( he'd warn that anyone else might show up too, because they are all sharing a tower no matter the number of floors, and Lan Zhan does stop by, but none of this is anything he believes escapes his mirror image. (still better fed, even while Lan Zhan has ensured Wei Wuxian doesn't continue to easily forget to eat.)
As it is, when found, he's tending to Zenobius's hair with a wooden comb. Careful, because right now, all he knows of it comes from the memory lived through in the man's mind, and fainter recollections from a time both a decade and a half ago and no time at all, with a smaller, squirmier target: A-Yuan. )
[In spite of their various adventures, Moran still manages to look remarkably put together. not a hair out of place, and his silk robes are pristine. Most probably thanks to Xunxian, but details.
And well, yes, they could be overheard, but at this stage, Moran believes it doesn't matter much. He'd still discuss this in private first, but at some point, things will come out.
He gives a small nod of greeting when he comes in, and spares a glance to the old lighthouse keeper who is more than he appears to be.]
Still no sign of waking?
[It seems polite to ask.]
... Like the charges in his care before, almost.
As you may have surmised, this is about the mirrors. Some of what we discovered here has been confirmed by other events. The mirrors affect everything and everyone. Humans, creatures like the mermaids... and even the undead Lords themselves.
No, nothing to suggest he'll stir from this anytime soon.
( he nods to the sleepers--he's heard of them, without having going through a door of wishes, wary of costs. perversion of intent suffuses this place, in all ways.
as do the mirrors, he supposes. a slow nod to Moran, for his statement. )
Mirrors that take memories, gifts of ability, reason... what else do you surmise?
Just to expand a bit on the scope of what they are capable of, exactly.
[Let him take a seat.]
Do you remember that small hand mirror we found in the bank vault in Sa-Hareth? It was round and quite small. Lady Winnie carried it on her person for a long time, but it didn't seem to do anything special.
The next one we encountered was the one on the ship, which was big and by accounts on those subjected to it, stole abilities and memories, but they would come back after a while. That one was broken and the shards not recovered, if I remember correctly.
And then.... do you remember the blizzard, in Southern Taravast?
( as this is listening more than speaking right now, he nods. oh yes, he recalls the blizzard. nothing in that went kindly for him, but it hardly matters. he continues brushing out the hair of the unconscious man. )
This was caused by Anurr, as we are all aware. But how? I happen to have recently stumbled on the answer to that.
That small hand mirror from Sa-Hareth... It contained half of Anurr's powers. The blizzard happened because the mirror got broken.
[He knows he doesn't have to spell it out, but ...]
If such a small hand mirror is capable of holding half of an Undead Lord's powers such that their recovery can instantly engulf a third of a city under ice and snow, then what more can the other, bigger ones be capable of? And who is capable of making such things?
( how. and why was it there, retained, and then... the mirror breaks, and things are freed. )
And what came out when the mirror they had here shattered? The flow of his memories, if they were even in order... it shattered, he bleeds for it, there's the well, and the undead above it. All this starting in grief and loss, and ending in a endless cycling of it without end.
Yes. You might want to ask Master Five about it, if you manage to make him say the truth without evading.
[Moran has his own idea of who broke that mirror, to be honest, but no proof. He's not above throwing other people at Five to get to the bottom of this.]
Probably a lot. the people on the ship reported being dazed for hours if not days after only being subjected to them for a few moments.
[And they at least got breaks from it.]
Some are probably more powerful than others, to tell the truth. What are the effects we have observed so far?
Stealing memories. Stealing abilities. And storing them. Breaking seems to nullify that. And then there are the voices here who compelled some to restore a broken mirror instead, and that broken mirror once reassembled still had its powers, it seems.
Absorption, I want to point toward that. Stealing is one thing, but I feel this is absorbing, like watching cloth take up water when it's left near the shore. Wring out the cloth and the water flows back out, but it still held on, and the cloth even wrung out has been shaped to some extent by the water it held.
( Because in reassembling the mirrors, doesn't something happen? Are they all truly broken when rendered unwhole? )
Which would make sense, if like we were told, some people are trying to steal our abilities.
But then would that means that people who have been exposed to mirrors have now left some of themselves in them... and it could be sued against us again?
[Not a fun thing to think about.]
All of this magic is a bit beyond me, to be honest.
( and it's in thinking on zenobius, and the rest of their encounters, that he frowns. )
In a way, it feels more like curses of a kind unlike those I know than other magics. The sheer persistence of it too... even this sleep without waking. Granting wishes at a cost, much like casting a curse you bear the cost of while trying to seek some unpleasant gain.
It felt wise to share the information with someone who would understand what it means. I am afraid for Master Five that the truth will out rather sooner than he might want. I am leaving him a chance to come out and explain on his own, but...
[Well, that's unlikely.]
In any case, for some of us less aware, it would do well to remind them to be wary of mirrors.
He's reticent enough to make Lan Zhan seem chatty.
