songerein | { mirror mirror }

MIRROR MIRROR

With the sleepwalking curse over, everyone will have some time to rest and recuperate—until Jack Frost comes barging in with news of a clue on how to help his beloved Ice Queen who still remains asleep. The clue was the mirror shard that was in her chest, and there are theories that it may have been a fragment of a much stronger, powerful mirror she had been given some time ago. Problem is, he can't find it nor can he remember who gave it to her. He does, however, have a magic incantation that will allow people to enter mirrors and hopefully find a trace. Unfortunately, this horrendously backfires and we have mirror chaos instead. Dammit, Jack.

More details on everything can be found here. We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during AC .

I. REVEREIN

II. MIRROR WORLD

COMMENTS

I. REVEREIN

It all begins in Reverein, where there's a strange shift in the air upon Jack's attempt to cast the spell. But instead of affecting just one mirror, it reflects off the surface and spreads out to the entire town, hitting every reflective surface instead. Ripples can be seen before the surfaces still, but it's too late. Every reflective surface—glass, mirror, window—is under a different effect because of the botched spell.

And some are being unwittingly pulled into them.

Fortunately It is possible to communicate and even watch people from the other side of the mirror, but it's only through certain mirrors and at certain times. It also will be temporary, so while one mirror might work one time, it may not work again.

A. Strange Reflections. While some mirrors may still reflect proper images, many will have…unusual changes.

🪞 You are what you see. Whether it's an odd hairstyle, change in skin color, or style of clothing in the reflection, suddenly the viewer will look exactly like what's reflected. The most extreme is a different form entirely.
🏡 Glimpses of home. Everyone will have a rare glimpse of their home world, and these can be instances from the past, present, or even a limited future. They are just reflections and cannot be interacted with, and future reflections may be blurry to prevent the person from seeing too much. For those who have memory issues, such visions will also be blurry, but perhaps they can help stir some things…
🔮 Most desired. Mirrors that have a bit of a pink hue to them will reflect the viewer's most desired "thing." It could be an object, person, place, or even a general idea. However, if not careful the viewer may become trapped in a trance and will need to be removed or smash the mirror.

B. Clone Wars. Mirrors that do not show any kind of reflection are to be quickly taken away and covered as it will begin to create duplicates in Reverein of what is reflected within it. Yes, even people, and they will be very obviously fake: wrong colors, different voices, odd behavior, etc. and will usually be harmless. These "clones" will continue to appear and multiply until the mirror has been covered, and will need to either be destroyed or captured and shoved into the mirror, where it will lose its "no reflection" status and become a proper mirror again…only for them to appear on the other side in Mirror World.

C. Mirrorsnatched. A mirror with a black rim has the chance of absorbing a significant personality trait or memory of the one looking into it, and when this happens, the person will walk away feeling very muddle-headed and off. The mirror will "keep" this part of the person and someone from the Mirror World side must find their essence and "shove" it back out onto any mirror surface so that the original owner can break the mirror and retrieve it. The downside of this method is that breaking a mirror means one less mirror those on the Mirror side can use, so they need to choose carefully.

D. The Unknown. Appearing in both the Mirror World and Reverein will be a strange mirror masked, black cloaked figure called "The Unknown." It traverses through the mirrors and through the walls, seeking those with happy reflections and will try to corrupt them with nightmares. People on both sides of the mirrors will be able to confront and try to stop the Unknown, though beware its chocolate attacks.

II. MIRROR WORLD

Everything in this "Mirror World" is, in a word, chaotic. Imagine an AI-generated monstrosity based off of Picasso, Escher, and Dr. Seuss, where everything seems to be upside down, backwards, colors everywhere and nowhere, and everything feels so fragmented that one step feels like walking towards the edge of a cliff. In a way it's nightmarish in an unusual sense, and those inside can feel that touch of "madness" that seeps through the cold air.

Beware the strange creatures in the Mirror World. They are grotesque monstrosities, many of them looking as if they were stitched together from different parts. Fortunately they are susceptible to weapons and dreamotion and those inside the Mirror World will find they are able to use different abilities, especially those with reflective properties.

