For context: The ceremony centres around a person's eighteenth birthday where their soul will be fully bonded to an Eidolon, an immortal being made of magic. A problem arises for the MC when his Eidolon never appears at his ceremony. Sounds simple enough, but I don't know what the ceremony should actually consist of. I was thinking something along the lines of a summoning ritual, that way there's a definitive point for when the Eidolon should appear but doesn't. How do you write a summoning ritual though? Sorry if this was in any way convoluted, I tried to explain what I'm struggling with the best I could without putting unnecessary backstory. If you need me to clarify anything just let me know. Any and all help is appreciated!
It depends on how deep you want to go. Is this a rite of passage? Something that everyone in the community must go through? You could go through a journey of "purifying mind and body". Maybe the character must fast, or meditate. Then perhaps at midnight, walks a journey to a secluded area. the path could be lined with torches. Perhaps the entire "community" or clan attends. The onlookers could be eerily silent or perhaps chanting. There could be a circle of candles awaiting in a clearing. Or a head person/priest/priestess/elder with incense or smudging to drive away bad spirits. You could have the character wear a robe or dress/ be barefoot / kneel within the circle with the community surrounding, recite an incantation designed to invite their daemon to join with them... One story I wrote had my character, climb to a mountain top and await his spirit animal. He stayed out there fasting and meditating for 4-5 days until his spirit guide appeared. Another, I used the idea of a Native American Sweat Lodge. Did a lot of research into that so as not to offend.... Depending on the audience... maybe a magic potion is drank to open up the mind... or send the character to a spirit world where they have a journey there.. but it's a journey of the mind only.. you can make it strange and dreamlike. Really. I love stuff like this. You can do whatever you want because its your story. There is no wrong way to do it. Think of setting.. secluded forest...maybe a full moon is required. A chilling breeze blowing through the trees, lots of shadows, rustling grass, moving branches. Your character could sit by a campfire, staring into the flames until they are induced in a catatonic or dreamlike state. Perhaps it happens at a special time of the year, when the veil between the living and dead is at it's weakest like Samhain... You really can't go wrong. My WIP has a small coven of witches, so I like using poems as spells, with enchanting candles and such. And as the spell completes the candle flame can flare up, and then extinguish... whatever it takes to set the mood. I wish you all the best. Just have fun with it.
I agree with @AndieBoDandy, you've got a lot of opportunities depending on what kind of being Ediolon is. If it's a nature spirit, perhaps fasting in the woods would be the way to go. If it's one of the darker beings, there might be sacrifices or some sort of torment of the candidate, traditional black candle / dungeon-type stuff. If it's a spirit of light, there might be some kind of bath or baptism. One of my favorite little memories was a Lovecraftian B-movie where a certain virgin was to be sacrificed to the demon. However, the person who'd been guarding her prior to the ceremonies had... indulged her. As a result, when the demon appeared it shredded the High Priest instead of being bound to him.
Is the script of the ceremony cultural or magical? Does the way they do it effect whether it produces the intended result? If it is cultural, then it's steps reflect on the society that conceived it. If it is magical, then it reflects on the magic system. You may have a different approach, but my favorite magic systems always come with a cost. Sometimes the magic drives you insane, causes its user pain. Sometimes it requires terrible sacrifice that would make its user seem a fool if not for their total despirarion. When this ritual is performed, what is the cost? Do the characters have to make a sacrifice to perform it, is it permenant, and how does that make them feel?
