Elder Theurge

ELDER THEURGE: MASTER OF THE RITE

Garou are flesh and spirit bound together by Gaia to protect both the Material Realm as well as the Umbra. Their need for gnostic nourishment is great, and sometimes this drive leads to errors of judgement that offends the spirits. The Theurge seat on the Council of Auspices, known as the Master of the Rite, ensures that the sept remains in harmony with the spirits.

The Master of the Rite's sacred duty is to monitor the spiritual health of the members of her sept, from the battleweary warriors and guardians to the Cubs learning how to handle life after their First Change. She must help replenish the totem that maintains the mystical energy of the caern. In pursuit of these responsibilities, she manages the spiritual debts of the sept by assigning Theurges tasks, such as ensuring proper chiminage is paid, performing rites, and maintaining spiritual pacts. With this duty also comes the responsibility to attend to the welfare of spirits themselves, ensuring that they are strong and ready to help in case the sept has need of them. This task involves everything from offering proactive chiminage, to building up the stock of favors the spirits owe to the sept and its members, to creating and maintaining environments on the sept's protectorate that are inviting to spirits, encouraging their presence.

The Master of the Rite oversees all rites performed within the protectorate of the sept, ensuring that spiritual pacts are maintained. Anyone seeking to cast a rite within the boundaries of a sept must first acquire permission from its Master of the Rite, who must determine the petitioner's worthiness. It is completely within her discretion to allow anyone to cast rituals freely or prohibit someone from casting them as a punishment or due to lack of training.

Practical concerns regarding the Material Realm also weigh heavy on the Master of the Rite. She coordinates with the Warder concerning the defenses of the caern and maintains an armory of talens for the Wyrmfoe to utilize. Such duties would overwhelm a single werewolf; therefore, in order to attend to so many obligations, the Master of the Rite can marshal other Theurges and assign them tasks. The Master of the Rite can grant special recognition to those who have served well by giving them the honor of casting a major rite for the sept or serving as one of her assistants. It is the responsibility of a Master of the Rite to authorize others as trainers, instructing those wishing to learn rituals and ensuring that all seasonal rites are performed correctly and successfully.

THE MASTER OF THE RITE’S AUTHORITY INCLUDES:

• Assigning Theurges to monitor the performance of rites for the sept.
• Monitoring and reporting on the concerns of the spirits within the sept's territory.
• Ensuring that Garou maintain good relations with local spirits.
• Overseeing and maintaining any unclaimed fetishes or talens within the sept's armory.
• Ensuring that all fetishes created in the sept's territory are done so in accordance with the spirits wishes.
• Informing the Truthcatcher of any violations of spiritual bans or failure to pay chiminage by members of the sept.