The Blood Rite is an Illyrian ceremony that is completed when a novice-warrior wants to progress to the status of a true warrior.
Overview[]
The Blood Rite happens each year in early spring with hundreds entering the area of conifer forests and ravines around Ramiel in the Illyrian Mountains. The novice-warriors have their wings bound and lack weapons, magic, or Siphons. The only supplies they have are the clothes on their back. Novice-warriors from the same camp are split up when they start. They have one week to reach Ramiel, scale its side by hand, and touch the onyx monolith at the top to pass.
Where the warriors are when it ends sorts them into one of the three echelons of warrior, named after their holy stars:
- Arktosian, the ones who don't make it to the mountain but survive the 7 days for the stars to align;
- Oristian, the ones who make it to the mountain but don't reach the top; and
- Carynthian, the ones who scale the summit and are considered elite warriors.
The onyx monolith at the top has the power to winnow them away from the Blood Rite to "wherever they are needed most" when it is touched, regardless of whether the rite is finished and their magic has been returned.
The area around Ramiel is closed the rest of the year to prevent novices from scouting the area to give themselves an advantage. It is generally considered unacceptable by Illyrians for outside forces to interfere with the Rite.
During this time, novices must survive exposure, the creatures of the mountains, and each other as they race against time. Many Illyrians who enter the rite often kill each other for food, clothes, vengeance, or glory.[1] Old feuds are played out, new ones born, and scores settled. Indeed, the Blood Rite offered a release for the dangerous tension within the Illyrian community. It was better to settle it in the Rite than risk civil war.
History[]
At some point, Enalius drew a line in the dirt and held the ground against enemy hordes at the Pass on Ramiel. He died after defending the Pass for three days. He climbed with his guts hanging out to the sacred stone at the top and died there. The Blood Rite is done in his honor and the Pass was named "Pass of Enalius" after him.
Devlon allowed Rhysand, Azriel, and Cassian to perform the Rite despite their status as crossbreed and bastards, respectively. Each started the Rite at a different location in the mountains, however, all three managed to find each other and survive together. They were the first to reach the onyx monolith that year.
A Court of Silver Flames[]
Nesta Archeron, Gwyneth Berdara, and Emerie are kidnapped and forced into participating in the Blood Rite by traditional Illyrian males who want to punish the females for believing themselves warriors. No one can intervene to save them and doing so condemns the people involved to execution. Each girl is left in a separate drop-zone and they have to fight to find each other. Nesta uncovers weapons, later explained were left behind by Briallyn to make the right more interesting. The Valkyries have friendship bracelets that light up in the direction of each other after the wish that Nesta had placed over them.
Nesta finds Emerie first, injured and floating in a river. She rescues her and as night approaches, meets Balthazar who promises not to kill Nesta and whoever is with her (as she is Feyre Cursebreaker's sister[2] ). After surviving the night in a hidden cave, they emerge to see the carnage that the creatures they'd heard caused the night before. They are able to collect supplies and food from the bodies before following the light to find Gwyn. They are lured in by a trap set by Bellius - her nightgown hanging at their camp. Gwyn nowhere to be found. When he is about to attack them blood suddenly splatters across the side of his face as the guts of one of his cronies spills onto the snow before him. A creature of nightmares has crawled over the ridge and had sliced open the abdomen of a warrior in a single swipe, Bellius readies his sword as the rest of the warriors get ready to fight as well. Nesta and Emerie take advantage of this to run as the warriors fight the creature. Gwyn's voice calls them from the other side of the ridge and they reunite and flee together.
Four days later Bellius and six other warriors encounter the girls again when they were climbing Ramiel. As the males are closing in Nesta realizes the only way for her friends to reach the onyx monolith is for her to hold the males at the Pass of Enalius so they can climb to the top. She does so and faces the six males killing them, fighting Bellius last.
Bellius tells Nesta he never wanted to win the Rite, he just wanted to face her and kill her. He and Nesta spar with sword and shield for a while before moving to hand-to-hand combat. As he was about to slit Nesta's throat with a knife he had hidden in his boot, Cassian arrives and slits Bellius's throat killing him while under Briallyn's control. Nesta then has to face Cassian as he does the queen's bidding.
The three manage to survive against all odds. Emerie and Gwyn become Carynthian reaching the summit, touching the onyx monolith, and Nesta becomes Oristian having stayed behind to hold the line at the Pass of Enalius so her friends could reach the monolith.
Friendship Bracelets[]
The Valkyries made bracelets during their slumber party at House of Wind at Gwyn's request. It was something that she and her sister Catrin had done before at Sangravah. Nesta's bracelet is navy blue, crimson and silver. Gwyn's is white, teal and blue. Emerie's is green, purple and gold. Nesta speaks a wish over them that imbues them with the power that allows it to work as a tracker to find each other - lighting up in their direction, and lighting brighter when they are in danger.
The wish was, 'I wish for us to have the courage to go out into the world when we are ready, but to always be able to find our way back to each other. No matter what.'
Important People[]
- Enalius - the original warrior to hold the line at The Pass of Enalius - the rite was created in his honor
- Rhysand - One of the few Carynthian warriors
- Cassian - One of the few Carynthian warriors
- Azriel - One of the few Carynthian warriors
- Nesta Archeron - One of the Oristian warriors "A Court of Silver Flames", also held the line at the Pass of Enalius against Bellius under Briallyn's control
- Emerie - One of the few Carynthian warriors "A Court of Silver Flames"
- Gwyneth Berdara - One of the few Carynthian warriors "A Court of Silver Flames"
Cassian mentions in A Court of Silver Flames that only 12 other warriors have made it to the Ramiel, only 3 others have made it to the onyx monolith. He mentions that 2 of the 3 died during the The War with Hybern.
Trivia[]
- No one knows who put the onyx monolith atop Ramiel.[3]
References[]
- ↑ A Court of Mist and Fury: Chapter 45
- ↑ A Court of Silver Flames: Chapter 66
- ↑ A Court of Frost and Starlight: Chapter 3