People of the Monolith
Description
White leather, 61/4" x 101/2", 104 pages, title on cover page. This slim volume looks to have been hand-crafted with an eye towards quality bordering on opulence. The pages and leather cover are excellently hand-stitched and the paper used is top quality. The pages themselves were printed as individual lithographic plates, that is to say etched on plates rather than with a regular moveable-type press. Every page has elaborate geometrical designs along the boarder; there is no artwork as such, save for grotesques incorporated into the into the first letter of each poem.
The most striking feature of the book is the unusual medallion on the front cover. It appears to be a very thin slice of some sort of polished translucent rock, placed over a thin sliver backing, creating a weird mirror-like effect in rich gray and white tones.
The front page bears, in a bold hand, a dedication "To Mister Roger Carlyle. I hope you find these words to be as inspiring as yours were to me at our last meeting. My regards to Anastasia - Tyler." There is no publisher or date of publication given.
Text is in English.
Text
They say foul beings of Old Times still lurk In
dark forgotten corners of the
world,
And Gates still gape to loose, on
certain nights, Shapes pent in Hell.
– “People of the Monolith”
–––– –
They lumber through the night With their
elephantine tread;
I shudder in affright
As I cower in my bed.
They lift colossal wings
On the high gable roofs
Which tremble to the trample Of their
mastodonic hoofs.
– “Out of the Old Land”
Notes
Examined through a microscope, the 'white leather' cover is found to be composed of cellulose. The pages appear to be extensions of the cover.
Liquids (tea and blood) bead up and roll of the pages without leaving a mark. Damage to the pages regrows, including the ink. The cover appears to be impossible to damage with a scalpel or flame.
Experiences with Ancient Text
Read by Victor. Reading the manuscript grants a spell of communion with distance powers.