The Iron Tome

According to those who have held the Iron Tome, the pages of this formidable book are already entirely filled with text, written in a variety of inks both magical and mundane, much of which is no longer comprehensible to any living being. In order to write in the Iron Tome's pages, some of that text must be erased. This has had numerous unintended consequences that have changed the nature of current reality in dramatic ways, some of which seem to have been relatively harmless, others of which have claimed millions of lives.

Ancient History

While much of the lore of the Iron Tome has been lost to time and history, it is known to have existed in civilizations that predate humanity by millions of years, including those of the ancient Molluscans and Sauropodans. This might mean that no Human hand created it, or it may mean that the Iron Tome is simply so powerful that it transcends the limits of space and time.  

2020 and the First Word War

When the Iron Tome first reappeared in 2020, very little about it was known, but subsequent research indicates that The Great Houses of literomancers were originally charged with the Tome's protection — and also warred with one another for possession of it. While the Game of Tomes had degenerated by 2020 to a competition of a much-weakened form of Literomancy that was held annually by the Literomantic Houses, it is believed that the Game's original purpose was to prove which of the Houses was strongest, and therefore, which one should be charged with the care and protection of the Iron Tome over the course of the following year.   It is believed that the Iron Tome had been "sleeping" since the Renaissance, when literomancers fell into disrepute. However, something, or someone, in 2020 woke it up. The first Undead Horde was raised by the first Night Monarch in recent times, Erin Righ, unleashing a zombie apocalypse on the world. Many believe, although there is no proof of this, that the Tome was responsible for creating the Night Monarch. There has been some evidence to support this claim, however, in that most previous Night Monarchs claim they heard the Iron Tome calling to them, offering them power for a price, prior to their "ascensions."   The first Undead Horde fought a war to destroy the literomancers, eventually ending in a last stand under the leadership of The Cosmic Kraken Coffee Quills of House Mollusca. Under their banner, the living defeated the Undead, and Coffee Quills wrote in the Iron Tome in order to Resurrect the millions of dead and undead. The result of this was a catastrophic rearrangement of geography known as The Restructuring, and millions died in the massive upheaval.    

2021 and the Second Word War

Coffee Quills subsequently sealed the Iron Tome in an undersea vault, determined that it could never be used again. However, it vanished from that vault in late 2021, later resurfacing in the hands of a new Night Monarch, AuthorGoddess   The Second Word War concluded with surviving literomancers rallying under the banner of House Lapin. When Queen Sable Aradia wrote in the Iron Tome to resurrect the dead and undead, nothing appeared to dramatically change initially. However, not long after, people began to hear about an alternate plane of existence known as The Void for the first time. Although the Void demonstrably existed prior to 2021, some believe that because the powers of the Iron Tome transcend time and space, Queen Sable unintentionally created the Void when she wrote in the pages of the Tome. This is something her sister, Princess Sunny, perhaps the foremost expert on the Void, hotly denies, however.    

2022

If a vault at the bottom of the ocean and Molluscan literomancy wasn't enough to protect it, I don't dare let it out of my sight.

— Queen Sable

  Because the Tome had disappeared from a magically-sealed undersea vault, the Mother of Bunnies decided that the only secure way to guard it would be to carry it constantly on her person. This nearly cost her life, as a literomancer attempted to murder her and steal the Tome in January of 2022. The assassin was killed in his escape by DM Stretch and Tempest Kwake, and although grievously injured, the Bunny Queen survived the attempt.   The Owsla, the Lapin Queen's loyal Bodyguards, then guarded the Iron Tome during her recovery. After that, Queen Sable shared the duty of guarding the Tome on one's person with a number of Tome Knights she thought were trustworthy, with the Tome changing hands on a randomly rotating schedule.   Carrying the Tome appeared to have a negative effect on the mental health of the Tome Knights who had accepted the charge to do it, particularly the Bunny Queen. It is thought that this was due to a battle of wills taking place between the Iron Tome and the literomancers guarding it. Those doing this duty also reported that the Tome's weight seemed to alter depending on how positively, or negatively, they felt about it.   During this time, an unidentified literomancer from The Missing House approached Queen Sable with the thought that the Iron Tome might possess its own sentience. The Bunny Queen seemed open to this thought, even citing evidence in her own experience that suggested this belief might have validity. She began to treat the Tome like a living being, and the other Tome Knights who had agreed to help her guard it began to do the same.   This may have directly led to The Battle of the Book, however, as a number of "power writer" literomancers became aware of unrest from the Iron Tome, possibly sparked by the fact that the Bunny Queen's temporary "ownership" of the Tome was no longer "uncontested." However, the Tome Knights who answered the call were up to the challenge, and the Tome's unrest was quelled.  

