Mirror, Mirror (storyline)

Mirror, Mirror was a storyline that took place in 2008. The order of the posts has been changed for clarity.

Background Information

Posted by ENCELADAN 19 June 2008

If you want the more concise and in-depth explanations, a few pages back Deneri, I think, posted some logs.

Brief synopsis is, two hundred years ago an Ivasian, Yvianne, and an Eorginian, Maeilvina were rivals. Yvianne was old and ugly, and Maeilvina young and beautiful. Yvianne cast a curse on Maeilvina, which caused her to age and wither, as if she were many years older. In turn, this made Yvianne young once again. Yvianne was also fairly powerful in her own right, and sent her minions to harass the fledgling fortress and wayside inn that would one day become the town of Wehnimer's Landing.

In an attempt to stop Yvianne, Maeilvina had a mirror crafted that could both reverse the curse and trap Yvianne within it. After a brief scuffle, Yvianne was sealed in the mirror, and the curse reversed. The mirror was hidden in a cottage which belonged to Maeilvina, and left for two hundred years.

About a month ago, a pair of Ivasian acolytes arrived in Wehnimer's, attempting to find the cottage and mirror. After some investigation, the cottage was found one evening, and in the process, the two acolytes were killed, and the mirror shattered, which resulted in Yvianne being freed. At the time, it wasn't obvious that Yvianne was a danger, so she was allowed to remain free. The shards of the mirror were left behind, and those who picked them up found themselves afflicted with the same withering curse that had affected Maeilvina (though we didn't know this at the time).

About a week later, a woman named Maieva arrived in town. Turns out that the aforementioned Maeilvina was her great great great great (plus or minus a great or two) aunt, and she was now afflicted with the withering curse. With her arrival, the intent was to recover the mirror frame, which was hidden by the newly re-empowered Yvianne. Yvianne had drawn the youth and certain features from the shardholders, and sent her minions to attack the town several times. Over the course of the next two weeks, several skirmishes and search attempts occurred until the mirror frame was found in the Vipershroud. Maieva returned the frame to the cottage, and eventually all the shards but one, Maieva's, was returned.

This brings us to tomorrow night. It's believed that when Maieva returns her shard, Yvianne will be drawn toward the mirror and likely resealed. Once that's done, an attempt to either break the enchantment, or alter it so that she dies of old age will be made. It's believed that Yvianne will make one last, desperate attempt to prevent this from happening.

Not quite so brief, but those are the key points. A lot of other little things happened too, such as attempts to bargain with Yvianne, the creation of an eleventh shard, and a lot of general underhanded meetings and backstabbing attempts. While not essentially key to the entire plot, they definitely provided opportunities for interaction and character development.

-Aydan-

Part 1

Posted by COMPGEEK78 27 May 2008

I don't know if anyone that was involved in this storyline so far has a log of the event, but I thought I would post some information that has developed from this interesting storyline.

It all started for my character when he was approached by a woman name Vikiande looking for help in finding some mirror. Another person had found her wandering around outside the town gates and brought her into town to find more people to help. She thought the mirror might be in the Temple in the Landing, but was afraid to go into the temple by herself. She was a follower of Ivas and feared the priests of the Temple here in town might not welcome her presence.

A few of us accompanied her to the temple to help her look. She started to reveal to us that she was hoping to become a priestess of Ivas and that her task was to find this mirror and return it to her order. She remarked that someone might be trapped inside this mirror. A priestess of Ivas, named Yvianne had been trapped in the mirror by a priestess of Eorgina, Maeiva. Finding nothing in the temple, she left us to continue looking for the mirror.

A few days later, Vikiande found me in town and again asked a few people for help in finding the mirror. We went out to the old Hanging Inn to look at the amazing mirror out there, but Vikiande said that wasn't it. After looking a few other places, Vikiande said she would leave us to continue searching.

The next day, Vikiande found us again and this time she had been asked to come meet with one of the temple workers who had a ledger with records about the mirror in question. It seems that two women, one a priestess of Ivas and another a priestess of Eorgina had some sort of competition between them over things of beauty. They had eached purchased a mirror, one framed in ebonwood, the other framed in gold. The ledger referred to a cottage out in the wilds south of the Landing and some of the people in the group wanted to take Vikiande looking for it. She refused to go, wishing to study the ledger more on her own. She told us she would meet us the next day around noon. She never showed and left many of us wondering what had happened.

