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Hey guys, have any of you ever noticed that most fantasy stories seem to utilize rings, rings and more rings as carriers of power, as symbols of the ultimate in magical majesty? Why is this, do you think? Is there a reason, in your opinion? Does there have to be a reason? What do you think about it? Let’s brainstorm and see if we can’t come up with an alternative piece of jewelry.
Now this is a disclaimer here. I personally think there are a number of very good reasons that rings are so useful, and that there is no reason to freak out if you have a magical ring in your story. One very good reason is that rings are very small, easily worn, and easily hidden beneath a glove or slipped into a pocket if necessary. On the other hand, imagine trying to stuff, say, a crown into your pocket. And in the very unlikely event of success, imagine trying to sit down with a crown in your pocket. Uncomfortable, to say the least.
Also, rings being small and worn with very little inconvenience, I think they are a great way to symbolize inheritance or succession, as it is going to be somewhat difficult to lose your birthright if it is wrapped around your finger in the form of a hard metal band.
A few alternative pieces of jewelry I considered included earrings and bracelets. Earrings would not do, in my opinion, because most fantasy protagonists being men, it would be a little… weird. It always makes me think less of a man to read about him wearing earrings. Besides, there is something inherently undignified about having ultimate power dangling from your earlobes.
Bracelets? Okay, maybe, but think about it: the One Bracelet. The Bracelets of Power. It just doesn’t have the same ring to it. (You have my permission to laugh at the pun).But those are just my opinions, and I am very interested in hearing what you guys have to say on this topic. Let the brainstorming begin!
Oh yikes, I just realized I missed a letter in my title. Sorry— there’s supposed to be an ‘r’ after the ‘p’ in present— or apparently, ‘pesent’. 😛
How about a necklace of some sort? They can be hidden under clothes fairly easily.
How about shoelaces, contacts, or false teeth?
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Necklaces— a good idea, but somehow to me it would seem to be odd for a male hero. Maybe that’s just me.
Daeus… seriously? That’s the best you could come up with?
🙂 Haha.Alright, how about socks. Not just any socks though. These socks could repel anyone within five miles, allowing the person who wares them to continue on his mission unchallenged … as long as he doesn’t pass out.
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Hm… somehow I don’t think that would go over too well. ‘The Socks of Power’. Nah. Sorry. Just wouldn’t cut it.
A ‘magical sock-knitting factory’ would be cool, though… wonder how they do that?Well, alright. If you don’t think your readers can be that imaginative, how about a medallion?
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Now we’re getting somewhere! How would you carry the medallion with you? In pouch? Sewn into the lining of your cloak? Depending on its size, of course.
You know, a medallion isn’t really a piece of jewelry, and that made me think. Why should it have to be a piece of jewelry? Why couldn’t it just be something as simple as a stone a dragon had swallowed (like crocodiles do, to help them digest their food) and then spit out? Don’t you think being swallowed by a dragon would be more than enough to make something magical? Not that I’ve experienced it, mind… but I imagine a dragon must have some p-r-etty magical stomach acids.Pin it onto your shirt. Put it in your pocket. Have it hanging from a peg on your trench coat. Keep a picture of it on your cellphone. Don’t let a dragon swallow it though. I imagine dragon stomach acids are strong enough to digest metal objects.
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In a story that I have been working on, the symbol of the right to the throne is an amulet. Although, why is it weird for guys to wear a necklace? I have seen guys wear a cross and it looks fine.
Other ideas are pens, figurines, fancy pins, and special clothes. You know, like the elven cloaks in Lord of the Rings.
Has anyone else noticed that crowns are going out of style? Maybe its just what I have been reading lately, but other than simple circlets, there just aren’t any crowns in fantasy stories. Which I personally think is sad, I like crowns! Hmmm, why am I complaining about this when I haven’t put any of them in my own story? Next on my to do list, put crowns in my story!
The Scattered Writer
The two important items I’ve used in my writing have been a necklace, and a clay tablet. Though, I would like to use a bracelet sometime as well. It’s probably based on my personal preference, since I really don’t like anything on my fingers, including nail polish. Whereas, I like bracelets and necklaces a lot. 😛
Oh, and I was also planning on using a belt to carry something valuable in my Captain Quinn book. Come on, it’s a whole different world, I have to go out of my zone a bit. 😉
Good thoughts. I’m glad to see this topic resurrected again after so long! Shaina, I guess I always thought jewelry, besides rings and crowns, (yes, crowns are so cool, no matter how impractical) was strictly a feminine thing. But then, amulets aren’t technically jewelry, are they? Yes, that could definitely work.
@Rosey— a clay tablet, hm? That sounds interesting. Was it magical in itself, or did it contain some sort of magical formula?
@kate
Magic is my big no-no. So, the tablet wasn’t magic, logically. Actually it was something important from an Indian tribe, the Bearpaws. It was their little membership card, so to speak, in the tribe.
Very important part of the story for my MC, Robin.
And the necklace in question in the other book was a sort of energy source that fell from space in a meteorite. Not in necklace form of course. It was picked up by an unassuming gypsy and made to fit that.
Things don’t have to be magical to be of some importance. 😉
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