Rites are special missions that involve multiple tasks and upon completion give you a permanent bonus. The bonus can be a passive improvement or a new action you can use. Completing a rite also gives you a new entry in your encyclopedia detailing some of the lore of Atys.
Currently there are 14 rites active ingame, plus the introduction rite. Most rites are given by either a barman or an intendant in one the capital cities (Pyr, Yrkanis, Fairhaven, Zora). These require a certain amount of fame with the race giving them. 2 rites are given by Ana Ryon in the Kitins' Lair.
The rite articles on the wiki are currently incomplete, if you've done any rites, we welcome your contributions.
Links to other sites with a list of active rites are included at the end.