Stolen Lands Curse
The Stolen Lands is home to many strange phenomenon and events which are difficult to explain by conventional means. While only loosely understood, it is believed that many of these are the result of the so-called Stolen Lands Curse.
It is thought that Nyrissa is the origin of The Curse. She was cursed and banished for unknown reasons more than 1000 years ago. She blanketed the Stolen Lands with a web of curses so powerful and dense that it may last forever. This energy seems to unpredictably empower people, allowing even a single wrong word spoken in anger to manifest into a curse. The person who causes the curse may do so unintentionally and may not even have the ability to use magic or curse people on their own, but the effects can still be profound. It seems focused on creatures who have lost something vital to them.
There seem to be several crucial caveats to The Curse. To curse something, one must know its true essence. Additionally, curses seem to operate on belief. If one believes a thing, such as that they have been cursed, that may be enough to result in them actually becoming cursed.
Cherry's Village
An elderly resident a village on the west bank of Tuskwater Lake cursed the tolerance of his fellow villagers. This resulted in the appearance of a Scythe Tree which killed most of the villagers and made the area uninhabitable for more than a century.
Samuel/Kiede's Curses
Samuel adopted the persona of Kiede, and after entering the Stolen Lands, seems to have developed into a separate person inhabiting the same body. On one occasion they had separate bodies and were in two places at once, and after encountering each other again, merged and have to share control of the same body. They believe that they both can't coexist indefinitely, and that one must perish. It is thought that Kiede's curse is the result of his own actions and claims.
When Kiin, not knowing Samuel's real name, referred to his family as "Kiede's family", they struggled to recognize him as the curse seemed to manifest in trying to make them not his family.
When Kiede lied and said his gun was named Stacy, the name of his sister, the two became connected. She is able to feel when his gun causes harm or death. When Kiede kills someone in one shot with his gun, a mark appears on the stock, and a corresponding mark appears on his sister's neck. More recently, Stacy has been comatose.
Tristian's Curse
Tristian used to be a Deva, but lost his wings and become mortal. This happened after he followed Nyrissa to the material plane. It is thought that because he believed he had been cursed, he became cursed.
Tartuk
Tartuk apparently died in 4710, only to disappear and reappear months later with no memory of the event.
Misc
There are no shortage of strange phenomenon which may be related to the Curse:
- Vordakai cursed himself, allowing him to use strange magic
- Animals, including Bandit, have been acting uneasy and anxious