This is an anti-steampunk cult text. It's also the "final legacy of the crazed culprit, a mine owner of immense wealth who suffered ruin and disgrace, ultimately committing suicide," Chamos's last inheritance.
It's bound together by darkened sheepskin patches, with its text sewn in with gold threads, twisted and complex; no one recognizes it anymore.
St. Yves has never had an interest in mysticism or history. He purchased Chamos's house and estate simply because it was a bargain, and this ancient book that no one could recognize became just another trinket at the bottom of the chest, until recently, when the opportunistic businessman presented it to Dorothy as a gift catered to her interests.
Later on, the book fell into Li Yan's hands.
Originally, not even the best historians and linguists in San Francisco could recognize more than a few of its characters, but, coincidentally, Li Yan had recently seen this type of writing.
The common language of the R'lyeh City-State.