Two days after she was supposed to meet with us, a priestess of Ivas showed up asking after Vikiande (unfortunately, I can't remember this one's name). I'll continue the rest of the story with a log of my retelling for the person who originally found Vikiande, but was not able to be there when the rest of the story happened.

Elegeia waves to you.
Elegeia smiles.
Speaking to Elegeia, you ask, "Did you hear the news?"
Speaking to you, Elegeia says, "Only partially and from a drunk."
Elegeia stands up.
Elegeia asks, "Can you tell me the story?"
You chuckle at Elegeia.
Elegeia says, "I'm sad I wasn't here."
You nod to Elegeia.
You say, "Me too."
You say, "Although, I think you may be better off with not being there."
Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "So what happened?"
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Well, another priestess from the same order as Vikiande came to town, searching for Vikiande."
Elegeia nods to you.
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "She was trying to find her and follow up on her trail for the mirror."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "After a bit of arguing in the park, Aessa lead the priestess and a few others to this cottage in the woods. Outside the cottage, we found Vikiande's body torn apart and pierced with thorns."
Elegeia's face turns slightly pale.
You nod to Elegeia.
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "As one of us tried to enter the cottage, the thorny barrier blocking the door attacked us."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "We battled the vines for awhile, but didn't seem to be making much progress. The vines were doing some serious damage and we didn't have a healer with us."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "We called on the amunet for a healer to come out. She healed us up and we continued the battle with the vines, eventually burning them down and gaining entrance to the cottage."
Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "What was in the cottage?"
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "At first, it seemed nothing...A bedroom with an ebonwood four-poster bed and a mirrored vanity of the same material."
Yuritau removes a bundle of storm grey arrows from in his bow case.
You say, "A kitchen and a backyard."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "We fiddled with the vanity for a bit but couldn't figure anything out. IF you remember Vikiande thought the mirror's frame to be made of ebonwood."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "After a bit more searching, one of use discovered a trap door in the kitchen. It lead down into the cellar where there was a large metal door. Thankfully, we had a skilled locksmith with us to open it."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Opening the door lead us into a hidden room with a golden mirror. Looking into the mirror, one saw their own reflection, but also saw the face of a woman trapped inside the mirror."
Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "Did you break the mirror?"
You say, "The priestess of Ivas wanted to break the mirror, but several in the group didn't think it was wise. The leader of the group pushed everyone out, but I snuck back in. Being a halfling, I don't think he saw me sneak in."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "When I got back in, I felt an impulse to break the mirror. I tried to break it by casting at it, swinging my runestaff at it and punching it, but nothing seemed to work."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Eventually, the priestess must have convinced the rest to come back in. They came in and argued about breaking it. After a short time, the woman in the mirror started bashing the mirror. So I bashed it back and lo and behold, it started to break."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "I must have opened the floodgates, because then everyone else started bashing it as well."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "It finally broke and shards of the mirror flew everywhere."
You open a small black alchemy case embroidered with a silver-threaded slit-pupiled eye.
You remove a ragged sanguine mirror shard from in your black alchemy case.
You show Elegeia your sanguine mirror shard.
Elegeia asks, "And the priestess did she come out?"
You say, "The priestess that went with us bent down to examine one of the shards. When she bent to pick it up, it flew into her throat."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "She died on the spot and the body of the priestess Yvianne appeared."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "The one trapped in the mirror."
Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "But dead?"
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "She was alive, but just barely."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "She had aged incredibly though."
You say, "Old and wrinkled, brittle and breaking."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "I don't remember who was first, but a couple of us picked up the shards of the mirror. It slashed our hands and seemed to have diseased or cursed us."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "If you look at my face, you can see the signs of age that have appeared..."
[He is tiny and appears to be young.  He has bright ale-brown eyes and nut brown skin.  He has short, curly chestnut hair.  He has a variety of liver spots darkening all of his exposed skin.] (A look at myself)
Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "It gave you liver spots?"
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Age spots we figure."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "But as we picked up the shards, it seemed Yvianne was getting better."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "All of us except Aessa and Atasa picked up the shards. The more we waited, the more it seemed Yvianne was about to die."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "So I picked up another shard and then Phnordson did as well."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Unfortunately this didn't imporve the situation at all and Yvianne continued to get worse. The extra shards Phnordson and I picked up lept from our hands back to the floor."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Obviously they needed to be picked up by the other two."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Atasa picked hers up, but Aessa still refused."
Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "She didn't want liver spots?"
You shrug at Elegeia.
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "She didn't think we were doing the right thing...she thought Yvianne's time to die was hundreds of years ago. I can't accurately guess what was going on in her mind. It was a pretty unnerving series of events."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "From somewhere, another group showed up and one of them picked up the shard. Yvianne seemed restored and we carried her upstairs to her bed and set her down on it."

