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| Ritual Level |
● |
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| Action |
Extended* |
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| Restriction |
Pure Tribe |
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The Pure p. 122 |
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The Fire-Touched believe that sin can be forgiven, provided that the proper penance is performed. The Rite of Penance is one of the most important parts of the Izidakh culture, and since this rite can be performed alone, most Fire-Touched eventually learn it. With it, the Uratha can find some forgiveness for recently committed sins, no matter how intense. The rite is interesting in that it doesn't require the werewolf to seek forgiveness from the people he actually sinned against, only a more abstract form of absolution from Gurim-Ur himself. If the werewolf is seeking forgiveness from another party, he would be well-advised to perform the Rite of Contrition instead.
Performing the Rite
The Fire-Touched who is receiving the rite must confess his sins. If the werewolf is performing the rite upon himself, he usually builds a small fire and directs his confession there, the idea being that Gurim-Ur will hear the werewolf through the flames. The ritemaster then decides upon an appropriate form of penance. Some ritualists choose penance appropriate to the sin committed. For instance, lying might result in the offender's tongue being tied to a stump and then beaten flat with iron rods, while killing another werewolf in battle (noble though it may be, it is still a sin) might call for the killer to submit to a full minute of biting and clawing by other Fire-Touched. Sometimes the ritualist just chooses something appropriately painful, with no regard toward how well it thematically meshes with what the werewolf did. After all, few Fire-Touched can appreciate the symbolism while they are actually enduring the penance. Whatever form the penance takes, the ritualist must take care not to kill the subject. The subject can be injured within an inch of his life, but werewolves can heal from the most grievous injuries in hours, at most. Obviously, the use of silver is strictly forbidden in the Rite of Penance (though some heretical packs of Fire-Touched sometimes break this rule). Each roll in the rite requires five minutes of torture, but the subject can only withstand so much. After a number of rolls equal to the subject's Stamina + Resolve (+ Iron Stamina, if applicable), the target's body be comes inured to the pain and the subject's mind becomes awash with Rage. At that point, the subject must check for Death Rage for every roll the ritualist makes for the remainder of the rite. If the subject enters Death Rage, of course, the rite fails (treat as a dramatic failure, below). This rite can be performed only once during any given lunar month on any given subject.
[*] 20 successes - subject's current Harmony; each roll represents five minutes of torture
