Demon Hunter Rites and Rituals

Introduction
Followers of the Dark Path invoke rituals upon themselves to augment their body to become more effective predators to their favored prey, the legion. The act of these uhholy rites to Demon Hunters is anecdotal at best and will be rewritten as Blizzard unveils more of its cannon in the upcoming expansion, Legion. The playerbase has come to a general consensus that there are a base foundation of rituals that must be performed upon the user before they become full fledged followers of the dark embrace.

First Hunt:
" I can feel the hatred in your eyes Thero'shan. The hungering fury that seethes and writhes to the surface from the pit of your throat just before the bow string serenades your fury. Gaze into the sockets of your prey as you release the knock of your arrow. Within the demons eyes, you will see a window into the burning hells, where you will join him and find his domain beneath you."

The first hunt is the first real test of the thero'shans abilities. The name of the rite is misleading, as prior to the first hunt, the supplicant will have spent years or decades training under their shan'do. It is at this stage the instructor presumes the thero'shan has learned the methods of tracking fel signatures, the identification of the stages of corruption, and has mastered the varying stances and combative techniques used to counter against each of the known servitors of the legion.

At a time deemed only suitable to the shan'do, the teacher and student will select an appropriate demon for the supplicant. The student and instructor will scry the true name of this demon using reagents gathered from other members of the preys species. Once the true name of the demon is discovered, it will be inscribed onto a ritual blade.

The chosen demon will often be far away and difficult to find as to provide the greatest challenge to the aspirant. The thero'shan is then sent into the forest alone with a ritual dagger inscribed with the demons true name upon the bevel. The supplicant must either capture the demon alive or slay it and entrap its soul within the dagger then return to the shan'do with a vial of the demons blood and the blade intact.

Should the supplicant fail the first hunt, he/she will be abandoned along the dark path.

Ritual of Marking:
"And thus I mark you, Thero'Shan. You who are possessed of iron will and indefatigable strength. With the Demons Essence I mark your flesh. With Demon's Blood you reaffirm your commitment. Your body shall mirror the great Shan'do, powerful in form and wicked to behold. Though we are lesser, we shall reap a great toll."

After the return of a successful first hunt, half of the bloods vial is emptied into a mortar and ground up with a pedestal mixed with other herbal regents to dilute the bloods thickness along with an alkaline until the acidic qualities of the mixture is safe enough to not completely consume the skin of the Supplicant. The blood will serve as a conduit for the magical pathways in which the demons entrapped essence will flow.

Beginning with a specially prepared knife to prepare the general runic patterns, the Demon Hunter Master will use a needle usually crafted from a thin bone of a demon sharpened to a fine point to carve the finer lines of the tattoo's in a pattern that is angular and sharp. The markings may snake around the hunters torso to signify a cage or bars to hold the demons essence at bay in the body while simultaneously distributing the demons essence in ways that will augment the hunters power.

The ritual of marking and etching every pore of the hunters skin by way of hand needle is an extremely tedious and a very painstakingly long process.

Ritual of Blinding:
"'Woe unto your ancestors for the unforgivable sin you are about to commit this night. Sacrilege unto the blessed vision gifted to you by Elune whom we were made after her image. Her sight that could illuminate your way into the darkness but nay the void itself. Thus, we forsake the mothers gift, for clairvoyance into the realm of hell itself. Look now up into the heavens Thero'shan, gaze upon the silver mother moons light, for she surely weeps upon you. It shall be the last you ever see of the Goddess and the stars again."

The Ritual of Blinding is perhaps the most well known and distinguished ceremony performed by the demon hunter, and the most repulsed by their kin. When the Shan'do is satisfied with the level mental acuity, physical dexterity and the students mastery to blindfight without the use of their natural sight. The Shan'do may invoke the ritual of blinding upon his/her Thero'shan to grant the student spectral sight.

The shan'do will prepare a mixture in a bowel of the last half of the demon blood vial, along with crushed infernal stone dust until the blood becomes a thick paste then mixed with other exothermic reacting regents.

The student is taken to a solitary place in the forest under the light of the full moon, where the supplicant will kneel towards the light of the moon. The student may wish to have his or her hands bound behind their back, to prevent their hands from instinctively rising to protect their eyes as the ritual commences.

If the Thero'shan prefers to take their own sight, the Shan'do will keep a firm grasp upon the supplicants head to prevent flinching from killing the student as the ritual dagger with the demons soul and true name inscribed onto it, carves out the supplicants eyes.

If the Thero'shan ill advisedly wishes to undergo this ritual completely alone, then it is an option for him/her to do so.

After the eyes are caved, the Shan'do or the Thero'shan will smear the demonic paste into supplicants eye socket and the concoction will be ignited in fel flame to cauterize the open wounds along with an incantation to grant them permanent spectral sight.

The student will then have seventy-two hours to recover in solitude before the ritual of binding follows shortly after. If recovery is not made, the student may be abandoned along the path.

This ritual has an extremely high mortality rate, due to hemorrhaging or being cooked under the heat of demon fire roasting their mind within their own skull.

Ritual of Binding:
"'To walk the path is to have no contradictions and to make no compromises, from the ritual of blinding, the cutting of your eyes to the ritual of binding you must dedicate your life to destroying the Burning Legion. Through your damnation you will wage this war relentlessly. Your final solace, will be to fall in battle against the Legion." "...That is all.'"The last essential ritual of the dark path, where the Demon Hunter defiles their body with the soul of the demon captured upon the first hunt. Caging the demon soul inside themselves, the two souls are forever bound together and share the same fate. Upon the hunters death, the true potential of their sacrifice is made clear as the bound demon may never return to the realm of mortals again, the hunter will be cursed to wrestle with the demon soul in the twisting nether for the rest of eternity.

