Divine Instruments

**Divine Instruments** are special kinds of magic tools dedicated to the gods and used primarily in religious ceremonies. Each Divine Instrument is made in the shape of the symbol of its respective god and contains many feystones of that god's colour.

# General Information

When not in use for ceremonies, the Divine Instruments are held by statues of the respective god in the chapel. During ceremonies, they are put on top of an altar in accordance with the position of the gods. Since the God of Darkness and the Goddess of Light are the king and queen of the gods, their Divine Instruments are always up on the highest tier. Depending on the specific ritual in question, the second tier holds the Divine Instrument of the god associated with the ritual, with the other Divine Instruments of the Five being one tier lower still, or all five remaining Divine Instruments are put on the second tier if it is a ceremony dedicated to all gods equally, like the Fealty Ceremony.

    For the Dedication Ritual, a magic tool in the shape of a red carpet is put on top of the altar before the Divine Instruments and small chalices are placed, to conduct and spread the mana of the priests into all of them at once, rather than having to charge each item separately.

Under normal circumstances, the Divine Instruments do not leave the temple. Use of the Divine Instruments outside the temple for purposes other than religious ceremonies requires the special permission of both the High Bishop and the archduke of the duchy. One such occasion was Rozemyne using Leidenschaft's Spear to participate in the Lord of Winter Hunt and eventually land the killing blow.

To some nobles, they are nothing more than particularly high-quality and powerful magic tools, while others consider them to be something similar, but different. There are even some among the nobility who are entirely ignorant of their power and believe them to be mere decorations for ceremonies at worst or overly decorated regular tools at best. Even the Commander of Ehrenfest's Knight's Order Karstedt expressed his surprise that the Spear of Leidenschaft could be used as an actual weapon, as well as how effective it turned out to be.

## Schtappe Transformations

Nobles with a sufficient mana capacity and intricate familiarity with a Divine Instrument are able to morph their schtappe into a copy of the Divine Instrument that appears to be identical in function to the Divine Instruments held in the temples. These transformed schtappe can even be used to perform religious ceremonies as if they were the real thing, without any apparent differences. To be able to morph a schtappe into a Divine Instrument, the user needs to be able to form an extreme detailed and precise image of it - including the engravings - in their mind and know the associated spell.

Morphing a schtappe into a Divine Instrument weapon or invoking Schutzaria's Shield uses the same incantations as morphing the schtappe into regular weapons and shields like Lanze or Streitkolben. Non-weapon Divine Instruments like Geduldh's Chalice, meanwhile, require more obscure incantations that are very much out of the public knowledge and have only recently been rediscovered in one of the Royal Academy Library's restricted archives accessibly only to royals and archduke candidates.

# Individual Breakdown

## Cloak of the God of Darkness

This cloak signifies the night sky - the domain of the God of Darkness.

It is made from black cloth with golden dots scattered across its surface like stars.

It has the ability to absorb or seize control of any mana it comes into contact with.

Nobles with a schtappe can create a temporary copy of the cloak with the spell Finsumhang.

## Crown of the Goddess of Light

    This golden crown signifies the sun and its rays. The crown has long golden tips radiating outwards, resembling rays shining from the sun.

It is worn by the High Bishop during the royal succession ceremony, and is also used in contracts.

## Staff of Flutrane

    The Staff of Flutrane symbolizes the melting of snow and ice into life-bringing water.

The staff appears to be made out of pure gold, with a large, clear green Feystone about the size of an adult's palm in the top and many smaller stones embedded throughout the entire shaft. The smaller stones are clear when empty and turn green and shine with a gently pulsing light when filled with mana.

It is an essential tool for performing the Healing Ritual, which is necessary after exterminating an overgrown Trombe, to revitalize the earth with new mana and allow plants to grow in the area once again.

While during most healing rituals, it is only used to grow a small layer of grass, it can also be used to grow plants to their full size and ready to bear fruit.

Nobles with a schtappe and sufficient mana capacity can create a temporary copy of the staff with the spell Streitkolben.

Flutrane's Staff can also be used to grant Heilschmerz's Healing. Using the Divine Instrument reduces the amount of mana used, increases the potential range for healing, and allows healing more people at the same time than healing with the help of a magic ring or schtappe.

## Leidenschaft's Spear

    The spear symbolizes growth to ever greater heights. It can also be used as a weapon by charging it with a large amount of mana. Once fully charged, it shines and crackles with blue light, becomes nearly weightless and is powerful enough to kill an injured Lord of Winter in one hit.

