Pocket Book
A pocket book is a term for an enchanted book that stores its contents in a pocket dimension. This ingenius application of a pocket dimension was first invented by the well-known wizard Prudeflyn during the reign of King Aeron Illimyra in the Age of Kings. The popularity of pocket books has risen significantly since their invention, however the enchantment's expensive ingredients have somewhat limited its use.
Another neat quirk of the Pocket Books is that multiple books can be enchanted to the same pocket dimension. This has proved most useful in many of the magical items applications, however attaching a book to an existing pocket dimension is only possible if one of those books already exists and it is used in enchanting the new book. If a pocket book is destroyed and no other pocket books were attached to its pocket dimension, that information is essentially lost forever.
Ledgers & Organizational Use
Banks, governments and other organizations with means will often use pocket books as ledgers or for record keeping. This allows multiple locations to keep records effectively and extra pocket books are securely tucked away as backups.
Communication
Pocket books are sometimes used as a means for long-range communication. Notes and letters can be written to the book and read by others who have connected pocked books. However due to the permanent nature of pocket books, rarely is this used for anything beyond formal communications.
Information Sourcing
Scribes, cartographers and libraries will collect pocket books on various topics, where experts in those topics may use to publish new findings, illustrate new discoveries or seek answers from a network of experts who also have the book. These books are not typically used for final publishing, only as a resource as the information is usually raw, unconfirmed or not well organized.
Spellbooks
Paranoid wizards have also been known to keep their spells stored in pocket books, so that if their spellbook is destroyed they have another ready or can recopy their spells to a new book. A wizard's pocket book is a highly sought after prize in shadier communities because they tend to be entire repositories of spells.
Travel Size Tomes
The original intention of Prudeflyn's invention was to be able to keep a bounty of information with him while he travelled. Keeping piles of notebooks just wasn't practical for the travelling wizard, and it is a similar situation for many other intellectual travellers. Pocket books are paged through like normal books, however they can hold more information than the physical limitations of the book. Get to the last page? Just close the book and open it again to the front, and keep going!
Spying
Pocket books are less often stolen and are more often compromised, making them a bit of a risk depending on the information. Targeted pocket books will be used in the enchantment of a new book that the spy will take with them, leaving the original with no trace that anything has happened.
How it Works
Pocket books are enchanted somewhat like a bag of holding, except the pocket dimension for pocket books holds the ink applied to the pages of the enchanted book. Anything written on the pages is stored to the pocket dimension when the book is closed, and when opened the book will return to the last place it left off at. Prudeflyn also improved on the way the attachment of the pocket dimension to the book works, such that destroying the book or placing it inside another extradimensional space will not destroy the information in the pocket dimension. However it will sever the books enchantment and ability to access that information. This makes removing information from the pocket dimension extremely tricky.Another neat quirk of the Pocket Books is that multiple books can be enchanted to the same pocket dimension. This has proved most useful in many of the magical items applications, however attaching a book to an existing pocket dimension is only possible if one of those books already exists and it is used in enchanting the new book. If a pocket book is destroyed and no other pocket books were attached to its pocket dimension, that information is essentially lost forever.
Common Uses & Applications
Ledgers & Organizational Use
Banks, governments and other organizations with means will often use pocket books as ledgers or for record keeping. This allows multiple locations to keep records effectively and extra pocket books are securely tucked away as backups.
Communication
Pocket books are sometimes used as a means for long-range communication. Notes and letters can be written to the book and read by others who have connected pocked books. However due to the permanent nature of pocket books, rarely is this used for anything beyond formal communications.
Information Sourcing
Scribes, cartographers and libraries will collect pocket books on various topics, where experts in those topics may use to publish new findings, illustrate new discoveries or seek answers from a network of experts who also have the book. These books are not typically used for final publishing, only as a resource as the information is usually raw, unconfirmed or not well organized.
Spellbooks
Paranoid wizards have also been known to keep their spells stored in pocket books, so that if their spellbook is destroyed they have another ready or can recopy their spells to a new book. A wizard's pocket book is a highly sought after prize in shadier communities because they tend to be entire repositories of spells.
Travel Size Tomes
The original intention of Prudeflyn's invention was to be able to keep a bounty of information with him while he travelled. Keeping piles of notebooks just wasn't practical for the travelling wizard, and it is a similar situation for many other intellectual travellers. Pocket books are paged through like normal books, however they can hold more information than the physical limitations of the book. Get to the last page? Just close the book and open it again to the front, and keep going!
Spying
Pocket books are less often stolen and are more often compromised, making them a bit of a risk depending on the information. Targeted pocket books will be used in the enchantment of a new book that the spy will take with them, leaving the original with no trace that anything has happened.
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