(At this point, it seemed that Yvianne disappeared. In a panic, we searched the house looking for her, only to find her in the bed, under the covers.)

Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Well, we all still had our shards and age spots and the mystery seemed unsolved, so we wandered around for a bit trying to figure out what was next."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Someone noticed that in the shards of mirror, a new face appeared."

You look at yourself carefully in the sanguine mirror shard...
As you begin to glance away from the mirror, you see the shadow of a woman gazing at you.  As you glance back, your eyes are drawn to the malevolent sneer that is twisting her lips, and then she is gone.

Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "Who is she?"
Elegeia asks, "Is it Vikiande?"
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "We do not know. Her face is still there..."
You say, "Haunting us maybe."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "I'd hand it to you so you can see, but I can't..."
Elegeia says, "Maybe only the people that were there can see her."
As you reach out to offer your sanguine mirror shard to Elegeia, your hand cramps violently, stopping your action!
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Back in the hidden room in the cellar one of us waved our shard at the frame and their shard flew back into the frame of the mirror."
You say, "Everyone else did the same and the mirror seemed reformed. Except there was one piece still in our hands."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "When the mirror was whole, there was a howl of terror and pain from upstairs."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "We ran back upstairs to check on Yvianne, but she was unchanged, asleep on the bed."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Heading back downstairs, we thought maybe the mirror being whole again had harmed Yvianne in some way. Someone posited that the person in the mirror now was probably the priestess who brought us here to find Yvianne. We thought maybe we could free her too if one of us gave our lives to the mirror."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "I started to bash on the mirror until I knew one more strike would kill me...I paused and asked my lord for guidance then hit the mirror one final time."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "I died...the mirror stayed whole, but Yvianne came down to find what had happened."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "When she walked into the room, she started to fail again. She fell and started to foam at the mouth."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "The cleric that was with us raised me and we rebroke the mirror."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "The same thing happened, Yvianne grew worse, but got better as we picked up the shards again."
You say, "Yvianne directed Phnordson, a bard who was with us, to attempt to loresing to his shard. It didn't respond to his songs earlier, but it did now."
You say, "Well, it sang a story of two priestess who had a competition between them...one old, one young."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Yvianne indicated that she was the young one."
Elegeia nods to you.
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "The older priestess had invited the younger over to reconcile their differences...or so the younger thought."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "When the younger one arrived, the older one pushed the younger into the mirror."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "As the younger fell into the mirror, her youth left her and she became old. At the same time, the older priestess gained the youth the younger had lost."
Elegeia asks, "Who was the older priestess?  Did they give her name?"
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "It was one we had heard earlier, the last time we saw Vikiande."
You say, "Maeive or Maeiva...I can't remember exactly."
Elegeia nods to you.
You say, "It seems that they competed over lots of things, usually things of beauty...the had both purchased a mirror, one was the ebonwood one Vikiande was looking for. That was Yvianne's purchase, the other was the mirror of gold we found in the cellar of the cottage."
You say, "Two priestesses of Ivas dead to return the life of a priestess who should have died hundreds of years ago."
You shake your head.
You say, "Something is amiss."
Elegeia asks, "So the ebonwood mirror is still.... not found?"
You look at Elegeia and shake your head.
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "Yvianne seems to think it might be at her old cottage, so we went out looking for it."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "She said she was too tired to continue our search and asked us to take her somewhere she could rest."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "We took her to the comfy room in the inn here in town and she fell asleep."
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "We left the room and Phnordson stood guard."
Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "What clues did she give about her home?"
Speaking to Elegeia, you say, "It was near the river near some docks."
Speaking to you, Elegeia asks, "Here in the landing?"
You say, "She knew Rone Wehnimer so we assumed it was here in the landing."
You say, "We thought about a lot of places, but her references to Rone and other landmarks make me pretty sure it's closed to the landing."

If any of you were involved have logs of the events, please either post them or send them to my play.net address and I will clean them up and post them here. And if anyone else remembers anything I have missed (like the name of the priestess who went with us to the cottage,) please share as well.

-Deneri

Part 2

Posted by COMPGEEK78 1 June 2008

Most of the Shardholders met for an attempt to commune with Oleani tonight. Here is a log of the events from my perspective. I unfortunately had to be away, so I tagged along in rest mode. This took place in the temple of Oleani in Solhaven.

