I know someone on the form has a long list of what magic and sea curses are capable of, unfortunately, I can’t find it. If you do find it, please comment it so I can make more cohesive theories about magic
Question 1: Why do curses behave in the way they do?
Part 1 - Absorption method
We know that touching a curse is how it’s absorbed. If it’s an elemental curse, the body of the receiver’s body is transformed into the element of the curse they received. If it’s in experimental curse/blessing, you only obtain a specific ability related to that experimental curse (generating an manipulating shockwaves, Growing plants and in size, absorbing magic energy, etc). So what exactly makes a curse or experimental curse/blessing absorbable? My best guess is that curses are absorbable because the energy source used to make a curse/blessing can carry the intent to be absorbed, similarly to how magic or spirit energy can carry the intent of the user. This perfectly works for experimental curses/blessings since spirit energy can be imbued with intent. For elemental curses, the intent behind their creation was different than experimental curses/blessings. They were made by Prometheus because of Arthur demanding more power for mankind. Unlike experimental curses/blessings, elemental curses are stated to become one with the user. The best I could think of for the intention elemental curses carry are the following:
A. Instead of the receiver absorbing the curse, the curse absorbs their body, replacing flesh, bone, and blood, with the element of the curse, which just leaves the mind of the receiver to control the given element. When the curse user dies or has the curse extracted with a devourer, the body is reconstructed from the separation
B. Somehow Prometheus included the intent for the transmutation of the receiver into the element of the respective curse. It’s stretch, but concepts related to alchemy are present in AO (The dialogue from Enizor’s Ambition hints towards the existence of the philosopher’s stone and his effort to create one). If transmutation is a type of magic, then Prometheus would have authority over it, which could be the reason for the body of curse users to change into a type of magic. Since elemental curses can change what the wielder is made of, potentially provides an infinite amount of magic to wielder, and makes the wielder stop aging, it sounds like elemental curses share traits with the philosopher’s stone but with the limitation of being only able to turn the body of the curse wielder into the respective element of the curse.
Part 2 - Maybe an infinite supply of magic?
So when Acheron created the blast that created The Fracture, it’s stated that he used all the power he absorbed and his remaining magic energy to create that blast. The aftermath of using the blast, Acheron lost a lot of the curses he absorbed. Was Acheron capable of losing curses in this manor because the power was absorbed via absorption curse/blessing or did Acheron expend so much energy that he basically put all the magic the curses provided him, into an attack (that missed)? If curse users can create an infinite amount of an element, then the output amount of energy Acheron used in the world destroy blast had to be a greater infinity than the output of energy of multiple curses. Regardless of how Acheron pulled this off, could any elemental curse user try this? I if a curse user somehow used more energy than a curse could provide in the form of a blast, would they be launching an entire curse at something with the intent to harm? Would the curse stay at the location of impact or would it fracture and reconstitute elsewhere? The way I see curses, they’re a reservoir or loop that can generate a specific element infinitely. Since constructs made from an element conjured by a curse user can persist for as long as the user desires, I’m leaning more on the energy from curses are like a reservoir that refills infinitely but can be emptied if the curse user’s energy output is higher than the speed that a curse refills. If there’s a case where a construct from curse user can repair itself, then it might be a loop of energy that can generate the respective element, but only enough to repair a certain amount of damage.
Side note: If the curse user expends all of their energy, do they just lose the curse or do they also sacrifice their physical form since it’s also made of the same element? Acheron could probably survive since he didn’t use ever curse he had in that attack that caused the Fracture.
Extra theory: So curse users can have offspring despite being entirely made of an element. So I guess the element of the curse can contain the DNA of the curse user?
Part 3 - Other Changes
Bronze Sea final boss & Curses - #72 by Vetex
I find it strange that elemental curses can alter the emotions and personality of anyone who receives them.
The best (and first) guess for why this happens is because of Prometheus. After he created the elemental curses, his mortal body was reduced to ashes. It’s stated that Prometheus used all the power he had left to create the elemental curses. If the powers he used included the last of the spirit energy from his mortal body, that might be able to make the elemental curses, semi-sentient but not conscious. If dying from having no spirit energy left causes someone to turn to ash, that could be evidence to spirit energy being included in the process of making the elemental curse. I feel like this is unlikely since the elemental curses made of pure magic and likely nothing else.
My second guess is that having an elemental curse greatly changes their perspective. Imagine being death given human form. When Morden talks about Neviro’s decision to go back to Ravenna, it seems like Morden annoyed by the fact that the team won’t be able to use Neviro’s persuasiveness. This theory is probably the weaker of the 2
Question 2: Magic, spirit energy, and "necromancy"
Part 1 - Easiest way to resurrect something
So far, we’ve know at least 2 ways of resurrecting a body. We know that the body of King Caesar has been reanimated by potentially unknown experimental curse/blessing. Since experimental curses/blessings are made of pure spirit energy, a corpse being resurrected isn’t far fetched (even if the mind/soul is no longer in that body). I find it strange that the resurrected King Caesar tries to kill anyone he sees, which seems to align more with being by Chaos which is something that we know can happen (The banished King from the Trello).
Part 1.5 - Caesar's Blessing
Side note: When you walk into the tornado in the center of Blasted Rock, the death message states that your body is lost to time. To me it sounds like walking into the tornado causes the player’s body to rapidly age until it disintegrates. I don’t think that they plan on reintroducing the time curse to the canon. We also know that tornado in the center of Blasted Rock wasn’t always there on account that Blasted Rock use to be a town. My guess is that King Caesar was resurrected by a experimental curse/blessing that could perpetuate a sandstorm and rapidly age something. Now that I think about it, a sandstorm could be perpetuated if the sandstorm was “becoming younger” before it dissipates. So I think what ever curse revived King Caesar allows his corpse to control the age of something.
Part 2 - Morally questionable Magical Resurrection
For magic, dead revival magic is probably the only way to revive something with magic. Strangely, a possible outcome of casting dead revival magic wrong is the resurrection of someone that the caster cannot control (someone like the peacekeeper). We also know that dead revival magic can reconstruct a body if it’s not in an optimal state (Prometheus’ mortal body used to be ash but was reconstructed). One thing to note is that the peacekeeper has died before, which means that their soul should be in the underworld (I’m not completely sure if the devs are using a Homer’s interpretation of the underworld (a gray and dreary world) or the interpretation with different spaces like the Asphodel Meadows, Elysium, and Tartarus, but I honestly think it’s that latter since Elysium is included in the game). So is the soul of the peacekeeper removed from the underworld and put back into their reconstructed body? Or is the peacekeeper we play as in Arcane Adventures is a reconstruction that doesn’t have the original soul? Honestly that’s something we probably can’t figure out on our own.
Final Thoughts
Either way we know experimental curses/blessings can resurrect someone and there’s at least 1 way to revive something with magic.
I doubt well actually see dead revival Magic in AO, unless the dark sea can loosely replicate it in the same way that ancient lightning can strike randomly. I don’t think it’s likely since it took Acheron many years just to learn how to use it
Anyways, let me know what you think, tell me if I got anything wrong, and tell me some of your theories.
As always,
(he was the protector of the fire curse and his local town)
