 |
What follows is an archival copy of public information. Content herein is believed to be of historical interest to Delta Green fandom and should remain untouched, as a sign of respect for the original author(s). The article must be removed on request by copyright holders, if any. Please improve the wiki with living documents inspired by the ideas here. |
 |
A living document based on this material has been created at Kurotokage tomes. |
|
Table of Contents
|
Real books
(italic sections in are fictional)
1. Nihonkoku Genpou Zen'aku Ryouiki (A Japanese Chronicle of Miracles; 日本国現報善悪霊異記)
Written by a monk named Kyokai (景戒) at Yakushidera Temple (薬師寺) in Nara in the early 9th century. Only three scrolls (116 chapters) are known to exist. In fact there were a total of six scrolls, the first three covering mundane spirits, and the last three covering Mythos information as known to the author. Copies of the last three scrolls, and (often corrupt) reproductions, exist in a number of places, including the Tainin Hodo, Kurotokage, Green Dragons and Hidachi. More information (in Japanese) can be found at http://user.komazawa.com/hagi/kokugo_nihonreiiki05.html
2. Tengukyou (天狗経)
Written in the mid-Edo Period (1603-1868), claiming that there were a total of 125,500 tengu in Japan at that time. It is written as a Buddhist prayer, and within it lists the names of all 48 tengu lords. While corrupt and useless now, a scholar of ancient languages will be able to tell that in fact it was written in Aklo, and the original Aklo pronunciations replaced with suitable Chinese characters of similar pronunciation and no meaning. If pronounced correctly, the spell will summon Byakhee.
3. Japponische Reiss-Beschreibung (Description of a Japanese Journey) by Caspar Schamberger (1649)
A visit to the ruling court - with its preparation, the trip, the arrival, and the audience - written by the German physician assigned to the Dutch trading community on Dejima (Nagasaki). The text has, unfortunately, been lost. More at: http://www.rc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~michel/serv/cs/
4. Rikuto (rikuto, 六韜) Scrolls
A set of 16 scrolls detailing tactics and swordsmanship, along with a variety of rituals useful in defeating low-order Mythos creatures. The property of Taininhodo monk and tactician Oniichi Hogen (鬼一法眼), and studied by Minamoto Yoshitsune. generally thought to be fanciful, but in fact still in the collection of the Tainin Hodo in Dreamlands.
5. Tortoise shells (for divination) from Shang Dynasty China
Discovered only in China in the 18th century, thousands of these shells were removed from the region around Anyang, China, and transported to Japan by the Imperial Japanese Army. Many of them were fakes, but most of them vanished during the War years and have not been found since. The real ones, of course, are now mostly in the possession of Kurotokage, and reside in the vault.
6. De La Perouse, JFG, "Voyage de la La Perouse Autour du Monde, publie conformement au decret du 22 avril 1791, et redige pa M.L.A. Millet-Mureau," Paris, de l'Imprimerie de la Republique (1797). 4 vols. with one folio of maps.
7. Montanus, A., "La Civilisation Ainou et les Cultures Arctiques," Paris, 1937. 272 pp, 48 plates, 112 illos, 10 maps.
Japanese fictional books
1. Nakahara Diary (中原家記) (created by Lipsett)
Written by Nakahara in his last years, this personal diary records everything he knew or suspected, for the guidance of his sons. Due to their fanaticism, only a part of Chapter 4 (dealing with tengu (ie, byakhee)) and all of Chapter 5 (protections against Mythos entities) are extant.
2. Tainin Hododoki, or, Chronicles of the Tainin Hododo (大忍保道堂記) (created by Lipsett)
Kept at the main temple, this work records all information about the daily activities of both the temple personnel and their enemies. Invaluable in charting movements and trends.
3. Momooka Teikun (桃岡庭訓往来) (created by Lipsett)
This journal of guidance written by Nakahara's second-in-command primarily deals with swordsmanship and tactics, but also has a detailed account of his extermination of the bizarre cult of devil worshippers on Nashijima in the Inland Sea. Edited edition privately published in English in Hong Kong, 1873. Copies widely available in collections of medieval books.
4. Diary of Captain Tateyama (館山中将日記) (created by Lipsett)
Captain Tateyama, exiled from Kyoto in 1031 for offending a nobleman involved with the Tainin Hododo, kept a diary of his adventures. Useful for descriptions of various races and rites throughout Japan, but flawed by superficiality and bad and constant attempts at court verse. Incomplete version extant in Diet Library.
