History Main / TomesOfProphecyAndFate

*** The power of the Elder Scrolls is so great, their truths so irrefutable, that not even the machinations of a [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] can overcome them; that's how [[spoiler:the curse on the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal is broken]] in the ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' ThievesGuild questline. In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', you get to read one yourself to [[spoiler:gain knowledge of a [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um shout]] lost to time; it turns out you don't read the scroll, you see events happen as if the scroll was a window to another (possibly alternate) time]]. Trying to read the scroll outside of the [[RealityIsOutToLunch Time-Wound]] temporarily robs you of vision -- and the reason you only suffer that much is because you have the soul of a being that exists partially outside of time, not unlike the Elder Scroll itself. Even the [[DragonsAreDivine dragons]] like Paarthurnax and [[BigBad Alduin]] himself fear the Elder Scrolls' power. Turns out that they don't just reveal events, they can [[RealityWarper alter reality]] as well; with no recourse left, the ancient Nordic heroes who faced Alduin invoked the power of an Elder Scroll to "cast Alduin out of time", postponing his reckoning until the age where ''Skyrim'' (the game, not the province) takes place. The residue from that event created the Time-Wound, mentioned above.

Now, imagine what would happen if rewriting parts of the Tome of Prophecy didn't make it inaccurate, but instead ''[[ScrewDestiny changed]]'' the prophecy. In these cases, what you have is a Tome of Fate, the "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 [[TheOmniscient record of every event]] past and future written in its [[GreatBigLibraryOfEverything nigh infinite]] but [[GreatBigBookOfEverything comfortably portable pages]], act as a [[strike:LiteralGenie]] literary genie (with [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor all the risks]] that that [[JerkassGenie implies]]), and serve as a CosmicKeystone that defines the nature of existence and [[RealityWarper is capable]] of RewritingReality. If a Tome Of Fate is indeed magic, rather than merely being written by someone who is magic, then it will probably overlap with RealityWritingBook.

* ''LetsPlay/EmpiresSMP'' Season 1: ''The Book Of Prophecies, Past & Future'', which was discovered by Lizzie in the Elven Library, and is currently in her possession. The book has 57 pages, but so far, only 26 of the pages have had their contents revealed, and those prophecies have been fulfilled as of the finale.

People have wanted to know the future ever since the concept of "future" existed, so the idea of {{invert|edTrope}}ing a history book from a recounting of the past into a Tome of Prophecy that predicts the future has found [[OlderThanFeudalism lasting appeal]]. This tome is pretty much [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Exactly What It Says On The Cover]]; it's a book written by a prophet,[[note]]or possibly dictation of their [[JunkieProphet drug induced visions]],[[/note]] a school of seers, or [[ForgedByTheGods possibly even a]] ''[[ForgedByTheGods god]]''. As such all the FateAndProphecyTropes apply, including being open to interpretation, often compounded by being written in a dead language. Inexactness notwithstanding, just about everyone and their HotLibrarian will want to steal it. May be used as a MacGuffin or other type of plot coupon (thing that motivates all the characters in the story) if it is hard to find or everyone knows the heroes have it. In some examples though the book is easily available, but reading it bestows special powers or skills. Thus the book is instead the gateway to the {{Masquerade}}.

* The trope is somewhat parodied in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders'' with the character [[Music/OingoBoingo Boingo]] and his Stand Thoth, who manifests itself as a comic book in which the future is progressively drawn in a [[ArtShift really weird art style]] and with a [[StylisticSuck childish writing]]. It's a Prophecy-type book as everything that is drawn in Thoth ''will'' happen, even if it seems implausible at first because of some overlooked details. For example, the book said at one point that a character will hit a woman in the neck and that she would thank him for that, but it didn't said that it was because there was a scorpion on her neck. Later, it is said that this character will defeat the entire good guys team by putting his fingers in the nose of one of them (the book just didn't show that because of that, the team would cross the road and ''get hit by a car'').

** A storyline that ran for several issues of ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' had Destiny lose the book and several characters using it to change events, so it ''can'' be edited. It also revealed that the ComicBook/ChallengersOfTheUnknown exist outside the book, because they shouldn't have survived the plane crash. Note however that this story is from the main Franchise/DCUniverse and so ''probably'' not canonical with Sandman's version, depending on DC policy this week.

