Rites, Rituals, and Scary Games Encyclopedia

The Diviner~ DO NOT PLAY

You WILL be slaughtered and if you do miraculously win, you WILL regret it. I don't think even someone as sadistic as I would want to watch so many trainees be slaughtered. That's all I have to say.

For this ritual, you don't need red string or candles or a mirror. It isn't even you conducting the ritual. It's more like a game than anything, and it's as old as the universe itself. Maybe even older. It was here since angels appeared.

This game here involves a lot of risks, including a life debt, a bloody death, haunting nightmares, etc. At first, the rules may sound a bit like the "classical" Hunger Games, but I'm telling you, it really is quite different.

To start off the ritual, you need to desire something. Whether it's revival of a dead relative, a new mansion, a lover, you need to want it with all the will you have. It's best if it's personal, as global changes really don't mix well if you win. This will be explained later.

Once you got your wish set in your mind, you have to wait. Don't worry, at some point in your life the trainer's going to come to you, but you have to be patient. It can be in days, weeks, months, even years. I recall a friend of mine's waiting for 47 years before his trainer showed up, but most people aren't that unlucky. Make sure you want it with everything you have, or the trainer will simply not show up.

(It's best to play in this ritual in your teens, as once you're in the game an athletic body brings on many advantages. Hobbling around when you're 85 years old really doesn't improve your chances of survival.)

When the trainer finally shows up, he'll (most of them are males: if you do get a female one that's great for you) be looking like your typical average human. But he's not normal. He's a winner of a round of the ritual, and being a victor comes with a heavy price on your soul. For starters, he's immortal or doomed to live forever, until one of his trainees becomes the champion. He'll look a bit filthy, he'll be wearing out-of-date clothes, and he has this haunted look in his eyes he'll never get rid of. He's also extremely lethal. I recommend you not provoking him. He's most likely a master in the arts of offence-defence and something else, something I think I'll mention to you later.

You'll probably be alone; in your bedroom, sitting on a park bench, squatting in a bathroom. Your trainer will materialize out of nowhere; don't be afraid. He won't hurt you if you don't try to hurt him.

You can call your trainer whatever name you want; he doesn't care. He will only ask you one question to verify your willingness to the Ritual: "Are you willing to partake in the oldest of games?" It won't matter if you speak English or German or Zulu, you'll understand. This is your last chance to turn back now. If you wish to, simply say "No." He'll nod twice before vanishing, and you can live peacefully.

If you want to participate in the ritual, say "Yes" or something like that. The trainer will hand you a golden-coloured toothpick with blood-red tips. At this moment, blink 3 times and you'll find yourself alone again. You can flush the toothpick, throw it away, it doesn't matter. You'll always find it in your pockets or in the palm of your hand.

(Also, you can't snap the toothpick in half. The toothpick isn't a toothpick; it's more of a seraphic weapon of deadly power disguised as a teeth-picker).

A week later, while you're alone in bed, at the stroke of midnight, you'll hear your bedroom door creak open. It isn't your mom checking on you or a molester that somehow broke into your house. It's the trainer. He'll motion for you to follow him with a wave of his hand; no matter how hard you resist your body will automatically respond by...following him. You don't need to worry about waking other people or tripping over anything in the dark; surprisingly you find that you can see perfectly well, even though it's night and there aren't any lights on. This means you're no longer in your home dimension anymore; the trainer has led you to the dimension where the training and ritual will take place.