Nobles with a schtappe and sufficient mana capacity can create a temporary copy of the spear with the spell Lanze.

## Schutzaria's Shield

The shield symbolizes Schutzaria pushing back the cold winter winds. It is a golden round shield with diameter of about 50 to 60 centimeters, with elaborate reliefs carved into its surface. The center holds a bright yellow feystone about as big as a palm, while marble-sized feystones are embedded into the shield along the circumference. They appear clear like mountain crystal when empty, but turn yellow when filled with mana.

By invoking the relevant prayers towards Schutzaria, one can summon the shield in the form of energy barrier that blocks attacks and negative effects, as well as prevents people with ill intent from passing through. This barrier can take any shape the caster desires, from simple screens to entire domes. 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.

Nobles with a schtappe and sufficient mana capacity can also create a temporary copy of the shield with the spell Getilgt.

## Geduldh's Chalice

The chalice is the symbol of the Goddess of Earth accepting everyone and everything.

Its appearance is often described as a golden grail, set with feystones that turn red upon being filled with mana.

Nobles with a schtappe and sufficient mana capacity can create a temporary copy of the chalice with the spell Erdegral.

### Small Chalices

These smaller versions of Geduldh's Chalice are used to bring the mana gathered during the Dedication Ritual to farming villages and towns for Spring Prayer, to fill the fields with mana and Geduldh's blessing, so that crops can one again grow plentiful. It is not clear whether the small chalices also count as lesser divine instruments or as regular magic tools.

During Spring Prayer the number of chalices handed over to Giebes depends on the classification of their duchy. Counts receive three chalices, Viscounts two and Barons a single one.

## Ewigeliebe's Sword

    The sword is the symbol of the God of Life digging into the hard ground.

The sword only has power in the season of winter. When wielded during this time, it will produce a blizzard around the person using it. Due to the relationship of the respective deities, any Schutzaria's Shield invoked near Ewigeliebe's Sword during winter will be weakened.

The full power of the sword can be activated with a prayer to Ewigeliebe. While the prayer is spoken, the air around the user will gradually grow colder, and the air will start moving ever faster, until the user is encased in a small blizzard by the time they finish the prayer. When the sword is swung with the intent to attack, it will summon subordinates of the Lord of Winter that will attack the supplicant's enemies. The exact number and strength of the individual feybeasts depends on the amount of mana stored in the blade and the mana capacity of the user.

# Subordinate Gods' Divine Instruments

## Grutrissheit

Grutrissheit (グルトリスハイト, Gurutorisuhaito) is the name of the book held by Mestionora. According to legend, it is the original bible that the first king of Yurgenschmidt was permitted to transcribe upon being chosen by the Gods.

*See Grutrissheit*

## Verfuhremeer's Staff

    This staff, according to legend, belongs to Verfuhremeer, the Goddess of the Oceans. During a ritual that Dunkelfelger nobles hold after a victory in Ditter, the prayer-leader - usually an archduke candidate - transforms their schtappe into this staff to perform a ritualistic prayer song and dance. Usually there is no visible effect of the ritual, though should ditter players have received blessings from a pre-battle ritual dance to Leidenschaft and his subordinate gods, the post-battle ritual will dissipate these blessings and have a strong calming affect on the affected nobles.

The tip of this staff splits off into two prongs that are styled like a pair of wings or extended fish gills. Affixed between the two prongs is a large feystone.

Nobles with a schtappe and sufficient mana capacity can create a temporary copy of the staff with the spell Streitkolben.

# References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 2 Volume 3. Chapter 8: The Dedication Ritual
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 2 Volume 1. Chapter 1: Attendants and the Fealty Ceremony
3. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 3 Volume 3. Epilogue
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 4 Volume 6. Chapter 16: Hunting a Ternisbefallen
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 2. Chapter 1: The Royal Family and the Library
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 1 Volume 3. Chapter 18: A Quiet Commotion
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 2. Chapter 11: Preparing for Ditter
8. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 2 Volume 2. Chapter 21: Summons from the Knight's Order
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 2. Chapter 7: The Royal Academy’s Dedication Ritual
10. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 3 Volume 3. Chapter 9: Fighting the Schnesturm
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 4 Volume 6. Chapter 4: Schtappe Transformation
12. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 2 Volume 1. Chapter 2: A Shrine Maiden's Job
13. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 4. Chapter 14: Melchior and Spring Prayer
14. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 2. Chapter 12: Bride-Taking Ditter
15. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 2. Chapter 2: Dunkelfelger’s Ritual
16. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 2. Chapter 3: Talking and Tallying