Crystalline Curse

## Summary

* Turns powerful mortals into crystal
* Victims must defend possessors of gem

The **Crystalline Curse** is a divine hex from the times of the Spellplague, when deities Cyric and Shar murdered Mystra in DR 1385. Victims' souls are harvested and kept in magical gemstones until they are summoned as crystal soldiers, forced to defend their abductors. The curse primarily affects paladins whose powers derive from the Weave.

## Arcana

In DR 1490, the hero Arpeggio Angmírdan consulted druid Janvair the Elder regarding his cursed friend Garren Bronson. Janvier cited the following passage from the arcane tome *Oath of Vengeance*:

> ...a clever series of traps were laid before [the paladins]. To the dark deities and their allies, Cyric and Shar in particular, the greatest weakness of their foes lay in their dependence on and affection for mortal creatures. But this would prove the moment of their great triumph. They would not kill the warriors outright — no, that would only serve to make them martyrs or invite a show of mercy through resurrection. Instead, Cyric proposed, they would separate the heroes from their souls, making it impossible for them to be resurrected, especially following the sundering of much of Faerûn itself.
>
> *Oath of Vengeance*

Later, when Garren reported feeling increasingly sluggish and immobile, Janvair the Elder added that

> Victims of the curse are ejected from their crystalline bodies, doomed to roam the Astral Sea until summoned again. With more activity, these former warriors become more rigid and sluggish until they are forever frozen as tall stalks of sapphire, jade, and what-have-you. I know not of a cure, but my former colleague Stellarin might...
>
> Third Time's the Charm

## Amulet of Binding

A victim's soul is imprisoned in an **Amulet of Binding**, a golden amulet containing a radiant gemstone (about the size of a plum).

### Essence of Mystra

A gemstone called an **essence of Mystra** serves as the vessel for the soul-prisoner. Upon Mystra's death in 1385, the goddess's power was fragmented into many such stones, some of which were repurposed by Cryic to forge Amulets of Binding. Midnight, the goddess's successor (who would later adopt the same name), strived over a century to gather all of Mystra's essence. Only three stones remain:

* Emerald (bound to Gavina)
* Ruby (bound to Garren)
* ???

## Summary

* Summon defender at will

***Amulet's Binding*** is a conjuration spell unique to this artifact. When the amulet's wielder is in danger, they may summon the stone's prisoner to defend them. The slave manifests as a crystalline biped with features reminiscent of their former body. *Oath of Vengeance* states "[the] blade of a man strives not to subvert its true master," though it is unclear whether a victim can rebel by means other than combat.

Janvair the Elder described the spell during Arpeggio's first visit to Sacred Wood:

> While you are attuned to this amulet, you may summon forth your companion [as an Action]. If he be slain, his soul shall return to the **Amulet of Binding**; or, you may return him there at will [as an Action]. He must rest for eight hours [a long rest] before he may be conjured again.
>
> Second Glance

## Bibliography

Ball, Beth, and Ball, Jonathan. *Crystalline Curse Trilogy*. Dungeon Masters Guild, 8 June 2019, https://www.dmsguild.com/product/279400/Crystalline-Curse-Trilogy-BUNDLE.