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 The idea that something as tiny as a ring can contain something as powerful as a magical charm or spell has appealed to magicians for millennia. In former times, the practice of making magical rings inundated Mesopotamia to such an extent that the Hebrews saw fit to denigrate their use along with other talismans employed by pagan cultures. (Isaiah III: 20) Egyptians believed in the power of magical rings to heal and bring good fortune, and Europeans as early as A.D. 800 made use of them in bestowing social privileges. Some special rings have earned names and reputations as powerful artifacts. Legends tell that King Solomon, of Biblical fame, possessed a magical ring bearing a diamond and certain holy names of God which would confer magical power. Gyges, king of Lydia, reportedly had a magical ring with the power to make the wearer invisible. Supposedly the ring had a topaz and an emerald set into it at opposing sides, and that its power answered to a secret word. Other works, such as the Petit Albert and the Poulet Noir, also describe the composition of magical rings which confer invisibility, and introduce the art of making specialized magical rings to those magicians less-fortunate than Solomon and Gyges. The construction and use of a magical ring differs very little from other forms of occult talismans and disks, in that their efficacy depends on a species of evocation. The ring thereby continues to function after its initial enchantment, regardless of whose hands wear it, as the ring contacts or contains some form of sentience independent of the magician. The magician contacts or compels the intelligence responsible for the powers of the ring through words or names of power, or some form of somatic signal. The form of the ring consists of materials and inscriptions suitable for use as a link to the power which the ring confers, and the magician employs these as a material interface between the magician and the empowering entity. The success of charging of the ring with some specific power thus depends on the ability of the magician to call the desired forces to the ring and maintain them there for recall at will.
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