Cierce says, "I am Cierce, and I aspire to be a servant of Oleani.  We gather here together this eve at the request of Aessa, another of Our  Lady's servants, to pray for an answer to your afflictions."
(Cierce glances out over the assembly.)
Cierce says, "I would instruct you, as we get started, and I will attempt to ask Oleani to hear and answer our prayers."
Cierce says, "First, I must ask any of you officially converted to the path of the Lornon to remove yourselves away from the altar area."
Cierce sighs.
Some light pink puffs of fragrant wild rose-scented smoke drift upward and about the pink marble censer on Aessa's belt.
Cierce says, "I have not attempted to commune with Oleani before, and my studies have lead me to fear that the presence of followers of the dark paths may offend my Goddess. ."
Cierce says, "If you are merely wearing the symbols of such and can remove them, please do so now.   ."
Cierce says, "I know, and we will not send a sufferer from the church, but away from her altar."
Cierce says, "Those of you wearing shoes, please remove them.  Those of you covering your heads, please bare them."
Aessa's group just went to a carved alabaster altar.

[I got left behind at this point so I don't know what happened.]

Aessa's group just arrived.
Aessa softly says, "We try in the garden."

Alifair says, "There are many who love gathered here, friends, family...perhaps we should concentrate on that as well."
Cierce beseeches her deity for some divine assistance.
Cierce says, "Alright, friends."
Cierce says, "I would ask you to wait here and pray for a few minutes."
Cierce says, "Whilst other clerics and I confer for a short time."
Cierce says, "Vender, please join Aessa."
Cierce says, "We will combine our knowledge and prayers."
Cierce says, "We have conferred."
Cierce says, "Due to the arduous nature of this prayer, Lord Vender will continue."
(Vender steps forward.)
Vender accepts Cierce's red heart candle.
Vender slowly empties his lungs.
Vender gazes in awe at a flower-etched red heart candle in his hand.
Vender carefully places his red heart candle on the ground.
Vender recites:
 "Oh Beloved Oleani, accept these offerings given to Thee begging Thy help in this time of great misfortune, and hear our question of communion."
Vender falls into a deep trancelike state while muttering softly, the exact words you cannot discern.  After a few silent moments, Vender calmly opens his eyes.
Vender recites:
 "Precious Oleani, Mistress of Adoration, these persons come before Thee, the springtime of their lives stolen from them by a vile cursed mirror.  They shattered the mirror in an act of good faith to aid a ensorcelled priestess."
Vender recites:
 "Some of them are cursed simply by their mercy in coming to the aid of their companions. We thank Thee for making Aessa steadfast in her ability to resist the evil spell of the shards, surely through the intervention in her heart of Thy loving presence."
Vender recites:
 "The priestess of the Illusionist has attempted to send these stricken folk and Thy cleric again on a path to find another mirror.  We pray for Thy lovingkindness to heal these accursed with age, to strike down the wickedness of Ivas the vainglorious, and grant them peace Grant the restoration of their normal appearance and health of their natural years, whether that be through the effort of finding the other mirror or through Thy intervention, we await Thy direction."
Vender continues to beseech the gods for mercy and guidance.
>>Crimson and white rose petals slip loose from the surrounding roses.  Their velvety hues mingle upon the ground and slowly drift near the fountain.
Phnordson stares at a small pool.
Phnordson shudders.
Cierce gasps.
Cierce says, "A presence is here.."
Cierce beams!
Aessa carefully places a barely open pale pink rose blossom on the ground.
Vender recites:
 "The priestess of the Illusionist has attempted to send these stricken folk and Thy cleric again on a path to find another mirror.  We pray for Thy lovingkindness to heal these accursed with age, to strike down the wickedness of Ivas the vainglorious, and grant them peace Grant the restoration of their normal appearance and health of their natural years, whether that be through the effort of finding the other mirror or through Thy intervention, we await Thy direction."

