Zophie smiled the sort of smile one uses for a close friend who has told a valuable secret. Hurriedly, she picked up the teapot and made a motion to pour him some more tea. This was a service she was apparently unaccustomed to performing, as she spilled tea all over the table. Mitsuru quickly wiped it up with a napkin.
“Adju Lupa told me,” Zophie said, her voice little more than a whisper. “He said that when you are alone sometimes, Master Mitsuru, you look very sad.”
The rotten spy. In one corner of his mind, Mitsuru cursed the man and his prying eyes.
“I think this must be when you remember the real world you have left behind. When you recalled the faces of your friends, and those you loved. It must make one very lonely to be so far from home.”
Mitsuru did not reply, which Zophie took to be an affirmation. “Lupa said you must want to get to the Tower of Destiny as soon as possible. I think he is right. It is only natural.”
She paused. “Still, still—my father has good reason to make you wait, Master Mitsuru. Adju Lupa suggested that perhaps, with only the explanation my father gave you, you would not understand why. That is why he asked me to speak with you on this matter.”
Everything was on account of the Mirror of Eternal Shadow, she told him. “The thing that the Crown of the Seal holds at bay is the mirror. Only the noble gemstone set upon that crown has the power to resist the mirror’s horrible strength. This gemstone you seek, it is the stone we call the Gem of Darkness.”
The Gem of Darkness. Something inside Mitsuru’s chest stirred.
“This gem was brought from the Dark to Vision. That is why it is able to stop the Mirror of Eternal Shadow.”
Mitsuru couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. “What exactly is this Mirror of Eternal Shadow? And this ‘Dark’? Is this another world, like the real world or Vision?”
A shadow came over Zophie’s lively features, and she seemed reluctant to speak. “It seems odd for me to be explaining this to you, Master Mitsuru, you being the Traveler, but please bear with me. The real world and Vision exist as a pair of opposites. But Vision exists only because the real world exists. Without the real world’s energies, Vision would cease to be. Between the two stands the Great Barrier of Light. And around them yawns the Abyss of Chaos.”
Mitsuru nodded and she continued. “To be more precise, we might say that the real world and Vision float in the abyss. We are but an ephemeral bubble drifting on the surface of an endless void. Yet I can think of no bubble more beautiful.
“A moment before, I said that the real world and Vision were a pair. This is true, yet their relationship is not equal. You see, while there is only one real world, there are many Visions. In addition to the Vision in which we live, there are many other Visions marking time beyond our knowledge.”
Wayfinder Lau hadn’t said anything of the sort, but Mitsuru wasn’t particularly surprised by this revelation. It made sense, considering that the imaginations of the real world created this one. There were many people living in the real world. With all that energy—all those thoughts and dreams and emotions—it made sense that there would be multiple Visions floating around.
“Parallel worlds, then?” Mitsuru asked, recalling something he had read in a science fiction novel once.
“Parallel?”
“No. Pay me no mind. Please, go on.”
Zophie looked to the side, as though she had lost her train of thought. This, too, seemed like a new experience for her. “In most cases, these Visions are peaceful worlds,” she continued, thinking while she spoke. “Much like the one that we live in here.”
“It is peaceful, now.”
“Yes,” she continued, choosing to ignore his comment, “but some of these Visions are filled with darkness and fear. They are dark worlds, casting shadows, knowing only animosity and destruction.”
“And these worlds are the Dark you mentioned?”
Zophie nodded. “I learned in my history lessons that the Dark are worlds that were meant to become Vision, yet failed. That is why they resent Vision, and would destroy it if they could. The darkness that swirls in those worlds yearns to infiltrate worlds like ours. It is waiting and watching always for that chance.
“Near the bottom of the Abyss of Chaos lie many seeds, as yet undifferentiated, yet each with the potential to become a new Vision,” she explained. “If they should rise and form a healthy Vision, then all is well, but if something goes wrong, and they become twisted and bent, then they fall into the Dark.”