This is the most powerful ritual the demon hunter can invoke, it is the secret to their unnatural strength and magical prowess. This ritual comes at a terrible cost of madness and possible utter conversion into the legions ranks should the Thero'shan fail to keep the bound demon in check. However if successful, the hunter will become the ultimate weapon against the legion, it is the first step to mastering the art of metamorphosis that grants the hunter power overwhelming to be able to stand toe to toe with the legions most powerful lieutenants.

Armed with the true name of their intended demon, the name they scryed will give them power over the creature to be able to fix it to the mortal plane. A binding circle is carved into the earth by the thero'shan a long and tedious process that must be done entirely by hand. The thero'shan by tradition must defile their body with the demon soul alone to signify that their commitment is by their hand and only by their choice that they make this sacrifice of their afterlife.

The thero'shan will kneel at the center of the binding circle. A dark incantation is spoken to awaken the binding circle and a final word of power is uttered to activate the runic tattoos etched upon the flesh of the hunter during the ritual of marking. The thero'shan will then plunge the dagger inscribed with the demons soul and true name into his torso, transferring the demon soul into the cage and sealing it away inside him/herself.

If the prey was captured alive during the first hunt, it is here where the demon will be slain within the binding circle using the ritual dagger inscribed with its true name. The binding circle will redirect the demon soul inside the runic cage of the aspirant before it escapes into the nether and the ritual dagger with the true name will be plunged into hunters torso to finish the seal, like a key engaging the lock of a prison cell.

The shan'do will then check his thero'shan after the binding, to insure the prison has not failed nor the seal has faltered and his student has not been possessed by the demon. If found to be not in control of their body, the student will be executed by the teacher, being put down as if he/she were nothing more then a rabid animal.

Types of bound demon souls:
While the bound demon essence is not in control of the hunters body. The type of demon bound may yet still have differing effects upon the true personality of the hunter. The influence varies depending on the level of restraint the hunter has. Stronger demons essences, such as Pitlords and Eredar lords are considered to be far too powerful to bind and are affirmed to be instant death sentences to any that dare to try.
 * Imp - Imps are almost never bound, considered too weak to be worth it, an imp would be a conservative demon soul to have bound to yourself and demon hunters are known to be extremists. However, should a hunter bind an imp, he may find it to be the easiest of the demons souls to keep under control. A hunter with an imp bind possibly cannot resist a prime opportunity to make a wise crack or be a smart ass at someone's expense, Sarcasm may be a very liberal weapon employed by this essences host and it would be in no short supply. A hunter with an imp essence may see the wisdom in fleeing from a fight if it means destroying more of the demons in the future. The hunter may also see a slight boon to their pyromancy knowledge and abilities.
 * Succubus - This essence may make the hunter more sociable and attracted to the opposite gender. The hunter may become obsessed with a particular individual, lusting after him/her. It may also leave the hunter with interesting quirks of unbridled jealously and possession. The social seduction aspect of the succubus makes this hunter ideal when it comes to matters of diplomacy that may sometimes be needed to converse with ex-kin.
 * Felhunter - While not bound very often due to their bestial nature, Felhunters remain a viable candidate for binding. A hunter who binds a felhunter could find their senses increased 10 fold and their magical senses and spectral sight greatly enhanced. Their magical prowess will be augmented as well, particularly in the the area of countering magics. Hunters who bind a fel hunter might find themselves hungering for magic and/or power. Someone with Felhunter essence may be more open minded to hunting in a pack with other demon hunters then others.
 * Felguard - "Are you too pathetic to fight your own battles?" may be the motto of a hunter that has bound the essence of a felguard. Felguards are the legions shock troopers and front line soldiers. This essence may make its host as reckless as he is fearless. He may be the first one in line to take the initiation to make the charge. Felguards are lacking in the ways of magic but greatly make up for it with their raw physical power and the hunter with this essence would reap the benefit of the felguards immense strength. Other hunters will be very hard pressed to match the brute strength of someone that has bound the essence of a felguard.
 * Doomguard - This demon essence may make the hunter more aggressive and violent. As potential ranking commanders and overseers of the legion the demon essence may give the hunter a sense of dominance, and the compulsive need to assert him/herself to supplicate those around him/her. Originally designed to be the titans hounds to seek out sacrificial magics. The hunter may find they have a particular clairvoyance when blood magic and sacrificial practices are nearby and maybe quite proficient in the application of casting them as well.
 * Terrorguard - The Terrorguard is a subspecies of the Doomguard and possesses much of the similar traits. Terrorguards however are more intelligent then the doomguard and may increase the cunning ability of the hunter while increasing their strength. Due to infrequency of binding, it is unknown what other boons a hunter could gain from them.
 * Shivarra - The Essence of the Shivarra may augment a demon hunter's magical powers significantly, being the mystics and priestesses of the burning legion. Shivarra are highly zealous and devoted to their cause and undergo the full gamete of emotions, often to the very extreme. Hunters who bind Shivarra may find their desires shifting not unlike succubi and become jealous, lustful, angry, and also capable of kindness and intense devotion. The hunter may also gain particular insight into the workings of the minds of demons via the chaplain nature of the Shivarran.
 * Observer - Edit needed
 * Dreadlord - The essence of the Nathrezim may augment a hunter in a manner that reinforces their cunning and guile. Hunters that chose to bind a Dreadlord may find themselves devising rather elaborate plots and schemes used to vie for strength and power. Those who have bound the essence of a Nathrezim tend to study and scry upon their adversaries for weaknesses before engaging them in combat, a process that could take minutes or even years. While many Dreadlords employ the use of dark magic in combat, others rely on raw strength and brutal tactics, affording hunters versatility in choosing a combat style suitable to them.