchs coordinate the service.
• Inquisition: Officials may attend and provide escort for the Evoked’s immediate departure.
• Avout and orders: Voco removes a member from their chapter for outside service, and those remaining mourn the loss as final.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Terminology: The occurrence is called an “Evocation,” and the person is said to be “Evoked.”
• Rarity and tone: Within living memory it is rare; hymnals must be located and parts re‑found when needed. The mood is solemn and final from the community’s point of view.
• Form and setting: Marked by bells, formal words, and a response in litany; conducted in the community’s central hall, the Mynster. In observed services the bells may continue for some minutes as the assembly forms; ringers later join the congregation, and a choir of Hundreders may chant a monophonic piece.
• Bell signatures and distinction: Voco is heralded by a recognizable pattern of bell changes; at Saunt Edhar, avout can distinguish these from the pattern used for Anathem. After the bells, there is a short assembly interval before the Convocation.
• Scale and variation: On rare occasions, multiple avout may be Evoked in a single service (six were named in one observed ceremony); the officiant may open a sealed paper listing the names, including one not currently intramuros.

Current Status/Location

Voco remains an active, standing rite. At Saunt Edhar, an early documented instance proceeded with Inquisition escort; a later service at the same concent named six avout at once (including one not intramuros), after which those named departed and ordinary observances resumed within the community.