The Curses of the Six Seas

"Ch'n'thanta blohkn,
Trkarchar spwrendr,
Chran'ke, Chran'ke, Chran'ke."
-Bodari Shaman, chanting a lesser curse

Great Curses

The Great Curses are the powerful curses cast by Bodari shamans that have shaped the history of The Six Seas of Wonder. Thus far two great curses affect the Seas, with a possible third oncoming in the near future.

First Great Curse

Some 135 years after their founding, Timberwelsh was an up and coming nation with its sights on The Six Seas, where its founder & current Emporer, Vishi the Explorer, had first found wealth. The Timbers had stepped too far into the Seas and were pillaging them for all they were worth. In response, a group of bodari shamans gathered together and spend three days and four nights casting The First Great Curse. This curse, which still prevails, dictated that all elves who sailed the seas would turn into water and return to the seas at the age of 150. Interestingly, the curse does not take effect unless the victim is close enough to a body of water to trickle into it.

Second Great Curse

As The Colonial War reached the peak of its chaos and bloodshed in 217 HB, Harpsbilge made a bid for Aokhala, an island of cultural significance to bodari across the Six Seas. In response, a circle of powerful bodari shamans gathered at the peak of Mt. Aokhala and performed a ritual for two days and three nights, neither eating nor sleeping. At the end of the ritual, they cast the Second Great Curse.

"All those who die and have died in the vicinity of this sacred isle of Aokhala shall rise once again in servitude of those in control of the island"

Though the curse worked, it had unintended effects. Firstly, the vicinity of the island was massive, encompassing most of what is now The Dread Sea. Secondly, the curse only specified that "those in control" could command the undead - this would have been fine had ancient bodari ancestors not risen from their graves, thereby taking rightful control of the island. Among them was Thrazmohk, The First Dread Lord, who would rule the island from then on. The bodari quickly fled Aokhala, which was soon renamed Dread Island. The curse remains to this day, and Thrazmohk is still the ruler of the island.

Third Great Curse

The Third Great Curse has not been cast yet, or if it has, it was done in absolute secrecy. Powerful diviners have foretold the importance of the Third Great Curse with the progression of The Golden Age of Piracy but were unable to ascertain anything specific. Hushed rumours in taverns speak of what the curse might be, and what havoc it might wreak. There's a general air of uneasiness whenever it's brought up in public since everybody's unsure.

Other Curses

Scholars debate what else might be considered a curse and what is simply a "feature" of the Six Seas. Curses are generally agreed to be specifically cast, but since the reasons for most "features" of the Seas are unknown, it is equally unknown if they are actually curses.
The most hotly debated potential curse is the source of The Ancient Sea. Nobody knows how it came to be the way it is, aside from an obvious connection with the Ancient Civilization and a likely connection with The Primordial Deep. Because of how far-reaching the strangeness of the sea is, it's rational that some would draw comparisons to the formation of the Dread Sea. For now, however, nobody knows.