Schtappe

This Article is based on the Official Translations of the Light Novel series! 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.

Ferdinand wielding his Schtappe

A Schtappe (シュタープ, Shutaapu) is a wand-like item that can be transformed into various objects, like weapons or shields, and used to cast spells.

General Information

A schtappe might appear to be a magic tool to outsiders, but it is in fact an extension of the person who wields it.

The exact nature and abilities of one's schtappe depend on the amount of mana and also the various attributes and blessings you have. Casting spells and granting blessings with the schtappe is more efficient than doing so via magic tools like noble rings.

Nobles are recognized as nobles by society after acquiring a schtappe and graduating from the Royal Academy. Each person is only given a single chance to acquire a schtappe during their lifetime. Should a student fail to get their divine will the first time, they are not allowed a second chance and can never become a true noble.

Due to a schtappe being entirely made out of the user's own mana, it is impossible for a noble to hurt themselves with it by accident, even when transformed into sharp weapons. The only way to inflict self-harm is with the intent of self-injury.

If a noble's citizenship medal is destroyed while there is a duchy barrier between them and their medal, the noble will become unable to summon their schtappe. It is currently unknown if this can be reversed by registering the noble again.

As part of the knight's course, nobles learn to split their schtappe, so they can transform it into a weapon and a shield, or create multiple shields at the same time, as Ferdinand demonstrated at Mount Lohenberg.

It is also possible, but far more difficult and rare, for a noble to manifest multiple, full schtappes, rather then split it into multiple pieces. In the modern day, the only instance of this ever being done, is Lady Rozemyne, who first did it during the Dedication Ritual at the Royal Academy, where she summoned both Geduldh's Chalice and Flutrane's Staff at the same time. Despite the rarity of this technique, it is not unprecedented. There are records of a Zent of the past, who summoned all seven divine instruments at the same time, in this way.

Schtappe Acquisition

Rozemyne and other nobles in the Farthest Hall

To acquire a schtappe, one needs to be registered as a noble in Yurgenschmidt. It is part of the Royal Academy's curriculum and currently is set for the first year after enrollment. In the past, schtappe acquisition was only done in the third year, but this was changed not too long ago.

Students are required to walk alone towards the Farthest Hall of the Royal Academy. Along the way, each student will find an object that to them looks like a shining stone, but is invisible to everyone else. What they find is called the divine will. The more mana, elements and blessings a student has, the further down the path they will find their divine will. Students that are omni-elemental will find their divine will in the Garden of Beginnings, which can be accessed by going up the staircase at the end of the cave. Alternatively, omni-elemental students could also reach the place by completing the divine protection acquisition ritual.

After acquiring the divine will, students have to pour their own mana into it. They are not allowed to interact physically with each other, as there is the possibility of a divine will to be contaminated with foreign mana, which can have negative consequences or in the worst case might even end up with the divine will being completely dyed with the other person's mana, making it useless to the actual owner and thus crushing their only chance to become a true noble.

After the process of dyeing is finished, the body of the noble will absorb the divine will, enabling them to summon their schtappe and thus finishing the schtappe acquisition.

Schtappe Transformations

It is possible to transform a schtappe freely into basically any object one can visualize and hold in their hands by simply thinking about it. Hoever, this will only affect the appearance, but not give the schtappe the functionality of that object. So while a noble can make their schtappe look like a sword this way, it would not be able to actually cut anything.

To imbue the schtappe with the function of another kind of object, one needs to visualize that object and chant the corresponding spell. Doing just one or the other alone will result in the schtappe remaining unchanged.

This more thorough morphing via a spell necessitates one to use the spell rucken to revert the schtappe back to its base form.

Apparently, it is also possible to transform a schtappe into an object for which no chant currently exists, but this necessitates an intricate knowledge of the inner workings and mechanisms of the desired object and the ability to visualize it.
Through these means Lady Rozemyne of Ehrenfest was able to invent a new spell to transform her schtappe into a "water gun" with a chant of the Japanese words, due to knowing very well how this items works on account of its simplicity and its translucent casing. But she failed to create a copier in the same way, due to her having insufficient knowledge of the inner workings of an electronic copier. When a new spell is invented, it's name and chant are fixed others wishing to replicate it, have to use the same words. In case of Rozemyne's water gun, it is apparently quite difficult for the people of Yurgenschmidt to prounce the Japanese words, as demonstrated by even a talented archduke candidate like Bonifatius being unable to get it right enough to activate the spell. Ferdinand however managed to replicate it.

