Initiation Rite for Hermetic Empowerment +9 (Target: 15)
The rite of the third degree is among the simplest but also perhaps the most dangerous. A Disciples of the Worm Lore of at least 3 is needed for this initiation. The initiate must desecrate a tomb (or, more likely, several tombs) and interrogate the spirits of those buried within. Their goal is to retrieve a magical secret unknown to the cult. They must do this alone and tell no one of their activities. Many perish in the attempt - any spirit holding a secret worthy of the name will be potent and likely uncooperative. ( The initiate has to complete a specified unique quest +6 )
A more senior mystagogue of the cult will appear, their identity concealed, for the next step. Whatever secret the initiate learns must be offered up completely to the cult. Not only must the initiate tell all to the mystagogues, they must lower their parma and consent to having their memories altered by their fellow cult members. By the end they will be left with no memory of the secret they recovered – though they will still recall having allowed the memory to be erased. If they reach the fifth degree, they may relearn this secret from the secret library of the cult but will be unaware that they were the one who discovered it. (The initiate sacrifices something of great and symbolic value +3)
Initiation Rite for Inscription on the Soul +10 (Target: 15)
The rite of the fourth degree requires a talisman. If the initiate lacks one, they must create one in preparation for this rite. A Disciples of the Worm Lore of at least 3 is needed for this initiation.
The Initiate and Mystagogue travel to the bog known as the Yeun Elez in Brittany (this is fairly close to the Tytalus Domus Magna of Fudarus). The bog has an evil reputation and in the centre is a fetid, writhing pool called “Youdig”. This is reputed to be a gateway to hell. They must attend the pit on the 31st of October, the first night of the year when the pit, accessible only in winter, can be approached.
Other members of the cult will be present also. This is an annual activity of the cult, though precisely who is invited and why is left up to the storyguide. All identities are concealed with robes and shrouds. Offerings are made to the Ankeu of the Pit, a magical being that resembles the local death spirits of the Bretons. Sometimes the Ankeu appears and silently presides over the proceedings. Bodies are also dredged up from deep within the pit sometimes (see the next section for why). The initiate must ritually destroy their talisman and throw it in as a sacrifice. ( The Initiate has to travel far to reach a special place at a special time +3 ) (The Initiate sacrifices something of great and symbolic value +6)
Those being initiated are fed potions and made to inhale the smoke of burning plants. These have the effect of granting them the power to survive without breath, food, or water for a year (a secret the cult acquired from ancient spirits, perhaps the Ankeu of the Pit itself). They are also completely paralysed. The initiates are stripped naked, except for a veil to hide the face, and rubbed with natron or wood ash, giving them the appearance of a cadaver. They are anointed with resins and incense. Finally, the initiates are wrapped in a shroud and lowered into the Youdig. Immersed in the bog and paralysed, they are completely cut off from the world of the senses, which allows them to develop a deeper awareness of their own spirit. Some claim afterwards that the spirit of death whispered secrets to them in the dark, but there is no way to tell if these are true insights or hallucinations. The next year each initiate is dredged up and revived (after the depositing of the next year’s initiates, if there are any). Those who survive the ordeal have gained the insight necessary to “feel” their own spirit, granting the Inscription on the Soul virtue. Others may have gone mad in their isolation. These unfortunate souls are cast back into the pit, where they will drown. It is certain that part of the dark reputation of the Youdig stems from the tormented spirits of those who perish in this ritual. ( The initiate sacrifices time +1)
If the initiate lives too close to the marsh to take advantage of the travel element of the rite, a variant exists which inflicts the Disfigured flaw as a minor ordeal. In this case the initiate’s hair and skin are bleached white permanently, giving them a deathly pallor. Alternatively, if the mystagogue is especially skilled that step can be removed entirely.
This is the last degree many attain. Anyone judged unsuited to advance further will never be given the opportunity. The gift of eternal life-in-death is not to be given lightly. At a bare minimum a cult lore of 6 is needed to progress but more important is the favour of at least one senior member of the cult, and to have no enemies in the senior ranks who can block the initiate’s accession.
It has not been unknown for those denied the higher ranks, but possessing sufficient cult lore, to try and develop their own self-initiation scripts for the deeper mysteries of the cult (or what they think those might be – they may be mistaken in this regard!). In the rare cases this is successful they become an enemy of the cult and are singled out for the most severe punishments.
What is the Ankeu of the Pit?
The “Ankeu” which appears during this ritual has a nature connected to death, but even the cult isn’t sure exactly what it is. Some possibilities are:
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An airy spirit attracted by the last moments of life.
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An aspect of a daimon associated with death which manifests due to the ritual, or coincidentally on that night and the cult chose the date to coincide with this apparition.
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A macabre looking Genius Loci of the bog. Especially applicable if you run the bog as having a magic aura aligned with something appropriate – perdo, corpus, death, necromancy etc.
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A faerie which the cult has accidentally created, a variant of the local Ankeu myth.
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The ghost of an ancient human sacrifice (or some ancient druidic parallel to the Living Ghost mystery?) a la Old Croghan Man. No such body has ever been found in Britanny, but they have been found across northern Europe and the Yeun Elez is a peat bog, so it’s not implausible.
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A demon masquerading as a magical patron. Maybe the pit really is infernal…
The Tytalus Cabal of the Laden Cart (see tLatL p.g. 131 for detail), who have the goal of capturing a spirit of death, might try and disrupt or usurp the ritual to capture the Ankeu of the Pit. Perhaps they might even try, at great personal peril, to infiltrate the Disciples of the Worm to achieve this.