This ancient ritual and its brother rite, Call Jaggling, are the core of relations between spirits and werewolves. Though the Uratha face great animosity from the spirit broods, the ancient pacts forged before history began still hold. Most spirits still adhere to a series of bans that require them to obey the summons of a werewolf who performs the proper rites. The power of ritual to compel them is written on their very being.
The Gaffling is the lowest rank of spirit, and the most commonly found in the natural world (and the Shadow). Like most spirits, Gafflings are generally unfriendly toward
the Forsaken and Pure Tribes. The summoned spirit is under no compulsion to cooperate, and most choose not to unless offered delightfully appropriate chiminage and/or the threat of binding. And yet, Gafflings, like all spirits, are aware of a werewolf’s Renown and are more likely to respond well to an accomplished Uratha than to a cub.
Performing the Rite
This rite is relatively simple. The werewolf marks out a sacred circle and sits in the middle. She consumes a small amount of reality-expanding natural substance — a hallucinogen, stimulant or depressant, as per the ritualist’s traditions. She then places a few hundred grams of chiminage on the ground before her. While this is most often food of some kind appropriate to the spirit’s type, it can also be precious metal, gems or another substance. The greater the value of the chiminage, the more likely the Gaffling is to cooperate with the werewolf’s request.
The chiminage may be burned, buried or doused with water in order to bring it to the spirits’ attention. The ritualist then performs a howl of summons. A single Gaffling of the chosen type arrives within several minutes of the beginning of the rite if all goes well.