A. Fragment of their old self. In order to get out of the Mirror World, those inside will need to catch a small fragment of themselves that has escaped and is running around. This fragment is actually a piece of their old self prior to arriving in Songerein. For some, this self may not be so different, but for long-time residents, they may seem a lot more different. To make things more interesting, this self can be from any point of the character's past. It just has to be a version of the character from before entering Songerein. This version will also appear "homesick" and "want" to return to their original home, regardless if the character actually feels that way. Thus the fragment will seek out mirrors that will reflect anything of their home world. Shattering these mirrors will weaken the fragment until it can be caught. But that's only half the challenge. If the fragment is injured, the original will also feel the damage but to a lesser degree. If the fragment is destroyed, then the original will be "knocked out" for a few seconds before a new fragment appears. However, this fragment will be much more distorted and worse than the one before.

B. Distorted Memories. At random points while traversing, characters may come across strange pockets of the world that they will feel drawn to. Following said instinct will lead them to a shifted landscape that will reflect images of home from different points in time (past, present, maybe even future) as if they've just walked right into it, but just like everything else, they are distorted. The changes can be as subtle as the wrong color of clothes, having too many limbs, to something major like the sky now being the ground. The only way out will either be destroying the anomalies or correcting them, and they will be rewarded with a mirror shard that will aid in their escape.

C. Warped Sense of Self. The longer a person stays within the Mirror World, the less "coherent" they will feel, and sometimes sound. Their memories will slowly become more disjointed, their personality feeling a bit "off", and they may even forget who they are or where they are from. Even their physical selves will start to twist and change, starting with something subtle (e.g. eye color) and then growing more drastic as time goes on (where did those extra fingers come from? Or why are they suddenly much shorter?) Finding those reflections of home will help with these anomalies, but those weak of heart be warned: the distortions may only exacerbate the issue and make them believe that they are the truth instead. Help anyone who might be caught in fixing these so that they can recover.

D. Finding an exit. To leave the world, those inside must find a mirror that will connect back to Reverein, and those on the other side can also try to help by posing as "anchors" for those inside to recognize. Otherwise, there are many mirrors in the Mirror World that will lead to different places within Songerein—presumably. However, perhaps due to the magic or needing something else, they will be unable to pass through any mirrors that are not connected to Reverein. This is where players have the fun opportunity to make up whatever kind of location or place the characters may see reflected on the mirrors. They could be existing locations in the game, or new ones that could be explored in the future. One unique place we can mention will be reflections of a city covered in night.

Only upon finding a mirror that leads back to Reverein, but they will also need help from the outside. Someone from within Reverein must also be there to physically reach in and pull them out—while hopefully not accidentally be pulled in themselves.

I. REVEREIN

II. MIRROR WORLD

COMMENTS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"This is an odd dream indeed, for never have I imagined such a thing before. After all, ice is part of Water Bending, and Lighting the rare domain of a few well trained Fire Benders." A shake of his head, then a chuckle. "Do not tell my niece I said so, but an army of Lightning Benders sounds terrifying to an old man like me."

"I'm certain that in your world, that's true," Hermes said, "but in my own, I assure you that they are aetherically distinct from one another. For example, ice is far more umbrally aligned than water; indeed, of all the elements, it is the most inclined toward stasis. Whereas lightning, conversely, is the one most aligned to the astral; toward activity. Water and fire, meanwhile, are more neutrally aligned, though neither is purely so."

"If you would hold out your hands for a moment, I'll create for you a chart of the elements in my own world. I would simply form it in my own hand, but I fear the rain would ruin it." Even as he said this, the rain seemed to have lessened, albeit only slightly, though Hermes didn't seem to notice.

"I do not mind seeing whatever you want to show me, but I have seen Water Benders enclose my nephew in ice, and I have redirected lightning myself as a Fire Bender. And there is at least one Fire Bender in this place who can also Bend lightning."

