The Book of Transformation is an unusual grimoire that may cause unpredictable changes to those who use it.
Overview[]
The story told in the Book is that of a human kingdom which makes an alliance with the Vird, a race of carnivorous night-dwelling creatures. Other details are highly variable, though some of the creatures describe resemble victims of the Ractain Strain. Many versions of the story contain hints about ancient settlements or hidden artifacts that have surfaced in the real world or the Astral Realms, along with wonders such as the Eye of Ahriman, the Metachronal Clock, and the first Dreamstones.
Those who read the book undergo unpredictable physical transformations, with a certain number transforming into Vird. It also regularly transforms itself: the form always appears to be a well-made book typical of its time period, in a common language, and with an unremarkable title. Details of the story also change, often to match the details of the reader's life, such as a setting that resembles the climate where they grew up.
The first possible record of the grimoire put it in the Library of Alexandria in the third century BCE; however, the nature of the text means Time magic cannot be reliably used on any but the most version version. The first verified copy has been identified in 825, in France, in the form of a manuscript written in Medieval Latin. The grimoire became widely known by the mid-fifteenth century, where it was assumed to be Abyssal in nature. Seers of the Throne stole the book in 1802 and formed a small cult around it, assuming it was sent by the Exarchs. About a third of the cult transformed into Vird before it fell back into the Mysterium's hands. Until the early 20th century, mages attempted to understand the book by documenting every variation of the text, hoping that a pattern would emerge, but when these investigations failed to pain out, interest in the grimoire fell off.
Unbeknownst to most, the Book of Transformation also transforms the real world at some distance from the reader, spawning a new room or other well-defined space in a location the reader has a passing acquaintance with. These new spaces may contain indecipherable marking, small trinkets, or rarely, objects of great wonder. Unfortunately, the appearance of these new spaces is almost impossible to predict, and once they form they appear to Time magic to have always been there. In 2005, the book was read by a Los Angeles-based archaeologist from Mexico, and a passage appeared describing a hidden cave in a setting reminiscent of the Yucatan. An expedition to the region turned up such a cave, full of indecipherable markers exactly like those described in the book. Dr. Patricia Watkins, a mage and geologist, happened to have studied the same caves more than a decade earlier, and had photographic proof that the cavern wasn't there before.
Since 2005, the grimoire appears as a think, hardcover fantasy novel with a lurid illustration on the cover, called The Chronicles of Keriwiess. The author's name is always an anagram of the name of the last person to read it; the published and the ISBN are both fake. It is currently housed at the Mysterium's Athenaeum in Los Angeles.
Effects[]
Aside from the references to artifacts, the Book of Transformation contains several Life rotes related to personal shapeshifting. While usually vulgar magic, these rotes become covert if performed on one's self away from the presence of Sleepers. Mages who learn these rotes run the risk of transforming into a Vird; this transformation can be temporarily undone with appropriate Life spells, but for metaphysical purposes, the mage's true form is now Vird.
Even those who don't become Vird may being involuntarily using the rotes in their sleep, resulting in more temporary but equally uncontrolled changes to their appearance.
Vird[]
Vird are extremely pale and completely devoid of body hair. Their teeth are pointed, and they must consume raw or very rare meat on a regular basis to remain healthy. Their eyesight improves drastically in low light, but in bright light they are easily overwhelmed. Vird age more slowly than humans, and they can move rather more quickly as well.
The Vird transformation comes with vivid dreams about the book, and Vird who venture into the Astral after having one of these dreams eventually discover the Vird Realm: a vacant room which only Vird can enter, where a window shows an appealing scene the Vird struggles to describe upon waking. After staring through the window for a set period of time, the Vird (and any companions who attempted to follow them) automatically awaken. Those who visit the Vird Realm multiple times eventually vanish as if they'd never existed, remembered only by Supernal mages.
Known Versions[]
- 1591: The Romance of the Sun and the Moon
- 1634: Night and Day: A Romance in the Caves and Mountains of the Mysterious East
- 1737: A Voyage to the Lost Island of Eternal Night
- 1831: Dark Romance: Stories of the Magical Burmese Night
- 1893: Gentle Arms of Unsavory Night: A Horrific and Inspiring Tale of Unnatural Beings, Laden With Great Moral Appositeness and Spiritual Merit
- 1904: The Island of Haunted Night
- 1921: Tales of the Lost Kingdom of Night
References[]
- MTAw: Grimoire of Grimoires, p. 38-44