Seal of Solomon

The mystical ring known as the Seal of Solomon has been said to imbue different properties to wearers, such as commanding demons or speaking with animals. However, in truth, this ancient ring acts as a ward to any types of shadow magic or corruption. The different demons, devils, and denizens of the Outer Darkness thrive on misery and coercion. When they come into the world of man, they always have but one goal in mind and that is to feast on souls, for the more souls they consume for themselves, the stronger that they grow, meaning they can consume even more souls ad infinitum.

Ancient western sorcerers found themselves often dealing with interdimensional beings, and as centuries passed by, better methods to protect themselves yet still command spirits grew as knowledge did, and eventually, magical artifacts were created and imbued with power to do just that. The Seal of Solomon was originally forged by use of a magical spell calling upon the Four Winds, and with their breaths and the fire of the forge and the metals of the earth, the ring was made. The waters of the rivers and sea carved the stone inlaid on the top, and with all these powers the ring vibrates in perfected harmony with the frequency of the fourth dimension. In a way, the ring and wearer are held precisely within our reality and unable to be corrupted or tainted by demonic forces- or even wayward forces of light, their spiritual vibration remaining steadfast.

The ring has found itself cast from owner to owner through circumstance, but of note is Empedocles of Akragas. He used the ring to summon forth a succubus into the world. He named her Dionyza, and she was bound to his will and unable to corrupt him. This is why his philosophies are based on the four elements, because of his knowledge and use of the ring (forged by earth, wind, fire, and water), and his philosophies of love and strife were based on his own experiences and discussions with the demoness he controlled. When he died, his power over her vanished, but she could not claim the ring from his finger. Every attempt she made resulted in instant, painful feedback, and so she left it and his mortal shell behind to find her own path.

From there, the ring found its way to other magical owners, and eventually to a wizard named Percy Covington. Percy spent his unnaturally long life chasing demons around the world and banishing them back to their native dimensions. The ring proved to be instrumental in this, and he even worked alongside Chet Parsons, one of the first demon hunters of the U.S. government. Eventually his own hunts and paths led him to fight alongside the monster hunter, Muriel McCoy, and in the fight, though the demon was banished, Percy laid dying from mortal wounds. With some of his final, labored breaths he told Muriel about the ring and what it could do. He gave it to the cowgirl knowing it would be put to good use. Later, she would give it to her husband, Roy McCoy.

While most monsters can be killed via inherent weakness to physical, corporeal objects like iron, silver, salt, and others, demons are not of this dimension. When encountered by monster hunters, demons generally have a massive advantage, with their vulnerability almost exclusive to magical enchantments and spells. Because of the Seal of Solomon, Roy lived through several encounters over his lifetime that would never have been survivable without it. When The Night Stalkers, Roy McCoy and Absinthe Van Gothen, were separated in the Portland Sewer System, she faced down a minion of the ancient Babylonian god, Nergal. With the help of her own magical artifacts and potions, she managed to vanquish it. When Roy saw what she had done- even without the ring in her possession- in awe and gratitude for her saving his daughter, Molly’s, life, he imparted the Seal of Solomon to her.