Vinmar's blessing

The truth

-What makes us powerful, my dear son?

-Vinmar's blessing, mother.

-Why she chose Queen Dasin?

-Because she had faith, mother.

-Good. Do you have faith?

— Queen Shimei and her son, Prince Jitai

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For countless generations Queen Dasins' lineage have been the rulers of the Irem Kingdom, They hold that title by surviving the replicating what happened in the The Green Abyss myth in every ruler's funeral and coronation ceremony. They submerge in the lake at the same time a boat is pushed with the dead ruler corpse and the last tributes paid to them. The family member appointed to be the next King or Queen, usually the former ruler's child, stays underwater until the boat falls over the waterfall. The time it takes the boat to fall oscillates between half an hour and one hour. No other person can hold their breath for more than one or two minutes.

This feat is called Vinmar's blessing. The gift bestowed upon Queen Dasin has been one of the main reasons her descendants have kept the power, that and their extraordinary skills to manage people, lands and resources.

Almost everyone believes they are truly blessed by Vinmar and that her magic allows them to survive the coronation ceremony. Some thought they deserved Vinmar's blessing and tried to imitate them. The bodies were never found.

few suspects there is no magic behind Vinmar's blessing, but a secret they can't fully uncover yet. Those are the ones the family are truly afraid of. When one of these types of non-believers is detected, they are neutralized in the same lake that hides the family's truth.

Every man or woman who has held the title of Queen or King has followed a set of instructions written in a secret language that was bequeathed by Vinmar to Dasin. They believe the magic is their unique ability to read the language and follow the instructions.

Yes, they have to be good swimmers and held their breath, but they don't do it for a long time. They do it long enough until they arrive at a hidden breathing chamber on the lake. Once there, they enter a code, wait inside until a red light turns on. After that, they emerge as Irem Kingdom's new ruler.

How to keep the family's secret

- I have faith, mother. But I don't understand.

-Understanding is not necessary.

— Queen Shimei and her son, Prince Jitai

Vinmar's blessing has two parts: one is the breathing chamber, the other is a device that reveals the instructions to the heir once a King or Queen has died. Every royal parent has told the tale of how their blood holds the magic power to unlock the device.

The device is a locket kept in the main bedroom of the royal castle. Since they're old enough to communicate, every royal kid knows that if both of their parents die they have to retrieve the locket, let a drop of their blood fall inside and follow the instructions. That's all they are told and found out the rest when they do it.

There is truly magic in their blood? Or there is something else?.

The promised punishment

-The enemies want us dead. You have to learn this. It will save not only your life but our lineage.

-But mother, what does it mean?

-No one knows and no one cares. Do you want to be the one that destroys our blessing?

-I want to be King, mother.

— Queen Shimei and her son, Prince Jitai

Sometimes a King or Queen dies in battle, sometimes their spouse dies too when their children are young. The younger heir who accomplished their mythological feat was Queen Nera when she was five years old. Although others managed the Kingdom, she was the Queen, she had Vinmar's blessing.

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Heirs are taught to do that because the gift they have comes with a threat. If someone's blood outside the family touches the locket, it will destroy along with the breathing chamber. So far, no one has hated the throne so much to do that. If they don't have biological children, which is rare, but it has happened, someone else in the family is allowed to use the locket, the condition is that they have to share a blood bond.

Every ruler that has known the secret live in fear that someday the line of succession will be broken. Until now, Vinmar's hasn't failed them. But what would happen if they fail?

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Item type

Unique Artifact

Owning Organization

Queen Dasin's Order

The myth that made them powerful

What they did with the power