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Tomes of Prophecy and Fate: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
People have wanted to know the future ever since the concept of "future" existed, so the idea of [[Inverted Trope|inverting]] a History Book from a recounting of the past into a
Now, imagine what would happen if rewriting parts of the Tome
▲People have wanted to know the future ever since the concept of "future" existed, so the idea of [[Inverted Trope|inverting]] a History Book from a recounting of the past into a '''Tome Of Prophecy''' that predicts the future has found [[Older Than Feudalism|lasting appeal]]. This tome is pretty much [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|Exactly What It Says On The Cover]]; it's a book written by a prophet<ref>(Or possibly dictation of their [[Junkie Prophet|drug induced visions]])</ref>, a school of seers, or [[Forged By the Gods|possibly even a]] ''[[Forged By the Gods|god]].'' As such all the [[Fate and Prophecy Tropes]] apply, including being open to interpretation, often compounded by being written in a dead language. Inexactness notwithstanding, just about everyone and their [[Hot Librarian]] will want to steal this [[MacGuffin]].
The '''Tomes
▲Now, imagine what would happen if rewriting parts of the Tome Of Prophecy didn't make it inaccurate, but instead ''[[Screw Destiny|changed]]'' the prophecy. In these cases, what you have is a '''Tome Of Fate''', the "[[The Same but More|big brother]]" to the Tome Of Prophecy. Rather than be a normal book with a mystic prophecy written on it, you have a mystic book that turns whatever is written in it into fact. A Tome Of Fate can vary considerably from setting to setting in what it can do, though usually they can do one or all of the following: provide an exhaustive [[The Omniscient|record of every event]] past and future written in its [[Library of Babel|nigh infinite]] but [[Great Big Book of Everything|comfortably portable pages]], act as a <s>[[Literal Genie]]</s> literary genie (with [[Be Careful What You Wish For|all the risks]] that that [[Jerkass Genie|implies]]), and serve as a [[Cosmic Keystone]] that defines the nature of existence and [[Reality Warper|is capable]] of [[Rewriting Reality]]. If a [[Tome of Fate]] is indeed magic, rather than merely being written by someone who is magic, then it will probably overlap with [[Reality Writing Book]].
▲The Tomes Of Prophecy And Fate need not mean that [[You Can't Fight Fate]]; a lot of the time they're designed to work without compromising free will, though they do exert (or reflect) a great deal of power over existence. As a carry-on size [[Deus Ex Machina]], the Tome Of Fate [[How to Stop The Deus Ex Machina|may be safeguarded]] with a number of features, especially when it doubles as a [[Cosmic Keystone]]. It may be a [[Clingy MacGuffin]] that can't be destroyed except under specific circumstances, paired with a magic quill, ink, or eraser to make rewriting it more difficult, or out and out made "read only" to avoid [[Edit War|Edit Wars]].
Compare [[Reality Writing Book]], [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]].
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[
== [[Comic
* The book of Destiny, from ''[[The Sandman]]'' series is a Tome
▲* ''[[Bloody Cross (Manga)|Bloody Cross]]'' has The Book of Prophecy and The Book of Da'at (which means knowledge), two powerful [[Pieces of God|God's Inheritences]] that appeared for the current Holy War. Though, their exact nature and powers haven't been fully revealed yet.
== Comics ==▼
▲* The book of Destiny, from ''[[The Sandman]]'' series is a Tome Of Fate; being already complete, the book can't be edited. It is heavily implied that Destiny's sole purpose is to read the book.
** Actually, it's outright stated that his sole purpose is to keep and read the book. It's heavily implied that the book is an actual part of him (or vice versa).
** A storyline that ran for several issues of [[The Brave and
* In the ''[[Dragon
* The Oraculum in [[Tim Burton]]'s ''[[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' is a Tome of Prophecy.
==
* The
* In ''[[
▲* In ''[[Good Omens (Literature)|Good Omens]]'', "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" are a Tome Of Prophecy with extensive annotations.
* The ''[[Night Watch]]'' has a Tome of Fate, though it's not the tome that's important but the Chalk to write in it. If a Great Sorceress of Light holds the Chalk of Fate in her hand and performs a certain ritual, the spectral Tome of Fate will automatically appear before her, allowing her to rewrite a small portion of fate. {{spoiler|The fact that the Tome of Fate can be summoned in two places at once proves to be crucial when the characters realize that while the main heroine was rewriting a person's fate, another Great Sorceress simultaneously rewrote ''her'' fate without the Day Watch noticing.}}
* In the ''[[Redwall]]'' series, there is a cavern that functions as a Tome
* Good Magician Humphrey Book of Answers in the ''[[
* In the first book of the ''[[Young Wizards]]'' series, the protagonists use a Tome of Fate called ''The Book of Night With Moon'' to {{spoiler|alter the nature of the [[Big Bad]], from irredeemable to redeemable}}.
