Death curse
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A death curse is a powerful curse which can be spoken by a wizard. It is first mentioned in Storm Front.
Description 
Edit
A death curse utilizes all the power a wizard can access, including the energy it takes to stay alive, and so it is called a Death Curse because the wizard casting it will die by casting it.
The curse's target is often the wizard's killer, but it can apparently be directed at anyone, regardless of the target's involvement or nearby physical presence.[1]
Known death cursesEdit
| Caster | Recipient | Death Curse | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret LeFay | Lord Raith | Stole Raith's vampire powers | Margaret murdered via an Entropy Curse at birth of her son: Harry |
| Quintus Cassius | Harry Dresden | "Die Alone".... | Harry order Mouse to kill him after Cassius tortured Harry |
In the series Edit
Storm FrontEdit
- Main article: Storm Front
In Storm Front, Harry Dresden warns Bianca that if she were to kill him like she wants to right there and then, that his Death Curse would take her down with him.[2]
Death MasksEdit
- Main article: Death Masks
In Death Masks, Harry uses his Death curse as a threat in an attempt to dissuade Paolo Ortega from his duel challenge.[3]
Blood RitesEdit
- Main article: Blood Rites
In Blood Rites, Bob said that to make a spell long lasting, it needs to be anchored. To anchor it to a person, it needs to be a blood relation. Margaret LeFay could have anchored her Death curse on Lord Raith to Harry so that as long as he was alive, the spell was still viable.[4]
Harry learned that Margaret LeFay cursed Lord Raith on her deathbed, preventing him from feeding, and thus prevented him from gaining strength.[5]
Later, Harry Dresden would use this knowledge to his advantage by causing Lord Raith to use up his reserves and getting Lord Raith to monologue about it while Lara Raith was hiding close enough nearby to hear him.[6]
Dead BeatEdit
- Main article: Dead Beat
In Dead Beat, the former Denarian, Quintus Cassius, killed by Mouse on Harry Dresden's orders, hit Harry with his Death Curse. He wanted his curse to kill Harry, but he was too weak to manage that and so settled with cursing Harry to "die alone".[7]
ChangesEdit
- Main article: Changes
In Changes, Harry recalled Cassius' Death Curse when he was laid up in St. Mary's with a broken back an he was all alone in the dark feeling utterly helpless.[8] Later, Harry used the threat of his Death Curse to destroy Chichén Itzá in order to push the Red King into encouraging Arianna Ortega to answer Harry's challenge to a duel per the Code Duello.[9] Harry recalls Cassius' Death Curse again while floating in Lake Michigan—a familiar voice tells it to "hush now".[10]
References Edit
- ↑ Dead Beat, ch. 40
- ↑ Storm Front, ch. 9
- ↑ Death Masks, ch. 1
- ↑ Blood Rites, ch. 27
- ↑ Blood Rites, ch. 39
- ↑ Blood Rites, ch. 41
- ↑ Dead Beat, ch. 37
- ↑ Changes, ch. 29
- ↑ Changes, ch. 42
- ↑ Changes, ch. 49