5. The Private Journal of Francesco Lopez of Portugal (created by Lipsett)
Written by a Jesuit priest between 1549 and 1566. He landed at Kagoshima with Francis Xavier, but soon located the Tainin Hodo, in 1551. He remained with them, acting as a channel of information and advice. This journal somehow found its way back to the Vatican Collection, where it was uncovered in 1736. As an outsider's view, it is a superb piece of reportage, dealing all aspects of Tainin Hodo life. It is the source of Chapters 4 and 5 of the Nakahara Diary, which he apparently copied from memory over years, since he was not allowed to copy directly. He planned to transcribe the entire volume, but vanished in 1566. Collection of the Vatican Library. Complete copy in Tainin Hodo archives.
6. Records of the Department of Religion (神祗官日録) (created by Lipsett)
Covers from 816 to 1156, this daily record of the official Department of Religion deals mostly with state ritual and ceremony in the capital. However, a number of scribes also recorded reports and rumors from the hills. Very useful for general information and lore, although it exists only in fragmentary secondary sources, within the Maeda Collection. Selected parts from 966 to 1027 were published in History of Heian Japan (平安朝史), within the New Japan History (新大日本國史) series (Dainippon Shuppan, Tokyo, 1934). All references to the evil gods were deleted.
7. Hayakawa Diary (早河日記) (created by Lipsett)
Only a single fragment survives of this diary, written by a merchant-pirate operating from the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) between 1412 and 1453. Located at an auction in 1883 in Hong Kong, it deals with his close contact with a group of Deep Ones. Mostly superficial, but some interesting quoted ceremonies. Reprinted (severely cut) in Histories of Japanese Merchants (日本商人史) (Jinmon Shobo, Tokyo, 1928).
Chinese fictional books
(info: Dave Farnell, Charles Ripper)
1. Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan: (see The Fate, p71)
Ancient Chinese scrolls. The Fate has a copy bound into a book. Ancient Chinese, difficult to read even for a scholar.
2. Goddess of the Black Fan (see The Fate, p72)
Ancient Chinese scrolls contain a series of poems which detail the story of Monk Liu and his meeting Goddess who hides face behind black fan. He sees her face (Bloated Woman=Nyarlathotep), commits suicide.
3. This was in No. 14/15 of Unspeakable Oath.
Dreamlands etchings of uncertain origin. (Cylinder 3 stats: SAN Loss:1D3/1D6, Mythos:+4% Spell multiplier: x2)
The original brick cylinders were a gift from Bokrug to the people of Kadatheron (or merely built in his name: truth unknown, and bricks are thousands of years old). There are three, all with inscriptions in Dream, readable by all. Made of turquoise, navy blue and dark green bricks. Over 10 feet high, and similar diameter. The first two describe history and geography of Kadatheron and Western DL. Third has hidden mysteries and spells, but different readers interpret them differently, so different transcriptions exist. The third cylinder is also available in English Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1810), Portuguese (handwritten notes dated 1750), and Chinese (written in Mandarin in 1785 by an unknown author, this version was recently discovered on sale at a bookshop in Hong Kong. A scholar browsing in the shop noted that the owner, Mr. Devon Yu, watched anyone who perused the copy very carefully.) The Chinese version contains Contact Bokrug, Emerald Darts of Ptath, Stupefying Blast and Viridian Wind.
4. The Yellow Codex is mentioned in the Keeper's Companion, p60.
Xanthic Folio
A set of tablets in what is said to be elder thing glyphs, found in China. These deal with the King in Yellow and his court at some length. Why a prehuman document should do so is unknown. Sanity loss 1D6/1D20; Cthulhu Mythos +10 percentiles; average 8 weeks to study and comprehend/16 hours to skim.
Yellow Codices
These English and French translations of the Xanthic Folio have circulated among jaded artists and writers for years. They are believed to be the inspiration for the King in Yellow — even though its contents are quite different from the play, the Codices seem to convey it to the reader, almost subconsciously. Sanity loss 1D4/1D8; Cthulhu Mythos +8 percentiles; average 7 weeks to study and comprehend/ 14 hours to skim.
Other fictional books
1. Black Sutra (暗黒経) (created by several)
Written by Burmese monk U Pao in c. AD700. Comments on evolution, Yidhra. Only fragments of several chapters are known to exist. Apparently brought to Japan by the Green Dragons and later captured by the Tainin Hodo. Partial copy in Tainin Hodo collection. Little actual technique, although other sources indicate that the extant portions are vastly misleading. Copy in Green Dragon collection: Complete.
2. "Hunting the Poem of Dreams" (幻詩狩り) by Kawamata Chiaki.
Insane French author in 1948 wrote "Gold of Time" (時の黄金). Handwritten pamphlet, scribbled writing. Cover is blank, first line is the title, slightly larger. Pamphlets have yellow covers. When you read it, your mind goes somewhere else, leaving an empty husk of a body. The body then dies within a few days. It can be translated, but the translator "dies" when he pens the last word. Editions known to exist in French, English, Japanese. Sounds like a King in Yellow derivative to me!