The Leaves of One Night

The Leaves of One Night was an ancient text revealing secrets about the goddess Shar.

Description
The Leaves were a pair of black slate tiles joined together to open like a book by a series of silver rods and clasps. The tiles were about 18 inches (46 centimeters) square, and each was only 1 or 2 inches (3 to 5 centimeters) thick.

Inscribed on each tile were silver letters, which appeared like the letters of any script known to the observer. The text of The Leaves included instructions on how to summon the Shadowstorm, but they were magically indecipherable to anyone who tried to read them.

When some individuals touched the book, a force of darkness would flow through them, whispering unintelligible words, as if the book were alive and speaking to them.

History
There was confusion about the creation of this ancient text. The Shadovar believed that the work predated the Fall of Netheril in −339 DR, and it was said to reside in the town of Sepulcher, in the House of Mystery among its other treasures.

In truth, the text was not written until much later and not by Netherese hands. In the Year of the Sundered Crypt, 684 DR, a group of wizards from Myth Drannor calling themselves the Dark Diviners discovered the Book of the Black, a work containing the Black Chronology of Augathra the Mad. The cabal copied portions of the Book of the Black to create a new work called The Leaves of One Night.

Because the work contained secrets that Shar did not want revealed, including a potential weakness,  she cursed the book,  making it illegible to everyone unless she permitted it. She then guided her servants to steal The Leaves of Night in the same year. They were successful, and the only copy of the book was lost to history for many centuries.

In the month of Kythorn in 1373 DR, a shade priestess of Shar named Variance Amatick received a vision from Shar, commanding her to retrieve The Leaves for the Shadovar. Meanwhile, in the city of Yhaunn, in Sembia, a series of artifacts were discovered in a deep tunnel under that city's quarries. These were delivered to the wizard and archeologist Strasus Thingoleir, who believed them to be of Netherese origin. Among the treasures was the pair of slate tiles that were The Leaves.

On the 20 of Eleasias of the same year, the Shadovar were able to recover the work. Variance Amatick had successfully tricked and manipulated Keph Thingoleir, Strasus' son, by threatening to kill his friend if he did not steal The Leaves from his father's study. This he did, while a Sharran cult led by Variance attacked the temple of Selûne in the city, drawing Strasus and the rest of his wizard family to its aid.

While Keph tried to return the tiles to Variance, the shadow mastiff that she sent to retrieve them from him charged at him, and the magic of the tiles allowed him to somehow banish the summoned monster, but the magic left one of the silver letters inscribed on his thumb from where it had touched one of the tiles. The letter had transferred itself onto his skin and was forevermore missing from text of The Leaves. From that day onward, he had the power to banish creatures of shadow.

Keph reached Variance as she was battling with Feena Archwood, a werewolf priestess of Selûne. Variance abandoned the fight but was able to swipe the slate tiles from Keph's hands, vanishing into the shadows.

Variance returned to Rivalen Tanthul and showed him The Leaves of One Night, but neither of them could interpret either the silver letters or its magical, dark whisperings.

It was not until the 1 of Nightal of the next year that another priestess of Shar named Elyril Hraven figured out a way to interpret the magical text. She completed a ritual hidden in The Leaves that allowed her to summon the Shadowstorm, destroying the city of Ordulin in Sembia.

Appearances

 * Mistress of the Night
 * Shadowstorm
 * The Godborn