The Book of Two Gods

A relic of the past

Discovered two hundred years ago in a hidden vault in the Wall, The Book of Two Gods has spawned a new religion on the island of Daren. Purported to be a relic from the time before the Renewal, the book is of mysterious construction and written in a language no one understands.

Description

The Book of Two Gods is a small book made from bound paper. The paper it is made from seems to be some kind of wood pulp, which the people of Daren have not been able to replicate. The book has a soft cover made from slightly sturdier paper with a faint sheen to it.
The cover depicts two shirtless men on a background of strange tall buildings and many lights. The likenesses of the men are so realistic it appears that the men have been trapped on the cover of the book. These men are said to be the two gods charged with the protection of Daren.
Inside, the book's three hundred pages are lined with words that no one can read. The language appears not to have been written by pen or quill; it is as though the words have bloomed by themselves on the page.

Discovery

The island of Daren is surrounded by a high stone wall. It is a rare example of a structure that dates from before the Renewal, when sapient life awoke with no memory of the previous ages. Though the majority of the wall is solid, there are some chambers hidden along its length and beneath it. Nearly six thousand years later, some of these chambers are only just beginning to be explored, as people figure out how to bypass the intricate arcane and mechanical locks that guard the structure's secrets.
In 5172 EA, two adolescent boys were exploring the base of the Wall when one of them fell through a hole in the ground that had been hidden by some thick foliage. Whilst the other boy ran for help, the boy who had fallen began to explore the large chamber he was trapped in. Sunlight flooded in through the break he had made in the foliage, so there was enough light to see by.
The chamber he found himself in was largely empty and covered with centuries of dust. In the corner of the room, however, he found the book, dusty but strangely well-preserved. When rescuers arrived and lowered a rope down into the hole, he brought the book with him back out into the light.

by Mat Reding

An artist's rendition of the cover of The Book of Two Gods

by Various Pixabay

A Dubious Translation

A translation for The Book of Two Gods is currently underway, the project of two particularly fervent priests. Unfortunately, there is no way for them to know if their translation is accurate.
They are doing their best, however, writing in what they believe would be the tenets of their gods and several myths that explain various aspects of the cover.