Zophie trembled with fear as she spoke, yet Mitsuru was utterly calm. To him, it seemed odd that more worlds weren’t part of the Dark, given the people who had imagined them into being. In fact, he began to wonder if Visions like this one were not the irregularities. Mitsuru knew far too much about the evil and greed men were capable of to believe otherwise.
“Yet, if you look at their origins, both Vision and the Dark are born of the same stuff,” Zophie was saying. “That is why all Visions bear some similarities to the Dark. Perhaps you might call them connections to the Dark. It is thus impossible to have a world completely free of animosity, hate, and foolishness.”
“A very accurate observation, I’m sure,” Mitsuru said, taking the reins of the conversation back from Zophie. “So, in the case of this Vision in which we now live, this connection with the Dark is the Mirror of Eternal Shadow?”
“It is so.”
“So, if my understanding is correct, you need this Crown of the Seal to prevent an invasion from the Dark, right? If that were the case, then it would indeed make good sense that the Crown of the Seal not be moved.”
Zophie smiled, looking very much relieved.
“This is merely conjecture on my part, but might it be that the Imperial Family has, from the beginning of time, held the noble role of bearing this Mirror of Eternal Shadow, and preventing attack from the Dark?”
Zophie’s face lit up with joyful surprise. “Indeed, it is! It is exactly as you say. That is why my family wishes above all other things to unite Vision and rule it in peace. No, it is more than a desire, it is our mission. Our clan was, in the beginning of time, given responsibility for the Mirror of Eternal Shadow from the Goddess herself—we were chosen.”
“Quite a weighty responsibility,” Mitsuru said solemnly. “Hearing your story has cleared up another of my questions too.”
“Which question is this?”
“In the south, they say that the religion of the Old God followed in the north is a denial of the Goddess Creator. That is why, when I first met the emperor, I asked him first about your religion. Why, if he believed in the Old God, did he not see me, a Traveler, as a false god, and something to be abhorred?”
“I’m sorry,” Zophie said quietly.
“No, the emperor was very honest with me. He told me that this religion of the Old God is nothing more then a device to encourage opposition with the south, where the Goddess is revered above all others. In truth, you worship not the Goddess but the real world as your creator.”
“Yes, we do!”
“Yet, this does not have to be a denial of the Goddess. The Goddess does exist, and she does live in the Tower of Destiny. But she is the Goddess only of the fates of people from the real world, and she does not preside over those who live in Vision. So the emperor told me. Yet I was somewhat confused until I heard what you told me just now. Now I know that the Imperial Family is, in effect, the caretakers of Vision, ordained by the Goddess. The Goddess does not rule Vision, she has given that charge to the Imperial Family, and retired to her Tower of Destiny, knowing that the fate of her own world is in good hands.”
Zophie crossed her hands over her chest, and her face filled with light. “Master Mitsuru, you understood all this from my simple tale? This is truly magnificent. You are wiser than I dared hope.”
“No, it is all on account of m’lady’s considerate explanations.”
Zophie arched her neck in that way only girls of her age can do, and pouted ev
er so slightly. “If the Goddess truly governed everyone in Vision as those fools in the south believe, then it would be a simple thing for her to fend off the Dark from the Mirror of Eternal Shadow. Yet this she cannot do. That is why it is difficult for us to think of her as a true god.”
“I understand.”
“But the people of the south know nothing of these truths,” she said with such a look of cold disdain that Mitsuru was caught off-guard.
Didn’t know she had that in her.
“Still, none of this helps my cause,” Mitsuru said, putting a hand to his forehead. “If the Crown of the Seal performs such a vital function, then how can a mere Traveler such as myself ever hope to claim it?”
“Yes, you see…” Zophie leaned forward in her chair. “There’s something very important I haven’t said yet. There is another way in which the Mirror of Eternal Shadow might be sealed. Master Mitsuru, did you know of the Mirror of Truth?”
