Matthew Pearlman

Matthew always had an interest in monsters, bordering on an obsession. While looking through books about monsters at he college library, he found a book filled with illustrations. Absent- mindinly putting his hand over one of them, he was quickly transformed into the very monster in the picture, causing a great mess in the process (although nobody was injured.)

Although the event terrified Matthew, he also began to fantasize about being able to transform into all sorts of monsters. No longer content with spending all his time in his own body, he took the book with him.

That summer, his parents found out about the book when they caught him transforming. They insisted that if he wanted to keep using the book's transformations, he would have to use the power for good, as a superhero.

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A magical codex is a book where some of the pages contain a magical transformation spell. A magician develops the spell (and the monster it turns them into), then seals it into the page. For this to work, the page must contain an illustration or photograph of the monster.

Many other magical codices exist, but most are hidden away where they cannot be misused. Despite it being an age-old practice, a codex rarely lasts more than 100 years; pages of the book are either lost, destroyed, or stripped of their magical power. The latter is done by transferring the spell to another page or by applying it permanently to a person.

Owners of codicies usually use the spells on themselves, whether to attain power or as a spiritual excercise. Some people have used the book as a weapon by tricking or forcing their enemies into touching the pages.