How Gems Are Used in Fiction

The demons have to defend their country and fight against their submission to the king of the witches, Gorice XI. This being accomplished with a bout of wrestling in the following chapter, the conflict only intensifies because a new king emerges, Gorice XII. For the remainder of my paper, I am going to focus on two gemstones, chrysoprase and ruby, to identify the different uses in storytelling. The title character of the book The Worm Ouroboros refers to a signet ring worn by the King on his left thumb. Made of gold, the ring's bezel has the form of ouroboros, while the figure itself makes a loop by eating its tail. Inside the loop was set a ruby the size of a sparrow's egg. Beyond a doubt, the ruby is the lucky stone of authority of Witchland, because Gorice XI was the king of the witches. Chapter sixteen tells us of the ruby's virtues, and from its virtues, we can derive the values of a good king:

"The King took wax and a taper from the great gold inkstand, and sealed

the warrant with the ruby head of the worm Ouroboros, saying, "The ruby,

most comfortable to the heart, brain, vigour, and memory of man. So, 'tis

confirmed."

The ruby earlier in the story takes its place in the framework of the heavens when the demons returned home from Impland. The Lord Juss builds a bed in the land of Carce. He carved on the canopy of the bed the constellation, Orion, believing it to be the protector of his fortunes; while, for ordinary stars, topazes are set in the canopy; and for Rigel, a diamond. Betelgeuse metaphorically rests on the eastern shoulder of Orion. The ruby symbolizes Orion's ruddiest star. The word choice of ruby has Freeplay in this story since at times ruby refers to a gem, at other times it's a color; furthermore, it can mean both.

While the author chose ruby eight separate times, the chrysoprase was just chosen four. So, does the quantity of choice qualify chrysoprase as more or less valuable than the ruby, in the context of the story? The Lady Mevrian possessed a ring in contrast of King Gorice. Hers made of gold with a bezel set with chrysoprase. She prays in her chamber to Artemis of the Moon and Earth to preserve her purity in the eyes of Corinius. After supplicating the goddess to remain in her favor, Mevrian ending her appeal turns the ring of gold and chrysoprase in contemplation.

"She turned the ring upon her finger and scanned in the gathering gloom the bezel thereof, which was of that chrysoprase that is hid in light and seen in darkness, being as a flame by night but in the day-time yellow or wan. And behold, it palpitated with splendor from withinward, and was as if a thousand golden sparks danced and swirled within the stone."

The virtues of chrysoprase set the mood for Lady Mevrian where light and darkness are offset by emotional distress. The chrysoprase had extraordinary splendor -- her thoughts were on Lord Gro, the goblin. What she interpreted by scrying the stone can only be the topic of an argument, for she may have wondered how the kingdom of Demonland would prosper under his dominion.

While the lords of Demonland discuss a voyage to Impland, the Lord Brandoch Daha sits on a chair made of ivory and chrysoprase. Like the Lady Mevrian, he turns the golden rings on his fingers in comtemplation. The reader should interpret this action of twisting, whether it be his yellow mustachios or golden rings, as eavesdropping since the conversation of La Fireez and Gaslark include gossip about the Princess Armelline and Goldry Blusco. Lastly, while Queen Sophonisba attends a birthday party for the Lord Juss. Four years has passed, and the Queen walks with Juss in Moongarth Bottom. At Galing Castle, he shows her bars of gold and silver; and uncut crystals of chrysoprase, ruby, and hyacinth. Ivory tusk stacked as high as the ceiling. This scene in my opinion resolves the question although it fails to unify the characters, which seem to me like by-standers when these gemstones emerge in the story. The raw crystals have equal value in their place, and the Queen rather than Lady Mevrian is let in on this secret. The others are left in contemplation like she and to their own devices. In conclusion, here's the author's description of the scene at Galing Castle that imparts the sense of security provided to Demonland by the Lord Juss, our main character.

"She beheld bars of gold and silver piled like trunks of trees; unhewn crystals of ruby, chrysoprase, or hyacinth, so heavy a strong man might not lift them; stacks of ivory in the tusk, piled to the ceiling; chests and jars filled with perfumes and costly spices, ambergris, frankincense, sweet-scented sandalwood and myrrh and spikenard; cups and beakers and eared wine-jars and lamps and caskets made of pure gold, worked and chased with the forms of men and women and birds and beasts and creeping things, and ornamented with jewels beyond price, margarites and pink and yellow sapphires, smaragds and chrysoberyls and yellow diamonds."

Thanks for reading.