The recent thread on book-copying and my own maga's exploits got me to thinking about creating "books" in nonstadnard, high-fantasy, ways. My own maga, for example, is going to write a work on Muto fairly soon, and I was wondering what to make it. Here are some ideas for the kinds of things I'm thinking of, I'd love to hear your's.
The Crystal Ball: This is an item that displays and reveals images, sounds, and text upon command. If the user is familiar with Magic Theory, he can use it as a book on Imaginem (or perhaps some other Art).
This item is made by investing CrIm effects to display the desired images and InIm to detect the user's commands.
The Zygoraut: This is a stone pillar with smooth sides that glow with mystic runes. It can be read much like a book.
As an option, the item can be inevsted to change the runes by touch, and/or to allow a magus to inscribe runes by merely touching the stone while casting a simply CrVi cantrip for the item to detect.
The Bound Spirit: A ghost can be summoned by the item, or is trapped within. It can converse with the user and impart its knowledge. Especially approriate for Mentem.
This can be replaced with another spirit or similar essence. A fire might crackle secrets of Ignem, for example.
The Song of Rhiannon: A huge ballad or song serves as a source for mystic insight for those in the know. I intend for my maga's familiar to compose a song in several parts that will serve as a series of Tractatus on Magic Theory, for example.
Now what I'm really fishing for is a good idea for a book on Muto. Don't have one yet.
With Muto, you want to consider the flexability of the subject.
Here are some possible ideas.
1> A set of bottles with different liquids that are like oil and vinegar and thus naturally seperate when left alone but when shaken form into various combinations. The bottles are more a practical study guide as the magi practices mixing and unmixing the liquids.
2> A smaller version of this might be a "snow globe" which is magically enchanted so that every shaking of it causes new patterns to form. A magi proficient in Muto could learn to understand the swirling patterns ( this also might work for Rego ).
3> A butterfly observatory where the butterflies go through cycles of life ( other insects could be chosen as well provided they have pronounced metamorphis ). A magi spending time daily in the observatory would learn from the tranisitions of life. Fruit flies might be interesting also due to their short life cycle but not as pretty as butterflies. A case might be used to hold the butterflies in a stasis till they next need to be studied.
4> A gordian knot or other puzzles ( rubics cube in nature ) that has no real world solution might teach muto as the magi has to learn to modify the puzzle to solve the problem. The essential nature of the puzzle would fight against the manipulations. There might even be a series of puzzles in progressively harder catagories.
5> There might be a series of vessels or instruements that steam or smoke ( incense ) pass through creating various changing patterns. Something similar to this would be a copper metal punching that light shines through and casts changing shadows ( an early form of moving pictures ). This might also work for imaginem.
6> A book of tidal or astronomical tables where the person learns how to predict and understand the flow of changing items that are celestially controlled.
