Grand Ritual

"HEED THE WORDS OF SUFFERING HERSELF.

IN HER INFINITE EXISTENCE,

SHE HAS DEALT WITH COUNTLESS FALSE IDOLS.

NO ‘GOD’, SMILING OR OTHERWISE, CAN STAND UP TO HER

ANGER TOWARDS THE WRONGFULLY IMMORTAL.

MOTHER OF DEATH, HER CHAMPIONS WILL PUT AN

END TO THIS CYCLE OF MANIPULATION AND

IMPRISONMENT.

SMILE YOUR LAST, O

YOU SMILING ‘GOD’, FOR THINE SOUL WILL FINALLY

ASCEND ABOVE THE

LOCKUP OF VELVET AND

DESCEND TO THE

ABYSS FOR ALL ETERNITY.

BEWARE, JAILOR, FOR YOUR MIND GAMES

ARE ENTERING THEIR FINAL ACT.

ONLY SUFFERING IS ETERNAL, NOT

TRUTH, NOT JUSTICE.

HEAVY ARE THE HANDS BOUND BY CHAINS."

-text from the Grimoire of Saklas, written by Achlýs herself after the Grimoire was placed in the brain of the cthonic titan Aureus. Used as the incantation in L'escalier du diable, a Grand Ritual utilized to break into the Chromatic Palace.

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A Grand Ritual - occasionally referred to as an Arcane Communion - is an act of synthesizing magic in such a way that it can reshape aspects of a region to the whim of the wielder. These Rituals come in four distinct forms, performing wildly different tasks depending on which form is enacted.
Conjurative Rite - A Conjurative Rite is the act of bringing something from beyond the Secondary Material into the world. This sort of ritual is most commonly found in cults (who may seek to bring an extraplanar power - such as the summoning of Henrietta von Clucksonberg's soul into the body of a pit fiend) or in academics who wish to study creatures from beyond without venturing beyond their home plane (such as the planar binding of Autumn Court Fey Lingo Duo by the Avena Monastery). Materials for Conjurative Rites are relatively easy to come by for any magically talented individual who wishes to pursue this course of action, but the Arcanist's Circle has imposed major restrictions on who is allowed to actually perform the Ritual. Conjurative Rites are the most common of the four rituals, simply due to the curiosity and zeal of Uthilithians.
Immersion Rite - An Immersion Rite is the act of immersing one or more living beings in magical energy, thus granting them innate powers over magic itself. Very few Immersion Rites exist within the world; the only ones that are somewhat commonly known are those enacted by orders of Blood Hunters to grant their companions the power of hemocraft. Some very old historical texts perpetuate the rumor that Astrid performed an Immersion Rite on her sole child (whom she used magic to conceive without need of a partner) to create the Blood of the Soothsayer - a bloodline of diviners. Immersion Rites, if not carried out properly, can have extraordinary side effects ranging from minorly beneficial to downright murderous.
Installative Rite - Installative Rites do exactly what they say they'll do - they'll install near-indestructible magical fixtures into the world. These Rites are often used to sanctify temples (the central sculpture of Lation in the Spirit Temple is an example of this - it was created in divine collaboration with the Fate God himself) or to create structures that overcome magical boundaries. The most famous Installative Rite in recent memory is that of L'escalier du diable as performed by The Killjoys. Generally, to create structures this permanent, one requires artifacts of intense power and immense historical value to convince the Divines of your worthiness. They also work in the opposite direction - these antithetical Rituals are known as "Destructive Rites". The Gorecrest Dynasty remains infamous for its use of these to pressure Temporan settlements like Nord'ial into compliance, after Jar'guk Ermendrud razed Termina to the ground.
Ascension Rite - The rarest and most difficult of the four Rituals, the Ascension Rite is the act of finding a way to surpass mortality and to ascend into immortality or minor godhood. Typically, the gods only grant mortals they consider worthy the option of immortality (in the case of Sibyll, she leaves that door open for most Masters of Magic). The most common Ascension Rite is an attempt by a Wizard to fall into Lichdom - a state of undeath maintained through perpetual use of a phylactery. However, some lesser immortals have been known to attempt Ascension Rites to far more disastrous consequences - the most famous of these was that of The Erlkönig in CY 1624, when he attempted to become a god through the creation of a blank plane of existence that has since been destroyed by the joint efforts of Lation and Avandra.

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Manifestation

Grand Rituals, when cast, have tangible effects over a region (depending on the magnitude of the magic used). When The Erlkönig enacted his Ritual, the entire world of Uthilith was affected - devout followers of Him began to wreak havoc wherever they found themselves. Since the ritual was centered on the Spirit Temple in central Ikana, the entire province (along with some of southeastern Hebra, Misty Run, and western Necluda) were affected by the magical radiation.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane