How the Grand Tome of Vanach Was Saved

The Sidhe have no myth that is more retold. And why not? It's a great story with a brave princess and a cunning deception. Also, the Boggin are the perfect villains of the piece. The Sidhe have much more sophisticated literature but nothing as crowd-pleasing as this tale.
While historians continually write that the legend can't possibly be factual, most of the eldest race insist the story is true: if a bit embellished. No amount of logic or science will convince the populous that the Grand Tome isn't somewhere out there to be found. People from little kids digging up their yards to scholars laboring over ancient documents continue to search. All because of this little tale.

Summary

As told by a tale-spinner on a dark winter's eve,
We see the Sidhe's works of the past, the grand vaults of Kaefala, the silver air trains, the dark sensing street lamps, and question why can't our warlocks create such wonders. Surely our ancestors weren't so stingy as to hide those spells from us. Well, they didn't. A few ancients wrote down the spells. The greatest of them was Vanach the Gnostic. I'm sure most of you were taught how he organized magic and all that dry schooly stuff. But they no longer mention his greatest work. In fact, they will tell you it's just a myth. But, I will swear on each god's name it is true; Vanach wrote the greatest tome of Sidhe magic in all history. How that came to be is another tale. I am here to tell you of a Princess, her true love, and that very book.
When the Boggin invaded the Sidhe Kingdoms, everything was chaos. The high king had no time to gather his hundred children back to the palace. One of his daughters, Princess Sakota, was at the Empiral magic school. The warlocks teaching there were more interested in protecting the children than resisting the Boggin. So for a while, those foul brutish monsters were content to just surround the school. As long as the princess didn't draw attention, she was as safe as one could be at that time.
Now I must stop my tale to tell you of Princess Sakota. She was kind-hearted, smart, and dutiful. She would have hated me calling her Princess because she refused to put herself before anyone else. As one of a hundred children, she thought it ridiculous that her life was more valuable than the lives of others. That's why she refused to let her teachers or fellow students treat her differently from her peers, and why she would rather risk herself than someone else.
As a smart young warlock, she knew the value of the Grand Tome of Vanach. And she knew that if the Boggins should ever get their hands on such power, it would spell the end of Naiyam. So she came up with a plan. She got the tome from the vault where it was kept. wrapping it in blankets, she turned it into a great ball of fabric. Then her friends, Sana and Esula, tied the bundle to her middle. After it was secure, Princess Sakota got dressed in all those fussy layers our ancestors wore back then.
With her friends holding an elbow each, she stumbled to where the Boggins guarded the school's exit. "No one may leave the school," one of the monsters growled at the three girls.
"But Sir," Esula, the braver of the two, said, "this girl's baby is breach. She will die without help." Sakota moaned for good effect.
"Well, magic it or something."
"We're Warlocks. Earth Warlocks. Nobody here 'magics' living things." Esula told him as Sakota moaned even louder.
Now the Boggin guards knew if the Warlocks decided to fight they didn't have the warriors to defend themselves. So after a quick kibitz, they concluded that letting a dying noble child and her servants go was better. But to be safe, they patted each girl down carefully to make sure they weren't smuggling something. When it was the princess's turn, a guard patted around her body for a full agonizing minute. Now I believe the gods must have confused the monster's hands because he didn't detect the deception. He simply told the girls to hurry along.
Once they were a safe distance from the school, Sakota said a tearful goodbye to her two friends. The two girls believed she would hide in the city but the Princess knew the tome was not yet safe. She had to get it to the countryside, away from the Boggin. Continuing to the exit to the city's cavern, she decided to try the ruse again. "Halt," the Boggin guarding the exit demanded, "you can't leave the city."
"I have to," she lied with a great moan. "I must get back to my husband's estate." But the guard just shook his mangy head, "Please, my parents won't let me back in the house. I will have this baby in the street." Again he shook his ugly head. She gave a great grunting cry "Fine. I'll have him here." And she started lowering herself to the ground the way pregnant women do. "People look at these animals. They would rather me have a baby in the street than let me go to my husband," she shouted. All of her carrying on started to draw a crowd.
Like at the school, the guards were woefully outnumbered. They had no hope of defending themselves if the citizens attacked. This time the guard didn't confer. He just yanked her to her feet and almost pushed her through the checkpoint.
After that, she was able to travel freely. The Boggins she met ignored her. It was inconceivable to them that a pampered little thing would dare defy them. But where to go?
I did mention true love, didn't I? The princess didn't have a husband. But she did have a betrothed that she had fallen madly in love with. He had an estate only a day's travel away from the school. More importantly, it was in the countryside away from the Boggin army.
It would be quite an understatement to say that Princess Sakota's betrothed was shocked to see her huge belly. And he could indeed have utterly rejected her since he knew any child wasn't his. However, he too was truly madly in love and didn't care what condition Sakota was in. She was safe. Running to her, he grabbed her up and kissed her all over in delight. Just at that moment, the tome that had stayed secure to her belly the whole trip popped out. They laughed just happy to be with each other.
What happened to the tome? Well, I have heard many different endings. The one I believe is that the couple buried it somewhere nearby. Then they lived happily on the estate avoiding the Boggin's notice. The spell book is still on that farm. Someday some Sidhe will be turning over his garden or digging a root cellar and find the tome. Will it be you?

Historical Basis

Multiple documents attest that the Grand Tome of Vanach the Gnostic existed and held some of the most powerful spells known to the Sidhe. Mentions of this tome end shortly after the Boggin invaded the Sidhe approximately -2453 A.A. Also no spell that was documented as being in the tome was used by the Boggin, suggesting they never gained possession of it. The rest of the story can't be confirmed through any primary sources. On the other hand, those few Sidhe documents written in the hundred years following the invasion are all personal journals usually of low-born individuals. Some details of the story are clearly made up such as the Sidhe high king having 100 children and many others are doubtful. It is the writer's opinion that the Grand Tome and other important books were smuggled away from the Boggin invaders. The rest while a good bedtime story is simply that.

Spread

This story is well known throughout the Sidhe Kingdoms and into the Diaspora. Most of the Folk of Lapansi know the myth. Beyond Lapansi, Folk of note who tell this legend include Snow Shrews, Corvus, Sobekkians, Mirabrawk, and Fox Spirits. Oddly the Humans have grown very attached to the myth as a "fairy story" and even added to the fantastical elements.

**Editors note: One Human version has a flying carpet and sword-fighting Karzelek.

Variations & Mutation

While some details of the myth have minor variations such as different names for the princess's friends or what was used to pad the tome, the major variations in the tale are in what happened to the spellbook after the princess got to her betrothed. Some have the couple going to the Shrine of St. Hette (now a convent) in Yuchal and escaping to Tajah Jeedeh. From there they supposedly escaped Lapansi with the help of the Naga. The list of places the book might have gone from there include the Lost City of Darajadi and the midnight Forests of the Doklafar. Another version, exclusively told by non-sidhe, has the couple hiding the book in a Dilmanu garden and leading rebel forces. As stated earlier, the Humanish versions have quite a bit of variation.

Date of First Recording

C. -1470 A.A.

Date of Setting

-2453 A.A. shortly after the Boggins invaded