The Oathbreaker's Ring

“Steel may lie still, but the Ring remembers.”

— Old oathkeeper’s proverb, Circa 5th Age

 

Description

The Oathbreaker’s Ring appears as a seamless band of black steel, cold as a corpse’s breath and impossibly smooth to the touch. When dormant, it can be expanded or contracted by the will of its bearer, yet once clasped around a mortal throat and sealed by word and blood, it fuses shut, no tool or spell can part it save fulfillment of the oath it binds.   At first, the ring feels light, almost insubstantial. But as time passes, it grows aware, it seems to sense doubt, deceit, and hesitation. Those who stray from their sworn path report a faint pressure at the throat, as if a cold hand gently reminding them of their promise. Those who falter further hear a whisper, like steel rasping on bone. And for those who betray their vow outright, the ring contracts with horrific precision, cutting flesh, crushing windpipe, and in some cases, severing the head entirely.   When the oath is fulfilled, the ring loosens. The mark it leaves behind, a pale band of unhealing skin, is said to glow under moonlight, forever branding the wearer as one who once bore the Iron Vow.  

Origin and Lore

According to the Chronicles of the Blood Court, the first Oathbreaker’s Rings were forged by Varranth the Silent, a blacksmith-judge who served the tyrant-king Zelrin Verx during the Third Sundering. Zelrin demanded that all his generals swear loyalty beyond question, and Varranth, gifted in both craft and sorcery, shaped their oaths into metal.   It is said Varranth bound each ring with a fragment of his own soul, allowing him to hear every promise spoken through them. When the generals betrayed Zelrin and conspired to dethrone him, the rings answered their master’s anguish, and the entire war council was found the next morning, their heads rolled clean from their shoulders, mouths still whispering apologies.   The forge of Varranth was never found. Some claim it still exists beneath the Ruins of Haldrith, where molten rings hang like fetters from the ceiling, each waiting for a liar’s neck.  

Properties and Use

  Oathbinding Ritual: The wearer’s blood must anoint the ring while both parties to the oath speak their agreement aloud. The words are burned into the metal in faint, runic script visible only under starlight.   Empathic Reaction: The ring detects intent more than action, hesitation, deceit, or unspoken betrayal will trigger its constriction. Thus, even those planning to break an oath risk their lives.   Immutability: Once sealed, even death cannot immediately remove it. The ring often remains on corpses, rustless, waiting.   Residual Curse: Rings once used for betrayal sometimes whisper to new bearers, murmuring fragments of the oaths that were broken through them.  

Legends and Accounts

The Tale of Ser Caldreth the Faithless: A knight of the Azure Banner who swore to protect his queen, but fell to temptation and joined her usurpers. His ring tightened as he uttered the words of betrayal. They found him in his tent, eyes wide, tongue black, the ring cutting halfway through his spine. His head never fully fell, it remains half-attached, preserved in amber as a royal warning.   The Merchant of Ashvale: Bound by an Oathbreaker’s Ring to deliver a cure for his dying daughter, the merchant failed to return in time. His corpse was found at the city gates, hand clutching a vial mere steps from the healer’s door. The ring had closed, but witnesses swear it wept molten tears before it cooled.   Varranth’s Curse: Some priests of the Iron Faith believe each Oathbreaker’s Ring is a piece of a greater whole, that Varranth himself is still alive, his soul scattered among the collars of the damned, feeding on their guilt.  

Modern Usage

Though outlawed in most kingdoms, the Oathbreaker’s Ring remains a tool of binding among assassins’ guilds, heretical orders, and secret monarchs who trust no oath without blood. A few rare covenants, particularly those of the southern warlocks, even volunteer for the ring, claiming the torment sharpens faith and will.   Rumors persist that some modern artificers have attempted to forge “lesser” rings, ones that constrict only partially, leaving the oathbreaker mute but alive, forever unable to speak deceit.