================================< THE CURSE: >=================================
             "The Fool's Guide to the Curse (and the Old Man)"
updated: 23-Jan-2008

The Mage Guild has a collection of notes about the Curse (observations,
    guesses, guesses from the arcanists at Hawthorn Abbey, guesses from the
    undead priest of Despair, the Okt sur Khrando, etc.)
                                                                                
0) The Curse refers to the magical effect that kills any sentient resident of
    the Ark who tries to leave without swearing a true oath to return. This
    effect also causes people to return to the Ark after a week or so.

1) All the people who originally came aboard the Ark are affected by the
    Curse. All the people who came later and stayed for more than about 3 days
    are also Cursed. All the sentient (int 3+) creatures that came through the
    Change Engines are Cursed.
                                                                                
2) Cursed people who go through the portal to Greystone no longer seem to feel
    the effects of the Curse. Whether people from Greystone who go through the
    portal to the Ark side are affected...it seems they are not Cursed.
 2a) Hyan was still affected by something (an extension of the Curse?) even
    after she went to the Greystone side. The effects were temporarily
    suspended when she had a protection from evil cast on her. Wearing one of
    the anti-Curse amulets drastically reduces the effects, but does not
    completely eliminate them.
                                                                                
3) Lina was "partially killed" by the Curse. Possibly from an insincere oath?
    It's not clear whether the Lina now present on the Ark is the same person
    who originally arrived through the Change Engines.
                                                                                
4) Demons and matching rubies (emanating magic) were found buried in the rock
    near the Change Engines. Killing the demon and/or removing rubies causes
    the Ark to fall a bit.
 4a) If all the demons are killed? The Ark will rest on the ground? Will there
    be other effects? Unknown.
 4b) The Ark's magics all seem to be linked.
 4c) The demons are wrackspawn, in terrible torment, and beg for death.
                                                                                
5) Dying releases a person's soul from the Curse. If the person is raised or
    reincarnated, they are again Cursed. This happens even if the person
    comes back to life away from the Ark. (As with Sviar.)
 5a) A Wish or Miracle can free someone from the Curse, but no lesser spell.
 5b) A "break enchantment" has a similar effect to the anti-curse amulet,
     and is a prerequisite for crafting one. Both grant about six months of
     freedom from the need to return to the Ark.
                                                                                
6) Killing things in the Change Engines strengthens the Curse. Possibly
    anywhere in the Ark. Uncertain.
 6a) The Old Man or the Curse manipulate events and the Ark residents to
   shed more blood.

7) If the Ark is physically destroyed, the Curse will be weakened, but the
    aftershock may send the Arkites into the Shadow plane. In addition,
    remnants of the Curse will draw danger to the Arkites.

8) The Ark/Curse/Old Man originated in some sense in the Outer Darkness, either
   far in the past or far in the future. The Old Man is not human, but
   not completely inhuman, either. A way might be found to mess with the
   timelines and break the Curse.
  8a) But within the Prime, you can't see clearly enough to do that. You'd
   have to operate from the Mirror Plane. Which is a dangerous place, as the
   (now-destroyed) Yrktheran mages found out when they summoned allies from
   there.
  8b) The Old Man seems to inhabit the minds of the Cursed Arkites. If all
    the people under the Curse are killed, evidence suggests that the Old
    Man will also be destroyed.
  8c) The Old Man will sometimes converse with individuals on a personal
    level if asked. He has been known to send "messengers" (e.g. a shadow).

9) Speculation about controlling the Ark's physical position: the Ark is
  anchored by a magical resonance. The rubies in the Ark to rubies buried
  in the earth directly underneath...who knows how deeply?
  9a) The specific ruby (aka the "Ark Anchor") has now been found.
  9b) It is now enclosed in a magical device (made by Sviar and donated to
    the Council) which acts as a steering wheel/control device for the Ark.
    It is housed in the Council Tower and can only be operated by someone who
    is under the Curse.
===============================================================================