The Lily-Rites

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"The lily-rites can help to guide our rebirths, when we die. What we wish to keep, we keep, and what we wish to leave behind, we put into a corpse-candle. [...]"[1]

The Lily-Rites, also called the Rite of the Lily, are a ritual of Hellish origin that is meant to direct change in an individual.

History[edit | edit source]

"In the heavens, the lily was cultivated for self-perfection; so too the candles of the mire. After the Revolution, they codified this in the Accord of Marigold and Violet: only ascension was permitted."[2]

"It offends the stars [...] It invites other creatures to cross the borders set by their own nature, and to share the dignities of Hell, if they have the skill. And it usually perturbs a soul in an interesting direction."[3]

The lily-rites were originally devised by devils to assert greater control over their own rebirth,[4] in a process meant to refine their self-perfection and ascent along the Great Chain of Being.[5] Most devils employ the rites to excise what they perceive as flaws or weaknesses[6] - elements of the self thought to impede progress up the Chain.[7] Certain devils maintain meticulous chronicles of every enactment of the rites:[8] what words were inscribed upon the candles, what transformations were wrought, what frailties excised.[9]

Some devils, in defiance of the Judgements, have shared the lily-rites with beings lower on the Chain - both as an act of rebellion, and as an experiment to observe the more intriguing evolutions such rites might produce within a soul.[10] Others denounce such transgressions, insisting that the rites are a sacred privilege of devils alone, and that no lesser creature should wield them for its own ascension.[11] Additionally, it is possible to use the lily-rites to deliberately descend the Chain.[12] This is considered the highest form of blasphemy against the Judgements, for the only act more forbidden than ascent is descent.[13] It is not known whether there was an earlier taboo against this usage of the lily-rites, but the New Democracy of Hell formally banned the practice in the wake of the Season of Revolutions.[5]

Process[edit | edit source]

"This is how we mark those things we bring forward and those we leave behind..."[14]

A corpse-candle

The central component of the lily-rites is an enormous (human- or devil-sized) corpse-candle, which is harvested from the Lilymire, then sculpted into the likeness of the individual undergoing rebirth.[15][16] Inscribed into (or written upon) the candle[17] are aspects of the individual that either they themselves,[18] or another party, would like to remove or preserve.[19][20] Sometimes personal touches are added, like the recitation of poetry to the wax effigy;[21] however, this does not appear to be an essential part of the process, as not all known instances have included it.

Once prepared, the candle is lit, and the recipient proceeds to enact their rebirth.[22] The rite takes effect by guiding or focusing the sort of change that coincides with a moment of profound transformation; this is most commonly death,[23] but it can also accompany other moments of great upheaval, such as a revelation of the self or a shift in worldview.[22] Once the candle's waxen visage and inscribed sigils have melted away,[24] the rite is considered complete, and the recipient emerges, changed as desired.[25]

