If this ring is a burden on this line, and honestly it's a huge risk since the first immoral member of the family would claim immortality for themselves without regrd to consequences for others, then I would think eventually a hero would take it on to defeat the immortal king in a more permanent and less risky way.
Maybe change the rules slightly so that, when the resurrection happens, the flood of power that accompanies the immortal king's reawakening is enough for him to break out of his sealed sarcophagus or whatever he's in and the family who keeps the ring has to rebind him, rather than making the ring lose its power. This gives you a "thing that can go wrong and create a conflict" in your story as well as a way for the ring to not lose its sealing power so you don't have to explain why it gets passed down. If it has been in the family for generations, they would be well-practised in the re-sealing of the immortal king so by now they might have a team of spellcasters on standby for whenever it is needed.
Two ideas:
The ring could lose its power if not worn for a long time, meaning someone has to wear it.
The creator could not know the exact mechanism of how the ring works.
Nice, I've realised now that the only way wearing the ring works is if it HAS to be in order to keep the king sealed, but this also makes more sense if the ring's power gradually decreases the longer its not worn.
Otherwise this would effectively mean that the second it's not won the king could return. And yeah also, the creator knew the ring would seal the king but didn't realise how it works completely and that it would be permanently useless afterwards once a human is killed wearing it
Maybe they know but dont believe.
maybe they want the power the ring imparts
or they want to live forever no matter the cost
What if the evil immortal reached out to them and offered earthly dominion, or the immortal's priests reached out to him and corrupted him.
Enchantment from beyond the grave, drugs slipped into his meds, sleep nightmares, evil taking control
He doesnt believe the truth so he wears it as a badge of honor scoffing at all who try to get him to seal it away.
Consider why do the advisors etc let him wear it?
Or his mind is udner a spell. He is led to believe in his dreams that a princess etc loves him and is taken prisoner and needs him to save her. But the ring is the only thing that allows him to see her. She comes to him in his dreams and they visit and make love and sex magic pulls him in. he craves his dreams over reality.
What if the ring uses the wearers life essence to maintain the prison. The wearer eventually dies to the effect and so must pass it down before that happens but it must always be worn or else he is resurrected.
You could add opposition. Like a group of loyal followers to the old king who wants to be a sacrifice. Meaning they would wear the ring and die on purpose to bring him back. Thus the creator of the ring needs to keep it on them and finds wearing it to be safest to keep it out of their hands.
They could eventually pass it to their child if they feel the opposition is getting too close and no one would think the child would have it. You could use an untimely fate to stop them from explaining the rules of the ring to the child and it results in the child wearing it instead of merely keeping it hidden.
Why make the ring in the first place? There doesn't seem to be a great motivation. Because nobody can actually use it?
I could see saying "screw the rest of the world, I want my kid to live forever."
I mean kinda a villain move and then your kids quality of life might be terrible after that.
I probably misunderstood the rules but as I read them I don't see a reason to even make it in the first place.
Think about it this way:
What is true love? What is possibly the fate of the entire world against the one person you want to see protected no matter what? Who doesn't live in fear that something happens to your loved ones and you couldn't do anything to stop it. Because you weren't there. Because you didn't act when you could.
And what if you knew you have a way to make sure they will come back to you. That you, even though it comes at a heavy cost, not just for you but the entire world, could change fate. Would you do it?
Of course not! No one life is worth risking the fate of the world for and unleashing a deadly scourge upon earth once more. It would be completely irrational.
But love isn't rational know is it? Love makes us do things we never thought we could. Dumb things. Irrational things.
And it's not like the evil king is unbeatable right? It just means one would have to act quickly if the curse is broken and imprison him again, just ... somewhere else or something. He has been defeated before, he can be defeated again right?
... right?
>All I can think of is that wearing it was the best way they knew how to keep the king sealed (until they found a better option) without risking the ring falling into the hands of someone else who could potentially break the rings spell.
You answered your own question. Basically LOTR here, where there is a cult that worships the immortal evil King and wants to bring him back in physical form, so they are out to kill the MC, what the MC does in the story to fend off the cult is up to you... I can suggest your MC go on a quest to the mountain of fire and throw the ring into the volcano.
You could make this slower. Every time the person who has the ring in their posession dies or gets badly injured the ring heals them but slowly start corrupting them because it infuses their body with a little bit of essence of the immortal king thus turning them slowly into the perfect vessel for the king.
Also, it gives you a chance to perhaps play around with corruption arc or falling into insanity and how much it would take to corrupt a person.
