RTF-4064: The Evertome
Item Reference: RTF-4064
Threat Classification: PORTCULLIS
Magic Classification: Class Nine (Divination)
Current Status: Secured in VAULT: ███████████
Document Updated: 14 Skypeace, 579 PCE
Related Files
ADDENDUM 4064.2
Threat Assessment: While RTF-4064 contains an unparalleled amount of divination magic, there is currently no evidence to suggest that it bears any relation to any known extraplanar magic or entities. For this reason, RTF-4064 was originally classified THREAT LEVEL: SAFEBOX upon initial analysis. RTF-4064 will be subject to reexamination if it begins to manifest extraplanar properties. However, the events of CASE: LETHARGIC CANISTER indicates that unauthorised use of RTF-4064 allows any layperson with knowledge of how to operate the artefact access to reality-ending extraplanar information. For this reason, RTF-4064 is now classified THREAT LEVEL: PORTCULLIS. Containment Procedures: As RTF-4064’s enchantments do not appear to be planar in nature, RTF-4064 itself does not necessitate any containment procedures. However, in the aftermath of CASEFILE: LETHARGIC CANISTER [x-ref. Incident report NCD-0573-13/27-03], where ██████████████ used RTF-4064 to gain access to SECRET document ████████████████ and used the information within to open an extraplanar portal and invite an army of █████████████ to overrun and ultimately conquer █████████████████████, the Ring has ordered RTF-4064 to be secured at VAULT: ███████████. Only SECURITY CLASS: BLUE and higher personnel have clearance to access and operate RTF-4064, and must be accompanied by at least one SECURITY CLASS: INDIGO or higher personnel for the access duration. To prevent against further misuse of RTF-4064 on classified APDT documents, all documents classified SECURITY CLASS: RED and above must be properly shielded according to PROJECT: MORNING MIST anti-scrying protocols.
Annex A
Extract from 500 Artefacts to See Before You Die, 2nd Ed. by Daniel Fairgrain, Cogspire City Press, 569 PCE The artefact known as the Evertome resembles an ordinary book, bound in faded red leather. If one writes the title of an existing book on the first page of the Evertome, the remaining blank pages magically fill up with the text of that first document. This allows the user of the artefact to read remotely any document they wish, as long as they know its title. For this reason, the artefact has long been sought after by the more covert branches of kingdoms and governments, as a powerful surveillance tool against their enemies. Different accounts from throughout history describe the Evertome as having different titles inscribed on its nondescript cover: Insurance Made Difficult, A History of Imperium Bakeries, or The Applications of Quantum Metamagic in Sub-Recursive Prophecies are a few notable examples. The Evertome’s illusory, boring titles were undoubtedly designed to deflect the casual glance from a layperson, but those who do not judge the book by its cover find themselves in possession of one of the most powerful divining artefacts ever created – if they do not mistake it for a blank notebook. The Evertome has gone by many names in history. It was known as the Liber Universalis in Eldercommon, surfacing in different surviving accounts from across the centuries of the Human Imperium before its fall. Earliest surviving Imperial records note the Evertome’s creator to be Davinos the Wise, a powerful archmage who forged the artefact in the late 11th Century FCE, although later accounts claim everyone from Darrion Venkos to Imperator Endavina III. Elves know it as the vy’thesh aluk’mar, or the Librarian’s Lament, so named after the tragic event when the librarians of an ancient elven kingdom were all put to the torch after a ruthless but economical king subjected his archivists to downsizing. Dwarven records from as early as the Palladium Age list the artefact as the Eternity Codex, and it has been found and subsequently lost over the centuries since. The Catfolk refer to it as the Bakemononomikon (lit. Sentient Shapeshifting Codex) in Kittenese, and the artefact is referenced at least twice in their mythological histories. One famous account has Empress Kasuga Tsuyamari, the legendary Hakatsu Dynasty ruler who united the Seven Warring Prefectures in the Year of the Meticulous Ocelot (412 FCE), relying on the Bakemononomikon to spy on the missives of her enemies, allowing her to intercept important military orders and be forewarned of hostile attacks. The second notable reference is found in The Tales of the Irregular