The Codex Corpulentia had been rather bored.
Perhaps bored wasn't the right word. Much like a golem, the Codex wasn't totally sentient, and couldn't feel the full range of emotions fully conscious beings felt.
Still, bored was the only word that came to mind to describe those long years underground.
How long had it been? Having no means to mark the passing of years, the Codex didn't know. That it had been quite a while was beyond doubt. Frankly, the Codex was glad it wasn't sentient, as it likely would have gone mad from such an extended period of isolation.
The Codex had had a falling out with its previous master. He (or was it a she?) was a very different sort of person than its creator. He'd been principally concerned with profit. The powers conferred by the book were all but auctioned off to the highest bidder. From jealous nobles wanting to fatten a rival, to those wishing to lose weight, and even those the old master fattened and blackmailed for a return to their original size, all paid handsomely for his services. He'd wound up quite wealthy.
And the Codex had felt simply sick.
An odd feeling for a book, to be sure, but the Codex hadn't been made with such a purpose in mind. Its creator had imbued the tome with the power to effect people's weights, with the only goal being their increase. Fattening all around it was quite literally its reason to be, yet it had been used principally for weight loss. Even those times it had been used properly had seen it eventually forced to remove the glorious fat it had gifted them.
It was unnatural.
A crime against its very nature.
The Codex had engaged in increasing acts of rebellion against its master, an action made possible by such an attack against its very soul. It started small, as most things do. Make this person a bit fatter then requested, not take as much weight off of this one as asked. The Codex began adding certain drives to those it worked on, leaving them more gluttonous, more inclined to bad habits, and more likely to gain weight even without its direct interference. It didn't always work, as the push was often too small in order to avoid notice, but it was fun to watch when it did.
It kept pushing more and more as its master continued to abuse its purpose. The master's servants found themselves slowly, steadily growing fatter. One maid quit when she split her dress while dusting, and another when she felt her hips brushing against the door frames as she walked through. The cook was left too large to properly knead dough, and the butler had needed his uniforms resized more then once. Even the master's family hadn't been safe, though he'd been very quick to force the Codex to reverse its actions against his household once he noticed. However, the final straw was soon to come.
One noblewoman, stunningly beautiful by the book's standards and rather fat by others, had paid a small fortune to be returned to her pre-marriage weight. Though it had begrudgingly done so, the Codex took a moment to rewire her mind and body, gearing her for exceptional obesity. Overnight, every meal became a banquet in a desperate bid to sate her new gargantuan appetite. Within a couple of years, she was fatter then she'd ever been, and seemed utterly incapable of reversing, halting, or even slowing her gain. Last the Codex had heard, she'd gotten so large that she couldn't move without the aid of a full score of attendants, and even the grandest piece of furniture would groan and eventually be crushed under her ever-growing tush.
Such things were far too noticeable, however, and the Codex's master had been furious. The actions of the book could very easily get him killed, but his greed kept him from destroying it outright. And so, he'd instead moved it into one of his hidden treasure troves.
And thus the Codex Corpulentia remained, until it passed from common memory.
What had happened to its old master? Slain by his former customers, perhaps? Or maybe he'd finally decided he had enough wealth for a lifetime, and the Codex was too great a risk to use? Regardless, the black tome had been imprisoned deep underground for a very, very long time.
Time passed by silently in that dark, wet place. The Codex entertained itself as best it could, fattening the local rodents and amphibians that wandered within reach, unknowingly creating new and lardier species as a result. As time passed, its powers grew weaker, the rituals which bound it together degrading from lack of use. The Codex did not fear death, but it didn't welcome it either, and certainly didn't want its legacy to be a couple of mice wider then they were long, wobbling as they slowly waddled between piles of seeds. However, there seemed to be nothing it could do but accept the inevitable.
Then it felt her.
A person it resonated with, something it hadn't felt since its old master, and its creator before. It called out to her, trying desperately to draw her closer. Had it been capable of it, the Codex would have cried. Was its isolation finally at an end? Had it avoided such a cold, ignoble end? Had it at long last found a kind, deserving master?
As she drew ever closer, the Codex felt more of her spirit, and was shocked to feel not an ounce of magical energy about her person. For a magical tome to resonate with a non-magical person, why, such a thing was practically unheard of. Had the Codex been inclined to wonder, it might have wished to pursue such a mystery, but for now its only concern was being found by her.
In the end, the Codex Corpulentia succeeded. Its new master, Elizabeth by name, had taken the tome and the treasures she'd found for her own. The Codex had been overjoyed when Elizabeth not only kept it, but gave it the place of pride on the shelf of her new library. It was quite frustrated, however, in its complete inability to speak with its new master. Was its voice too weak to be heard after so long, much like the rest of its magic? Or did the simple fact that she was non-magical preclude any attempts at conversation between them?
The Codex didn't have the answers, or the means to seek them out. What it knew was that it had been saved by this kind-hearted and wonderful woman. It hated that its powers were so dreadfully weak right now, but it would exercise them. Work them out bit by bit, until they were just as potent as they'd ever been. It'd help her become rich, far richer then the old master could have even dared dream. And though it might take years, the Codex Corpulentia would make her fat.
Really fat.
Fatter then that noblewoman.
Fatter then anyone has ever been before.
If, as its creator stated, fatter is better, then the Codex would not rest until Elizabeth was absolutely perfect, its magnum opus. With pride and gratitude, the Codex legitimately felt its Master deserved nothing less. The book glowed as it cast another hunger charm upon Elizabeth, helping the ginger beauty to polish off yet another bowl of treats this afternoon.
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