Show me then the truth of its nature - PARIAH deleted content [RITUAL MAGIC]

I am doing a pre-edit of PARIAH before the real edit by The MoonRat Conspiracy, mainly because if I submitted the manuscript in its current state, it would cost an absolute fortune. So while it's good tor prune and preen, I can't help but feel regret for pulling out lengthy nonsense passages like the magical ritual you're about to read.

Baobab by Beth Moon

This is a magical ritual that any who know may perform, though there are comparatively few of them...


Show me then the truth of its nature
here are many purposes to the ritual, including discovering the true name of the target or discerning if they are truly who they say they are.

The ritual is a covenant with the spirits of the moon-realm, and as such must be completed by the light of a full moon, though it may require more than one sitting to complete.

They must bring a lock of their person’s hair and a bowl of water, within which they must be able to see the reflection of the full moon

Using a sharp object, the shaman must let sufficient blood to reduce themselves to 0 health, decanting their lifeblood into the bowl. Care must be taken not to lose consciousness, less the ritual will be broken. They must sit cross-legged over the bowl waiting for the liquid to clear, and eventually will their own face within the reflection of the moon.

They must state the name (as far as they are aware) of their target, and their last known location. A white ghost, resembling the shaman, will rise from the waters and drift off into the night. The pool will now display what the ghost can see as it wanders into the darkness.

The creature is not invisible, and is treated as a ghost by all who behold it. If it is attacked with enchanted weapons, spells or other magic, it will return to the bowl and the ritual will end.

The ghost will not be able to pass through a protective circle. The shaman will have to come up with other schemes to break such wards.

If it passes within the vicinity of a sleeping human, it will draw near and ask if this is whom the shaman seeks, until it arrives at the correct person.

If the victim is sleeping, the first part of the ritual will have been a success and the ghost will return to the bowl. The victim will have dreamed of a brilliant silver moon.The shaman must keep the lock of hair to perform the next phase of the ritual in one month’s time. 
  
If the victim is not sleeping, the ghost can attempt to hide until they are, but they will only be able to do so until the first light of dawn, after which the ghost will vanish and the spell will have failed.

The second performance of the ritual may occur at any time in the future, as long as it takes place by the light of the full moon. The same steps must be followed, including the bowl and the bloodletting and the hair: the hair must be the same lock used in any previous successful ritual, for it is the lock of hair that will now enable the silver ghost to locate the victim swiftly.

The ghost travels as quickly as a human can run and, if the victim is asleep, may steal their soul from the land of dream and bring it to the shaman. There, under the watchful eye of the moon, then may ask questions of the victim’s soul: they may make a saving throw versus spells to resist any questions they would be uncomfortable answering, the target number being the shaman’s wisdom or charisma score (whichever is highest).

The most common question asked is what is your true name. This, and all other questions, may only be asked once: if the victim makes the save, they are under no obligation to reveal it, and the shaman gains no special power over them.

If the victim is a nameless one, they immediately fall under the thrall of the shaman as though the shaman knew their true name.

PS. I hope I finally get some spam comments from real life vampires and sorcerers with this offering.