>>Moving in gentle, undulating movements, the petals converge upon the edge of the fountain.  Slowly the join into one form and with every passing moment, the form takes on shape.
(Vender slowly draws his head up, directing it to the fountain.)
>>Elegant, slender, and refined, the form is that of a woman made all the more beautiful by the petals that comprise her dress, her hair, and her face.
>>Bending at the waist, the petal-woman lifts the blossom from the ground and touches it to her lips.
Cierce says, "The honor is...unfathomable."
Aessa softly murmurs, "My Lady, I--I wish to help these people...."
Aessa softly says, "We all do..."
Cierce asks, "Beloved Oleani, Goddess of Rebirth, how may these folk be healed?"
>>From her perch, the woman gazes at those assembled and begins to count point her rose at those afflicted by curse of the mirror shard.  A frown touches her brow, the beautiful of it having the ability to steal the breath.
Aessa softly says, "They suffer under this vanity...of two priestesses...because of it, they suffer.."
Aessa softly says, "Some have left my Lady.."
>>With a searching gaze she lifts her eyes to the northeast for a brief moment, and then slowly returns her gaze back.
Aessa softly asks, "Northeast of here? Is where our answer lay?"
Aessa softly says, "We thank you for your presnce here my Lady Oleani."
>>Eyes fashioned of white petals fall upon Aessa and a small frown mars the tiny mouth.
Cierce asks, "Beloved Oleani, shall we move from this place to the northeast?"
>>The petal-woman shakes her head at Cierce.
Aessa softly says, "We..we have been looking for a second mirror."
Alifair says, "Is there anything we can do..."
Phnordson says, "Let the lady speak, in her own time, and her own way. You can't hurry love... we just have to wait."
>>The petal-woman smiles upon Phnordson.
Cierce says, "Beloved Mistress, what shall we do to spare these afflicted ones?  ."
>>Rising from her perch upon the fountain's edge, the petal-woman stands.  Her movement is grace itself.
Lifting her hands to the air, the woman begins to trace a complex design in the air.  As she draws, petals begin to shift from her fingertips and form the moons in the sky.  Tapping them slightly, they begin to wax and wane.
Phnordson says, "It is a celestial clock."
>>The petal-woman nods in agreement.
Aessa softly asks, "We must wait out the phases of the moon?"
Phnordson nods to Aessa.
>>Once more the woman draws in the air, each time a bit more of her petals forming the images before her.  Ten men and woman stand beneath the rotatting stars, their hands linked together.
Alifair asks, "Those afflicted must gather?"
Aessa softly says, "The afflicted."
Aessa nods slowly.
Phnordson says, "All of us... a specific place, a specific time."
>>The petal-woman smiles upon Alifair.
>>Petals from the deep folds of the figures gown rippled and dance as they move up her body towards her hands.  In a sweeping gesture that sheds petals, the woman gestures to the north.
Speaking to herself, Alifair says, "They must gather to the north."
>>Smiling once more, the woman turns to Aessa.  A frown mars her features but it is gentle and kind.  She lifts a finger to the young woman's temple for a brief moment, but then lowers it and presses her petal-formed palm against Aessa's heart.  The smile that she bestows upon her is beautiful and compassionate.
(Aessa gazes up at Oleani her eyes filled with tears as she smiles.)
Aessa softly says, "I will."
Aessa softly says, "I will listen."
>>The cool breath of night skips through the garden, its tendrils laced with the scents of the port and thick with those of the roses.  Slowly, they tug at the petal-woman as she sits upon the edge of the fountain.  Within moments, the petals are carried away and over the walls of the garden towards Vornavis.
Cierce sighs happily.
Alifair slowly empties her lungs.
Kernn tilts his head up.
Phnordson grins ear-to-ear.
Atasa's wings flutter, trembling slightly.
Atasa glances upward.
Emran gives Atasa a lingering kiss on the cheek.
Emran seems to lose some dexterity.
Vender slowly empties his lungs.
Cierce says, "We have indeed been blessed this eve."
Atasa leans softly against Emran.
Alifair says, "Well that is hopeful."
Phnordson meekly says, "That... was... really neat."
Zoler nods to Cierce.
Phnordson sighs.
Vender says, "Thank you... for allowing me to be a part of this."
Atasa smiles at Vender.
Alifair says, "As to what it all means..."
Cierce says, "Thank you for lending your strength, Lord Vender."
Phnordson smiles.
Cierce hugs Vender, who wraps her in a warm embrace.
Alifair shakes her head, totally at a loss.
Speaking to Cierce, Vender says, "And for your help."

Part 3

Posted by COMPGEEK78 21 June 2008

The night started with a bunch of invasion critters, lots of death and the Drakes defending the cottage to keep us safe as Maieva finished destroying the mirror. Our story starts with many of us sitting in the front room of the cottage.

