Book of the Dead: Marriage Ring Spells

The Book of the Dead explains the nature of Church magic in the Enchanters of Sye world.

Priests Weave Marriage Ring Binding Spells

marriage ring [mar ij ring] noun, c.1400; Anglo-Fr marier to marry < ME marriage; c.900; Ger ringen < ONor hringja < OE hringan < ME ringen; also love rings

Physical: Metal charm consisting of 4 finger rings, no stone settings
Magic Type: Church/Binding
Spell Group: Corporeal Matters
Restrictions on Physical and Magical Construction: Priest only; all other secular, Magic Guild, and Enchanter magicians disallowed

Marriage rings are magical jewelry worn by couples to show fidelity, to bind their magic, and create a Church-approved family unit. Only a Priest may create the rings and weave the binding spells on the couple’s marriage day.

Marriage Rings Bind Their Magic

Each partner wears two rings. The first ring accesses the wearer’s magic, and the second binds them to their partner’s magic. Marriage rings contain the following three spells: Abiding Love, Fidelity, and Wander.

Abiding Love is the first spell, and it is the fundamental enchantment a Church Priest puts on a couple’s rings on their marriage day. This spell magically joins the rings, and the couple, using their Life Echo threads. When a spouse dies and passes to the Fields of Yalu, the Abiding Love Spell returns the dead spouse’s rings to the survivor, and terminates the couple’s magical binding.

Abiding Love Spell Joins the Couple Using Their Life Echo Threads

The second enchantment on marriage rings is the Fidelity spell. It detects when spouses have been unfaithful. Disloyalty includes sharing physical intimacies and exchanging magical essence with a non-spouse. Unfaithfulness requires immediate magical intervention to correct the moral failure.

One caveat exists for the Fidelity spell. The Church allows a married petitioner to exchange essence kisses with an Enchanter during the Enchanter Consent test. If either spouse has an Enchanter-approved Consent ranking, the Magic Guild requires partners to sign waivers. This waiver allows the partners to continue taking magical essence from non-Church sources. The Enchanter Consent awardee must also wear a patch on their trades uniform tunic that shows their special magical status.

The third, called the Wander spell, senses when a spouse has lost love for their partner. Same as for unfaithfulness, waning love requires immediate magical intervention by a Church Priest to adjust the marriage rings’ enchantments.

Explore Sye’s history of Enchanter, Church, and secular magic in the Necronomicon Enchanter book:

Find out more about Sye’s Church magic in another entry from The Book of the Dead: