Tome of Zarizan, The

The Tome Of Zarizan is a vastly powerful spellbook initially created by the Gurubashi arcanist Zarizan. Its pages and cover are made from forged Aqueous Eterniite and the manuscripture is engraved and enchanted. It is rumoured that the Tome possesses enough power to cause a second sundering if it were misused. As such, the Tome has been closely guarded as it changes hands over the years, generally by the Darkspear Troll sect known as the Darkspear Tome Keepers. Of the Tome Keepers, the senior member is charged with safeguarding the Tome and is known as the Zarizanic Archmage. Due to Aqueous Eterniite's fel properties, a Zarizanic Archmage typically lives for nearly a thousand years. The current Zarizanic Archmage is Zarizanic Archmage Kurimatsu.

=History=

The Search
In ancient times when the Gurubashi Empire still existed, there lived a magically and politically powerful arcanist named Zarizan. Renowned for his relentless thirst for power, Zarizan was known to go to great lengths to advance his skill at spellcraft. It is of little surprise that Zarizan became highly interested when he heard the legend of Aqueous Eterniite. Determined to capture the power of the substance himself, Zarizan sent four companies of Gurubashi soldiers under his command out to the far corners of Azeroth to locate as many shards of Aqueous Eterniite as possible. Zarizan gave each company orders to bring back all the Aqueous Eterniite by any means--including theft and murder. Inevitably, the companies encountered one another in their travels and attempted to kill each other off. Months after being sent out, the survivors returned to Zarizan with positive results--a basketful of Aqueous Eterniite shards.

The Creation
By nature, Aqueous Eterniite is an artificial solid and is extraordinarily difficult to work. Only by applying intense heat in tandem with arcane or fel energies is it possible to smelt the material. Through intense experimentation, Zarizan developed just such a technique. According to legend, Aqueous Eterniite obtains special properties in specific quantities, so Zarizan created extremely precisely-measured forms with which to pour ingots of Aqueous Eterniite. Finally, Zarizan carefully hammered these ingots into a thick, solid cover and a thousand paper-thin pages, binding them into a tome.

Almost immediately, Zarizan began to write. One by one, he inscribed every word of power and incantation he knew into the Tome's pages using a technique of arcane engraving. As an additional effect of this technique, the writing became enchanted with magicks of protection. This enchantment causes the faint glow that the runes exhibit. Eventually, Zarizan reached the final page.

The Destruction
Unbeknownst to Zarizan, and accomplished only by cosmic coincidence or divine intervention, what Zarizan wrote into the Tome formed one enormous, and very easily-triggered, spell. This spell was one of wanton destruction and pain. Unfortunately for Zarizan, the act of writing down the incantation was, in fact, very gradually invoking the spell. Therefore, when Zarizan wrote the last word of the book, the spell was activated. The resulting explosion killed Zarizan, his apprentices, and hundreds of Gurubashi trolls as it leveled Zarizan's temple and several dozen square kilometres of surrounding land. This explosion is believed by some historians to have set in motion the eventual downfall of the Gurubashi Empire, and is generally referred to as Zarizan's Folly.

The Protection
Following the explosion, the Tome Of Zarizan was found in the centre of the destruction, undamaged. Correctly believed to be the cause of the explosion, the Tome was forbidden from being opened. For some time, the Tome would change hands repeatedly as none felt comfortable possessing such a dangerous object. Eventually, as the Gurubashi Empire dissolved into feuding tribes, the Tome came to rest with the Darkspear tribe. As the Darkspears fled the Gurubashi lands, a secret order was created, known as the Darkspear Tome Keepers. It became the responsibility of this sect to safeguard the Tome Of Zarizan and to find a method of stabilizing its volatile nature. In this task, the Tome Keepers toiled in isolation for many years.

The Exodus
The Darkspear Tome Keepers remained isolated and obscure until the invasion of the Burning Legion. Called into service by the Darkspear tribe, all the Tome Keepers of age left to fight in the battle at Mount Hyjal, save for a couple left behind to watch over the children and the tome, which was being left behind to prevent it falling into the hands of the Burning Legion. The eldest child of the tribe, then sixteen and only barely excepted from combat, took an unusual interest in the lore of the Tome Of Zarizan. This troll's name was Kurimatsu, and the older couple keeping watch on the village were his parents. Kurimatsu was an apprentice mage who showed great potential, despite wielding very little actual power at the time. Kurimatsu's interest, however, led to him sneaking into the Zarizanic Archmage's hut when no one was looking, where he began to read the Tome. Eventually, he finished it--and in doing so, channeled the spell. Kurimatsu's power was far less than Zarizan's, though, and caused a much smaller explosion, destroying the village but little else. Unlike Zarizan, Kurimatsu survived. Naïve, unguided, and grieving the loss of his parents and friends, Kurimatsu decided his only option was to seek out his villagers at war. Taking the Tome with him for safekeeping, Kurimatsu began the trek to Hyjal in search of his people. Kurimatsu still possesses the Tome to this day, and has recently adopted the title of Zarizanic Archmage consequentially.

=Properties= The Tome Of Zarizan radiates an intense aura of Arcane and Fel energies. These energies are said to influence the one who carries it in various ways, as with all Aqueous Eterniite. Zarizan's precise measurement and written incantations, however, make the Tome Of Zarizan considerably safer and more stable than the raw material. In addition to sharing the raw magical power and Fel influence of unrefined Aqueous Eterniite, the Tome Of Zarizan is able to power spells directly. It has also been discovered that reading any consecutive length of the Tome, provided that it includes the last word, will cause an Arcane Explosion. The more words read, the larger the explosion, as exemplified by Zarizan's Folly.

Physically, the Tome is a large, heavy book of semitransparent teal-blue colouration. The runes found on its cover and within its pages bear a faint azure glow. It is shiny and smooth to the touch. Occasionally the Tome causes physical pain when touched, generally in the case of an individual highly sensitive to Fel power.