Historical Overview

The Prophecy

## Factions

-The Retinue

-Keepers of the Oldwood

-Order of Sydon

-The Cult of the Snake

-The Temple of the Five

-Centurions of Mytros

-The Academy at Mytros

-The Temple of the Oracle

-Lost Tribe of the Gygans

-Centaurs of the Steppes

-The Raving Ones

## Sacred Oaths, Mortal Curses, and Guest Rights

Sacred Oaths are sworn between men and their kings all the time, but oaths between men and gods are rarer and more binding. Oaths sworn to powerful creatures of the Fey, or to demons and devils can be just as binding.

-Oath of Peace: An oath of peace is one where a powerful creature or king demands that the person swearing the oath will commit no violence against them or any of their servants. There is almost always a time limit to such an oath. Sometimes the time limit can be weeks or months, but other times it may be years or centuries. An oath of peace is central to the story presented in this book.

-Oath of Protection: An oath of protection is one in which a powerful individual is sworn to come to the aid of another in a time of great need. One of the most famous of these oaths in mythology is the oath that the Achaean kings swore to Menelaus, husband of Helen. The kings swore to assist Menelaus if anyone ever threatened Helen. When Menelaus called upon the kings to fulfill their oaths, the Trojan War was the result. An oath of protection requires the swearer to answer a call for aid as quickly as possible. Once the threat has been neutralized, the oath is fulfilled, and there is no further obligation. Failure to answer the call, or even allowing the other party to come to harm, will cause the oath giver to be branded an oathbreaker, and they too suffer the curse of the treacherous.

-Oath of Service: An oath of service is an oath sworn by one individual to another. The swearer is required to perform one task, which does not need to be specified when the oath is sworn. Unlike the oath of protection, this task could be of any type: it may even require evil deeds, such as assassination. For this reason, most people are hesitant to ever swear such an oath, viewing it as a last resort. When the oath swearer is called upon, they must answer as quickly as possible. Once the task has been completed, the oath is fulfilled and there is no further obligation. Failure to answer the call, or refusal to complete the task, brands the swearer as an oathbreaker and makes them subject to the curse of the treacherous.

Mortal Curses fall upon those who break oaths, break guest friendship, make deals with powerful evil creatures or anger the gods. Curses are not to be taken lightly: they publicly and clearly mark a hero’s untrustworthy quality for everyone to see.

-Curse of the Harpy: Any person afflicted with this curse will slowly trans-form into a harpy. It is sometimes invoked by powerful fey creatures such as hags or nymphs when an oath is unfulfilled, though sometimes the gods might punish a mortal with this curse. The only way to stop the trans-formation is through powerful divine magic.

-Curse of the Medusa: A person cursed in this fashion will slowly transform into a medusa. This curse usually comes from bargains made with devils and demons: a mortal might have been asking for beauty or eternal life, but instead was granted the terrifying form of a medusa. Sometimes, ancient fey creatures such as hags will transform a victim into a medusa, often simply for amusement. The transformation can be stopped with divine magic, but without intervention the victim will transform within a few weeks.

-Curse of the Graverobber: This curse is visited upon someone who takes any magical item from the grave of a hero blessed by the gods. Those afflicted by this curse cannot eat. After a number of days equal to their Constitution score, the cursed character will gain one level of exhaustion every day until they die from starvation. It is impossible for the person to get rid of the magical item that they stole, even by returning it to the correct grave. It will always return to their possession at midnight.

-Curse of the Treacherous: This curse afflicts those who abuse guest friendship or break powerful oaths. Those who violate the tenets of guest friendship are at risk of being cursed by the offended host or guest. Breaking an oath made to the gods will almost always cause the offending mortal to be cursed, but a person might also become cursed for breaking an oath to an especially powerful king, or even a pious beggar. The effect of this curse is directly related to the injustice of the offense.

Guest friendship is a concept of great import in the lands of Thylea. It requires that all hosts show generosity and courtesy to guests who are far from home, no matter what disputes may divide the two parties. For guest friendship to be established, a host must invite someone into their home and provide them with food or drink. It is expected that the guest should provide a gift to the host to seal the friendship, but the bond is established as soon as the guest has shared a meal with the host. The bond of guest friendship ends when the guest has departed with the host’s blessing. After that, the two may become enemies once more. However, if one party brings about harm to the other while the bond is in effect, then the friendship is broken, and the offending party is now subject to the curse of the treacherous. The Furies are widely known to be the arbiters of such disputes, and few are willing (or foolish enough) to suffer their wrath.