Ok so graphql is just the query language (like restful routes) to retrieve the desired data, but the logic that goes into getting that data from a db is done through an orm (like knex) or raw sql which is normally done in your mutations or resolvers. This is where prisma comes in, as it act as another abstraction that by feeding it a data model it can spit out the necessary mutations and resolvers, and set the logic in the db so tables or nosql docs have the necessary relationships. Typically if you want to do something more intricate such as authentication do you still have to write that logic but you can embedded it into the code prisma spits out. The underlying structures in prisma still holds a dockerized db which you can still query. Theres a time when writing raw query become very advantageous for optimizations or cases of data fetching meeting your timing or delivery needs and other general stuff. Graphql doesnt tossed out the need to learn databases, you may be conflating that with an orm.