| abstract | - Rites of Denial is the Endowment of the hunter conspiracy Cainite Heresy in Hunter: The Vigil. Cainite rituals take a fairly simple form, but one that's odd enough that it probably should merit question, even though it doesn't. Every Cainite carries around a small glass phial of blood taken from other Cainites, enough to fill the small vessel. Most hang the phial around the neck or even the wrist, though some choose to protect the phials more stridently (even going so far to keep the glass phial in a small metal lockbox that can sit in one's coat pocket or glove-box). Every Rite of Denial demands use of this blood -- it might be smeared on a lead pipe, drawn upon a wall (usually in the form of the Cainites' own sigil), or upended into the mouth so it can be spat out. No Cainite magic fails to make use of the collected blood. Usually the strange rituals demand other actions be taken, too -- a line of cakey sea salt drawn across a doorway, a bulb of garlic crushed beneath a bootheel, or a splinter of wood shimmied into the skin of the palm. Think of it like an equation. In a simple equation, A + B = C, and the Rites of Denial are very much like that. Use the blood in just such a way, perform the other actions demanded with the reagents demanded, and a result occurs. No faith is necessary (though one must certainly concentrate and commit to the action, but Cainites are nothing if not committed). No prayer, no entreaties to distant powers. Some religious Cainites might evoke such additional details when casting one of the Rites of Denial, but it's by no means necessary. A plus B equals C. As such, each Rite requires an expenditure of one unit of Willpower and a designated amount of thimbles of blood per ritual.
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