The changes brought about by the lily-rites may manifest both physically and mentally. Minor transformations might entail subtle enhancements to the body, or shifts in temperament and outlook.[22] More profound alterations, such as a complete change of species, are also possible. A human might be remade into a goat-demon;[26] a devil might ascend into a Grand Devil,[27] or even a Curator.[28] However, the lily-rites are not unlimited in their power, as certain traits and inclinations are simply immutable.[28] Likewise, the rite cannot return anyone precisely to who they were before.[29]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ The Pale Tabernacle, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Observe the water, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Involve an old friend, Fallen London
  4. ↑ Ask again about the candle, Fallen London "The lily-rites can help to guide our rebirths, when we die. What we wish to keep, we keep, and what we wish to leave behind, we put into a corpse-candle. [...]"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Observe the water, Fallen London "In the heavens, the lily was cultivated for self-perfection; so too the candles of the mire. After the Revolution, they codified this [...] only ascension was permitted."
  6. ↑ Offer your own secrets to the Martagon Deviless, Fallen London "Many of us refine away unnecessary complications, [...] Perhaps it is only for lack of the Lily-rites, but it seems the process went in the other direction for your friend."
  7. ↑ Barqujin: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Me: What sort of things would a devil look to leave behind? Milton: Habits that reduce or inhibit advancement up the Great Chain. Idleness, paucity of imagination, softness of form."
  8. ↑ Offer your own secrets to the Martagon Deviless, Fallen London "She tells you she has many such documents. Most are recordings taken at the time of the Lily-rites: what was inscribed at a devil's death, and then at his next death, and then at his next."
  9. ↑ Pay a social call on the Martagon Deviless, Fallen London "The pages are thin enough to see through, layered with infernal diagrams. "A record of her progress," says the Martagon Deviless. "We note what she changes in each Rite, the sigils required in each." The bottom page is complicated, contradictory, displaying many weaknesses. The next layer repeats only some of the sigils beneath, and the layer after that fewer still. For many consecutive lives, the subject's character is simplified into one that can properly serve its client. [...]"
  10. ↑ Involve an old friend, Fallen London "Their own particular act of rebellion. It offends the stars [...] It invites other creatures to cross the borders set by their own nature, and to share the dignities of Hell, if they have the skill. And it usually perturbs a soul in an interesting direction."
  11. ↑ Point out the demerits of rites that require death, Fallen London "Not everyone requires the Lily-rites. [...] Even in Hell, they are a matter of some controversy. There are those who think we should never extend their teachings to anyone but a devil, those who think their only rightful purpose is to allow non-devils to approach closer to Hell."
  12. ↑ Observe the water, Fallen London "It should not have worked, [...] only ascension was permitted. [...] But my Lady did only as she wished."
  13. ↑ Attend to the small matter, Fallen London "The punishment is for him: she will watch, and in watching, forget. His crime is the greater after all. It is natural to aspire above; it is unnatural to reach below."
  14. ↑ Invitation to the Lily-rites, Fallen London
  15. ↑ Barqujin: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: You used my smuggling contacts to bring you a rotten candle from Hell. Large as a tuber, pale as a drowned corpse. [...] You carved it into an effigy of yourself. There were silks and samite around the places on which you made me inscribe."
  16. ↑ Invitation to the Lily-rites, Fallen London "A party of devils arrive with a cart [...] they unveil the cart's content: a stinking, man-sized candle from the Lilymire. The upper face of the candle they have carved with a death-mask [...]. "This is how we mark those things we bring forward and those we leave behind," says the Lily Deviless."
  17. ↑ Invitation to the Lily-rites, Fallen London "The Rite does not require poisons. It is enough to inscribe the wax with a metal nib. Even the application of ink will do."
  18. ↑ Invitation to the Lily-rites, Fallen London "You go before he lifts the pen to his effigy. You do not know what he chooses. You have only made sure he knows the full shape of possibility."
  19. ↑ Invitation to the Lily-rites, Fallen London "Furnace comes and stares at the effigy for a while. Then she writes something on its shoulder; looks you in the eye; and goes. You walk casually to the candle-corpse and nonchalantly regard what she has written. Relentless, it says. And very nosy. Keep the first, lose the second."
  20. ↑ Barqujin: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: You told me I must seek to instruct the effigy in all the things you ought to be. And remind it of all the conduct you had engaged in that would be best left behind."
  21. ↑ Barqujin: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: You told me I had to read to it. Poetry. The death of King Gesar, the hidden kingdom whence he would return. The secret version of Jangar, where the king falls in Paradise."
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Reveal a cyclical truth to the False-Student, Fallen London "After Hallowmas, Verity hosts you in her townhouse. [...] The salon is lit by a single candle, a lumpen thing adorned with sigils and guttering a queasy yellow. The wax might almost have a face [...] "[...] I had it brought from the Lilymire. [...] They are usually reserved for the dying. But why wait to improve oneself?" As the candle burns down, her eyes seem to flare brighter. Her teeth seem to grow sharper. Her skin pales, becoming more and more like marble."
  23. ↑ Invitation to the Lily-rites, Fallen London "His disease is fatal, but the Martagon Deviless has let him hope that his death will not be wasted. There is a woman he wants to marry, but her faith is not his. [...] he hopes to use the Rite of the Lily, and return different from the Boatman. After he has died, he hopes he will be able to become one of her people."
  24. ↑ Invitation to the Lily-rites, Fallen London "The Martagon Deviless packs the Lilymire candle away in its cart. It has almost entirely melted now: the face is gone, and the precisely carved sigils have distorted and run."
  25. ↑ Invitation to the Lily-rites, Fallen London "Has it made any difference? The Martagon Deviless stares when you ask. "You feel the effects of the rite," she says. And you do. Certain aspects [...] are more pronounced, others suppressed. "Besides, the citizens have been asked what they wished to keep. You must keep your Revolution fresh.""
  26. ↑ Involve an old friend, Fallen London "Verity tells you then a story of Saint Trezigor, who was not always as he appeared in his late days. But he had a message for Hell, and rather than leave it silent, he transformed himself in order to become its messenger. His followers suffered the consequences, perhaps, but all transformations have a price."
  27. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "There are bones in the amber. They are not human bones. These are far too large. There are hollows on the bones, as though for the storage of many tiny eggs. The shoulders are long and serrated, as though to support wings. The bones are bleached from the amber, but once they were black. There is a skull. Its many eye sockets regard me. It was Milton's."
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Ask a pointed question, Fallen London ""There was something I wanted," says the Solicitor-Baroness. "And I did what was necessary to achieve it. [...] I am willing to admit that I did not have this physical form then. I styled myself in bat-flesh, once, until not even the deepest of lily-devotions could reconcile me to it. Look." And from her pocket she withdraws a pretty little miniature. It shows a being with a bat-like face, delicately furred ears, and unmistakably yellow eyes. "Myself, in a previous life," she says, and she tucks the image away again. "I did make every effort.""
  29. ↑ Ask. Is there anything the Lily Rites could restore to your (loved one)?, Fallen London "No [...] Her meaning is implicit in the sigils of obliteration and replacement carved into the wax flesh of your double. The Lily-rites could change you into someone who no longer grieves the loss; someone whose identity depends on no one else. Someone who does not love, ever again, the way you did once."
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