Seals of Dusk and Dawn
Seal of Dusk
The Seal of Dusk is the name given by Kind Edward to his first royal signet ring.
Commissioned by his father King Henry before his death, the ring is a strong reminder of the family's history of the oppression of the poor and weak.
In his diaries, King Edward retells his memories of the ring:
Many things were wonderful about my coronation, but there was one thing in particular that I absolutely detested about it - my signet ring.
You see, in the old Tightish tradition I grew up with, the King selected a gemstone and had it be cut to size to become the crowning jewel of the next ruler's ring.
Later on, the dying ruler would have it be engraved and fitted for the new King.
Should the King die before the commission, for example by being murdered by the heir, the jewel would be thrown into the sea, never to be seen again.The signet ring signifies power and wealth, and the greater the gem and the grander the engraving, the more powerful and wealthy the person wearing it.
My father had been incredibly proud of me as a child, and had bought the largest diamond he could muster.
The Stag's Pride it was called.
The jewel was of a round cut, deep and dark as a pool of the night, and the flat surface on the face of it was eight ryenuts in diameter.The ring itself was smithed of pure and solid gold and made to fit two fingers, the middle and ring finger, to give it more weight.
You see, my father, as his fathers before him, would strike the disobedient with their dominant hand - the one on which the heavy ring was.
I myself had always been well-behaved, but I could be sure it was a painful experience based on the bruises and occasional laceration I had seen others receive.After the incident on my maturation, my father had become very disappointed in me and changed the initial design of the ring.
The sun in the sky, the cloud-wreathed mountains, the forests and meadows and the vast, churning sea were not to be carved on the ring.
In their places came a skull amongst stars, blood-soaked daggers, the wolf fighting the stag and a desert land.And it was when I received this ring that I knew, a new era must dawn.
Therefore, let this be the Seal of Dusk, let this ring seal our dark and gruesome history once and for all, so that a brighter day may begin!
Seal of Dawn
The Seal of Dawn was created to symbolise a new chapter in the history of Tightish traditions and values.
Unlike it's predecessor, the Seal of Dawn was supposed to represent the values of the newly-founded Tightish Empire.
Where the old ring symbolised lavish wealth and violent power, the new ring would symbolise modest efficiency and peaceful guidance.
After much deliberation, the ring was made to be slight and elegant, consisting of a silver bearing, the outer bearing engraved with a stripe-like seal.
By this fashion a document would be sealed, not by striking it, but by rolling the ring along the molten wax.
Seal of Dawn: diameter: 4◞І (~25.6mm) ; width: 1◞І (~0.64mm)
Seal of Dawn: Pure silver with ball bearings
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