Rites & Rituals|

[>>Trinity;;]

Rites are done by certain classes to achieve the next rank. All are a very private, deep, and highly personal experience. Remember that your character MUST complete the necessary ritual to attain the next rank. PM a staff member if you need help completing a ritual (need to speak to a god, not sure what to do for a ritual quest, etc). Also, please let us know once you've completed the ritual.


Fighter Rituals:

Squire to Knight:
Before a Squire may become a Knight and take up full rank within his grex, he must first seek out his Natuk and ask permission to perform this rite. Once the gryphon has done this, he will take a three to five day journey into the wilderness. There, he will fast for three days and seek out his god. At the end of the three days, the gryphon must wash in water and then await the appearance of his god/goddess. If the god does not appear, it means that the gryphon has been rejected and he must wait one cycle of the moon before appearing again.

A rejected gryphon will usually spend a great deal of time in remorse, seeking to know why the god rejected him. He may also be the source of considerable scorn from the rest of his grex.

Knight to Paladin:
To become a Paladin (or High Lord), a knight must first go to a holy place and seek out his god. When the god (or goddess) appears, the knight must ask for a quest to complete.

Completing the quest is the second rite. Usually, the quest is something difficult, but not necessarily impossible.

Finally, the knight comes back to the holy place, having completed the quest, and worships his god or goddess. At that time, he will present something of personal value to the god/goddess and ask to become enlightened. At this point, the god will choose to appear if he finds the gryphon worthy (some of the gods can be more capricious than others). The god or goddess will then test the knight with a mental ritual in which the gryphon must face and overcome his greatest fear. If the god believes that the gryphon has passed, he will mark the gryphon and give him the name of a sacred place where the gryphon can come to seek the god’s will. This sacred place is one which is known only to the paladin or high lord and can be used only by them to seek out their god/goddess.


Druid Rites:
Druids do not rely on rites nearly as much as many of the other classes. They generally grow in rank based on their skills, rather than through specific rites on encounters with a god. It is usually required, however, that a druid become guardian of a specific area before he or she may achieve the rank of sage. Shamans are only promoted to that rank by other druids. If a druid believes he is ready to become a shaman, he must first seek out other druid class gryphons. They will then test him as necessary and either promote him with a celebration or reject his case. Usually, three to five gryphons must be in agreement that the druid is ready to become a shaman before he can achieve the rank.


Hunter Ritual:
Hunters have one rite that must be done between the rank of Scout and Ranger. It may be done at any time after achieving the rank of Scout and is usually one of the longest rites.

First, the hunter must seek out a seer and ask to have his fortune told. This will usually come in the form of some obscure verse. After this, the hunter will go on a quest based on the prophecy. What the quest is for is not always clear, but the hunter usually figures it out by the time they are near to reaching epic level. If they cannot, they may seek guidance from a seer or try to meet with their god in a holy place. On completing their quest, the hunter will go out into the woods for at least a week, usually seeking a deeper communion with nature and knowledge of himself. Once the gryphon feels ready, he will destroy the quest object and become a ranger.


Seers:
Seers, like fighters and healers, are the closest in communion with their gods. In order to prophecy the future, they must rely on their god, as well as their gift. Therefore, they have several rites that must be undertaken.

Apprentice to Seer:
Must give one prophecy inspired by their god or goddess.

Seer to Visionary:
The seer must first seek out a place holy to their god and “see” the past. Seers usually learn about this time to not attempt to change the future, despite what they may see or prophesy. Most seers come to have a very neutral outlook on life and let things go as they will.

After seeing an event from the past, the seer must see an event from the future. Having known both, they can become known as a visionary.

Visionary to Oracle:
The visionary’s god must bring them to the rank of oracle. Thus, what quests, rites, or rituals need to be performed vary based on the gryphon. They must seek out their god/goddess continually, and will, in this way, learn what to do. There are usually three rites to bring a seer to the rank of oracle, but again, it may depend on the gryphon.


Healer Rituals:

Healer to Monk:
There are no specific rites for a healer to achieve the rank of monk. Rather, it is expected that they learn about their gift during this time.

Monk to Cleric:
Monks are expected to spend a period of time traveling and training by learning from other, more advanced healers. When those healers that the monk ranked gryphon has trained with declare him ready, he may go to a holy place and ask his god to raise him to the rank of cleric.

Cleric to High Priest/Priestess:
The healer must then spend considerable time teaching others as well practicing his gift. When he feels ready to become a high priest/priestess of his god, he must go to the Ruins of the Triad (the place most healers come to train) and meet with his god. The god will then usually set him a series of tests (generally involving difficult healings). The gryphon will do his best, and if the god determines that the gryphon has used his skills wisely and effectively, he will raised to the rank of high priest. The process is the same for achieving necromancer, except that the god will give him tasks involving the necromantic skills.


Rogue:
Rogues actually have a number of rites, but most are kept highly secretive, and they may vary slightly between grex. In general, the rogue class gryphon will complete his rites in secret, and thus is likely to be the only one to know that they have been done. Their rites also rely very little on the gods, unlike most of the other classes.

Rogue to Initiate:
A rogue must have successfully completed one assignment before he can become an initiate. This doesn’t have to be a scouting assignment by a Natuk: it can be any task involving stealth, skill, and spying.

Initiate to Assassin/Spy:
Before reaching this rank, a gryphon must choose what he is going to specialize in: assassination or spying. The gryphon will train hard in his chosen field as an initiate. There are usually three rites that an initiate takes, given by their teacher or another assassin or higher ranked gryphon that test the gryphons skill development. If at any time the initiate is deemed to not have developed enough skill, he can be held back (temporarily) until his training and skills have progressed. One of there rites almost always involves learning a special skill, such as shadow jumping.

Assassin/Spy to Ritualist:
There is a reason that epic level rogues are called ritualists. By the time they have achieved this rank, they will have undergone may difficult rites and rituals. It takes five individual rituals to achieve this rank. They are personal, difficult, and chosen by the individual. However, another rogue class gryphon who has already achieved the rank of ritualist must be informed ahead of time of the intended rituals. The rituals usually involve some test of skill and way of creating inner balance and strength.


Gypsies and Bards:
Gypsies and bards do not have any formal rites. However, it is common for both to be tested on a regular basis. Gypsies will be tested by their family to see that they keep their skills up, and bards are tested by their audiences.