Ritus Religati (Ritual of Binding)

The following item was copied from an ancient document by Tertia's friend Mettia and given to the party after they showed her Secret Inscription XI. The text is in Latin, and was translated by Kleeck and Laura.

Ritus Religati (The Ritual of Binding)
(Text in Latin)

In ancient times, each city or town, upon its founding, was consecrated to a deity. This Patron Deity protected the community from invasion. It was said that, so long as the Patron Deity defended it, the community could not fall to foreign enemies. Only by preventing the Patron from coming to the community's aid, could an invader succeed in breaching the town's defenses.

How is it, then, that history is replete with the downfall of towns and cities, when they are protected by their Patron Deity? One must conclude that the shield of a Patron Deity is neither absolute, nor permanent. Research suggests two manners in which the Patron's protection may be overcome.

The first, and most obvious, is that the Patron Deity may withdraw his or her power from the community. Ordinarily, this would happen because the populace has displeased the Patron in some way -- perhaps by worshipping another deity, or by blaspheming, or by failing to submit sacrificial offerings. In all likelihood, many of the towns and cities which history records as having fallen to foreign enemies had previously abandoned worship of the Patron, and thus lost their divine defense.

However, there is a second, and far more terrifying, mechanism by which the Patron's defenses may be overcome. There exists a dangerous ritual, known as Ritus Religati, the Ritual of Binding, which can be invoked against the town and its Patron. This divine spell is not easy to cast, for one must invoke the true name of the city or town against the power of the Patron. For this reason, wise townsfolk keep the true name of their community hidden from outsiders, known only to them -- often, only to the elders of the temple. Consequently, this true name is often referred to as the nomen sacrum urbis – the city’s "sacred name." Thus, the name by which many communities are known today is a façade, so that outsiders cannot invoke the sacred name against the town’s inhabitants.

But the sacred name alone is not enough. To complete the ritual, one must also obtain an artificium sacrum divi – a sacred artifact of the Patron Deity, such as the holy symbol of the deity's pontifex maximus, or a great relic imbued with the deity's power and symbolism. For this reason, wise communities have often obscured the identity of the true Patron, feigning devotion to a different god. Without knowledge of the city’s true patron, it would be impossible to know which sacred artifact to employ. And of course, any community in possession of such a relic would be wise to keep it under heavy guard, lest it become the means of their own demise.

Therefore, an invader with knowledge of the nomen sacrum urbis, who also possesses the appropriate artficium sacrum divi, may cast the Ritus Religati, and in so doing, will bind the Patron Deity, preventing him or her from using any divine powers to defend the community. The city or town would then be vulnerable to invasion, and the Patron would be powerless to stop the assault. It was in this fashion that many early conquests were achieved by the Republic, as many non-Roman communities were not wise enough to protect their sacred name or guard the identity of their Patron.

The ritual itself is very short, consisting of only four words, two of which are the false name and the sacred name of the community; the other two are linking words between the two names. The linking words are not recorded here because Roman law forbids doing so, restricting their use to the Pontifices Maximi.

It is sometimes asked whether the Ritus Religati is permanent -- whether the Patron can ever re-establish the defense of the community. For the most part, this question is irrelevant, since once a city is conquered, its new rulers will establish a new Patron and new sacred name. However, in the event that the inhabitants remain in control of the community somehow after the ritual is cast, one may undo the binding by reversing the spell -- speaking the words in reverse order. This use also requires possession of a great artifact of special significance to the Patron deity.

A final question is whether "dueling rituals" are possible, such that one side repeatedly binds the Patron while the other side reverses the spell immediately after. This sort of back-and-forth is unlikely, as the Ritual of Binding consumes the great artifact (although the reversed version does not). Thus, the invaders would require access to multiple artificia sacra divi of the deity, and possession of several such items by foreigners is highly improbable.

Type

Text, Literature

Medium

Paper