Lore24 Feb 16: Curses

Unlike most other forms of magic which are restricted to priests, divine champions, or the descendants of deities, curses are available to most people. Curses are essentially prayers to Underworld deities, usually written on metal tablets, paper slips, or pieces of ceramics which are then ritualistically buried. The curse must specify who the accursed should be, what misfortune should befall them, and which deity is invoked to make that happen. A sacrifice must also be buried at the same time as the prayer. Most often takes the form of money, other valuables or black-colored animals.

In order to break the curse one must find where the sacrifice is buried, and take it out of the ground, then donate it to a temple of a different deity. This is obviously harder to do with already decomposed sacrificial animals, but people often hide the remains inside other offerings, tricking the temples into accepting them. Alternatively one can dig up the prayer itself, then take it to the temple of the deity it is addressed to, to get it canceled. This of course requires sacrifices to be made to the deity.

Curses enjoy a lasting popularity among most cultures, even as authorities, and some temples try to stamp the practice out. When done right, they can be terrifyingly effective, but they can also backfire if something goes wrong, so a lot of people seek out specialists to do their curses for them. These can be mystics, the priests of the same Underworld deities involved in the cursing, or even sorcerers who just happen to know a lot about this kind of magic. These people are usually referred to as witches or warlocks.