* Several examples from ''[[The Belgariad]]''. The most prominent one is the Mrin Codex, but there is also the Darine Codex (less detailed than the Mrin Codex, but much easier to read and comprehend due to the insanity of the Mrin prophet), the Ashabine Oracles, and the Book of Kell.
* In ''[[Transformers Exodus]]'', Alpha Trion write things out with the [http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Quill Quill] in the [http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Covenant_of_Primus Covenant of Primus], whereas the rest of Cybertronian society prefers typing things out. The Covenant details future events but it's a matter of context on interpretation, and the Quill has a limited ability on writing new events, but the future is quite mutable and the changes don't always last. Hence, Alpha Trion sticks to chronicling Cybertron's history.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel]]'' had a lot of these, sometimes in book form (codex) and sometimes in scroll form. Few reach the complexity of the Pylean tomes of prophecy, however, which are written in both demon tongues and trionic, meaning part of a passage begins in one book, continues in a second book and ends in a third book. Not only does the reader needs to be able to read the demonic language being used but they need to understand it enough to translate the rhythm in order to know when to switch books to get the rest of the information.
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
* ''[[Makai Kingdom]]''. The Sacred Tome predicts the future with absolute certainty, and [[Reality Writing Book|whatever is written in it
▲== Video Games ==
* ''[[
▲* ''[[Makai Kingdom]]''. The Sacred Tome predicts the future with absolute certainty, and [[Reality Writing Book|whatever is written in it BECOMES the truth]]. 'Badass Freakin' Overlord' Zetta is pissed off because the tome claims that he will destroy his own Netherworld through foolishness and arrogance, so he burns it. This causes the entire world to collapse, and he has to quickly transform HIMSELF into the Sacred Tome to prevent a total collapse, though his own Netherworld still bites it, thus [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy|proving the prediction true]]... Most of the gameplay basically centers around using the powers of the Zetta-Tome, by having various characters write 'wishes' into it, thus making them come true.
▲* ''[[Super Paper Mario (Video Game)|Super Paper Mario]]'' has the [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|Dark Prognosticus]] and it's counterpart, the Light Prognosticus which was written to counteract the former.
* ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' - the Score contains all the significant things that will ever happen.
** Even the insignificant things, as everybody gets a birthday score [[Exactly What It Says
*** Some even consult the Score for every-day matters like ''what to have for dinner''.
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' series has the eponymous scrolls that supposedly contain a record of everything that ever has and ever will happen. Some of them are kept in the Imperial Palace and studied by an order of monks who gradually go blind from reading them. In ''Oblivion'', the Thieves' Guild final quest is to steal one. It looks like a large sheet of parchment covered in [[You Cannot Grasp the True Form|bizarre runes, lines and geometric shapes]]. In ''Skyrim'', you find one in an ancient Dwemer ruin, and reading it in the right place gives you a vision of the dragon Alduin's first defeat. Reading it
* Histoire in ''[[Hyperdimension Neptunia]]'' is implied to be this.
* The basic premise of ''[[Avalon Code]]'' (pictured above) is that the world is going to end and be reborn. Your homework is to record everything worth keeping or changing.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
* There is a Book of Ages in ''[[
▲== Western Animation ==
* In the pilot for ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
▲* There is a Book of Ages in ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures (Animation)|Jackie Chan Adventures]]'', which the demons use to [[Reality Writing Book|rewrite the history of the world]]. Then [[Bratty Half-Pint|Jade]] [[Crowning Moment of Funny|gets her hands on it]]...
▲* In the pilot for ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'', Twilight Sparkle reads of [[Sealed Evil in A Can|Nightmare Moon]]'s imminent escape in an old copy of ''Predictions and Prophecies''.
== Other ==
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: [[wikipedia:Sibylline Books|The Sibylline Books.]]
* The Garencières by Nostradamus.
* One interpretation of the book of the [[
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Information Desk]]
[[Category:Tomes of Prophecy and Fate]]
[[Category:Magic Items Index]]
[[Category:Bookish Tropes]]
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