The Legend of Saurach's Ring

Written By: Kevin Bratager
Edited By: N.Robin Crossby
First Released: 1989-12-11 on HarnLine

Part I

Centuries ago, the Corani Empire ruled western Harn. Sylud the Scholar was Emperor, and he gave great tolerance to all views, religions and ideas. It was during his reign that the great Library of Sylud was founded and the mystic scrolls written by Lothrim were discovered at Sirion, the site of Lothrim's final battle. However, it also was a time which troubled wise and knowledgable men who gazed towards the skies.

A year after Sylud was proclaimed Emperor, they began: stars flamed and fell towards Kethira. Most of the flaming stars were burned into nothingness as they fell through the heavens, but a few survived and struck the world. Signs such as this have always warned of chaos and doom, of evil and treachery. And it came to pass that Sylud's brother Saurach did murder the emperor and asscend the throne for a disasterous, but mercifully short reign. The new emperor was a fanatical worshipper of the evil fire god Agrik, and used his imperial throne as a means to spread the influence of his church. He forgave the temples of Agrik their taxes, diverted monies to them that had been collected to feed the poor, and zealously persecuted those who did not worship as he did. It was during his reign that the Pamesani games, dedicated to Agrik, were founded.

Now, on each fourteenth day of Peonu, Yael (the moon) glows red. The worshippers of Agrik call this the Night of the Blood Moon, and on these evenings they are said to sacrifice many to appease Pameshanu, the drinker of blood, servant of Agrik. It was on such an evening the Agrikian Primate of Harn presented Saurach with a holy ring in admiration of his many services to Agrik.

This ring had been crafted on a deep forge from a piece of Yael's bosom which had been cast down to Kethira during the showers of flaming stars that had heralded the onset of Sylud's reign. This holy stone had fallen into a temple of Agrik, and the priests had kept it safe until its powers were needed. The crafting had begun on the Night of the Blood Moon one year earlier, and had taken the entire year to complete. The Ring's band was yellow in colour and mounted upon it was a red ruby the size of a Khuzan golden coin. The insigna of Saurach was inscribed inside the band.

But this was no ordinary ring: its powers were many and great. It protected Saurach from earthquakes, lightning, thunder, and hail. It kept him dry and warm; even if he had been in the midst of the sea. The Ring allowed Saurach to make his hands glow red hot on command, causing great pain and injury to those whom he touched. It allowed him to begin or cease the flow of blood from wounds. It permitted him to see in the night as clearly as he could see in the day. And, with this Ring, Saurach was able to see anything that happened near a fire; even from a fire as small as a torch.

But a ring as powerful as this can be of no help if it is unworn. The metal from which the Ring had been crafted was delicate, and Saurach did not wish to scratch his prized possession. Thus, he removed the Ring whenever he retired for the night.

One night, a year after the Ring was given him, and shortly after he signed the Unification Writ, which forbade the worship of any god or goddess save Agrik, Saurach retired to his bedchambers. There, a lone, mighty, female warrior attacked without warning. She slew Saurach's fourteen guards and severed him in twain as he frantically tried to place the Ring upon his finger. Neither the unknown warrior, nor the Ring of Saurach, were ever found. No one could put a name to the assassin, but often has it been whispered that she was Larani herself. And if that is so, I doubt that the Ring will ever be seen again.

Part II

This is one in a series of articles on the legends and folklore of Harn and Lythia, collectively called Common Knowledge. These tales are presented in two parts: the legend itself and GM notes, arranged on separate pages, so that the GM may give a photocopy of the Legend to his players.

GM Notes

Hopefully the characters will take this story with a grain of salt since most of the information is inaccurate or false. But knowing how greedy characters can be, it is unlikely this will occur.

The Flaming Stars of Doom

These "flaming stars" are the result of a large periodic meteor shower which visits Kethira every 130 years. The last visit was in 634 T.R. There are other showers, but none are anywhere near the size of this great shower. The author of the story took some artistic license: the meteor shower it mentions occurred in 504 T.R., five years after Saurach's death.

The Night of the Blood Moon

This is one of the names for the night of an annual lunar eclipse. These eclipses of Yael are always the same: nearly total, but never completely total. No solar eclipses have occurred on Harn since recorded history began, and none will occur on Harn for the next 20,000 years. Since it is difficult to determine the cause of a lunar eclipse if you have never witnessed a solar eclipse, few (if any) Harnians have any idea what causes lunar eclipses; most people assume the cause is supernatural.

The Ring

The story says that the Agrikians forged and enchanted the Ring from a meteor which fell into one of their temples during a meteor shower. This is complete rubbish. In reality, the Ring was forged and enchanted by a Jmorvi and a Lyahvi Shek-Pvar in 489TR from a meteor which had fallen to Kethira a century before in 374 TR. The location of the meteor was stolen from the Khuzdul, who guard knowledge of such locations. The two Shek-Pvar were pious Agrikians, and performed this service as a sacrifice to their church.

Unfortunately, they did not properly take into account that some of the materials involved in the manufacture of the Ring did not originate on Kethira. This resulted in two unforseen events, neither of which is mentioned in any stories of the Ring. The first was that the ruby glows slightly during a lunar eclipse. The second is that the Ring's magical abilities change at random whenever the Ring is exposed to the light of the moon. This even includes the way in which the powers of the Ring are invoked by the wearer.

Usually, the Ring has a single powerful spell stored in it. An easy way to handle this is to take the list of powers mentioned in the story and pick one at random when the Ring's powers change. Since Saurach's death, the Ring has had many owners and changed hands many times. Few have know what the Ring actually was. Since the Ring's magical abilities are unstable, even those who knew what it was have never been able to prove it.

Lead-In

The salesman approach: "You're not interested in my offer of the bridge over the Thard River? Then how about this! This lovely ring with a delightful red ruby was once owned by the Emperor Saurach himself. It is a remarkable piece of workmanship, isn't it? And for you, dear friend, only 100d!"
The Ring is secretly being kept at a Laranian Abbey. In spite of what the legend says, the Ring is far from fragile. In fact, the Laranians have found no way to destroy it. Thus, they are guarding the Ring (erroneously believing it to be a holy artifact of Agrik) in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. The characters could be hired to steal the Ring or to retrieve it after someone else steals it.
The Ring has been located by a Lyahvi Shek-Pvar. After much study of it, she has found a way to make a copy without the flaws present in the original Ring (or so she thinks). But, to make copies of the Ring she will need material from Yael (i.e. a meteor). Enter the characters. They are hired to find a meteor and bring it back to her. Finding the meteor which was used to craft the original Ring would be ideal. This will present some problems, one of which is that it is quite unlikely the characters have any idea what a meteor looks like.