In the waning days of the Astarith, Daskaandolon, the Living Chaos, gazed upon Minarra with his myriad eyes, each ablaze with its own madness. For two thousand years, Daskaandolon had watched his influence over the world dwindle as new Powers rose to challenge him and new races dared to reject him. In his madness and spite, the Living Chaos concocted his final plan to rend the very fabric of civilization.
The True God sent forth three heavy volumes, bound in dragonhide and inked in his own black blood, to each of the Four Continents. The followers of the Mad One wasted no time in bullying, deceiving, and enticing the power brokers of their various lands into reading the puzzling phrases and nonsense rhymes contained within. Hoping to find wealth, fame, and power within the Books of Mysteries, their readers found only madness, suffering, and death. For once read, the twisted power of the Books compelled their victims to seek out the "true meaning" of the passage, no matter the cost to heart and soul, life and limb. In the end, those that dared the Books brought doom not only upon their own heads, but upon their nations as well.
The Powers of Law and their worldly servants acted quickly to contain the threat, but the cursed volumes proved highly elusive and difficult to destroy. Nonetheless, the forces of Law managed to subdue and destroy the Books on three of the Four Continents. On the Shattered Continent of Miren, however, the story took a daring and unexpected turn.
In a solemn ceremony, the Serenity of the Scroll, the Harmony of the Three Rings, and the Cruelty of the Ebon Hooves made a startling proposal to their Powers. If the three captured Books before them were to be infused with the Essence of Law, might they become as capable of preserving civilization as corrupting it? Intrigued by the notion and not unmindful of the possibilities, Arzamark, Cydot, and Lazev consented to the request, taming the Books enough to make them useful…but never, ever safe.
The boon granted, each of the three Heads of Order departed with a single volume and prepared Chambers for their charges, far from the prying eyes of both Daskaandolon and Miren in general. An ancient dragon was assigned as a Guardian for each Chamber, and potent spiritual magics were invoked to restrict access to the Books.
Then as now, the three Keepers of the Book are clerics of at least the 14th level of experience. The Keepers are usually the Heads of Order of the Scroll, Three Rings, and Ebon Hooves, though not necessarily so. The key duties of the Keepers are twofold: to protect the Books from any who would remove or destroy them, and to identify those rare individuals—the Adventurers—that can benefit themselves and the world through their wise use.
The Adventurers form a most exclusive "club", with new members inducted at the rate of about a dozen per century. To even be approached, one must come to the notice of a Keeper and then pass a rigorous and secretive screening process. Once the candidate understands the risks and agrees to this supreme trial, he is escorted to the Book itself. Though distinct blocks of text can be made out, the words themselves are badly blurred—that is, until the eye fixates upon a single line or lines.
Once read, the Adventurer has essentially cast a quest and geas spell upon himself, and then must go forth to discern the "true meaning" of the often cryptic phrases, and then act upon this knowledge. This mission can take years, and often costs dearly in physical, emotional, and spiritual terms. Forsaking the mission of the Book is most certainly fatal—but success can bring the most wondrous rewards to the Adventurer and to Miren. Indeed, many of the Shattered Continent's most celebrated exploits began with a reading from the Book.
Once a mystery of the Book is truly solved, the passage vanishes from all three volumes (their contents are kept identical at all times). After receiving a vision from their respective Powers, the Keepers then pen new puzzles in the blank spaces left behind.
By the Law of the Book, the Keepers cannot allow others to take such a risk without having survived it themselves. Accordingly, each prospective Keeper must read from the Book and successfully complete its quest before assuming the office.
For the Keepers, security and secrecy remain the eternal watchwords. For example, access can be gained to the Chambers only through the Offices of the Keepers. Each Office has three ornate portals: one to its Chamber, one to the Hall of the Keepers (their common meeting place), and one to the outside world. Not even the individual Keepers know where the Offices (much less the Chambers) of the other two Books are actually located!
The persons of the Adventurers and the Keepers are sacrosanct in relation to each other. No Adventurer may bring harm upon any Keeper, and the opposite is equally true. Violation of this sacred trust is blasphemy before all the Powers of Law, and violators are dealt with brutal swiftness. Keepers who are threatened by outside forces can rely upon their fellows to defend them, to the death if need be.
Created in part to aid them in this mutual defense, the Powers of Law have given each Keeper a staff of office, composed of rare and exotic materials and crafted with exquisite skill. The Staffs of the Keepers are among the most powerful instruments the True Gods have ever entrusted to mortal souls. They are also among the most mysterious, with only a handful of living souls ever knowing their true meaning and purpose.
Those who survive the trials of the Book rarely, if ever, acknowledge the volume as the springboard for their famous exploits. This reticence is driven in part by the need to keep the existence of the Books a secret, while the rest can be easily attributed to the scars that the quest inflicts upon body and soul. It is quite common for Adventurers and Keepers to undergo startling and even radical changes in personality and/or alignment in the aftermath of a reading.