While schtappe transformed into weapons are are very tough, they can still break in heavy combat. If that were to happen, the unlucky knight in question needs to retrieve and reabsorb the pieces to regain full use of their schtappe. It is unclear how much such an incident affects the use of the schtappe, until all pieces are reabsorbed.

Axt

Axt (アクスト, Akusuto) is a spell that turns the schtappe into an ax.

This spell is potentially taught to all nobles as part of the second year practical lessons at the Royal Academy. To pass the exam, a student needs to morph their schtappe into one of a selection of melee weapons, with axt being one of the potential choices.

Beimen

Beimen (バイメーン, Beimen) is a spell that turns the schtappe into a mixing stick for brewing potions.

Beleuchkrone

Beleuchkrone is a spell that allows to morph the schtappe into the shape of a crown. It can be used to create a temporary copy of the Crown of the Goddess of Light.

Entwaffnung

Entwaffnung (エントヴァフヌング, Entovafunungu) is a spell that can be used to dispel the blessing from the God of Darkness and return the schtappe to is base shape, should the caster desire it.

Erdegral

Erdegral is a spell that can be used to morph the schtappe into the shape of a chalice. It can be used to create a temporary copy of Geduldh's Chalice.

Finsumhang

Finsumhang (フィンスウンハン, Finsuwunhan) allows the caster to transform their schtappe into a cloak.

It can be used to create a temporary copy of the divine instrument Cloak of the God of Darkness, which is a black cloth dotted with golden, shining stars. It has the ability to absorb and seize control of mana, though the mana absorbed will be dedicated to the God of Darkness if his blessing is active. The caster has the ability to remotely control where the cloth can fly to at least a limited degree, but it does not appear like it can be fully moved at will, since Rozemyne still needed to walk up to it and retrieve it by hand, rather than floating it back to herself after it had fallen to the ground.

Geteilt / Getilgt

This spell was originally tranlated as Getilgt, but later changed to Geteilt in the official English translation.

Geteilt (ゲッティルト, Gettiruto) is a spell that turns the schtappe into a shield. The exact shape and capabilities depend on the visualization the caster does during the chant. By visualizing certain magic circles on the surface of the shield when forming it, different magical properties can be imbued into it. For example, imagining a magic circle for Wind will give the shield similar properties to a Shield of Schutzaria, except that it won't allow any object or being through, even if it has no hostile intent behind it.

This spell is taught to all nobles as part of the second year practical lessons at the Royal Academy.

More experienced users are able to also use the spell to create shields at a distance or even create Shields of Schutzaria, while bypassing the need for the full incantation.

Grutrissheit

The spell Grutrissheit turns the schtappe into a copy of Mestionora's holy book of the same name. Zent candidates can obtain the necessary knowledge by going through a series of rituals and trials. If they succeed, they are brought before the former God of Binding, Erwaermen, who sends the knowledge directly into their mind. Zent candidates went through this process are able to shape their individual copy of the Grutrissheit to their own desires, and can even make it take on shapes that aren't a classical book, like a touch-screen tablet.

Such a temporary transcription of the Grutrissheit is able to fulfill all the functions a Zent needs to fully control the foundation magic of the country.

Lanze

Lanze (ランツェ, Ranze) is a spell that turns the schtappe into a lance or spear, depending on the visualization of the caster. It can be used to create a temporary copy of the divine instrument Leidenschaft's Spear.

This spell is potentially taught to all nobles as part of the second year practical lessons at the Royal Academy. To pass the exam, a student needs to morph their schtappe into one of a selection of melee weapons, with lanze being one of the potential choices.

Messer

Messer (メッサー, Messaa) is a spell that turns the schtappe into a knife. This knife has a very keen edge and easily slices even through those feyplants that are exceptionally difficult to cut with non-magical blades.

Riesesichel

Riesesichel (リーズィッヒェル, Riizihheru) is a spell that turns the schtappe into a giant sickle.

This spell is potentially taught to all nobles as part of the second year practical lessons at the Royal Academy. To pass the exam, a student needs to morph their schtappe into one of a selection of melee weapons, with riesensichel being one of the potential choices.

Rucken

Rucken (リューケン, ryuken) reverts a morphed schtappe into its original shape.

Schere

Schere (シェーレ, Shēre) allows the wielder to transform their schtappe into simple scissors.

