The Book of Condemnation, also known as the Tome of Erkanos, was a cursed book that, prior to the Falenan Civil War, belonged to Salum Barows and housed within its dark pages was hidden the accursed Rune of Condemnation. It will, according to the rare tome collecter Alhazred, bring "the blackest doom upon the user".
During the War[]
Taking the book from his father's private library, Euram Barows wanted to use the Book of Condemnation against the Prince to curse him. Pretending to be a seer, Euram gave the Prince the cursed book under the guise that it would improve his luck. The Prince never opened the strange book and just put it his castle's storehouse.
The Tome gave off an eerie glow at night according to Chuck, which terrified him so much he returned the strange book to the Prince, who likewise left it at the Inn where he had met the seer. Later, the Prince met up with Alhazred, a rare tome collector, who had been looking for the one-of-a-kind tome for years. Alhazred and the Prince arrived back at the inn only to find the book starting to drain Euram's life. Alhazred and the Prince worked to seal the book again. After they defeated the book in battle, the Rune of Condemnation was safely extracted from the Tome.
The Curse[]
The book possessed by the Rune of Condemnation seems to work by giving off a strange glow and when the unsuspected reader opens the book the curse is released. The book's magic will paralyze its victim, while showing them what their heart desires most (in Euram's case, it was a beautiful princess) all while draining the person's lifeforce until they're dead. According to Alhazred, this process in known as the Ritual of the Doomed.
The Rune of Condemnation's curse of draining the lifeforce from its host was a similiar characteristic to its parent rune, which was one of the 27 True Runes, known as the Rune of Punishment. So similar were the two runes that Nelis recognized the connection immediately, sharing with the Prince the connection of the deadly True Rune with her nation's own founding.