Cognouza journal

The Cognouza journal is a collection of travel and research writings by an unnamed mage. It serves as an entry point to the Somnovem to those who read it.

Description
The book is "haphazardly" bound. It is written in a cipher in Undercommon.

When Beau and Caleb read it, the earlier pages in the book read like a travel or research journal, providing an accounting of the Grand Archivist of the Dev-Yat Mahiyi Colleges' journey and findings in Aeor. There are no mentions of Balenpost, and the journal seems to predate the resurgence of interest in Aeor that began in the late 700s PD. It contains descriptions of the ruins and the various wards of the city. One of the texts found by the journal's author reads "The philosophers abandoned us. The cursed, plotting dreamers took their whole Ward with them. Curse them. May they rot in--". As the journal continues, the mage describes their findings of the Cognouza ward, which was populated by philosophers who planned to escape Aeor and transfer their ward to another plane. The mage describes their own plan to transport themselves to the Astral Plane to find these philosophers. After that entry, the journal abruptly changes in its nature and starts depicting strange patterns and designs rather than written entries.

When someone reads the journal, red eyes begin appearing on them.

History
The journal was first discovered by Lucien Tavelle in the ruins of Aeor while he and the other Tombtakers were serving as escorts and bodyguards for Vess DeRogna. At first he found he could not read it, but sensed that it was important. When it was nearly lost in a partial collapse of the ruins, he attempted to retrieve it, and his lover, Brevyn, did so for him. She was able to recover it, but at the cost of her life.

Lucien, upon opening it again, found that he could read it. The eyes of the Somnovem began appearing on him. After some initial worry, he came to enjoy the powers it gave him and introduced the other Tombtakers to the book. They eventually called upon Vess and asked her to cast a ritual found in the journal. She instead split Lucien's soul, seemingly killing him, and took the book.

In the ensuing two years, Vess also read the book and gained the nine eyes as well. However, she felt that bringing the Somnovem to the Material Plane would destroy Exandria.

After Cree resurrected Lucien, the Tombtakers pursued Vess DeRogna. Lucien cornered her in her room and killed her, and retrieved the book. The Tombtakers then caught up with the Mighty Nein when they realized the Mighty Nein had taken a needed threshold crest. After some persuasion on their part, Lucien permitted Beau and Caleb to read the book, after which red eyes began appearing on them. Beau found that her notes on the book were gibberish, and Caleb found that despite his Keen Mind, he could not recall the exact details of what he had read.