Spells and Prayers

Prayers are an important element of Yurgenschmidt's culture and daily life, especially for the clergy and the nobility. They can be used in ceremonial and religious contexts, and when used with mana, they can become true magic that creates supernatural effects or secures blessings.

Over the course of many years, nobles found ways to shorten and simplify the longer prayers and called these compacted prayers spells. Compared to the original, full incantation, the shorter invocations can be finished much quicker, are easier to remember, and reduce the potential for making any errors in the incantation, making them much better suited for the quick decision and high stress environment of a battlefield.

There are, however, also disadvantages. Prayers can be modified in many ways, making them far more flexible, while spells are very restrictive and can only have the set effect they were designed for. There can also be other disadvantages of spells over prayers in certain aspects, but overall the advantages the much shorter spells provide are seen as well worth the trade-offs to those aware of the connection.

One example of further reduced partial utility of spells compared to prayers can be found with the God of Darkness Blessing. If it is applied to a schtappe via a spell, the schtappe can not be morphed into something else until the blessing has been dispelled. If however the full prayer is used, the schtappe can be freely morphed with the blessing staying in place the entire time.

A schtappe appears to allow for even more compacting than any other form of magic, enabling the casters to in many instances just use a single word in place of a lengthy prayer. See also: Schtappe

See Spells specific to a Schtappe

Andern allows the owner of a magic tool to re-register it to another person currently touching the tool in question, which will draw out the mana of the new intended owner and finish the registration process without them needing to do anything themselves.

All genuine prayers to the gods can potentially be turned into blessings with actually tangible effects. The only difference between a purely verbal blessing and a so-called true blessing is whether the speaker of the prayer is intentionally channeling mana while they speak. The only known exception to this is Lady Rozemyne, who needs to actively suppress her mana-flow to prevent blessings from happening unintentionally when praying.

While it is not necessary for the prayer to have an effect, most prayers are done by incorporating two poses. The first is to raise one's hands in a wide V and raise one leg into what to people from Earth would call the Glico man pose to get as close as possible to the King and Queen Gods who rule over the heavens. Then one goes into a position similar to a kowtow, with both hands placed on the ground to offer gratitude to the Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm.

When Myne says farewell to her family, she improvises a blessing of all the elements to channel her overflowing mana. This prayer seemingly is not one of the usual scripture passages used in blessings:

"'O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, ye mighty God of Darkness and Goddess of Light; O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, ye mighty Goddess of Water Flutrane, God of Fire Leidenschaft, Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, Goddess of Earth Geduldh, God of Life Ewigeliebe; I ask that ye hear my prayers and grant thy blessings."

"'I offer thee my heart, my prayers, my gratitude, and ask for thy holy protection. Grant those I love the power to strive toward their goals, the power to deflect malice, the power to heal their pain, and the power to endure trials and tribulations.' "

While the full extent of this blessing's effects are unknown, it appears to have a powerful healing effect thanks to the influence of Flutrane.

By praying to Angriff, the God of War, a person can call a blessing that increases strength in combat:

"'O God of War Angriff, of the God of Fire Leidenschaft's exalted twelve, we pray that you grant them your divine protection.'"

This prayer is written in the back of the High Bishop's bible. To allow a safe prayer to the Seven, the supplicant draws a magic circle containing all five elements. It is a prayer that can only be said on behalf of other and not to one's own benefit :

"O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies... O Mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, O Goddess of Water Flutrane, O God of Fire Leidenschaft, O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, O Goddess of Earth Geduldh, O God of Life Ewigeliebe... Please hear my prayer and graciously lend your blessings. I offer you my power and devote to you my service and gratitude. May your divine protection be granted to those departing—the power of Water to wash away corruption, of Fire that cannot be extinguished, of Wind that wards against danger, of Earth that embraces all, and of Life that never relents. May they have them one and all."

This prayer beseeches the God of Life Ewigeliebe for the power to protect something dear to one's heart, so it is not stolen away, just like Ewigeliebe himself jealously guards Geduldh, the Goddess of Earth. It can be used to draw out the full power of Ewigeliebe's Sword.

O God of Life Ewigeliebe, ruler of restoration and death. O twelve Gods who serve by his side. Hear my prayers and lend me your divine strength. Grant me the power to protect Geduldh from those who would steal her. I offer thee my unwavering faith. May my highest ideals be met with praise and with lasting protection. Grant me thy divine power so that no enemies may approach.

