Blood Ruby

A blood-red ruby sent by the Night Court to mark a target for death, a sentence that cannot be recalled.

The Blood Ruby is the Night Court's ultimate declaration of enmity, a death mark that carries the full weight of the High Lord's authority. Once sent, it is a public condemnation, a signal to every mercenary, assassin, and loyal subject within the court's borders that the recipient is to be hunted without mercy. It is a tool of terror and finality, used sparingly, for its power lies in the fear it inspires as much as in the death it promises.

Appearance

A flawless, thumb-sized ruby of deep crimson, cut into a cabochon that seems to pulse with an inner light. It is set in a simple, unadorned band of dark iron, and when held, it feels warm to the touch, as if it holds a heartbeat of its own.

Also known as: The Red Sentence, The Blood Mark, The High Lord's Ruby

What They Know

The Blood Ruby is traditionally sent by the High Lord of Night, or by his sanctioned emissary, and its arrival is a formal declaration that the target is to be killed on sight.
The ruby is said to be enchanted to glow brighter as the hunter draws closer to the target, a magical beacon that guides the killer to their prey.
Once a Blood Ruby is sent, it cannot be recalled or rescinded; the only way to lift the mark is the death of the target or the direct intervention of the High Lord himself, which is almost unheard of.
The iron band that holds the ruby is forged in the Hewn City, in the same fires that produce the weapons of the Court of Nightmares, and it is said to carry a trace of that court's cruelty.
In the history of the Night Court, fewer than a dozen Blood Rubies have been sent in the last five centuries, each one marking a traitor, a rival High Lord's agent, or a threat so grave that no other sentence would suffice.

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