Gander by Aruero Sutino, a chronicle of real events rewritten as horror stories for children, first published in the Ryudo Dynasty (circa 379 – 315 FCE). In the story “Noribashi the Feckless Bard”, the titular character aspires to the position of village storyteller but is too unimaginative to spin an entertaining tale. He chances upon the Bakemononomikon, which he uses it to copy stories from great writers before they have finished writing them. When he brings his “talent” for storytelling on the road, his dishonesty finally catches up with him; at a public storytelling in the town of Jikunando, the spirit that dwells within the Bakemononomikon reaches out and pulls Noribashi into its pages, to become a cautionary tale against plagiarism for eternity. Regardless of its origins, the Evertome is certainly ancient. Its enchantments do not rely on modern mana crystal technology, suggesting that it was created before the Cataclysm, making it at least 600 years old. The current location of the Evertome is unknown, as of this publication. It was last seen in a high security exhibition in New Twelveshollow’s Museum of Magical History in 546 PCE, before it was stolen by the master cat burglar Scarlett Carolina, who left her signature red carolina calling card, and the now-famous message “I don’t have my library card, but do you mind if I check you out?” to taunt and confuse the local authorities.
Related Files
- RTF-4064/PMT-01. Full experimental report of RTF-4064’s capabilities, prepared by Dr ████████ ███████.
- CASEFILE: LETHARGIC CANISTER
ADDENDUM 4064.1
Pursuant to Ring of Wardens Directive ORD-17-03952-J dated 07 Brightwane 576 PCE, Dr ███████’s experimentation of RTF-4064 is hereby suspended indefinitely, and further experiments which may conceivably result in either the permanent or persistent deactivation of RTF-4064 are prohibited, including attempts to damage or destroy more than one (1) cubic centimetre of RTF-4064’s native material within a twenty-four (24) hour period. Directive ORD-17-03952-J also prohibits performing experiments on RTF-4064 which attempts to inscribing any of RTF-4064’s names upon itself, current or otherwise, or any other method which involves RTF-4064 replicating its own non-existent text. Dr ███████ postulates that, in the event that RTF-4064’s enchantments operate via an unprecedented planar mechanism, the self-referential recursion might open a planar tear, triggering a THREAT LEVEL: BUNKER scenario. Countermanding the orders laid out in Directive ORD-17-03952-J requires sanction directly from the Ring of Wardens.ADDENDUM 4064.2
Warden Four hereby grants authorisation to Dr ███████ on 17 Chillwind 578 PCE to experiment on RTF-4064’s ability to distinguish two different books with identical titles but different contents. This authorisation is a one-time override of Directive ORD-17-03952-J and will expire one month from the date of authorisation.Threat Assessment: While RTF-4064 contains an unparalleled amount of divination magic, there is currently no evidence to suggest that it bears any relation to any known extraplanar magic or entities. For this reason, RTF-4064 was originally classified THREAT LEVEL: SAFEBOX upon initial analysis. RTF-4064 will be subject to reexamination if it begins to manifest extraplanar properties. However, the events of CASE: LETHARGIC CANISTER indicates that unauthorised use of RTF-4064 allows any layperson with knowledge of how to operate the artefact access to reality-ending extraplanar information. For this reason, RTF-4064 is now classified THREAT LEVEL: PORTCULLIS. Containment Procedures: As RTF-4064’s enchantments do not appear to be planar in nature, RTF-4064 itself does not necessitate any containment procedures. However, in the aftermath of CASEFILE: LETHARGIC CANISTER [x-ref. Incident report NCD-0573-13/27-03], where ██████████████ used RTF-4064 to gain access to SECRET document ████████████████ and used the information within to open an extraplanar portal and invite an army of █████████████ to overrun and ultimately conquer █████████████████████, the Ring has ordered RTF-4064 to be secured at VAULT: ███████████. Only SECURITY CLASS: BLUE and higher personnel have clearance to access and operate RTF-4064, and must be accompanied by at least one SECURITY CLASS: INDIGO or higher personnel for the access duration. To prevent against further misuse of RTF-4064 on classified APDT documents, all documents classified SECURITY CLASS: RED and above must be properly shielded according to PROJECT: MORNING MIST anti-scrying protocols.