This was, of course, familiar territory. Wayfinder Lau had told him all about the mirror. He knew that on his journey he would meet people bearing these mirrors, that they were vital signposts to a Traveler, and that the mirrorbearers would be his friends on his journey, and aid him. He knew also that when he combined the gemstones he found with these mirrors, he could return to the real world—though only for a short period of time.
Just as Wayfinder Lau had said, as soon as he left the Village of the Watchers, Mitsuru had met someone carrying a Mirror of Truth.
The man was a beastkin, and as soon as he learned that Mitsuru was a Traveler, and that he needed the mirror, he asked Mitsuru to hire him. Apparently, the man made his money as a bodyguard. But Mitsuru had no intention of dragging the man along on his journey. Nor was he in need of any friends. And how could he trust someone he had to pay money to protect him?
So Mitsuru had killed him and stolen the mirror. Mitsuru wore it still.
“Yes, I know of it, or rather, them. Unlike the Mirror of Eternal Shadow of which you speak, the Mirror of Truth is not whole but has been broken into many fragments.”
“Yes, this is so. The Mirror of Truth was first broken by the hand of the Goddess herself, its fragments spread across Vision. Over time, the fragments fell into the hands of people who did not know their true worth.”
“But, if one could gather all the fragments and reconstruct a whole mirror?” Mitsuru asked.
“Yes. With its power, one could stop the Mirror of Eternal Shadow forever!” Zophie said, her voice swelling. “The Mirror of Eternal Shadow opens a path to the Dark, and the Mirror of Truth opens a path to the real world. Put them together, and they will destroy each other.”
This, she explained, is why several generations of emperors had made it their mission to gather all the fragments of the Mirror of Truth. “Sometimes they used rather violent means to do this. Yet Vision is vast, and it was difficult to cross the sea and search faraway lands with any thoroughness.”
But now the situation was changing. With powered boats, the unified north could create a unified Vision. This would make searching for the fragments and ultimately the reconstruction of the Mirror of Truth a simple task.
“If we use the power of the Mirror of Truth to stop the Mirror of Eternal Shadow, then we will no longer have a need for the Crown of the Seal. Then you will have your gemstone as you desire, Master Mitsuru. That is why my father asks you to wait. I hope you understand the depth of the reasons he has for doing this now.”
Mitsuru stood from his chair and bowed humbly. “I do understand. And I thank you for your generosity and consideration in telling me all of these things, m’lady.”
For a moment, Zophie was overcome with emotion, grabbing his hand, then clutching her own hands to her breast, and laughing. All the while, Mitsuru was thinking, coldly plotting his next move.
I wonder if this little girl or even the emperor realizes that when they reconstruct the Mirror of Truth and do away with the Mirror of Eternal Shadow forever, they will lose what right they had to special privileges as the chosen guardians of the Goddess. Or perhaps, they don’t care—as long as they unify Vision first, with them as its leaders.
Or perhaps they have grown tired, weary of their role as defenders of Vision. Being guardians of the world sounded good, yet he imagined the burden would be great. Not that any of this mattered much to Mitsuru.
“Might I ask one more question—purely to satisfy my curiosity as a Traveler from the real world?”
Zophie was refilling their cups with an unsteady hand. She nodded, her eyes bright.
Mitsuru reached out, grasping her hand. “Allow me to pour. We’ve covered some difficult territory here. Perhaps you should rest.”
“Yes, of course.”
“I was wondering, just how dangerous is this Dark? How strong are its powers? Do your scholars know anything of this?”
Zophie’s mouth tightened. “Once, and only once in the past…nearing the end of the War of Unification, for a brief moment only, the seal was broken, and the power of the Dark came into our world.”
“However did this happen?”
“It was, the histories tell us, done on purpose to defeat a formidable adversary of the Empire. They were nomads, actually, living on the wide plains. Barbarians, they had no central government, yet wherever our troops went, they nibbled at their heels, disrupting our supply lines. Consequently, the emperor at the time decided to draw upon the power of the Dark.” The demon army that came through the portal when the Mirror of Eternal Shadow was used demolished the barbarians in the blink of an eye.
