Rite

Overview

The secretive ceremony all young dragons go through after they first use magic. Dragons are not allowed to talk about specifics regarding the Rite, only if they accepted a choice or not.

The Rite

When a young dragon first finds their magic, a respected spirit dragon, typically an Elder or Master, will ask them to fall asleep, saying that the spirits of dead dragons shall guide them through the Rite. Once asleep, the spirit dragon uses its power to give the youngling entrance to the spirit world.
In the spirit world, a respected spirit from the region or clan the youngling resides in meets the dragon, and offers a choice: endure the agony of the Rite in order to rise to the spirit world after death while guarding the secret of the Rite, or disagree and not have access to the spirit world after death. The dragon spirit will explain that the connection between dragon kind and the spirit world is the reason why dragons as a species are stronger than other Lakis species. Even those dragons who do not undergo the Rite gain from this connection, and if this secret was discovered by other Laku, the supremacy of dragon kind would be challenged.
Younglings who agree have a spell cast by the dragon spirit which fuses their physical self with their spirit self. The fusion is extremely painful and slowly kills the youngling. In order to properly end the pain and save their own life, younglings must breathe a torrent of flames, which is why they must have discovered their magic first. The flames, augmented by magic from the older dragon, sink into the young dragon, healing the damage done from the fusion. Once the pain fades, the dragon spirit casts a spell preventing the youngling from speaking of the Rite to anyone except Elders and their specific Master.