Magical spell indexes are a peculiar category of utilitarian tomes, quite distinct from their non-magical cousins. To extract a spell, you must follow a circuitous and lengthy process of wordplay based on the intended target of the spell.
-From“The Zhang Heng Index Of Transportation, Apportation & Location Spells As Associated With Magical Beasts”
“Thanks to Dr. Mandrakeseeker’s notes and your clever sleuthing, we’ve already found the four specific Index Rules that will lead us to the final spell.
But magical indices are a little complex. Here’s how we tackle one:
Go through all four Index Rules in order. Once you’ve finished the four steps- repeat!
Each Rule has an extraction step (the letter that’s part of the spell) and a navigation step (the letter section of the index to go to next).
Only use each letter section of the index ONCE.
You may remember the Spell Index from wizarding school… spell-finding starts with YOU. (Which was their clever way to say always begin the index in the“U” section.)
Good luck!”
-Jesse
ROSE HIPNOSIS: Look at the three entries listed under a letter and find where all three line up. (Ignoring the first letters!) Save the letter that you find. Then, find the letter that immediately follows the thorn (or its 2-letter English equivalent) and go to that section next.
INTERNATIONAL PARKOUR: Find a nation with a missing letter hiding amongst one entry and save that letter. Use page numbers to count into the other two entries (no spaces or punctuation). “Swing through” these letters to find your next section.
DANDY LIONESS: The Blattlowen is the leader of her pride. Find a word that describes a different group of animals. Take first letter of that animal’s name and save that letter. Then, count the number of enclosed spaces in the other two entries and convert that number to a letter for your next section. (e.g. “SEED” = 1 = A and “BOARD” = 6 = F.)
PULP FRICTION: Toward the start of the three entries is a letter you can touch. It’s marked with dOts. Take that letter. Next find a word in the group that starts with the sound of a letter. Go there next.
HINTS
“Rose Hipnosis” Rule
Extraction step: Similarly to the alignment step in the Met puzzle, find the letter that’s shared in the same position across all three entries.
Navigation step: A “thorn” (Þ, þ) is an old English letter which has been replaced in modern English by the letters “th”. One “th” appears among the three entries; take the letter that comes immediately after it.
“International Parkour” Rule
Extraction step: One entry has a hidden country name spanning multiple words and missing a letter. An example of this is the phrase TOUCAN DANCE, which includes a North American country missing the A in the middle.
Navigation step: For the two entries not used in the extraction step, use their page number to index into the entry, ignoring spaces and punctuation. This will give you two letters that surround another letter in the alphabet. (Fun fact: “swing through” is a real parkour move!)
“Dandy Lioness” Rule
Extraction step: Look for the single-word name for a specific group of animals (internet searching recommended!) Take the first letter of that animal.
Navigation step: For the two entries not used in the extraction step, count the number of enclosed spaces amongst all their letters. A, D, O, P, Q, and R each have one enclosed space, and B has two. Then convert that number to a letter (A=1, B=2, C=3, ...) You can use the Ordering Hints for extra confirmation of the order in which you visit each section.
“Pulp Friction” Rule
Extraction step: Find a Braille letter formed by the letter O toward the start of the three entries. (You can find many Braille references online.) These will be the only occurrences of O in these entries, so if you find others, you’ll know you’ve navigated to the wrong section!
Navigation step: One word amongst all three entries starts with the sound of a letter, e.g. CUBIC = Q, EMMA = M, GENOME = G.
Ordering Hint 1
The first few sections you’ll visit, in order, are U, D, P, W, Y, M, S, Z. So, you'll apply Rule 1 to U, 2 to D, 3 to P, 4 to W, and then loop back to 1 for section Y, and continue on looping through the four rules in order.
Ordering Hint 2
You’ll visit all the sections in the following order: U, D, P, W, Y, M, S, Z, X, O, C, E, J, B, N, V, Q, A, R, I, K, T, H, G, L, F.
FINAL ANSWER (SPOILER!)
The answer is SIMULACRUM MANIFESTO MONSTRO.