( said with the sort of sigh to it, and wry twist of his lips, that notes he's commenting on both parties, not awarding either one merits for his particular statements. )
It's necessary. People will still engage with them, I guarantee that, but we'll have the added satisfaction of going, "Really, we told you that's a terrible plan."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
un : dappled peals of the parted seas (voice)
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( he'd warn that anyone else might show up too, because they are all sharing a tower no matter the number of floors, and Lan Zhan does stop by, but none of this is anything he believes escapes his mirror image. (still better fed, even while Lan Zhan has ensured Wei Wuxian doesn't continue to easily forget to eat.)
As it is, when found, he's tending to Zenobius's hair with a wooden comb. Careful, because right now, all he knows of it comes from the memory lived through in the man's mind, and fainter recollections from a time both a decade and a half ago and no time at all, with a smaller, squirmier target: A-Yuan. )
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And well, yes, they could be overheard, but at this stage, Moran believes it doesn't matter much. He'd still discuss this in private first, but at some point, things will come out.
He gives a small nod of greeting when he comes in, and spares a glance to the old lighthouse keeper who is more than he appears to be.]
Still no sign of waking?
[It seems polite to ask.]
... Like the charges in his care before, almost.
As you may have surmised, this is about the mirrors. Some of what we discovered here has been confirmed by other events. The mirrors affect everything and everyone. Humans, creatures like the mermaids... and even the undead Lords themselves.
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( he nods to the sleepers--he's heard of them, without having going through a door of wishes, wary of costs. perversion of intent suffuses this place, in all ways.
as do the mirrors, he supposes. a slow nod to Moran, for his statement. )
Mirrors that take memories, gifts of ability, reason... what else do you surmise?
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[Let him take a seat.]
Do you remember that small hand mirror we found in the bank vault in Sa-Hareth? It was round and quite small. Lady Winnie carried it on her person for a long time, but it didn't seem to do anything special.
The next one we encountered was the one on the ship, which was big and by accounts on those subjected to it, stole abilities and memories, but they would come back after a while. That one was broken and the shards not recovered, if I remember correctly.
And then.... do you remember the blizzard, in Southern Taravast?
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I do, yes.
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That small hand mirror from Sa-Hareth... It contained half of Anurr's powers. The blizzard happened because the mirror got broken.
[He knows he doesn't have to spell it out, but ...]
If such a small hand mirror is capable of holding half of an Undead Lord's powers such that their recovery can instantly engulf a third of a city under ice and snow, then what more can the other, bigger ones be capable of? And who is capable of making such things?
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The mirror in the bank's vaults had his powers?
( how. and why was it there, retained, and then... the mirror breaks, and things are freed. )
And what came out when the mirror they had here shattered? The flow of his memories, if they were even in order... it shattered, he bleeds for it, there's the well, and the undead above it. All this starting in grief and loss, and ending in a endless cycling of it without end.
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[And yes, how and why and why was it there are all very good questions...]
.... If my memory serves me well, the vault we pillaged was that of a merchant. Not out friend's, but someone he knows.
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And why was it broken, this small hand mirror, after all those months of care?
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[But at the next one, Moran shakes his head.]
I was given the information by someone who said they 'were there' when it happened, but I don't have more information into how or why it happened.
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[Moran has his own idea of who broke that mirror, to be honest, but no proof. He's not above throwing other people at Five to get to the bottom of this.]
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( Said with a furrowed brow, considering how cagey Five is. Old spirit, young body. Perpetually and worseningly paranoid.
Hm. )
How much do you think the mirrors influence people over prolonged exposure?
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[And they at least got breaks from it.]
Some are probably more powerful than others, to tell the truth. What are the effects we have observed so far?
Stealing memories. Stealing abilities. And storing them. Breaking seems to nullify that. And then there are the voices here who compelled some to restore a broken mirror instead, and that broken mirror once reassembled still had its powers, it seems.
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( Because in reassembling the mirrors, doesn't something happen? Are they all truly broken when rendered unwhole? )
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But then would that means that people who have been exposed to mirrors have now left some of themselves in them... and it could be sued against us again?
[Not a fun thing to think about.]
All of this magic is a bit beyond me, to be honest.
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In a way, it feels more like curses of a kind unlike those I know than other magics. The sheer persistence of it too... even this sleep without waking. Granting wishes at a cost, much like casting a curse you bear the cost of while trying to seek some unpleasant gain.
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[Well, that's unlikely.]
In any case, for some of us less aware, it would do well to remind them to be wary of mirrors.
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( said with the sort of sigh to it, and wry twist of his lips, that notes he's commenting on both parties, not awarding either one merits for his particular statements. )
It's necessary. People will still engage with them, I guarantee that, but we'll have the added satisfaction of going, "Really, we told you that's a terrible plan."
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[Poor Five's ears must be ringing right now.]
If people ask me how I know, I'm not planning to hide it. I think he knows it and is just hoping people won't be curious enough to ask.
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( what he really means is this isn't the first time he's, ah, heard of parents trying to kill children. for political reasons, largely. )
So if I ask you to chat about this on the whole pendant-net?
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I have tried to change it on my level, but unfortunately, it's not always that easy.
[He smiles a little at Wei Wuxian.]
I would need to find a time that is appropriate to mention it, but it can be done.