Victor's Rings in Amari and the Great Game — Symbolism and Stakes
Introduction
In Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston, the Victor's Rings are the tangible stakes of the deadly contest known as the Great Game. They are five golden rings awarded for each challenge, and the first magician to collect three wins the Crown of Vladimir, gaining control over both Vladimir's magic and the opponent's magic. More than simple prizes, the rings evolve into symbols of desperation, moral compromise, and the true cost of power. This analysis examines what the rings literally are, where they recur in the story, how their meaning shifts across the challenges, and how they connect to key characters and themes.
What Are the Victor's Rings?
The Victor's Rings are introduced in Chapter 15. The Game Rings—two golden rings that flame up when touched—are given to Amari and Dylan. Cozmo explains: “The rings you wear are Game Rings. Each is imbued with special magic—you have only to squeeze it tightly and you will be taken to a dueling ground where a Victor's Ring can be won.” The rings disappear upon wearing, remaining cold against the skin, and warm to signal a challenge. The Victor's Rings themselves are the physical prizes collected inside each challenge's location. Winning three gives the victor the Crown and can lead to the opponent's annihilation if their magic is stolen.
Recurrence Across the Challenges
The rings appear in four of the five challenges (the fifth challenge's ring is surrendered before it can be claimed):
- First Victor's Ring (Chapter 18): Whispering Canyon. Amari must cross an invisible bridge with her eyes closed. The winds taunt her; she opens her eyes at a fake Dylan and falls. Dylan claims the ring while Amari escapes.
- Second Victor's Ring (Chapter 23): Alexander's Library. Amari identifies that courage (a linen glove) is “stronger than diamond” to retrieve the ring from boiling liquid. She almost wins, but Dylan uses shadow magic to steal it from her.
- Third Victor's Ring (Chapter 29): The Mirror Room. Amari enters Dylan's dream illusion, finds the ring, and claims it while Dylan remains trapped. She then rescues Dylan from a Living Nightmare, showing her growth.
- Fourth Victor's Ring (Chapter 32): The Kraken's underwater train. Both magicians face the Devourer of Ships. Amari outlasts Dylan, who retreats; she grabs the ring as the train collapses.
- Fifth Victor's Ring (Chapter 35): The starry field final duel. Amari surrenders her ring (the final one) to save Elsie from Cozmo's threat, allowing Dylan to claim the Crown.
How the Ring's Meaning Changes
The rings start as straightforward contest prizes. Early on, Amari sees them as the only way to save her brother Quinton from Dylan's curse. In Chapter 15 she thinks: “If I win the Crown, then I’ll get Vladimir’s magic and Dylan’s too. I’ll be able to end Quinton’s curse.” By the second challenge, the rings become instruments of fear and power imbalance. Dylan's theft of the second ring deepens Amari's sense of inadequacy: “There’s just no way I can possibly compete. He’s too strong.”
In the third challenge, the ring transforms from a prize into a test of compassion. Amari not only claims a ring but deliberately saves Dylan, rejecting Vladimir's implicit rule that only one magician should survive. The fourth challenge forces both to confront mortality; Amari's willingness to “stick around” longer than Dylan proves her resolve, but the ring now represents survival as much as victory.
The final ring is the most symbolic: Amari voluntarily gives it up. This act redefines the ring from a symbol of power to a symbol of sacrifice. Losing her magic (which happens immediately after) is devastating, but she later says she will continue fighting “alongside her friends,” showing that the rings' meaning has shifted from personal salvation to communal responsibility.
Character Connections
Amari Peters
For Amari, each ring represents a step toward or away from her identity. Initially terrified of her own power, she learns to trust her magic during the challenges. In the library, she uses winds defensively; in the mirror room, she wields the Dreamcatcher to help Dylan. The rings expose her greatest fear—failing her brother—and force her to accept that winning cannot come at the cost of her morals.
Dylan Van Helsing
Dylan sees the rings as tools of revenge and empowerment. Having suffered in the Sightless Depths, he embraces foul magick and declares, “Whatever bits of me that cared for you are gone now.” He steals rings with no hesitation and purposefully humiliates Amari. Yet the mirror-room vision reveals a lingering soft spot: he dreams of Amari as his friend, hinting that his cruelty is not absolute.
Maria Van Helsing
Maria, Dylan's sister and Amari's trainer, opposes the Game. She warns Amari that “this isn’t some Bureau tryout” and that the contests happen in impossible locations where she could die. To Maria, the rings are death warrants. Her fear contrasts with Amari's determination, highlighting the cost of the Game.
Elsie Rodriguez
Elsie is central to the final ring. Amari surrenders the fifth ring to protect Elsie from Cozmo's threat. Elsie's eventual dragon transformation saves them both, but the rings force Amari to prioritize friendship over the Crown.
Theme Connections
Power and Responsibility
The rings embody the tension between power and the corruption it can bring. Vladimir designed the Game so that only the most ruthless would win. Amari's refusal to steal Dylan's magic (even when she could) and her final sacrifice show her understanding that true responsibility sometimes means giving up power.
Prejudice and Discrimination
The Great Game is a direct response to the Bureau's targeting of magicians. Dylan claims the Crown to “teach Bane the lesson he should have learned.” The rings thus become weapons in a war against systemic oppression, but Amari's alternative path—choosing cooperation over domination—offers a different way to fight prejudice.
Friendship and Loyalty
The rings repeatedly test Amari's loyalty. She lies to Elsie about the Game due to the vow of secrecy, damaging their friendship. However, her willingness to lose the fifth ring for Elsie ultimately mends their bond and redefines winning as preserving those she loves.
Study Questions with Answers
1. What does the phrase “nothing is stronger than courage” mean in the context of the second ring challenge in Alexander’s Library?
The clue “the strongest” refers to courage, represented by the linen glove (Alexander fought in linen armor). Amari deduces that courage—not diamond or metal—is the true strength. By using no glove and plunging her bare hand into boiling liquid (which tickles), she shows that facing fear directly is more powerful than any material protection. Dylan later steals the ring, but the lesson stands: the ring's meaning surpasses physical might.
2. How does the third ring challenge in the mirror room reveal a change in both Amari’s and Dylan’s characters?
In the mirror room, Dylan is trapped in a dream illusion where he sees Amari as a friend. When a Living Nightmare attacks him, Amari saves him instead of leaving him to die. This shows Amari's compassion over victory and hints that Dylan still harbors hidden affection for her, contradicting his claim that he “smothered” all caring. Amari's rescue demonstrates that she values life over winning, a key turning point.
3. Why does Amari surrender the fifth ring in the final challenge, and what does this decision say about her understanding of power?
Amari surrenders the fifth Victor's Ring to save Elsie, who is threatened by Cozmo. She chooses her friend's life over the Crown, knowing this likely means losing her magic and failing to save Quinton. This decision redefines power: real strength lies in sacrifice, not accumulation of magical force. Amari proves she is worthy not because she won, but because she prioritized love over victory.
4. How do the Victor's Rings connect to the theme of “truth and deception” in the novel?
The Great Game itself is shrouded in secrecy—a vow of silence prevents Amari from telling anyone. The rings deceive by appearing harmless yet leading to life-or-death trials. Dylan uses deception in the library by tricking Amari into believing he surrendered. The mirror room is literally an illusion. Ultimately, Amari's truthfulness (refusing to kill Dylan) stands out against Vladimir's system, which rewards deception. The rings thus become a test of whether honesty or cunning will triumph.