Var Dohr Sacred Ritual

Var Dohr Sacred Ritual
Lena cocooning a Nordic Vampire
First appearance	Underworld: Blood Wars
Other appearances	None
Founder	Nordic Coven
Founded	Unknown
Species	Vampires
Location	Nordic Coven

“	She is... becoming. She took a poison. It allows her to visit the Sacred World. When she returns, she will see this world with new eyes.	”
—Lena explaining the Ritual to Selene.

The Var Dohr Sacred Ritual is a special and sacred ritual used exclusively by the Vampires of the Nordic Coven in order to reach what they call the "Sacred World", also known as "Valissa" and "the in between place", a parallel plane of higher consciousness where they achieve inner clarity and a greater perception of things that even transcends death itself. The exact nature and origins of the Ritual are currently unknown. Vampires that undergo the Ritual are able to gain some more unusual abilities not seen in other members of their species and increase their already-existing ones to higher levels, as well as gaining new insight on the world around them. It's also unknown if a Vampire can simply volunteer or if they must be chosen to undergo the Ritual.

The Ritual Process

Nordic Cocooning Ritual

According to Lena, a Vampire must first take a poison, to be cocooned and submerged in water. The ritual is called "Valissa", the "in-between place", that allows them to visit the "Sacred World". However, it should be noted that Selene seemingly went through the process without consuming such poison, as she was near-death at the time from wounds sustained in combat and had willingly submerged herself in freezing water. It is, therefore, possible that any Vampire close to death can also access Valissa, with poison being a more efficient and less-violent method.

Likely as one of their traditions, while a Vampire is being cocooned, another Vampire might recite their sacred mantra, praying for the one that is passing through the rite: "Praise the day, when it ends. Praise the ice, when it holds. Praise the sword, when it kills. Praise the life, that has lived."

After being completely cocooned and having fallen into a state of deep sleep, some Vampires are hung upside-down on the ceiling, no different from bats when sleep, while others might remain in the pools. Vampires that have passed through the Ritual multiple times seem to no longer have the need to be cocooned again. Instead, they submerge without clothes, into the pools and remain there for as long they wish, which still allows them to access the Sacred World via meditation instead of induced sleep.

Granted Abilities

Lena guiding Selene

• Sacred World Connection: Vampires that have passed through this Ritual also seem to possess a strong connection with the Sacred World even after waking up, which not only boosts their physical abilities but also give them a new insight and understanding of the world around them, as well some level of spiritual awareness, which grant them a new scale of sensory perception abilities. Lena also seemed to have some level of foresight, which allows her to see beyond time itself, and predict future events about a specific person, or someone that is related or known to them. Selene herself seemed to have transcended her mind and spirit to a certain extent, being able to find her inner peace as well to comprehend more about life and death.
• Soul Sensory Perception/Reading: Lena displayed the ability to 'read' or see through Selene's soul being able to watch and describe events, of her life. Vidar and Selene have yet to display this ability despite having been through the same process. Whether this ability is exclusive to Lena is still unknown. Lena mentions that she has gone through the process more than once; therefore, the ability of 'reading' another's soul may be a more advanced ability granted only to Vampires who have visit the Sacred World multiple times.

Lena's enhanced speed

• Enhanced Superhuman Speed: Both Selene and Lena, display the ability to move at supernatural speeds, being faster than Lycan or Vampire eyes can see, appearing as a distorted blur of moving fast enough for it to seem like a teleportation ability. It is also worth noting that Marius and David, both enhanced by the Corvinus Strain were unable to track Selene's movements. Prior to undergoing the ritual herself, Selene, a Vampire  who was much older and likely stronger than her progeny David, appeared to be unable to keep track of Lena when she used her enhanced speed. Since this ability is not used constantly and not by many members of the Nordic Coven, is possible that it requires some sort of concentration and/or willpower to be used.

Selene ripping out Marius's spine

• Enhanced Superhuman Strength/Endurance: After undergoing the ritual, Selene displayed strength much greater than before she underwent the process. An example being that before the ritual, Marius, a Corvinus Strain enhanced Lycan was able to overpower her while transformed with relative ease. After undergoing the process, she was able to match Marius in strength and even proved herself to be capable of ripping out his spine with her bare hands while he was transformed. Her endurance was also improved as when a transformed Marius begun to merciless beat Selene and she showed little distress, was able to recover rather quickly and suffered only minor bruises, unlike their first fight when Marius's punches and blows seemed to inflict much greater damage to Selene, stunning and disorienting her quite easily, before she underwent the Ritual. Lena was also able to engage multiple Lycans in combat and even hold one back in his Wolf form with only one arm. Vidar doesn't displayed any physical enhancement, but he showed great concentration and resilience, being able to remain underwater, without breathing, for, most likely, a long period of time.

Trivia

• An apparent side-effect of the Ritual is that it causes a Vampire's hair to turn silvery white. Many members of the Nordic Coven, including Lena - who states she has gone through the ritual multiple times - have pure white hair, and Selene also gains streaks of white in her hair after going through the Ritual.
• Vampires have their speed, strength and endurance enhanced after going through the Ritual, however, it's unknown if the Vampire's five senses and healing factor are enhanced in any way.
• Lena states that she's been through the Ritual many times and this could indicate that she only gained full control of her abilities after going through the cocooning process multiple times. In Selene's case, however, it could have been thanks to her already enhanced physiology as a Corvinus Strain-Hybrid.
• It's unknown if Lycans, Immortals, or Vampire/Lycan Hybrids can endure and/or have their abilities enhanced by going through the Ritual.
• This Ritual is similar to the hibernation process that the Vampire Elders once used.
• Water seems to be an important element to the Nordic Vampires and the main conductor of their rituals, as it is in many cultures, in which the water is sacred as it able to sustain all life. Water is also considered purity, clarity and calmness.
• The entire cocooning process seems to have a more symbolic meaning, such as the butterfly's metamorphosis; which one must pass through the process of change, moving into a new life cycle, and awakening a more beautiful and superior being, able to reach higher and see the world from a different perspective.
• In the Blood Wars comics, Vidar has developed an enhanced Vampire form due to the cocooning process. His eyes turned black and his face contorted.
• Name of the Sacred World, "valissa", is likely the Finnish word "välissä", which means: in-between.

Gallery

Cocooned Nordic vampires

Lena and David cocooning Selene

Selene's enhanced speed

Vidar's enhanced Vampire form

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Characters
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