"That's hardly unusual," he said. "While many have an element of choice that they're particularly skilled in the use of- such as myself with wind-, that certainly doesn't bar them from using the others. Indeed, many magi prefer to study as broad a range of spells as possible, elemental and otherwise."

Once Iroh had held out his hands, Hermes closed his eyes and focused for a moment. Wisps of glowing energy gathered in the air over the old man's hands, gaining form and solidity, until suddenly he was holding a rolled-up sheet of paper. Unrolling it, he would find that it was a chart of the elemental wheel, complete with astral and umbral alignments.

"The only one who can Bend more than the element to which that one is born is the Avatar. This is how I know lightning to be a part of Fire Bending, and ice of Water Bending."

"As I said, I do not doubt you," he said. "It is entirely possible, even likely, that the aetheric properties of your star differ greatly from mine. Though the possibility also exists that your people simply have greater potential than you are currently aware of. After all, there must have been a point in the past when fire Benders did not know how to manipulate lightning, nor water Benders ice, yet now both techniques are- if not common- at least documented."

"Would that we had access to our respective world's historical records while we were here. I imagine it would be quite interesting to compare the development of these and similar techniques to methods used to develop new magics, as well as general differences how the people and creatures of each world interact with and manipulate their surrounding energies."

He'd been looking a bit brighter there briefly, despite the cloud, but abruptly realizing that his friend might not be entirely following his somewhat technical theorizing. Interestingly, the rain that had been lessening a bit returned to its original steady shower as well as he backpedaled slightly. "Ah... do forgive me if I'm boring you. I'm rather used to talking with my fellow researchers and forget sometimes that not everyone finds comparative aetherology to be a topic for casual conversation."

"You are not bothering me at all," he said, waving a hand. "Speaking with one who is passionate about a topic is always time well spent. We learn most by listening to each other with an open mind. And you are correct that there have been advancements in Bending, though one might feel the need to examine if they would have evolved the same way in a different situation."

Hermes brightened slightly again, and rain proportionately lessened. "I've found much the same, as daunting as speaking directly to those from other stars can sometimes be," he said. "Tis an opportunity I often wished for before I came here, yet as with many things, wanting and having have proved to be quite different. Wishful fancy, for worse or better, lacks the weight and complexity of reality."

"Ah, but without wishful fantasy, we become stagnate. Things that we want but think we can never have often drive us to strive, even when we think it impossible. And even if we do not get what we most want, we often find that in the trying, we grew in new ways we would not have otherwise."

"True enough, even on Etheirys where little is considered impossible," he said. "But with Creation Magic allowing us to create most anything that we can imagine, tis an easy thing to forget. Though I find Dreamotion to, by contrast, be full of reminders. I wonder if that can be attributed to its similarity to dynamis?"

He chuckled. "I can't say I fully followed that."

"On Etheirys, most anything we can imagine can be brought into reality using Creation magic," he said. "So in terms of the material at least, there are very few things that we want, but cannot obtain, and thus far less need to daydream and fantasize; all that is required is sufficient focus and effort. Dreamotion, on the other hand, is far more unpredictable, as is Reverin itself."

"As for dynamis, it is a type of energy that relies on emotions to produce a tangible result," he explained. "But normally, my people aren't able to make use of it. While extremely plentiful, it's far weaker than aether, and my people's souls are aetherically dense, far too much so for dynamis to find any foothold. Dreamotion seems to have a great many similarities to dynamis, but is apparently unaffected by the presence of aether. Or lack thereof, as the case may be."

"It sounds like Creation magic is fairly limited," he said after a moment of quite consideration. "It is nice to have physical things, I suppose. But is not the target of most fancy that which even such magic could not create? I suspect you could not use it to create love. Or respect. Or peace."

"None can create those so directly, it's true," he said. "But when ones material needs are all easily met, peace and contentment often follow. For most, at least."

"Then people where you are from may be very different than where I am from. How can there be peace and contentment without love?"

{ mirror mirror }

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