* ''Film/Nightfall1988'': Sor's ''Book of Illumination'' is written in a sort of Braille that holds the record to previous nightfalls, and Sor is able to convince people that the future is recorded as well. Halfway through the film, he blinds Roa and begins teaching her the writings of the book so that she can be a BlindSeer like him.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'': ''The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch'', is the "sole prophetic work in all of human history to consist entirely of completely correct predictions", including the events leading up to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The main issue is interpreting the prophecies, as they were written in a non-linear older, by a [[CoolOldLady mad old witch with a clever sense of humor]] but a limited understanding of technology beyond her times, and in YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Daenys the Dreamer, a Targaryen ancestor who had prophetic dreams, collected her visions in a book called ''Signs and Portents''. It's long-lost by the present day, although one maester claims to have recovered three pages.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{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.
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'': In the episode "They're Everywhere", the Akashic Records are described to be this. However they will never be read; being destroyed before it was possible at the end of the episode.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'' has the Kronorium, which shows to its reader the entirety of reality across dimensions and time.

* The trilogy of the last three VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} games featured an artifact called the Cosmic Forge, a magic quill that makes anything written with it become true, which was stolen from the gods. Unfortunately, when not used with the Book of Fate that lies in the Cosmic Circle, [[JerkassGenie it will interpret the writings of it's bearer in the worst way possible]].
* Within the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, the Book of Prophesies, introduced within VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX, serve as this for the entire universe. It has information about things that were, things that are, and things that will be. And, according to Maleficent via a [[{{Retcon}} retroactively]] added scene within ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'', one can, among other things, create new worlds simply by adding onto it.

* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' has the Covenant of Primus, which not only tells of Cybertron's past, but also can give glimpses of the future.

* One interpetation of the ''Literature/BookOfRevelation'' is that it is this trope.

* Within the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, the Book of Prophesies, introduced within VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX, serve as this for the entire universe. It has information about things that were, things that are, and things that will be. And, according to Maleficent via a [[{{Retcon}} retroactivelly]] added scene within ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'', one can, among other things, create new worlds simply by adding onto it.

The Tomes of Prophecy and Fate need not mean that YouCantFightFate; 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 DeusExMachina, the Tome of Fate [[JustForFun/HowToStopTheDeusExMachina may be safeguarded]] with a number of features, especially when it doubles as a CosmicKeystone. It may be a ClingyMacGuffin 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 Administrivia/{{Edit War}}s.

* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' has the [[TomeOfEldritchLore Dark Prognosticus]] and its counterpart, the Light Prognosticus which was written to counteract the former.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Daneys the Dreamer, a Targaryen ancestor who had prophetic dreams, collected her visions in a book called ''Signs and Portents''. It's long-lost by the present day, although one maester claims to have recovered three pages.

People have wanted to know the future ever since the concept of "future" existed, so the idea of [[InvertedTrope inverting]] a History Book from a recounting of the past into a Tome of Prophecy that predicts the future has found [[OlderThanFeudalism lasting appeal]]. This tome is pretty much [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Exactly What It Says On The Cover]]; it's a book written by a prophet,[[note]]or possibly dictation of their [[JunkieProphet drug induced visions]],[[/note]] a school of seers, or [[ForgedByTheGods possibly even a]] ''[[ForgedByTheGods god]]''. As such all the FateAndProphecyTropes apply, including being open to interpretation, often compounded by being written in a dead language. Inexactness notwithstanding, just about everyone and their HotLibrarian will want to steal it. May be used as a MacGuffin or other type of plot coupon (thing that motivates all the characters in the story) if it is hard to find or everyone knows the heroes have it. In some examples though the book is easily available, but reading it bestows special powers or skills. Thus the book is instead the gateway to the {{Masquerade}}.

