
Tupsi stands for Tytonic Union Pure Special Initiation. It's also known as the "Special Ceremony." The Pure Ones practiced this ceremony, as it was considered an initiation into their elite ranks. The ceremony involved the participant voluntarily murdering someone close to them, often a family member, such as the case of Kludd trying to kill Soren and Uglamore killing his cousin, Bartholomew. By murdering someone close to them, the young owl would "deliver them up to the High Tyto Most Pure" and therefore gain admission into the Pure Ones' more elite fighting forces. The ceremony was, as the Rogue Smith of Silverveil described it in a discussion with fellow rogue smith, Gwyndor, "murder with a cute name".
When the son of of Nyra and Metal Beak (Kludd), Nyroc, was forced to take part in the ceremony, he had to kill his friend Phillip to become a true Pure One. When Nyra ordered Stryker, Uglamore, and Doc Finebeak to leave the chamber, Nyroc refused to kill Phillip so Nyra split the sooty owl's chest open before tearing his heart out with her talons. This was the last known use of the ceremony before and after Nyra's death in The War of the Ember.