You see Maieva.
She appears to be a Human.
She is tall and appears to be an adult.  She has crow's feet-ringed, milky pale mist-hued eyes and blotchy and discolored skin.  She has hip-length, lustrous straight ebony hair.  She has a heavily wrinkled face and a variety of liver spots darkening all of her exposed skin.  Her face is slender with high cheekbones and full lips.
She is in good shape.
She is wearing a thin-chained silver ferroniere strung with a flawless despanal, some round-cut scarlet despanal earrings, a silver tri-strand necklace of grey moonstones and despanal chips, a silver-capped leather staff harness slung over her shoulder, a tapering charcoal velvet chasible with a flame-embroidered hood, a wide silver gem-inset band, some layered ash-hued silk robes with trailing bell sleeves, and a pair of trim grey velvet slippers.

Maieva swiftly flips through the pages in her tome, pausing for a moment to scan a page.
Maieva turns back to her tome, flipping another couple of pages before pausing again.

A thin stream of viridian smoke trails in beneath the door, and along with it comes a cold whisper of laughter.

A dark sliver suddenly passes across the skin of Aydan's forehead, then seemingly burrows right inside.  Shortly after, Aydan screams in agony!
A dark sliver suddenly passes across the skin of Raelee's forehead, then seemingly burrows right inside.  Shortly after, Raelee screams in agony!


Several other folks were hit by these slivers, one killing poor Aessa.
Aydan says, "Need to move while we can."
Maieva nods to Aydan.
Maieva says, "Go."

At this point, we moved from the front room of the cottage to the secret room which held the unfinished mirror frame. Maieva's shard was the last to go in.
[Cottage, Hidden Chamber]
The packed dirt floor and walls of the cellar above give way here to smooth stone and mortar, encasing the chamber above, below, and on all sides in cold rock.  Directly opposite the heavy invar-reinforced steel door is a vacant space, the stones on the floor discolored.  To either side are a pair of four-limbed candelabra, their arms coated in crimson wax from the spend candle stubs they support.  You also see a sleek pale golden wildcat, the Zorastra disk, a flame-carved gold-ringed mirror, an arctic wolf that is sitting, the Mysticrezer disk, a moping mountain spirit that is flying around, the Alifair disk, the Nuadjha disk, the Katry disk, a steel invar-banded door, an elite temple guardian and an elite temple guardian.
Also here: Zorastra, Alifair, Roxanna, Zoler, Lady Atasa, Svatahor, High Lord Mysticrezer, Nuadjha, Phnordson, Katry, Raelee, Vender, Amberleia, Vilkea, Kippe, Maieva, Nilandia, Aessa who is lying down, Aydan
Obvious exits: none

Maieva waves her sanguine mirror shard at the mirror frame, and it suddenly flies from her hand. As it merges with the other pieces set into the frame, a sanguine light wraps Maieva and momentarily obscures her from view.
With a fusing of the pieces, the mirror becomes whole.

Maieva gazes with interest at a flame-carved gold-ringed mirror.

Glancing at the mirror, the visage of a woman arises, her features aged and her expression fierce with anger.  Just as quickly as the vision rose in the glass, it fades away.

Speaking quietly to herself, Maieva says, "Must break the enchantment."

A pained, defiant cry echos through the area with a single scream, "No!"
Maieva says, "Yes, Yvianne...yes."
Maieva approaches the mirror with a purposeful stride, her hands rising to cast back the sleeves of her robe.
Maieva gazes into the mirror, the words of an incantation murmured softly on her lips.  As each syllable falls on the air, the surface of the mirror begins to shift, becoming sheened with an almost pearlescent finish.
Maieva slowly empties her lungs.
Maieva watches on intently as the solidity of the mirror seems to drain away, its surface rippling like the face of a still pond in the wake of a stone's disturbance.  Without pause, she continues to chant, the volume of her words rising.
Maieva raises her palms toward the mirror's face as the pitch of her voice meets its peak, and with a forceful lunge, she plunges her hands and arms elbow-deep into the mirror.  A sharp gasp falls from her lips.
Maieva grows more ardent in her chanting, brows drawn low with effort.  Behind the glass of the mirror, a subtle incarnadine luminescence forms around her hands, and the black waters of the mirror's depths begin to shift around Yvianne's form.
Maieva tenses as she gazes into the mirror.
Maieva curls her hands into fists within the mirror, the aura around them growing more intense with every moment.  The currents beneath the surface of the mirror quicken, and with a pained cry, Maieva rips her hands from the mirror with a deafening reverberation.

Yvainne falls forward from the depths of the mirror to land in a heap upon the ground.

An elite temple guardian hoists Yvianne up by the shoulders quickly.

Maieva curls her arms against her stomach protectively as she grimaces.

Writhing and twisting, the effects of true aging grip Yvianne's form.  Skin begins to dry up and rot, nails and hair grow yellowed as they lengthen with age, and limbs wither in bent parody of their former subtleness.

