Two plain oak boards, two handwidths wide by three tall, bound with thornroot vine to four parchment sheets, on which are set down four druidic prayers (spells), one to a page.
This plain tome was given to the reclusive Aubaerus "the Ravenmaster", a druid of the Dalelands, by the Battledale Seven, a now-vanished circle of druids. They in turn had it from an earlier circle of druids, the Ring of Wyvernwater. Its maker is unknown, but said by some to be the Hierophant Druid Khamlautas Iriphar of Cormyr.
The book's spells are call lightning, greenwood (a rarely-seen druidic spell, detailed hereafter), control vapor (a rarely-seen druidic spell, described hereafter), and wall of thorns.
By means of this spell, a druid can temporarily make dead and withered trees appear living, green and healthy. Dead or bare (e.g. in winter) trees, shrubs, or vines can be made to cloak themselves in leaves (enough to afford concealment, but not enough to use for an entangle spell). Dry firewood can be made damp enough that it won't lightÑor, if already alight, the flames will die down to a thick, choking smoke (in a cloud equal in effects to that produced by the druidic pyrotechnics spell). Dry, seasoned wood (such as a ship's mast) can be made to bend and snap under a strain like green wood; rotten wood (such as an old bridge or ruin) will usually collapse or become unsafe to carry any future load.
Damage to plants suffered by such a condition is permanent, but the wood will otherwise revert to its former state at the expiration of the spell.
By means of this spell, a druid is able to alter the movement rate and direction of natural or magical smokes and vapors, including incendiary clollds, smoke ghosts, breath weapons, and creatures in gaseous form. Within the area of effect, wind effects are negated, even if of magical origin, and the druid is able to hold the vapor stationary or move it up to 1"/level per round in any desired direction. If the vapor passes out of the stationary area of effect of the spell, control is lost.
Unlike the fifth level magic-user spell hold vapor, creatures in gaseous form (such as vampires) and those wind walking receive no saving throw against the spell. Vapors cannot alter their form or split it unless the druid wills, although creatures normally able to alter their gaseous form into another form can do so despite the druid's wishes, although this process takes twice as long as it ordinarily does. Clouds of insects and similar insubstantial or amorphous-form but non-gaseous creatures or groups of cre~ affected by this spell.
By means of this spell, a stasis field is created about the spell focus, radiating outwards in an expanding sphere through solid rock and other physical or magical barriers (only an anti-magic shell; prismatic sphere, or a closed cube- or sphericallyshaped wall of force will stop its effects), 2" per round, until it reaches a maximum spherical volume of 1" radius per level of the caster. All living creatures within this field except the caster and any beings protected as noted above must save vs. spell or be placed in suspended animation, whether they wish to or not. Creatures of level or hit dice equal to, greater than, or up to three levels or dice less than the spellcaster save "at par"; creatures of 4 to seven dice or levels less than the caster save at -1, and creatures of even lesser levels save at an additional -1 penalty per level less than seven below the caster's. The body functions of affected creatures virtually cease, but they do not die as a direct result of this stateÑ nor will they grow older as the years pass. If a creature in stasis is slain by another means (physical attack, crushing or burial or drowning due to physical changes around the body, and the Iike), stasis ends instantly and the body will decay normally, for the affected victim only. The caster requires his or her own blood (at least nine drops) smeared into an unbroken ring on any stable surface (usually stone) of a radius not more than the overall length of the caster's hand (wrist to fingertips), into which are placed at least six 500-gp value gems, of any sort. This is the "spell focus" referred to above.
When the spellcasting is complete, four of these gems vanish, consumed in the act of releasing the spell's power. The rest fuel the stasis field, and dwindle slowly as the time passes (roughly 1 year of stasis being yielded per 10 gp of gem value). Removal of any gemstone from the circle (except by its consumption by the field, or the breaking of the ring itself, instantly ends the stasis effect, as will using up all of the gems, but any number of gems that will fit can be added to the inside of the ring at any time to "refuel" the spell, extending its period of efficacy.
The stasis can be lifted from individual creatures without harm and without releasing other creatures under the same stasis by casting temporal reinstatement (cf. temporal stasis in the PLAYERS HANDBOOK) or the reverse of this spell, Phezult's awakening (which requires neither gems nor blood in its casting, but merely seven drops of pure or holy water) upon the spell focus rather than upon individual creatures. The stasis field shrinks gradually to nothingness at the same rate at which it originally expanded, freeing any creatures formerly within it instantly, and without any lingering effects as it does so. No further gemstone material is lost.
Creatures entering the field after it has reached its full extent, even decades or centuries after the spell was cast must save vs. spell to avoid falling into stasis. The penalties for their level or hit dice described above apply, but so does a +3 bonus to the save for any creature arriving in the field after it has stabilized at full extent. Such a save must be made each time a creature enters the stasis field, even if it has entered and been unaffected before; but each creature need save only once per exposure to a particular sleep of ages stasis field. Creatures who are physically removed from such a field without being magically roused will wake up by themselves 2-8 rounds after such removal, with no ill effects; the casting of a dispel magic will awaken such beings instantly if cast upon them when they are outside a field, but physical means will not hurry the process. A creature taken out of a stasis field and then taken back in before awakening returns to stasis without becoming conscious. Creatures in stasis who are mentally contacted by magic or psionics while within the field do not respond, and the being contacting them is placed in stasis (temporary, awakening after 28 rounds as described above) each time such contact is attempted.