The loss of Harmony weighs heavily on all Uratha: not only does it open them up to derangements and further sins, but it makes their packs and territories vulnerable to invaders and rot from within. But fire is the force of cleansing and renewal on the body of Bandaiyan. Fire-spirits eat the filth and corruption that dirties the Hisil, release the nutrients in dead animals and plants into thurrpa (ash), disperse and transform spirits and allow new life, biological and spiritual, to sprout. Uratha have not ignored this potent mystical force. The smoke of burning jarrah (eucalyptus) can help werewolves maintain and regain Harmony, “burning away” sins for those who can turn back to the “Ways of the Law.” This rite allows the Uratha to scorch themselves with burning eucalyptus in order to burn away the “sin” that they have committed. A spirit of fire, such as a bushfire Gaffling, must be present, usually inhabiting a firepot while the rite takes place.
Performing the Rite
The Uratha meet on a bora ring or some other sacred place (one pack in Canberra is said to use a mosque whose imam is wolf-blooded) and light a firepot, calling fire-spirits to aid them. The sinner stands before the fire, usually naked, and is scorched with burning pieces of eucalyptus bark and twigs (jarrah trees drop huge quantities of this material all around them, and so it’s not hard to procure some in Australia, California or Italy, where vast stands of these trees exist) while confessing to the offenses that she has committed. The packmates take special care to scorch and burn the body parts that have a connection to the “sin”: thus, a liar will receive burns on the tongue, a thief’s hands will be burned and so on. Note that the risk of a werewolf falling into Kuruth is very real here, and so many packs are reluctant to perform this rite, even if their Ithaeur knows how to do so. The pack usually has to keep the fiery torture going for at least one hour per point of Harmony that the Uratha has lost. If the werewolf succumbs to Kuruth, no Harmony is regained, although some more might be lost.
