Volo's Floating Page

Duration: 1 Day/Caster Level

This magic captures a perfect image of any page of a book, scroll or engraved inscription on any relatively flat surface the caster gases at during casting. 

The "page" can only be one side of a decorated surface, and the spell captures only what you see, not any hidden writings. A written contract or message or spell can be read and cast from this floating, faintly glowing (enough to read by, but not blind any being or hamper sight) image by the caster only (everyone else sees a shimmering radiance of swirling chaos), which enables the caster to carry a copy of a scroll or one-page spell without risking the original.

However, the primary uses of this spell are to copy a message to convey it elsewhere, or to enable a caster to acquire an image that can travel to where the caster can copy it out physically (into a spellbook or blank scroll). Until that's done, or the spell expires, the spell slot occupied by a captured image of a page or scroll is unavailable to the caster for other magic use (though the caster can choose to "forget" the image to regain the spell slot, so it will be lost forever, just as if the spell expires before use can be made of the image). You can cast multiple versions of this spell if you have sufficient slots, and so carry illusory images of multiple pages for spellcasting or copying use.

 - Ed Greenwood