The Hallowed Path

The Hallowed Path is a tradition in the city of Hallowside, and is a part of the rite of passage undergone by all members of the city's Ranger Corps. During this process, the prospective Ranger is fed a special hallucinogen, and the resulting vision acts as a final test of courage and strength. Those who are worthy are welcomed into the Ranger Corps, while those who fail are driven mad by the visions and are exiled from the community.

The Ritual

On the day of a prospective Ranger's final trial, they are dressed in ceremonial garb reminiscent of what the first Rangers of Arbos were described to be wearing. They are then brought to the center of the city, to the site of the Great Hallowed Tree, a symbol of religious importance to Arbos worshippers. The trial-goer pulls from the tree a Hallowed Vine Root, the core ingredient to the ritual brew. This root is a powerful hallucinogen, but must be diluted in order for it to take effect.
Upon completion of the brew, the trial-goer is then brought to a chamber built below the Great Hallowed Tree. The trial-goer is fed the ritual brew, and is left within the chamber for the duration of the visions.

The Visions

The following is from an account by Destiel Murphey, a former Ranger candidate who passed the trial but was exiled soon after:

The trials are tough, but the visions, man, they're a whole different story. From what I heard everyone has different visions, some see dead family, others relive past mistakes.
For me, it was wild. The first couple were pretty tame, one of me meeting my wife for the first time, another of us welcoming our baby boy into the world. But then, shit started to get weird. I saw the chief ranger's son, but when he's the new chief. He was talking all high and mighty about a "return to the glory days", wanting to banish everyone but the humans and elves. Then I saw him banishing his own daughter. Like, his own daughter? Who would do such a thing?
Then I saw myself get banished, for trying to warn people. I realized it might've been a self-fulfilling kinda prophecy thing, but I had to tell someone. Look where that got me.
So, I guess, condolences to the next chief's kid?

The Ceremony

Once the visions have concluded, those who are still sound of mind and body are welcomed back into the community, now a full-fledged member of the Ranger Corps. The city then begins a week-long festival to celebrate their success in the trials, which includes a number of feasts and extravagant dances.
Those who fall to madness during the trials are silently guided out of the city, and banished into the surrounding forest. Some report that this has given the city a ring of skulls and bones, as those driven mad tend not to survive for long outside the city's protective walls.