Supernatural/Paranormal

[Timben]

What would the MacGuffin be for my story involving Ivan the Terrible? I wrote a fictional item called the cross of the seven jewels. But I have no idea what it is nor the history behind it. Any help would suffice. The story is set in 1904 Russia. Where my main character and his partner are captured by Cossacks and demand them to hand it over. The cross of the seven jewels that is. It somehow connects to the supernatural/paranormal.

 

[Swank]

It produces an open face herring sandwich on the Sabbath.

 

[Timben]

The story in which I am writing is a pulp western/adventure story.

 

[AllanR]

Ivan was a few generations past the fall of Constantinople. Maybe the jewels came with the fleeing Patriarch? Perhaps the removal of the jewels caused the city to fall? Maybe some connection to Ivan's teacher Maximus the Greek?
The fall of the Byzantines pushed the centre of Orthodox power toward Moscow before and during Ivan's time.
Not sure if Russians would use 'the Terrible' (Groznyi was his moniker) when referring to Ivan.

 

[Wayne Mack]

Maybe the protagonist is commissioned by a collector to get the cross of seven jewels. It could be left for later to determine the motivation of the collector. The collector could want the cross for wealth, to use its power for a good or ill reason, or to prevent someone else from acquiring it or using it. Another option would be for the protagonist to want to use the cross to cure a loved one of a mysterious illness. Let your imagination go wild, there are probably lots of types and variations of instigating events.

 

[Venusian Broon]

A 'real world' Ivan the Terrible treasure is the 'lost library'. There are details in Wikipedia under 'The Lost Library of Ivan the Terrible' if you want to get the basics.

There's a nice TV program about it somewhere, although I don't have the name of the show at hand.

Apparently it is somewhere in the depths of tunnels beneath the Kremlin - if it exists.

Maybe the 'cross of the seven jewels' is actually an ancient bejewelled book/Bible with a secret inside it?