By praying to the the God of Darkness, a person can call a blessing that takes twice the amount of mana you put into an attack from the opponent, giving it to the God of Darkness. It is the only means to combat the type of feyplants and feybeasts that absorb mana - such as trombe - effectively without using specialized magic tools.

"'O Mighty and supreme God of Darkness, Who rules the endless skies; O mighty Father who created the world and all things. Please hear my prayer and lend your divine strength; bless my weapon with the power to steal mana from the evil, all of the mana which is yours by right; grant me your divine protection to purge the unnatural fey... '"

There is also a shortened spell version of this blessing that can be invoked with those possessing a schtappe: See God of Darkness Blessing (Spell)

After defeating mana-absorbing feyplants or feybeasts (like trombe or ternisbefallen), the Staff of Flutrane is used to enact the Healing Ritual to replenish the land's mana and make it fertile again. The words of the prayer are:

"O Goddess of Water Flutrane, bringer of healing and change, O twelve goddesses who serve by her side. Please hear my prayer and lend me your divine strength. Grant me the power to heal your sister, the Goddess of the Earth Geduldh, who has been wounded by those who serve evil. I offer to you our joy and songs of glee, please cast the blissful ripples of your pure divine protection. May your divine colour fill the land of my wish. "

By channeling mana through a magic ring or schtappe, a person can heal injuries using a prayer to Heilschmerz, Goddess of Healing:

"'O Goddess of Healing Heilschmerz, of the Goddess of Water Flutrane's exalted twelve, hear my prayers. Lend me your divine power and grant me the power to heal those who have been hurt. Play the divine melody and cast the blissful ripples of your pure divine protection.' "

Smaller forms of healing are possible using the simplified prayer: ''"May Heilschmerz's healing be granted." ''

Heilschmerz's Healing can also be granted channeled through Flutrane's Staff. This method is more mana-efficient, allows the caster to heal people at a greater distance and enables them to heal larger groups of wounded at the same time.



By praying to the Goddess of Autumn and Wind Schutzaria, one can create shields that block attacks and negative effects as well as prevent people with ill intent from passing through. This barrier can take any shape the caster desires, from simple screens to entire domes.

If someone already inside the shield changes their minds or draws a weapon, Schutzaria's winds will expel the person from the protected area before they are able to act on their malice. This applies even to those that draw a weapon to defend the one creating the shield against intruders. The only person able to wield weapons within the shield without being ejected is the person maintaining the shield.

The shield can even be inverted to be used as a temporary prison to keep people or creatures locked in place, preventing them from causing harm and destruction, as was demonstrated when Rozemyne held a goltze in place with this method until reinforcements could arrive to deal with the giant feybeast.

The prayer to call Schutzaria's Shield is:

"'O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, protector of all. O twelve goddesses who serve by her side. Please hear my prayer and lend me your divine strength. Grant me the shield of wind, so that I might blow away those who mean to cause ill.'"

Nobles that have a schtappe can also bypass the words of the prayer and invoke similar effect with the single-word command Geteilt. This includes both the simple screen variant, as well we the inverted variant used to imprison hostile beings.

The strength of Schutzaria's Shield is reduced if Ewigeliebe's Sword is nearby during winter.

After members of the clergy deliver the small chalices filled with mana around the provinces of the duchy for Spring Prayer, the actual ritual can be enacted to fill the province's soil with mana and make it fertile again. The words of the Spring Prayer are:

''“O Goddess of Water Flutrane, bringer of healing and change. O twelve goddesses who serve by her side. The Goddess of Earth Geduldh has been freed from the God of Life Ewigeliebe. I pray that you grant your younger sister the power to birth new life.''

''“I offer to you our joy and songs of glee. I offer to you our prayers and gratitude, so that we may be blessed by your purifying protection. I ask that you fill the thousand lives upon the wide mortal realm with your divine colour.”''

While Waschen is usually cast as a basic incantation using a schtappe, a long-form prayer exists, which is used along with a magic circle when performing a large-scale Waschen. It invokes Flutrane, the Goddess of Water :

"'O Goddess of Water Flutrane, bringer of healing and change. O twelve goddesses who serve by her side. Please hear my prayer and lend me your divine strength. I offer to you our joy and songs of glee. I offer to you our prayers and gratitude, so that we may be blessed with your purifying protection. May your cleansing waves wash upon this land so that it might return to its intended form.'"

