Unknown to any but themselves, they had secretly plotted the theft of the Book of Runes for many years, hoping to prevent its completion. But as ill-luck or ill-fortune would have it, such an opportunity had never presented itself, and now the time for such a chance was forever lost.
The Book had long been left uncompleted for good reason: all the power contained within it would be consolidated in such a way that only one person could wield it. Such power, if wielded, could neither be called back nor relinquished. The result would be like a dam bursting: unimaginably vast power would be in the hands of only one tiny mortal, who would perish instantly if the attempt was made to use it, with the result that all power contained within the Lore would be unleashed in a single conflagration of unthinkable proportions.
Now the Book was complete, and in the hands of a simple scribe, who had no idea of the consequences of his having completed the work. The Elf Lore was changing, coming to life, and like the proverbial djinn in a bottle, was trying to find a way to escape.
A secret long kept amongst the Loremasters was that of the final illustration. The Loremaster who created it had done so through the process of Inevitable Discovery, in a sense allowing the Lore to write itself, pursuing it to its conclusion. He discovered that all power reaches a point where it can no longer be contained.