Schwert

Schwert (シュヴェールト, Shuveeruto) is the spell that turns the schtappe into a sword.

This spell is potentially taught to all nobles as part of the second year practical lessons at the Royal Academy. To pass the exam, a student needs to morph their schtappe into one of a selection of melee weapons, with schwert being one of the potential choices. The exception are future knights, who are required to use schwert in addition to a different weapon of their choice.

Streitkolben

Streitkolben (シュトレイトコルベン, Shutoreitokoruben) is a spell used to turn the schtappe into blunt weapons like staffs. It can be used to create a temporary copy of the divine instruments Staff of Flutrane and Verfuhremeer's Staff.

Stylo

Stylo (スティロ, Sutiro) is a spell that turns the schtappe into a magical pen, used for writing and changing magic circles.

Water Gun

Water Gun (水鉄砲, Mitsuteppo) is the spell that turns the schtappe into a water gun.

This spell was developed by Rozemyne in the initial weapons class at the Royal Academy. Initially it only squirts "liquid mana" and is harmless, but after pondering how to improve it, she envisions it shooting arrows. This weapon is much smaller than most other schtappe transformations, making it well suited to be used through the windows of drivable highbeasts and can be used with just one hand, leaving the off-hand free for steering.
Several arrows can be fired at once and no reloading is necessary, though the mana cost is large, making it impractical to most med- and laynobles.

So far the only person other than Rozemyne to be able to learn this transformation is Ferdinand, thanks in large part to Rozemyne's water gun being translucent and thus making it easy to analyze it's rather simple inner workings. The other people present at her detailed presentation back in Ehrenfest struggled with the pronunciation of the Japanese word or failed to visualize the unfamiliar item in sufficient detail.

Ferdinand also deduced that the amount of liquid mana substituting for water inside the gun's chamber is connected with the maximum output of the device. By enlarging the chamber or the gun as a whole, one can increase the strength the attacks one can make with it. Consequently, he turned his schtappe into a larger version to make use of this principle.

While Ferdinand himself didn't care for appearances, he still relented to Sylvester's and Rozemyne's insistence to make his newly acquired weapon look "cooler" and made his enlarged water gun opaque and black in appearance, making it look almost like a real firearm from Earth.

Spells specific to a Schtappe

Auswahl

Auswahl (アオスヴァール, Aosuvaaru) is a spell used to search for things. So far, it had been used with parchment to look for the identification medals from Hasse's traitors.

Bands of Light

This spell is used to restrain opponents and prevent them from both moving and using magic. Their mana-suppressing effect also has the secondary effect of protecting captured people from being harmed by rampaging mana.

These bands can also be used to pull the target closer to the caster, like actual physical ropes would.

Eendgrenze

Eendgrenze is a spell available to Aubs, that allows them to close a border gate under their jurisdiction. It is currently unclear, whether eendgrenze is also used to open it, or whether this requires a different spell.

Gelb

Gelb is a spell that produces a yellow beam of light from the tip of the schtappe, meant for signalling, like it's more common counterpart Rott. Gelb is generally used to signal that preparations for battle have been finished.

God of Darkness Blessing (Spell)

Like the God of Darkness's Prayer, this spell aims to invoke the blessing of the God of Darkness to give an object - usually a schtappe morphed into a weapon - the ability to steal mana. Despite being a more compact version, the spell is still quite long and complicated.

Compared to the full prayer, the spell version loses the ability to freely transform one's schtappe while the blessing is in effect. To be able to morph the schtappe to a different shape, the blessing has to be dispelled with Entwaffnung. This spell allows the user to turn the absorbed mana into his/her own. The prayer version is assumed to work in the same manner, however, when used in tandem with a schtappe transformed into the God of Darkness' cape divine instrument, which also steals mana and gives it to the user, the mana is instead sent directly to the God of Darkness.

Mana Net

This spell creates a net out of the user's mana, with which they can lock down or reel in the captured targets. The individual threads of the net are so thin that even when you are caught within it, they are barely perceptible, unless a light source is reflected or additional mana is poured into the net, which makes it glow.

It is possible to make the net explode violently to eliminate the caught targets

Ordonnanz

Ordonnanz (オルドナンツ, Orudonantsu) is a spell which uses a feystone to transmit messages.

Rott

Ferdinand casting Rott

Rott (ロート, Rooto) is a spell where the schtappe sends a reddish beaming light up into the sky, used as a distress signal. It is unable to pass through the ceiling of white buildings.

