[narfforc]

I have thought often of the question that The 1'000 Reader poses, how did Isildur curse the men of the mountains. In The Passing of The Grey Company it reads: Then Isildur said to their king:'Thou shalt be the last king. And if the West prove mightier than thy Black Master, this curse I lay upon thee and thy folk: to rest never until your oath is fulfilled. For this war will last through years uncounted, and you shall be summoned once again ere the end.

Now the questions I pose are:

1. Did the curse come into being only if the West won, if so was that at the moment Sauron was defeated, and Isildur took to himself The One Ring?

2. It would have to be a very powerful curse to withold the spirits of men from Mandos, other spirits had been witheld, and by what means?

3. Was there some power in The Black Stone, or was the One Ring responsible for the power of the curse, how else could Isildur have achieved this thing, nowhere does it states that he is a powerful sorceror/magician?

4. There are problems with the Ring argument, could Sauron or another Ringbearer have lifted the curse if that was the source of its power, why has the Heir of Isildur got the power to lift the curse, when he is not the Ringbearer, this suggests that the power of the curse is within Isildur and his line?

I am sorry if this is a bit off the path of the thread, however I would like to leave this thought, Has anyone considered the belief that the The Witch-king was responsible for controlling the spirits in Tyrn Gorthad.