The Cold Rites were a series of ancient Sith rituals and acolyte initiations that were considered part of the Upekzar Mysteries. Like the High Rites and the Rites of Fire conducted by the ancient Sith at other sites along the Circle of Visions, the High Rites were undertaken within an elaborate volcanic cave system and involved the use of the rhak-skuri, an insectoid subspecies of diplura whose pheromones were known to generate nightmare-like hallucinations in certain humanoid species.
In her research into the history of Upekzar during the Jedi Order's search for Abeloth and Ship, Jedi Knight Natua Wan speculated that the cave system that hosted the Cold Rites, located near Upekzar's south pole, may have been used by the ancient Sith to study the means by which the tempering of emotions and hardening of hearts could be translated into increased mastery of the dark side.