These prayers are generally meant to just convey wishes and usually are not used in any way that would invoke a magical effect.

The most common prayer used in a variety of contexts, including religious ceremonies, is a prayer to the Supreme Gods and the Eternal Five:

"'O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, O Goddess of Water Flutrane, O God of Fire Leidenschaft, O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, O God of Life Ewigeliebe. We offer you our prayers and our gratitude.'"

Depending on the context, this can be followed by a response from the audience: "Praise be to the gods! Thanks be to the gods!"

When dedicating mana in the Dedication Ritual, blue priests use this prayer. Members of Ehrenfest's archducal family also use it when dedicating mana to the Foundation. It also bears some apparent similarities to the prayer recited during the Dedication Whirl at the Royal Academy. The prayer is:

"'I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world. O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, O Goddess of Water Flutrane, O God of Fire Leidenschaft, O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, O Goddess of Earth Geduldh, O God of Life Ewigeliebe. We honor you who have blessed all beings with life, and pray that we may be blessed further with your divine might.'"

While not taking the shape of an actual prayer, commoners often informally toast to the god of alcohol with the words "Cheers to Vantole" before taking a drink, similar to how people of Earth cheer with "Cheers," "Kanpai," "Prost," or "Nastrovje."

The standard form for announcing an engagement is a prayer invoking the Supreme Gods and Dregarnuhr, the Goddess of Time :

"'The mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, the gods of Dark and Light, have guided Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time to weave two threads together, here and now. May the meeting of ____ and ____ be blessed, and may they be graced with divine protection.'"

This prayer is used by a blue priest who joins the temple during their Fealty Ceremony:

"'O mighty King and Queen of dark and light, most righteous and divine rulers of the wide heavens. O splendid gods of the Eternal Five, most righteous and divine rulers of the vast mortal realm. Goddess of Water Flutrane, God of Fire Leidenschaft, Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, Goddess of Earth Geduldh, God of Life, Ewigeliebe. King and Queen, show your divine power that extends throughout the wide heavens and vast mortal realm. Eternal Five, bless we of the vast mortal realm with your divine power."

"'In eternal gratitude for your heavenly powers, I shall worship thee for eternity. I shall live with just hearts, calm hearts, and resolved hearts. I shall have faith in thee as the true and just gods. I vow that I shall pray to thee, gods of nature; I shall thank you, and I shall prepare offerings for thee.'"

At the temple, it is tradition for everyone - from the lowest grey robe to the High Bishop him- or herself - to speak a short prayer to the gods before every meal:

"“O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies who doth grace us with thousands upon thousands of lives to consume, O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, I offer thanks and prayers to thee, and do take part in the meal so graciously provided.”"

During the Starbind Ceremony, the officiating member of the clergy recites the following prayer:

"'O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, O God of Darkness and Goddess of Light, hear my prayers. May you grant your blessings to the birth of new unions. May they who offer their prayers and gratitude to thee be blessed with thy divine protection.' "

While Rozemyne's version of the prayer typically results in a true magical blessing, that is not considered the "typical" outcome.



When two nobles meet for the first time on a given day, the person of lower rank kneels down, crosses their arms in front of their chest, and asks formally for permission to pray to the deity of the season. After being given permission, this is followed up by an actual prayer and blessing. Should two nobles of the same rank meet, the guest speaks first.

While nobles use a small amount of mana for the prayers involved in formal greetings, which creates the visual effect of having a shower of small sparks in the divine colour of the invoked god drift down upon the blessed person or group. So far these tiny blessings didn't appear to have any tangible effect beyond the visual spectacle.

In the above examples, ____ describes the person or event is being blessed in the current situation: for example, "my young mistress" or "this new meeting". Proper names (such as "Rozemyne") are not typically used.

When a merchant meets a noble, the merchant is always of lower rank and is expected to give a greeting. Because commoners lack mana and can't give blessings, they only invoke the name of the seasonal god, and the noble grants a blessing in return. Unlike the very specific wording of noble greetings, small variations appear to be acceptable when a commoner is involved.

In addition to the standardized blessings, nobles also have an array of formulaic greetings and farewells that invoke Dregarnuhr, the Goddess of Time.

Since they help to control and channel mana, schtappes also make it easier to perform large-scale spells and to perform blessings and can enhance their efficiency.

See Large-scale Spells .

See Religious Ceremonies

Spoiler from Part 5 Volume 8


 * Cambridge Online Dictionary