* Several examples from ''Literature/TheBelgariad''. 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.
* The Book of Three in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' is a Tome of Prophecy.
* In ''Literature/GoodOmens'', "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" is the 'sole prophetic work in all of human history to consist entirely of completely correct predictions', including the events leading up to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The main issue is interpreting the prophecies, as they were written in a non-linear older, by a [[CoolOldLady mad old witch with a clever sense of humor]] but a limited understanding of technology beyond her times, and in YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe.
* The ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'' 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 ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'' series, there is a cavern that functions as a Tome of Prophecy in Salamandastron behind the Badger Lord's throne, sealed with a boulder so huge that only a badger warrior can move it. The warrior seer badger lords retreat into this cavern when so moved and paint their prophetic visions on the walls. Outsiders are allowed in only at the behest of the current Badger Lord, so generally only the lords themselves know what is painted there.
* In ''Literature/TransformersExodus'', Alpha Trion writes 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.
* Good Magician Humphrey Book of Answers in the ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' series, which is a magical compendium of every bit of information Humphrey came across in his 100+ years of life, and which is able to make prophecies based on acquired data.
* In the first book of the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series, the protagonists use a Tome of Fate to [[spoiler:alter the nature of the BigBad, from irredeemable to redeemable]].
* Creator/LordDunsany's ''Literature/TheGodsOfPegana'' has Trogool, the thing that is neither god nor beast, which sits at the edge of creation reading one of these, turning the pages black and white until THE END. When IT turneth a black page it is night, and when IT turneth a white page it is day, and "[t]hough the whirlwind of the South should tug with his claws at a page that hath been turned, yet shall he not be able ever to turn it back."
* ''Literature/ThePowerOfFive'' series has a dream world where the five main characters can talk to each other. It has a library that holds the book of every person who has ever lived (and possibly who will live). Each book tells the entire life story of that person from birth to death, [[spoiler:Matt reads his in order to find out how to defeat the Old Ones]].
* Creator/PhilipKDick's ''The Galactic Pot-healer'' has the Book of Kalends, telling (in many languages) what shall be. Do Kalends make things happen in writing their book? is a [[MindScrew major question]] for the characters.
* The Omega Book in ''Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx''.

* The FrameStory of the Literature/SymphonyOfAges series involves someone trying to use something that appears to act like a Tome of Fate to change the past. Oddly enough, the device he uses appears to consist of a filmstrip and projector...
* ''Literature/TheLicaniusTrilogy'' has the Journal, a record of the prophetic visions of the recently-deposed Augurs. [[spoiler: The semi-antagonistic Tol Shen faction stole a number of pages from the Journal during the chaos the rebellion against the Augurs, and has bee using them to guide their political maneuvering ever since.]]

** The Sibyl was a good salesman: she offered a price, Tarquin refused, so she [[OffTheTable burned three of the twelve books]]. She offered the same price, Tarquin refused, so she destroyed three more. She offered the same price again, Tarquin refused, so she burned three more of the books. She offered the same price for the last three, and Tarquin accepted.

* ''Comicbook/XTremeXMen'' was initially about the team searching for the lost volume of Destiny's diary, before they decide it would probably be more trouble than it's worth.

* ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger''/''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' had the Book of Prophecy, a tome that unerringly predicted the future.

People have wanted to know the future ever since the concept of "future" existed, so the idea of [[InvertedTrope inverting]] a History Book from a recounting of the past into a Tome of Prophecy that predicts the future has found [[OlderThanFeudalism lasting appeal]]. This tome is pretty much [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Exactly What It Says On The Cover]]; it's a book written by a prophet,[[note]]or possibly dictation of their [[JunkieProphet drug induced visions]],[[/note]] a school of seers, or [[ForgedByTheGods possibly even a]] ''[[ForgedByTheGods god]].'' As such all the FateAndProphecyTropes apply, including being open to interpretation, often compounded by being written in a dead language. Inexactness notwithstanding, just about everyone and their HotLibrarian will want to steal it. May be used as a MacGuffin or other type of plot coupon (thing that motivates all the characters in the story) if it is hard to find or everyone knows the heroes have it. In some examples though the book is easily available, but reading it bestows special powers or skills. Thus the book is instead the gateway to the {{Masquerade}}.

[[folder: Film -- Animated]]

** A storyline that ran for several issues of ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' had Destiny lose the book and several characters using it to change events, so it ''can'' be edited. It also revealed that ComicBook/TheChallengersOfTheUnknown exist outside the book, because they shouldn't have survived the plane crash. Note however that this story is from the main Franchise/DCUniverse and so ''probably'' not canonical with Sandman's version, depending on DC policy this week.