1) Yes, someone would need to be in possession of the text to use it, barring exceptional exceptions for little spells transcribed out that don't rely on the book as a source of power.
2) The books will draw attention to themselves, but not have the power to manage pure compulsion. They will slightly stack the odds in their own favour, in terms of drawing the hand or the eye, or being the one to land on top of the pile when the shelf topples over.
3) The books will have cosmetic abilities, but scaled back to where they draw attention but don't necessarily disrupt the workings of the library. Walk past where Boneturner on the shelf with an open book in your hands and it may bleed; stack Boneturner in with a pile of other ones on a desk and they may bleed. Inert and on a closed shelf, though, the library staff aren't going to have to begin mopping blood up biweekly.
4) Because no one is dead for long, the death-function books won't have much of a chance to work, and can't override the resurrection process that is in place. If someone used the book before a person could be resurrected, it could function, but the barge would yank the deceased right out again when they were brought back to life.
5) That link makes sense, and if we have specific questions we'll hit you there while we fine-tooth-comb it.
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2) The books will draw attention to themselves, but not have the power to manage pure compulsion. They will slightly stack the odds in their own favour, in terms of drawing the hand or the eye, or being the one to land on top of the pile when the shelf topples over.
3) The books will have cosmetic abilities, but scaled back to where they draw attention but don't necessarily disrupt the workings of the library. Walk past where Boneturner on the shelf with an open book in your hands and it may bleed; stack Boneturner in with a pile of other ones on a desk and they may bleed. Inert and on a closed shelf, though, the library staff aren't going to have to begin mopping blood up biweekly.
4) Because no one is dead for long, the death-function books won't have much of a chance to work, and can't override the resurrection process that is in place. If someone used the book before a person could be resurrected, it could function, but the barge would yank the deceased right out again when they were brought back to life.
5) That link makes sense, and if we have specific questions we'll hit you there while we fine-tooth-comb it.