—– END REPORT —–
Extract from 500 Artefacts to See Before You Die, 2nd Ed. by Daniel Fairgrain, Cogspire City Press, 569 PCE The artefact known as the Evertome resembles an ordinary book, bound in faded red leather. If one writes the title of an existing book on the first page of the Evertome, the remaining blank pages magically fill up with the text of that first document. This allows the user of the artefact to read remotely any document they wish, as long as they know its title. For this reason, the artefact has long been sought after by the more covert branches of kingdoms and governments, as a powerful surveillance tool against their enemies. Different accounts from throughout history describe the Evertome as having different titles inscribed on its nondescript cover: Insurance Made Difficult, A History of Imperium Bakeries, or The Applications of Quantum Metamagic in Sub-Recursive Prophecies are a few notable examples. The Evertome’s illusory, boring titles were undoubtedly designed to deflect the casual glance from a layperson, but those who do not judge the book by its cover find themselves in possession of one of the most powerful divining artefacts ever created – if they do not mistake it for a blank notebook. The Evertome has gone by many names in history. It was known as the Liber Universalis in Eldercommon, surfacing in different surviving accounts from across the centuries of the Human Imperium before its fall. Earliest surviving Imperial records note the Evertome’s creator to be Davinos the Wise, a powerful archmage who forged the artefact in the late 11th Century FCE, although later accounts claim everyone from Darrion Venkos to Imperator Endavina III. Elves know it as the vy’thesh aluk’mar, or the Librarian’s Lament, so named after the tragic event when the librarians of an ancient elven kingdom were all put to the torch after a ruthless but economical king subjected his archivists to downsizing. Dwarven records from as early as the Palladium Age list the artefact as the Eternity Codex, and it has been found and subsequently lost over the centuries since. The Catfolk refer to it as the Bakemononomikon (lit. Sentient Shapeshifting Codex) in Kittenese, and the artefact is referenced at least twice in their mythological histories. One famous account has Empress Kasuga Tsuyamari, the legendary Hakatsu Dynasty ruler who united the Seven Warring Prefectures in the Year of the Meticulous Ocelot (412 FCE), relying on the Bakemononomikon to spy on the missives of her enemies, allowing her to intercept important military orders and be forewarned of hostile attacks. The second notable reference is found in The Tales of the Irregular Gander by Aruero Sutino, a chronicle of real events rewritten as horror stories for children, first published in the Ryudo Dynasty (circa 379 – 315 FCE). In the story “Noribashi the Feckless Bard”, the titular character aspires to the position of village storyteller but is too unimaginative to spin an entertaining tale. He chances upon the Bakemononomikon, which he uses it to copy stories from great writers before they have finished writing them. When he brings his “talent” for storytelling on the road, his dishonesty finally catches up with him; at a public storytelling in the town of Jikunando, the spirit that dwells within the Bakemononomikon reaches out and pulls Noribashi into its pages, to become a cautionary tale against plagiarism for eternity. Regardless of its origins, the Evertome is certainly ancient. Its enchantments do not rely on modern mana crystal technology, suggesting that it was created before the Cataclysm, making it at least 600 years old. The current location of the Evertome is unknown, as of this publication. It was last seen in a high security exhibition in New Twelveshollow’s Museum of Magical History in 546 PCE, before it was stolen by the master cat burglar Scarlett Carolina, who left her signature red carolina calling card, and the now-famous message “I don’t have my library card, but do you mind if I check you out?” to taunt and confuse the local authorities.
Item type
Book / Document
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