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The Light Novel series is the source material for the adaptation of the Anime and Manga series. The information and terminology on the article will be based on the source material rather than the adaptions. |
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Geduldh (ゲドゥルリーヒ, Gedururiihi), the Goddess of Earth (土の女神, Tsuchi no Megami), is one of the Eternal Five gods in Yurgenschmidt's religion.
She presides over winter, compassion, and acceptance. Her divine instrument is a chalice, and her divine color is red, which symbolizes the life-giving warmth of the hearth[2].
Mythology
When the God of Darkness met the Goddess of Light, they had four children. In order, they were Flutrane, the Goddess of Water, Leidenschaft, God of Fire, Schutzaria, Goddess of Wind, and Geduldh, the Goddess of Earth and the youngest of the four.
The God of Life Ewigeliebe fell in love with Geduldh. The God of Darkness gave the two permission to marry, hoping they would fill the world with new life. But Ewigeliebe's jealous love consumed him, and he froze Geduldh in ice, so their child could never be born.
The world fell into winter, and The Goddess of Light began to worry about her daughter. She found Geduldh trapped and melted the ice with her rays of sunlight, and Flutrane caused the water to flood away, bringing spring to the world. Geduldh's other siblings, Leidenschaft and Schutzaria, fought to protect her from Ewigeliebe, bringing summer and autumn.
However, they could not fully defeat Ewigeliebe without preventing all new life from being born. Each year at the end of autumn, the God of Life once again traps Geduldh in ice, and her siblings must fight to free her in spring.
Culture
Geduldh is seen to symbolize womanhood and compassion, and her divine color of red is also seen as a feminine color[3].
In noble euphemisms, Geduldh used to mean "the object of a person's desire, love, or yearning"[4].
The Royal Academy contains a shrine dedicated to the Geduldh and her twelve subordinates, which grants a tablet, and a special word required to obtain the Grutrissheit, after one has prayed and dedicated enough mana to her. Her shrine is within Ewigeliebe's and guarded by him. Its doors only open with his approval. The word Rozemyne was granted was Tolerakeit[5].
Blessings
Geduldh is invoked in several religious ceremonies and blessings:
- Dedication Ritual: In winter, blue priests and shrine maidens dedicate mana to small chalices modeled off Geduldh's divine instrument. During Spring Prayer, those chalices are distributed around the land and used to fill the earth with mana.
Subordinate Goddesses
Trivia
- Her name most likely derives from the German word "Geduld" which translates to "Patience".
- The statue of Geduldh is surrounded by other gods and located right in the center of the altar, probably because the events that leads to the four seasons are centered around her.
- When Myne first mentioned that she has the Devouring, Bezewanst and Ferdinand bring out Geduldh's chalice to verify her claim.
- When Myne redesigned her playing cards for Yurgenschmidt, she made Geduldh's chalice one of the four suits. It is represented by the symbol ▼ [6].
References
- ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 2. Chapter 7: The Royal Academy’s Dedication Ritual
- ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 2 Volume 1 Chapter 1: Attendants and the Fealty Ceremony
- ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 3 Volume 1. Chapter 5: Inauguration Ceremony
- ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 3 Volume 4. Damuel's Proposal
- ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 5. Chapter 8: Circling the Shrines
- ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 2 Volume 3. Chapter 4: Winter Hibernation and Handiwork