A long, long time ago...in a land called Ymandragore far away, this rather lovely chap nicknamed the Sorcerer King (a truly misunderstood gent, but that is beside the point) got cursed by some unsavory Necromancer-types. Basically, they wanted to insure that he could never take a vacation or socialize outside of his dreary, rainy island. If he came to the mainland "bad stuff" would happen.

Well, this SK guy really wanted to be neighborly and pops over to the mainland for a block party or something. He steps one foot off the boat and a dimensional tear appears, unleashing the Hordes of Hell (really a bit of overkill for a guy who was probably dropping off a bundt cake...but oh well). SK, feeling as unwanted as the last person picked for a magically-powered dodgeball game, heads back home in a lonely and depressive funk.

Fortunately though, our tenacious hero has longevity at his side. Many years later, a group of ne'er-do-well murdering hobos (possibly seeking a paycheck or interested in inflating their sense of self-worth) kill a lot of these Forces of Hell including their horrific leader, Uhxbractit.

So, the question stands as thus...with the "bad stuff" having happened and the Forces of Hell (kinda) having been dealt with, what is stopping SK from finally popping over to the mainland for a bit of light socialization?

Love the description of events you gave. The obvious (and hence probably wrong) answer would be that it wasn't a one time consumable curse, and that if he were to set foot again on Onara we'd be back to the Time of Terror all over again.

Maybe he just wasn't that impressed when he came here the first time? Perhaps he's a homebody...

Fear. Right or wrong the S/K believes the curse may still be active. If he goes to the mainland again, the veil between worlds could tear again. The SK is only going to risk that when he has an actual location for the Birthing Chamber of the Gods.

The fear is not really for himself. (If the S/K can capture and eat a Valinor, someone like Uhxbractit is unlikely to be able to hurt him in a fair fight.) But fear for his agenda. It is hard to harvest spell casters while dodging an infernal horde. Worse with the spell plague on Ymandragore its not clear how sustainable his cadre of arcane researchers are. He might need fresh infusions of spellcasters from the mainland just to keep the arcane population stable.

One wonders a little why he has hasn't found a way around the Necromancer's curse yet. It's hard to imagine that its an issue of insufficient research (bests minds, more than 1,000 years) or finding a caster who is powerful enough (almost by definition the S/K is the toughest/baddest Arcanist in the world). So it must be something else. I assume there is either an explicit escape clause or they have found a way to wriggle out of it...but that this option is (currently) less attractive to the SK than sitting on the Isle while his research goes forward.

Personally, If I were him, I'd invest in a flying carpet(s) and never touch toe to the soil of the mainland.

My 2 cents

Who's to say he hasn't already figured a way around the course? And/or it isn't active any more and he's been visiting the mainland, unbeknownst to any meddling 'heroes'? Hell, he could be your awesome uncle that only shows up at holidays.

Who says it is? It seems reasonable that given the centuries he's had since the time of Terror he should understand the curse laid upon him. His power has grown and it's certainly possible that he's been able to remove or negate the curse. It is however to his benefit not to tip his hand. "Bound" to his island makes him less of a threat and more easily dealt with. It also maintains the nuclear deterent he has. Mess with Ymmandragore? Ok, but if it doesn't go well for him, he can set off the next Time of Terror. Just sayin'.



The spell plague is going to come back to haunt Onara. Remember the addage "That what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Given time to solve the plague, expect him to unleash it on Onara and only offer the cure to those who come to Ymmandragore. Sure it's the long game, but it's something he does well. The Sanctorum will rue the day it unleashed it unless they can finish taking him down before then.



Also a good idea. The SK has the advantage of not just Henry's diabolical mind, but the collective "wisdom"? of his staff, former staff and the rest of us. Underestimating the SK would be a bad idea. On the flip side, you can take the optimistic view that the SK is really not as all powerful as we fear and is trading on his mystery and reputation.

Definitely a spectrum to pick from. The truth would definitely be nice to know.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

Many mysteries around the Sorcerer King.



I tell you true, I do not think the SK is trading on a hyped up reputation. From Blood Reign of Nishanpur to the special module from Henry A Drink, A Dance, A Knife its seems clear to me that there is something of a Cold War on between the SK and Loshnek. Anyone who can keep Loshnek at arms length and make it stick is in the league of "I wiggle my little finger and "Miracles" happen."