Blood Ruby

Item from acotar-silver-flames by

A blood-red ruby sent by the Night Court to mark a target for death, visible to every mercenary and assassin in Prythian.

The Blood Ruby is the Night Court's most feared instrument of extrajudicial execution — a death sentence delivered not by a headsman's axe but by the collective greed of every killer in the realm. Once sent, it cannot be recalled, and the target it marks is considered legally dead by the court that issued it.

Appearance

A thumb-sized ruby, cut in a cabochon shape, that glows with a faint, internal light as if lit by a dying ember. Its color is not the clear red of a gemstone but the murky, clotted red of dried blood, and it is always warm to the touch.

Also known as: Ruby of Blood, The Red Mark, Bloodstone (erroneous)

What They Know

• The Blood Ruby is traditionally sent in a small velvet-lined box, accompanied by a single sheet of black paper bearing the target's name in silver ink.
• Any mercenary or assassin who presents the ruby to the Night Court — along with proof of the target's death — is entitled to the bounty set by the court, which is always substantial.
• The ruby is enchanted so that its glow intensifies as the bearer draws closer to the target, making it a tracking device as well as a warrant.
• There is no statute of limitations on a Blood Ruby; it remains active until the target is dead or the High Lord who issued it is overthrown.
• The tradition dates back to the first High Lord of the Night Court, who used it to cull a nest of rebels in the Hewn City without staining his own hands.

View full profile at Simulacra.Ink