Custom Sabbat Ritae

"The flame does not lie. But it listens. And it remembers what it hears."

Overview: The Whisper in the Flame is a rite of revelation and internal investigation.
It is invoked when:
A member of the Inquisition is suspected of corruption, infernal influence, spiritual contamination, or concealment of truth, but
There is insufficient proof for formal punishment or destruction.
This rite is neither a trial nor a sentence. It is a divine test — to determine whether a Cainite stands clean before the Watch or whether they are tainted by lies, shadow, or doubt.
Failure does not guarantee guilt — but it permits escalation to further punishment or spiritual isolation.

Participants:
The Accused – The Cainite under examination.
The Watcher – A Watch Inquisitor (or higher) overseeing the rite.
The Witnesses – A minimum of six Inquisitors, ideally with Auspex 2+, True Faith, or Occult expertise.
The Flamebearer – The Inquisitor who tends the consecrated candles and notes the reactions.
Ritae Requirements:
Seven ritual candles, made from:
Sanctified wax, mixed with bone ash and vitae,
Each anointed with holy oil and the ash of a convicted heretic (if available).
A ritual brazier, flame font, or central fire blessed by the Watch.
A circle inscribed in salt, iron powder, and blood chalk, with a central seat or pillar upon which the Subject sits or kneels.
Optional: A relic or scripture (e.g. Codex Obscura, the Watcher’s Brand, etc.) placed before the Subject as a spiritual mirror.
The Ritae:
Preparation and Consecration
The room is sealed in silence.
The Witnesses take their places around the circle, forming a heptagon — one at each point.
Each candle is lit one by one with a prayer:“Let this flame see what we do not.”
The Subject is brought into the center and commanded to kneel or sit, surrounded by the seven lit candles.
The Invocation
The Watcher stands before the Subject and speaks: “You are not accused. You are not condemned. You are merely seen — by the fire, and by the Watch. If there is truth in you, let it endure. If there is shadow, let it be burned.”
The Seven Questions
Each Witness, in clockwise order, poses one question to the Subject.
Questions may be:
Factual: “Did you enter the chapel on the night the relic vanished?”
Spiritual: “Do you serve the Watch over yourself?”
Theological: “Is the Abyss a path or a poison?”
Philosophical: “Can doubt and conviction coexist?”
The Subject must answer clearly and immediately.
Evasion, hesitation, or deceit causes the flame to react.
Each time the Subject answers, the Flamebearer observes the flame closest to them.
Flame Reaction & Judgment
If the flame burns clean and steady – the answer is considered pure.
If the flame flares, gutters, or leans inward – the Subject is considered stained by:
Deceit (if lying),
Fear (if hesitant),
Taint (if spiritually compromised).
Even one reaction is cause for suspicion.
Multiple reactions may justify immediate branding, penance, or exile.
The Flamebearer records each flame's response and hands the record to the Watcher.
Final Affirmation
The Watcher steps into the circle and commands the Subject: “Speak your final truth. One sentence. Let the flame bear witness.”
The Subject must speak a final sentence of personal conviction.
The flames are then extinguished simultaneously, and the Watcher gives the ruling:
If clean: “The fire remembers you well. You may rise.”
If flawed: “The fire recoils. There is rot in your spirit. We shall see what must be cut away.”
If corrupt: “The flame shrieked. And now we must answer it.
The Subject is immediately restrained for branding or further trial.
Outcomes:
Cleansed:
Subject is restored to good standing within the Watch.
All suspicions are formally set aside unless new evidence emerges.
Flawed:
Subject is referred for:
The Trial of Seven Breaths,
The Circle of Contempt,
Or suspension from Inquisitorial duties.
Aura permanently marked as “seen by the flame” — readable by Auspex.
Corrupt:
Subject is referred for branding, exile, or summary execution, depending on the nature of the detected taint. 
Mechanics:
The Subject must make Self-Control, Willpower, or Courage tests during each question (diff 6–8).
The ST or Flamebearer may simulate candle reactions based on Aura Reading, Auspex, or Empathy chops
Witnesses may chop Occult or Theology to interpret flame symbolism.