“Frightful…yet, were there not injuries to the Imperial Army as well?”
“The barbarians were lured to a particular place, and the mirror was moved nearby. All care was taken in the planning of the attack, and, luckily, our losses were few. As soon as the barbarians were defeated, the seal was replaced, of course. It was open for perhaps all of an hour.”
The seal replaced, the demons that had fallen upon Vision became nothing more than dust.
“What form do these demons take?”
“I do not know. If one were to read the ancient chronicles of the war, one might find a drawing, I’d imagine…”
Mitsuru had read every account of the war in existence and found no such drawing. Perhaps whatever they did look like was too fearful to be recorded.
“The field where the demons set upon the barbarian tribes is, even today, a barren wasteland where not a single blade of grass will grow. I have never been there, though, for it is far away from this city.”
Then Zophie changed the subject with another question. “Master Mitsuru, do you know why this castle is called the Crystal Palace, though it be built of stone?”
Mitsuru looked up at the towering castle behind him and shook his head. “That I do not. Now that you mention it, it does seem quite odd.”
“It has been three hundred years since the War of Unification ended, yet it was a hundred years after that when the capital was moved here. They built a castle, setting the Mirror of Eternal Shadow in a safe place within, and that instant, the castle filled with translucent light as though it were made of crystal. The castle was called the Crystal Palace in memory of that moment. I hear that during the battle when the barbarians were defeated, when the seal on the mirror was lifted and then replaced, a similar light filled the land. I must therefore conclude that this light comes from the mirror itself. Perhaps it is the mind of the mirror revealed.”
The mind of the mirror? What exactly would a mirror think or feel, Mitsuru wondered. Was it the joy of release when its seal was lifted? Or perhaps it was merely showing satisfaction at being feared and respected.
Regardless, the discussion had taken a sudden and unexpected turn in Mitsuru’s favor.
“So the Mirror of Eternal Shadow is here in the Crystal Palace?”
“Yes,” Zophie said, nodding lightly, blanching slightly under Mitsuru’s hawklike gaze, as though knowing it would do no good to hide this truth from someone of
his powers. “Yet, not even I know exactly where it is. Only my father and the high priest know that.”
“But there is a room of some sort, a place where the mirror is held safe? Perhaps a chapel? If one were to look at the blueprints for the castle…”
“No, its location is concealed behind a barrier—a magical veil. The barrier prevents anyone from knowing where the room is. They simply cannot see it,” Zophie replied lightly, but the words made a great impact on Mitsuru. It was enough to make him lean momentarily against the back of his chair for support.
A magical barrier—of course. That’s why I was unable to find the exact location of the final gemstone all this time.
Finding the four gemstones on his journey so far had been rather a simple thing. His magic staff had shown him the location where the first gemstone lay sleeping. After he’d found that, the second gemstone told him where the third lay, and so on until he had all four. All he had to do was listen to the gemstones’ voices and he would know. It was, in fact, the gemstones that had told him the final stone he sought lay in the north. Go north, meet with the emperor. The emperor knows all, they had said.
Yet, now that he was here, the staff was strangely silent. It wouldn’t even tell him if the gemstone was in the capital city. If he only knew where it was, Mitsuru could take appropriate action and have the stone in no time. Now he knew why. For the first time in days, he felt the tension in his chest melt away. The Mirror of Eternal Shadow had been guarded for generations by the Imperial Family. A barrier erected to hide such a vital room must have been created with very strong magic indeed. It was no surprise that his sorcerer’s staff, even with the power of four gemstones aiding it, had not been able to divine its location.
“I hear the barrier was created by placing magical stones at various locations throughout the capital,” Zophie said, elegantly tipping her cup to her lips. “That is to say, this city was designed for the express purpose of generating the barrier that conceals the place wherein the Mirror of Eternal Shadow lies. It would serve to reason that these magic stones are used in the foundations of all the great buildings of the capital.”