The Third Word War

On October 31, 2021, the Iron Tome was stolen from Tempest Kwake, who was guarding it while the Bunny Queen was in the restroom, by Lord Galakrond. A fight for its possession between him and ECC Books ensued. It is believed that because both of them were holding the Iron Tome when midnight turned on November 1st in the timezone they were in, both ECC and Lord Galakrond became Night Monarchs and leaders of a combined Undead Horde. While both Night Monarchs repeatedly tried to open the book to make use of its powers, they were not able to do so. It was their belief that before the Iron Tome would permit this, they would have to defeat the living, to prove that they were worthy.   The final House standing in The Third Word War turned out to be House Sauropoda, and at the Battle of Mount Mitchell, the living forces rallied to claim the Iron Tome for King Bob, the Dino King.   King Bob attempted to circumvent the consequences of writing in the Iron Tome by raising the dead through the power of Filking However, this attempt resulted in a lesser magic, which was more like a "raise dead" effect from roleplaying games than a true resurrection. The dead were returned to life, still possessing the wounds that had killed them. Many died again immediately afterwards.   Sometime near the end of the Third Word War, one of the Great Houses completely vanished, literally wiped from the face of the earth, along with all memory and record of their identity, and the identities of many of their individual members. Some literomancers from other Houses also disappeared, with no memory or record of them remaining either. Collectively, they became known as The Missing, and survivors of The Missing House became known as The Castaways.   Some believe this can also be blamed on the Iron Tome, but Voiders Anonymous claim that it was the Void that ate the missing literomancers and the House that many of them came from.   Between the only partially successful resurrections, and the disappearance of The Missing, 4% of the world's total population died or disappeared in a matter of days.    

The Fourth Word War

Following the Third Word War, King Bob stored the Iron Tome in the seat of Sauropodan power, the ancient Stone Throne, to protect it. His belief was that literally sitting on it would show it his dominance.   However, he allowed House Librarians to examine the Tome for research purposes, and Lapin Librarian AttorraRu stole it when it came into her possession. She subsequently became the next Night Monarch.   This time, under the leadership of Queen Tara of House Chiroptera, and Regent Sir EGryph of House Avis, the living forces rallied to reclaim the Iron Tome in The Fourth Word War at The Battle of Crystal Song.    

2024

Queen Tara also wrote in the Iron Tome to revive the dead. This seemed to have no wide-reaching consequences, other than the Realm being occasionally subject to a new semi-magical weather phenomenon, Glitter Storms. However, by the time the April Tourney of Tales rolled around, literomancers known for their wordy prowess, the Power Writers began to report a sort of diminishing return on the generation of Literomantic Power. Words (the number of physical words written) no longer directly corresponded to Werds (units of literomantic power,) and the more words one wrote, the more difficult it became to focus them into Werds of literomantic energy. This new limitation was welcomed by some of the most prominent "power writers" in the Realm as a sensible check on their powers.   While the Iron Tome was in Chiroptera's possession, the Bat Queen, who had been part of the group who had helped Queen Sable to guard the Tome in 2022, continued the practice of treating the Tome as a respected companion with a living sentience. She gave it a seat of honour at her table, and placed it on a podium designed for the purpose in Chiroptera's Sekret Library when it was at rest. She had extended conversations with it, and claims it responded to her with empathic impressions, similar to the claims Queen Sable had made when interacting with it.  

Word War V

She also allowed other literomancers to interact with it. So on October 31, 2024, The Bard with Many Names took it into his possession, and became the next Night Monarch. He also had no luck in getting the Tome to open for him, and although he initially only recruited willing Tome Knights to the Undead Horde, he eventually was forced into a position of having to defeat the living in order to gain access to it.   This time, the living forces rallied under the shared banners of the Woodland Family Alliance for the final conflict, the Battle of the Woodlanders, and the living forces were once again victorious, leaving the duty of guarding the Tome in the hands of the various Woodlander Royal Families.    

2025-present

The Iron Tome can currently be found in the presence of the various bodyguards and royals of the Woodlander Royal Families (House Lapin, House Ailurus, and House Meles). They have carried on the practice of treating the Tome as a sentient being with its own consciousness, and during the April 2025 Tourney of Tales, the Iron Tome was permitted to be put on public display at the various Tourney sites — The Warren, Windy Willows, and The Treehouse in Penwall — under warded bulletproof glass, and under literomantic guard. However, for the first time in modern history, the general public was able to directly view this artifact that has so changed the known world.   Void monsters began to appear with some regularity in the deep levels of the Warren, which was noticed by the attendees of the April 2025 Tourney of Tales. Queen Sable claims that a Void rift opened up in the Warren's deepest levels following her second writing in the Tome to raise the dead. Whether this is the only new Void rift that has opened or not remains unknown.   Recently, the Iron Tome confirmed the belief in its sentience when it chose to speak to Queen Sable and Princess Badger ShyRedFox, declaring them the Great Librarians (keepers of the shared Great Library) and directing them to form an Order of Royal Librarians, which included Librarians from each House, as keepers of the Realm's all-important literomantic knowledge. This is the first known incident in modern history in which the Tome has directly communicated with anyone.  

Perhaps it's just that it's a book of few words. snort

— Queen Sable