Yvianne makes a wheezing sound.

Yvianne desperately says, "Mercy..."

Speaking to Yvianne, Phnordson says, "My darling... why did you not listen."

Yvianne writhes in agony, her skin slowly rotting on her bones.

Speaking quietly to Yvianne, Maieva says, "There...is no mercy for you here."

Yvianne begins to twitch.

You see Yvianne Wispwraithen.
She appears to be a Human.
She is average height and appears to be young.  She has mismatched, almond-shaped emerald green and milky white eyes and dried and wrinkled skin.  She has long, stringy dull grey hair riddled with rotted patches and large sections of missing hair..  She has a wrinkled and pitted, angular face.  She appears to be withering and decrepit.
She is in good shape.
She is holding a carmiln runestaff in her right hand.
She is wearing a pale green fitted gossamere houppelande with elbow-banded mustard yellow sleeves, a stalk of tuberose, an antiquated clinging white gown, a polished wide golden cincher, and a pair of ankle-wrapped sandals.


Phnordson, from the beginning, sided with Yvianne. He generally put his support on her side of the conflicts, often paying for it with his life.
Phnordson turns around.
Phnordson says, "I can't watch."

Maieva continues to hug her arms to herself, but stands a little straighter as she looks on Yvianne.

Yvianne's skin peels back showing the fine bones of her face, her mouth open in a silent scream that terminates in gurgling sounds.
Phnordson covers his ears.
Phnordson sobs.

Maieva gazes unerringly at Yvianne.
Yvianne wheezes, "Mercy..."

Bones splinter to dust within the woman's arms, and her body is rendered useless, but her now lidless eyes remain open to display the depths of her agony.

Maieva smiles at Yvianne, though no expression of joy reaches her eyes.  With a hiss of breath, she whispers, "Be gone, wretch.  This is all the mercy you will receive.

Speaking mournfully to Yvianne, Phnordson says, "Goodnight."
Phnordson hugs Yvianne.
You say, "Eesh, no one deserves that."
Aydan concentrates deeply for a moment.
Aydan swings an exquisite vaalorn bastard sword at Yvianne! AS: +444 vs DS: +490 with AvD: +46 + d100 roll: +78 = +78 A clean miss.

Yvianne's lips part once more but her throat is gone, and soon her lips turn to dust as well to reveal only teeth.

Phnordson glances at Aydan.
Aydan says, "End this."
Aydan says, "She does not need to suffer more."
Maieva gazes at Yvianne.
Maieva says, "It is ended."
Yvianne's body decays into compost.
Maieva slowly empties her lungs.
Mysticrezer recites quietly:
 "Lady Lorminstra grant your peace to one Yvianne Wispwraithen."
Phnordson says, "I hope it was worth it."
Phnordson reaches out and touches a flame-carved gold-ringed mirror.
Alifair looks at Phnordson blankly, at a loss to express herself.
Maieva glances at Phnordson.
Maieva says, "It was."
Speaking quietly to Maieva, Aydan asks, "The enchantment has been broken completely?"
Maieva nods to Aydan.
Maieva says, "I am not in much of a condition to check the mirror appropriately at the moment..."
Speaking to Maieva, Alifair says, "Your arms..."

You see Maieva.
She appears to be a Human.
She is tall and appears to be an adult.  She has dark-rimmed pale mist-hued eyes and ivory skin.  She has hip-length, lustrous straight ebony hair.  She has an oval face.  Angry red streaks have begun to appear on her arms and hands.
She is in good shape.
She is wearing a thin-chained silver ferroniere strung with a flawless despanal, some round-cut scarlet despanal earrings, a silver tri-strand necklace of grey moonstones and despanal chips, a silver-capped leather staff harness slung over her shoulder, a tapering charcoal velvet chasible with a flame-embroidered hood, a wide silver gem-inset band, some layered ash-hued silk robes with trailing bell sleeves, and a pair of trim grey velvet slippers.

Maieva says, "I do not believe it is enchanted any longer, no."

We then moved back to town, at Maieva's request, to thank the Drakes for their defense of the cottage.

The Mirror

Posted by PHNORDIII 23 June 2008

Hi everybody, your favorite Bard here with some info on the whole mirror thing.

First off, I had a really great time with this quest. Sure, maybe some of it coulda gone a li'l better but hey, I had a blast (Several of 'em in fact!) and I hope others did too. In the end, I made a lot of new friends and isn't that the important part, really?

