The Janrath

It’s well known that kobold tribes fear the written word. It may be books like this are the reason why…

— Stefanos Vel-Barboza, Seskyalii skald alchemist

Legend states that the Janrath, or the Tome of the Outland Curses, has existed for well over a thousand generations. The book has passed from one arcane practitioner to another in an endless journey across the realms.

However, rumors say it isn’t the spellcasters using the book, it may be the book using them.

The Janrath is a modest sized book of a few hundred pages bound in the tanned black hide of an unknown creature. Attempts to track down or find what creature was the source of the hide has never proved fruitful. The few fragments of records suggest it may have been bound by an unknown scribe in the haunted ruin of Emar Dorsat, or the blighted ruins of Agmir Torash that lie west of Copan Shire.

Then there are the rumors that its origins lie in the abandoned Nacht Timar, or the black stone Tower of Night deep in the Longgrass Plains.

There is a theory that if one of us in the Rampart Order could locate where it came from, we could put an end to this thing once and for all.

— Stefanos Vel-Barboza, Seskyalii skald alchemist

Perilous Contents

The book is said to only hold a few hundred pages between its covers. However, on inspection, most spellcasters that have examined it say that there is ten times that many pages and content. But only while reading it.

Inside, the pages hold the detailed description of the Outland Curses. These are Greater Curses from the outer planes that most wizard orders and arcane societies across the realms agree are forbidden for use. This even includes the mysterious Runelord Order, who held possession of the book for a generation.

Records detail ill-advised attempts to use the book and suggest such disasters as the Black Sand Swell may have been a side effect of experimenting with the Outland Curses and even adding a few new ones to the Janrath.

I nearly had my hands on it. Nearly. But true to the legends, the book seems to find its own way to slip off to new owners who are more… open to ‘suggestion’.

— Stefanos Vel-Barboza, Seskyalii skald alchemist

The curses originate from various realms in the Outlands, from the Feylands to the Hell Bovine fields and more. These curses are all meant for malicious reasons but promise glorious rewards for the revenge they will help a caster gain against a rival. However, these curses all come at a price. Such as the spellcaster’s life.

The most recent information we have is that someone or something in the Outlands is using the book as a conduit. Controlling encouraging spellcasters to continue the arcane experiments and recording them. Which is all the more reason that once I, or anyone else from the Rampart Order, can grab this book… we’ll toss it in the White Plume volcano.

— Stefanos Vel-Barboza, Seskyalii skald alchemist

Type

Manuscript, Magical (Tome/Scroll)

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

unknown