John's Journal
Every hunter keeps a journal of some kind. Mine's old-school, leather bound and full of scribbles. This is actually about the fourth volume. I filled them up pretty quickly at first. They're touchstones to this bizarre world. Not everything shows up on film or in digital, so we make drawings of what we see. We make notes for ourselves, for whoever finds it after us. Sometimes make personal notes. There are a lot to Sarah in my early ones and drawings of the kids.
Purpose
John started keeping journals to record the weird things he observed and the lore he learned while he was hunting. Mostly, they're supposed to be reference materials and warnings, but there are often personal touches.
Document Structure
Clauses
John's journals are usually written in chronological order, though some pages are out of order if he didn't bother to check which page he was writing on when he opened the book. Some pages are loose and many have scraps of paper, cocktail napkins, business cards, and similar ephemera stuffed between them.
References
Many of John's entries relate back to previous entries as well as citing books in Dex or Corvin's lore collections. He often includes "Ask Dex" if he's unsure of the veracity of something, later changing into "Ask Cary or Dex."
Historical Details
Background
John's journals serve as a touchpoint for his kids when they're hunting without him, especially after his death. When John is actively writing them, he uses the act of recording as a memory aid for both monsters and spell techniques. John's journals are also the basis for Caroline Lockard's exhaustive text on conjuration and fire magic, as John was an expert on the subject and recorded many of his techniques and modifications in the journals.
Legacy
After the Lockard compound is built and Maddie establishes her own lore library, John's older journals are kept in careful preservation. Maddie and Caroline spent a lot of time copying the necessary entries from the journals and assimilating them into larger texts. After John's death, only members of the family are allowed to handle the journals.
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