Secondly, to Maieva and the person behind her, no hard feelings, eh? Hehehehe.

Third, to Yvianne (where ever she is)... Ya know, you really were a pain in the arse. And after all I did for you, not even a 'thank you'. :::Scold:::

Fourth, we sally.

And finally, to those who wanna know the TRUE story behind the mirror, here's a little somethin':

>get shard
You remove a ragged black mirror shard from in your green leather carryall.
>l shard
Unlike ordinary mirror glass, this shard is of an ebon hue, with a glossy reflective surface. Though its edges are jagged, they remain frightfully sharp and are tinged with a curious sanguine haze. Obviously a smaller portion of a larger whole, the piece has a curved edge that perhaps was once fitted into a frame. Despite its diminutive size, the seemingly depthless black glass has a peculiar weight.
>weigh shard
You carefully examine the black mirror shard and determine that the weight is about 3 pounds.
Roundtime: 5 sec.

As your voice beckons to the shard in your hand, it responds with a slight tremor accompanied by a low whisper. As the sound swirls around you, two voices emerge, still hushed in the back of your mind, but obviously engaged in a heated discussion. A vision arises to accompany the conversation, and you see before your mind's eye a grey-eyed young woman with ebon hair standing before an elder female with striking emerald eyes and silvered hair. Just as you settle into the scene, it darkens and fades.

As Phnordson's voice beckons to his shard, it tremors in his hand ever so slightly, and a hushed whisper seems to emanate from it. As the song continues, the whispers grow and there seems to be two voices, though their words are incomprehensible. Just as soon as the whispers arose, they quiet again, and the shard stills in Phnordson's hand.

With the urging of your song, the scene unfolds. The older woman addresses the younger, condemning her for pride and arrogance. "It will bring your ruin, Maeilvina," she remarks. The youth takes notice of the gazes that have fallen upon them. "Enough, Yvianne. I will suffer your condemnation no longer. If you wish to see the architect of your discontent, look to your own vanity." The youth turns her back on the elder and moves away through the crowd. In an emerald flash, the vision fades.

Phnordson's eyes widen as his song entwines the shard. For a moment, he seems to weaken, legs trembling slightly as the shard in his hand vibrates insistently. With a gasp, Phnordson nearly loses his grip on the shard and takes a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Your vision returns with a frightful clarity on an equally disturbing scene. Maeilvina, once young and beautiful, is hunched on her knees. Her ebon hair is streaked with silver and grows paler by the second, just as her skin becomes pallid and her limbs frail. Above her, Yvianne stands, her hands clawed on the air as she channels energy toward Maeilvina in thin wisps of viridian. A glimpse of Yvianne's face finds her age melting away to a countenance of youth. You gasp as your sight diminishes.

As the notes of Phnordson's song reach out toward the shard, he lifts his head and gazes into the distance. Though wide open, his eyes seem blind, as they flicker erratically back and forth. With only a small gasp as a warning, Phnordson stumbles backward slightly, his grip on the shard tightening dangerously. For breathless moments, he stands unmoving, before finally taking a deep breath and blinking away the glaze in his eyes.

Your sight opens to women in robes marked with flames, standing before an ebonwood and black glass mirror, chanting. At the front is Maeilvina, with Yvianne betwixt herself and the mirror. A wrinkled hand lifts, releasing a lash of energy that tosses Yvianne against the mirror, the surface of which has begun to churn. Instead of breaking glass, there is only a scream as she falls INTO the mirror. As Maeilvina's youth returns, the glass mutes the other woman's screams. At once, your vision goes black.

And that's all I could coax out of it.

So, looks like Maieva was tellin' the truth after all.

Who knew? q;}

Credits

Posted by GM Xayle 21 June 2008

I just wanted to give a shout out to some folks here at the end of things.

GM Alyias for his coding genius on the shards and the mirror.

GM Thandiwe, for her outstanding imagination and spirit.

GM Vesmera, for humoring Thandiwe and I on our pyscho quest to see this thing through.

Our cast of characters, in order of appearance:

Vikiande, played by Vesmera.

Senenive, played by Xayle.

Yvianne, played by Thandiwe.

Maieva, played by Xayle.

And, the sometimes guardian, played by Thandiwe.

I also want to give a HUGE, and I mean big, round of applause and thanks to the players involved in the storyline. From the shard holders to the defenders, and even spies and the spectators, you were all wonderful. We couldn't have asked for a better group of people or more heart from your characters.

I appreciate everyone's patience and commitment to see this through. You guys really brought the thing to life.

Thank you!

~ X.