Book of Balance

“The Balance” is a thick tome, written by at least two-dozen saints. The cover depicts a stylized balance that is always perfectly symmetrical. The interior contains beautiful line drawings in a variety of bright colors. While these drawings are principally cosmetic, a handful of drawings represent powerful glyphs and symbols important to wizards.

The Balance contains eight Schools that correspond to the eight schools of magic. The Schools are further divided into a variable number of Books. Evocation contains only three, while Illusion contains 11. Each School contains enigmatic warning signs that indicate to the clerics when the use of this school threatens to undo the balance of magic in the universe that is central to the faith. At least one Book in each School teaches the clerics how to restore the balance.

The book includes a vast amount of knowledge relating to magic, including the location of no less than 16 planar gates, all of which are currently closed. The Balance mentions several magic items, including the deck of many things and the sphere of annihilation. This implies that the Riftmaster is responsible for the creation of these minor artifacts.

Prohibited actions include frivolous use of spells or magic items. Spellcasters are encouraged to charge high fees for selling the use of their spells in order to maintain a proper ration of magic. When it is necessary to increase magic use, spellcasters should use their spells constructively and judiciously.

The Keyholders do not see why anyone who is not a spellcaster should own their canon, and they might claim to have none when asked for it. Their followers, they believe, should be content to trust the Keyholders’ interpretation of the book instead of reading it themselves. Enterprising merchants sell the book to spellcasters for (at least) 55 gold pieces. Despite their unwillingness to sell it, Keyholders do not use violence to keep it out of the hands of others.