Spiegeln

Spiegeln (シュピーゲルン, Shupiigerun) is a spell used in conjunction with a clairvoyance magic tool to remotely view locations. This only allows the user to see buildings that contain a protection feystone charged with their own mana.

Volkowesen

More commonly known as "The Aub's Protection," Volkowesen is a spell taught exclusively in the archduke candidate course and only available to Aubs. It works only on people registered as citizens of the duchy the Aub's duchy and will temporarily protect them from essentially any kind of harm, for a short time. The Aub appears to be able to either cast it on individual people, or on anyone within a certain area. When cast, the spell takes on the shape of a yellow bird. If the affected area is small, it will dive directly at it and scatter into motes of light, that will envelop the citizens in it. If a larger area is targeted, the bird will circle over it and sprinkle doesn the motes, until the entire area is covered.

Waschen

Waschen (ヴァッシェン, Vashen) conjured up water out of nowhere to clean something or someone. After the end of the spell, the water disappears together with the washed out dirt, leaving not even any wetness behind. This includes water accidentally inhaled. The spell is often used by knights on excursions where they don't have the time or facilities for a proper bath or to clean their equipment.
It is also quite commonly used to clean tools and containers after brewing potions.

Nobles with smaller mana capacities can opt to manipulate existing water, like the moisture in the air, to reduce the mana-cost of the spell, since manipulating water is easier than turning mana into water. Nobles with exceedingly high mana capacity also need to be careful about how much mana they exert, so they don't end up producing excessive amounts. When Rozemyne first used the spell to clean up containers and tools after potion-making, she accidentally flooded the entire room she was in at the time before terminating the spell, putting the room into a quite chaotic - albeit dry and clean - state.

Washen is simply mana made by a purification spell, not actually water.

There also exists a version of this spell that allows one to cleanse large areas more effectively:
See Large-Scale Waschen

Large Scale Spells and Blessings

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

See Large-scale Spells.

Etymology

Name	Japanese	Romaji	Assumed Etymology	Assumed Translation
Auswahl	アオスヴァール	Aosuwaaru	Auswahl (DE)	Selection
Axt	アクスト	Akusuto	Axt (DE)	Ax
Beimen	バイメーン	Beimen	beimengen (DE)	to add something/to mix in something
Entwaffnung	エントヴァフヌング	Entovafunungu	entwaffnen (DE)	disarming
Erdegral			Erde (DE) Gral (DE)	Earth/Soil Grail
Finsumhang	フィンスウンハン	Finsuwunhan	Finsternis (DE) Umhang (DE)	Darkness Cape/Mantle
Gelb			gelb (DE)	Yellow
Geteilt	ゲッティルト	Gettiruto	teilen (past tense geteilt) (DE)	devided/shared
Getilgt	ゲッティルト	Gettiruto	tilgen (past tense "getilgt") (DE)	to remove/wipe out/erase
Lanze	ランツェ	Ranze	Lanze (DE)	Lance
Ordonnanz	オルドナンツ	Orudonantsu	Ordonnanz (DE)	Ordinance
Messer	メッサー	Messaa	Messer (DE)	Knife
Riesesichel	リーズィッヒェル	Riizihheru	riesig (DE) Sichel (DE)	Huge/Gigantic Sickle
Rott	ロート	Rooto	rot (DE)	red
Rucken	リューケン	Ryuken	rücken (DE)	Back/to move
Schere	シェーレ	Shēre	Schere (DE)	Scissors
Schtappe	シュタープ	Shutaapu	Stab (DE)	Stick/Wand/Baton
Schwert	シュヴェールト	Shuveeruto	Schwert (DE)	Sword
Spiegeln	シュピーゲルン	Shupiigerun	spiegeln (DE)	to mirror or to reflect
Streitkolben	シュトレイトコルベン	Shutoreitokoruben	Streitkolben (DE)	Mace
Stylo	スティロ	Sutiro	Stylus (EN)
Waschen	ヴァッシェン	Vashen	waschen (DE)	to wash

Trivia

• In regard to the "Rucken" spell: The German "Rücken" means "back" like the backside of the torso, not like back as in "going back", which would be the German "zurück". But since both "Rücken" and "zurück" translate as "back" into English, it funnily enough still works for English audiences, while probably leaving German-speaking readers slightly amused or bemused.

Additional References

• Cambridge Online Dictionary
• LEO Online Dictionary