Inkbound Phantome

Within the pages of a phantome a timeless hell unfurls. The boundaries of storytelling and magic blur to create a false dream that ensnares spirits, demons, and lost souls. Bound within the book's enchantment, they become unwitting actors in a theatre of the mind, playing out the drama every time the book is read anew. The ink itself dances and shifts with every reading. The actual story and the physical circumstances of the entrapped entities are determined by the creator of the phantome. It is easiest to create a fictional tale, but it can also be an attempt to recreate true events. However, inkbound prisoners are only able to respond naturally to circumstances as dictated by their jailors.    

These books are more than just a dark diversion, however. They can be read like a normal book, but Spice Rangers have also discovered that reading a phantome in conjunction with tincture of nilmahal and rabt-ke-patta, which together create vivid and spiritual dreams, one enters a dream realm that mimics the story. This can be thrilling and profound. They can bend the story and shape it around themselves, but if they break character the prisoners can awaken and perhaps escape into the reader's mind. This can be especially dire when the prisoner is Demonic... Phantomes contain a world of endless possibilities, where readers become both witnesses and participants in a tale that transcends time. The ink flows, the imprisoned spirits awaken again for a time, and the readers, with each turn of the page, indulge in an enchanted realm of words. 

Process

First, Create Ink of Binding. Then, the magician must use it to write a book that defines the circumstances at play in the story, the character(s) that the imprisoned spirits will inhabit, detailing their personalities, memories, abilities, habits, and preferences, and the major events of the story. The number pages that are incorporated determines how many prisoners it can contain. To the imprisoned, a lengthier and more detailed manuscript will create a more credible illusion. Too few pages, and the characters will see through their charade and find it ridiculous. An overly simple or badly written manuscript will lead prisoners to rebel or go mad. Third, the bindings of the book must be obtained. Bones from a Vvurm are preferred, but the remains of any magical beast will suffice in creating the hard cover and spine. The pages of the manuscript are bound within this vessel, and then the phantome is ready to receive its inmates. A spirit, demon, or human soul must be captured and bound to the object. This spell does not do that, it merely creates the vessel. 

Reagents