Ebonart

The Ruby of Ruin

Added 2025-07-29 14:05:25 +0000 UTC

The first historical mention of the gem that became known as the Ruby of Ruin occurs in 1415 when Antipope John XXIII passes it to Cosimo Medici in return for enough coin to buy himself the office of Cardinal. Before that, the gem had been held in the Vatican archives for an unknown amount of time.

Private letters from Cosimo indicate he was at first repulsed by the gem for unknown reasons and had it locked away. Later, after he becomes the de facto ruler of Florence, he has it mounted in a gold setting and wears it as a ring to public functions.

The ring has passed through many hands since then; documentation is understandably spotty. In the 1940’s it was reset into a less baroque ring by the mystery-man magician Dr. Macabre, who thought that the unique setting would dampen the incubus’ influence enough for him to draw on it as a mystical power source. Instead, the demon gradually took over Dr. Macabre. Due to shenanagins and circumstances, the ring was captured by a KGB agent in the 1950’s who had it removed from its setting and sealed inside mystic wards. It languished there until stolen by jewel thief Peter Reynolds (See Ringmaster background).

The gem has a demon trapped in it, an incubus (the male equivalent of a succubus) that lends its wielder a portion of its power to influence emotions and sexual desire. (Most of the ‘love potions’ in ancient literature are actually secretions from succubi or incubi).

It is thought that the demon’s name, it’s true name, has been lost. This means there is no real way for the wielder to command it. The demon, and thus the ring, move from host to host as it wishes. It seems to simply want to foment as much chaos as possible, but it is drawn to people that want to dominate others in some fashion.