Pledge Curse

A Pledge Curse is a pledge designed for the purpose of inflicting a sanction.

Overview

Casual use of language is filled with potential promises that, to an ordinary mortal, are harmless. A woman who has gorged herself may joke that she will never eat again. A boastful hunter may claim that he will bring home that deer or die trying. When one accounts for the powers of the Lost, however, these harmless statements may suddenly become binding. An unscrupulous or vengeful changeling may trap the careless in dangerous pledges to teach a lesson or for simple entertainment, often to tragic results.

Like the majority of pledges, pledge curses must have aspects summing to zero. These usually include a powerful sanction, a timespan of a year and a day or decade (long enough for the pledge to likely be broken, and a high enough value to include a potent sanction), and a greater task (so as to make the pledge easy to break). Interestingly, lifetime pledge curses are a rarity; it is generally understood that if a victim has the resolve and presence of mind to avoid the sanction after a decade, he will be capable of doing so for the rest of his life.

References

• CTL: Dancers in the Dusk, p. 75-78