Book of Videric

The Book of Videric, originally known as the Phasnosh’s Book of Gates, was a masterwork of arcane scholarship compiled by the greatest techno-mages of the Phasnosh Empire. It was not merely a list of coordinates and incantations but a comprehensive treatise on the very principles of interplanar travel. The tome contained detailed star charts, complex magical equations, and the precise rituals required to open stable portals to other planes and worlds. Each portal was a unique, arcanely sigil-locked gateway, and the book held the keys to unlocking them all.

The Fate of the Book

When the Emperor's rage consumed the mages, he saw the book as a symbol of their betrayal. To ensure that their knowledge could never be fully exploited by their rebellion, he had all known copies of the Book of Videric torn into pieces. These fragments were then cast into the very portals the mages had opened, scattering them across the Multiverse.

The consequences were immediate and absolute...

For the Exiled:

Those mages and Phasnosh sent through the portals, even if they had a fragment of the book, lost the crucial instructions on how to reverse the process or locate their home world. They became stranded, castaways in the cosmos.

For the Empire:

The Emperor, in his haste, unintentionally severed his empire's connection to its forward colonies. The Phasnosh on their home world now had no way of knowing where the portals led or how to open new ones, effectively losing all the data and hard-won knowledge from their early explorations. The great experiment into interplanar travel as a means of expanding the Phasnosh empire across space and perhaps time came to an end.

A Whispered Rumor

Despite the Emperor's grand act of destruction, a persistent rumor circulates among the few who know the full story. It is said that before he scattered the fragments, the Emperor, a cunning and paranoid ruler, secretly held back one complete copy. This master tome is rumored to be locked away deep within the Imperial Palace's most secure vault—a failsafe, a symbol of his ultimate power, and a tool to be used only if he deemed it absolutely necessary. Some say it's guarded by a legion of his personal Warforged, while others claim it is protected by spells so ancient and powerful that no mortal mage could ever hope to break them. Whether this is fact or mere legend, a complete Book of Videric would be an object of immense power, capable of reigniting the Phasnosh expansion and changing the fate of countless worlds.