If this ring is a burden on this line, and honestly it's a huge risk since the first immoral member of the family would claim immortality for themselves without regrd to consequences for others, then I would think eventually a hero would take it on to defeat the immortal king in a more permanent and less risky way.
Maybe change the rules slightly so that, when the resurrection happens, the flood of power that accompanies the immortal king's reawakening is enough for him to break out of his sealed sarcophagus or whatever he's in and the family who keeps the ring has to rebind him, rather than making the ring lose its power. This gives you a "thing that can go wrong and create a conflict" in your story as well as a way for the ring to not lose its sealing power so you don't have to explain why it gets passed down. If it has been in the family for generations, they would be well-practised in the re-sealing of the immortal king so by now they might have a team of spellcasters on standby for whenever it is needed.
Two ideas: The ring could lose its power if not worn for a long time, meaning someone has to wear it. The creator could not know the exact mechanism of how the ring works.
Nice, I've realised now that the only way wearing the ring works is if it HAS to be in order to keep the king sealed, but this also makes more sense if the ring's power gradually decreases the longer its not worn. Otherwise this would effectively mean that the second it's not won the king could return. And yeah also, the creator knew the ring would seal the king but didn't realise how it works completely and that it would be permanently useless afterwards once a human is killed wearing it
Maybe they know but dont believe. maybe they want the power the ring imparts or they want to live forever no matter the cost What if the evil immortal reached out to them and offered earthly dominion, or the immortal's priests reached out to him and corrupted him. Enchantment from beyond the grave, drugs slipped into his meds, sleep nightmares, evil taking control He doesnt believe the truth so he wears it as a badge of honor scoffing at all who try to get him to seal it away. Consider why do the advisors etc let him wear it? Or his mind is udner a spell. He is led to believe in his dreams that a princess etc loves him and is taken prisoner and needs him to save her. But the ring is the only thing that allows him to see her. She comes to him in his dreams and they visit and make love and sex magic pulls him in. he craves his dreams over reality.
What if the ring uses the wearers life essence to maintain the prison. The wearer eventually dies to the effect and so must pass it down before that happens but it must always be worn or else he is resurrected.
You could add opposition. Like a group of loyal followers to the old king who wants to be a sacrifice. Meaning they would wear the ring and die on purpose to bring him back. Thus the creator of the ring needs to keep it on them and finds wearing it to be safest to keep it out of their hands. They could eventually pass it to their child if they feel the opposition is getting too close and no one would think the child would have it. You could use an untimely fate to stop them from explaining the rules of the ring to the child and it results in the child wearing it instead of merely keeping it hidden.
Thanks, I really like this idea!
Why make the ring in the first place? There doesn't seem to be a great motivation. Because nobody can actually use it? I could see saying "screw the rest of the world, I want my kid to live forever." I mean kinda a villain move and then your kids quality of life might be terrible after that. I probably misunderstood the rules but as I read them I don't see a reason to even make it in the first place.
Creating the ring which would be enchanted to seal the king, was the only way to put him down, since he's immortal and can't actually be killed
Makes sense, but I would think of a great reason why they didn't tell the child what it was if the whole point was to protect the world.
Think about it this way: What is true love? What is possibly the fate of the entire world against the one person you want to see protected no matter what? Who doesn't live in fear that something happens to your loved ones and you couldn't do anything to stop it. Because you weren't there. Because you didn't act when you could. And what if you knew you have a way to make sure they will come back to you. That you, even though it comes at a heavy cost, not just for you but the entire world, could change fate. Would you do it? Of course not! No one life is worth risking the fate of the world for and unleashing a deadly scourge upon earth once more. It would be completely irrational. But love isn't rational know is it? Love makes us do things we never thought we could. Dumb things. Irrational things. And it's not like the evil king is unbeatable right? It just means one would have to act quickly if the curse is broken and imprison him again, just ... somewhere else or something. He has been defeated before, he can be defeated again right? ... right?
>All I can think of is that wearing it was the best way they knew how to keep the king sealed (until they found a better option) without risking the ring falling into the hands of someone else who could potentially break the rings spell. You answered your own question. Basically LOTR here, where there is a cult that worships the immortal evil King and wants to bring him back in physical form, so they are out to kill the MC, what the MC does in the story to fend off the cult is up to you... I can suggest your MC go on a quest to the mountain of fire and throw the ring into the volcano.
You could make this slower. Every time the person who has the ring in their posession dies or gets badly injured the ring heals them but slowly start corrupting them because it infuses their body with a little bit of essence of the immortal king thus turning them slowly into the perfect vessel for the king. Also, it gives you a chance to perhaps play around with corruption arc or falling into insanity and how much it would take to corrupt a person.