Manifold Mirror Mage: Legendary Magic on a Common Budget

Gio sat across from his mentor having barely rested for a few paltry hours the night prior.

Gio held onto the mug of warm tea like a life-preserver amid the chilly morning air. The seasons had begun to change this far into the semester, and Baphelus’ domain was technically exposed to the open air.

“So, What have you got for me?” asked the old lich.

Gio responded by pulling out a bound report, two spellforms with accompanying annotations, and a small satchel of reagents for spellform binding.

I can't wait to have access to mana again.

“Very well done indeed! It looks like you’ve learned quite a few things during this assignment. Let’s start with the obvious first question: how did you manage to get information from the Scriptorium?”

“I had help. I went to a new library and asked for a tutor for old spellforms. I think I got lucky finding someone who was a part of the maintenance committee for the Scriptorium. I may need to see if I can join that committee myself, eventually.” Gio replied.

“In truth, there were many ways you could have approached this part of the task, which is why I chose not to give you any hints at all. If you had the ability to infuse mana into your seeker skill, it would not be impossible for you to walk into the scriptorium yourself. I would recommend against that course of action, as it is well guarded.”

“Additionally, your tutor wasn’t chosen by luck. Xerxes de Lamerie could practically smell the [Fledgling Knowledge Seeker] on you the moment you walked into that library. He’s not what I would describe as nefarious by any means, but he’ll likely recruit you to the Scriptorium by making you think it was your idea. My advice is that they probably want you more than you need them, so wring a few concessions out of them. Don’t let them treat you like some newbie who cleans floors.” Baphelus stated, stirring his tea.

“Oh… I’m not sure how I feel about that. I am also a bit confused about what the Scriptorium even is at this point. You’re referring to it as some sort of organization, but it’s also a place, and you said that Xerxes is a Scriptorium user, which makes me think that there’s some sort of magic at play here beyond just a learning skill.” Gio replied.

“Aptly said. Don’t be too intimidated, they’ve largely lost their teeth over the years, but yes- the Scriptorium is a vault. The libraries of the Crystal Ring are largely public circulation. Even in the deepest parts of the Owl’s Respite and other highways like it, you are free to take whatever you find, or whatever finds you. A vault is the opposite. The beings that lord over the vaults are built, bred, forged, or summoned with the goal to keep things and knowledge inside their coffers. The Scriptorium is also home to a team of maintainers who add to the vault and try to bargain with its guardians. These maintainers usually develop a magical, symbiotic relationship to the information that they are cleared to access. It’s useful, but if you’re not careful, they will bleed you dry of time and willpower. Enough talk of the Scriptorium, tell me about [Mirror Image].”

Gio took a deep breath in while he opened the report he had written to a specific page, detailing the contents of the spellform.

“To begin with, [Mirror Image] is -in its simplest essence- a simple illusion that creates one or more copies of the caster for the purpose of misdirection. The listed subsections you will find in the illustration I have provided are all identical in function among several versions of the spell. The modern versions use light magic to create a visual duplicate of the caster, while the antiquated version uses an overly complex series of reflections to instead create multiple “Pepper’s ghost” illusions. I also couldn’t find any references to where the name “Peppe-”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s a long and complicated story involving subjects that you don’t want to know about.” Baphelus interrupted.

“I understand. So, these illusions bend the light using mirror mana in the old versions, while the new versions just make new light. Xerxes and I also postulate that the older version would be fallible in that the nature of the reflection could mean that if you were to say, shoot paint at the original, it would show up on all of the copies but not vice-versa.” Gio finished.

“A good report. There is one detail that you’re missing, but I would have been very surprised if you managed to find any paper trail of this particular… superstition. The antiquated version of mirror image was infamous for having a string of what some mages would call “preposterous” fables surrounding it. I will tell you one of my anecdotal experiences with this phenomenon. “

Adjusting himself, Baphelus looked off into the crystalline walls surrounding them.

“When I was… alive, I had a friend- we’ll call him Gerry. Gerry was an archmage of illusion, and a vicious trickster. He constantly tried to prank us, and was notorious for hiding things that didn’t belong to him. He also had a dizzying amount of persistent illusions on his person at all points in time. One day, I was looking for a bottle of medicine. Gerry had hidden it, and was taunting me- telling me he’d only give it back if I did a little jig for him. He left the room… but one of his mirror images didn’t. Now, I, like most powerful necromancers, have [Soul Sight]. I knew that it wasn’t him. But his… reflection led me to the medicine, hidden in plain sight. The image placed one finger over his lips, as if to say: “Let’s keep this between us.” It was an interesting experience, to say the least.”

“I’m confused. The illusion magic should only be light based, it shouldn’t have any other components. Are you sure that he wasn’t messing with you? He was a trickster, right?” Gio asked.

Baphelus smiled.

“He was furious. He was particularly good at hiding things, you see. He took it as a point of pride. My theory is that his trickster personality was reflected by the mirror mana. Who better to trick a trickster, than a trickster? Many stories about this exist… none of them have been proven by academic mages. By all means, mirror mana has been well studied. But it is a complex aspect, and complex aspects are fickle.” Baphelus replied.

“A complex aspect… an aspect containing other component aspects that exceeds the sum of its components, right?” Gio wondered.

“Correct. There’s notes of glass, and light, and sometimes even silver, but it is also self-complete. Mirrors in their base function serve to reflect, bend, distort, or copy. In simpler terms, they reflect light and create a reverse image of what is in front of them. But mirror mana does more than just bounce everything back at its source. Mirror mana, when not acting as a barrier to reflect, acts as a gateway to the reflection.”

Gio pulled out a stack of paper and began taking notes.

“Ask yourself, what is the difference between book, and ink mana? Library and book? Knowledge and library? All mana bleeds into all other mana, at some level. While knowledge mana may be present in a book, It is not in-and-of-itself, a book. While a book may contain knowledge, it is not a library. These delineations may not resonate with you fully, but they do matter.”

“Your next assignment is going to be to tell me in detail what mirrors mean to you. Your last assignment was very logical- this one should be emotional. Don’t use big fancy words. But before that, let’s imbue these spellforms! You’re going to guide my hand through your inscription process- without using your gut feelings. Are you starting to see where I’m going with this?” Baphelus asked.

“I think I am.” Gio replied.