Manuscript
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The Manuscript is a Kryptonian map that was originally found in China by the Duchess Gertrude of Castelnois de Montmiral, France, and was later stolen and hidden by her rival, the witch Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, in 1604. It contained information about the location of one of the Stones of Power, the Crystal of Air in Shanghai. The map translates Tree, Mountains, Ruins, Badlands, and Plains.
It turns out that it really was not a map, but a drawing of a tree, mountains, and ruins. Isobel Thoreaux knew that the map was not a path to the temple, but a scene of the temple painted from a specific location on the grounds. The "paths" are actually branches of a tree, and when someone stands at the exact position the scene was painted from, they will be standing on top of the Crystal of Air. Due to clever thinking, the user will find out that the Stone was hidden at the base of the tree, in a statue.
Lex Luthor purchased this document from a private collector in St. Petersburg. According to Lex, the history of that Manuscript page, is that it is the last surviving page from a 14th Century manuscript. It depicted the Grand Prince Donskoi's victory over his mortal enemy Mamai at the Battle of Kulikovo. Legend has it that this was the only object adorning the walls of Rasputin's chamber while he studied at the Verkhoturye Monastery. He believed this page would reveal a path to unimaginable power. Rasputin would stare at it for days at a time attempting to penetrate its secrets.
Clark Kent recognized the border design of the manuscript as Kryptonian symbols as spelling out the message "Look deeper." When he used his x-ray vision, he saw a map hidden beneath the image. Bart Allen stole the map in an attempt to sell it for profit, but due to Clark's influence, returned it and turned over a new leaf.
Later, the witch Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, possessing the body of Lana Lang, saw the artifact in the Luthor Mansion and knew that Lex was also seeking the Stones of Power. Eventually, Lex found the image of the map hiding in the manuscript, too, and he and Jason Teague traveled to China to locate the Stone of Air, although the Stone was only discovered when Isobel possessed Lana and tracked down the tree in the picture herself. Sometime later, Lionel Luthor gave Jason Teague and later, Lana, a copy of the map.
