The Man in The Mirror

As the sun rose to greet a beautiful morning for the kingdom of Scarionas, a horse galloped through the forest on a trail. The rider, in a hooded cloak and mask, gripped the reins tightly. His name is Tolan, a former elite assassin who once served under the Crown. served under the Crown.

The only thing going through his mind was his beloved Annora, who was awaiting his arrival. He imagined that at this very moment, she was still in bed asleep. He longed for her for some time for he was away on a task for some time. How she will react when he walks into their room, lie next to her, and stroke her long black hair and awaken her. The mere thought excites him.

He nudged his horse lightly to pick up the pace. It wasn’t long before he could spot his house upon the horizon. Smoke was billowing from the chimney. She could be awake and cooking breakfast. He thought of surprising her then. When Tolan arrived, he led the horse to the stable before making his way to the house.

Suddenly, he heard a scream coming from inside and, while unsheathing his sword, he rushed through the door. The room was trashed as if a fight had broken out. From upstairs, he heard Annora’s voice.

“Let me go! HELP! TOLAN!”

Without hesitation, Tolan rushed upstairs. He heard Annora in the bedroom and he kicked the door down, only to find his beloved Annora being dragged into a mirror by... Tolan? When the hooded figure looked at him, the mask was different from Tolan’s but everything else looked identical. The figure shoved Annora through the mirror, which rippled like water before hardening. The figure unsheathed his sword, which looked identical to Tolan’s.

“What have you done with her?” Tolan asked.

“I have taken her into The Beyond. You can never get her back, for she belongs to me now.”

Tolan raises his sword in preparation as the figure sheathed his. The figure reached into his pocket and took out three silver balls.

“Soon, you and I shall fight but unfortunately I have a much larger task to tend to. In the meantime, accept these as a personal gift from me.”

The figure tossed the three silver balls to the floor before stepping into the mirror. He then struck the mirror from within and it shattered to pieces. The three balls melted into silvery puddles before rising up to take hunanoid forms. They solidified and blades extended from their hands. They shrieked as they rushed at Tolan. Quick as lightning, Tolan deflected their attacks and steadied his balance as he looked for an exposed spot for him to strike.

He kicked one of the assailants away before backing out of the room. One of the other two leapt at him like an animal, only to narrowingly miss him as he dodged. The attacker rushed at him and pressed on the attack. Upon another deflect, Tolan managed to shove the assailant’s arms upwards then he sliced into its torso in one quick swing. The assailant fell down the stairs and as it hit the floor at the bottom of the staircase, it shattered into pieces like glass.

Tolan rushed at the other two, kicking one back into the room while focusing his attacks on the other. He forced the other assailant into another room while the one behind him began creeping up. When it leapt at him, Tolan stepped out of the way and it tackled the other assailant right through the window and the two fell shrieking until they hit the ground. They shattered upon impact.

Tolan peeked through the broken window for the moment before going back into the bedroom. He carefully examined the broken mirror glass before he began to examine the mirror frame. He didn’t recognize the design from any market he and Annora’s been to. Determined to find out, Tolan placed the mirror frame onto the bed, wrapped the blanket around it, and carried it downstairs.

Despite its size, the mirror frame was rather light. Tolan tied it tightly onto the side of the saddle before climbing onto his horse. He nudged his horse and they took off from the house. From village to village, Tolan showed the frame to each merchant and asked if they knew anything about it but unfortunately they didn’t. Determined, he kept going. It wasn’t until he came into the town of Albas when a merchant recognized the design of the frame and suggested a local historian name Vero.

Upon learning the location, Tolan made his way through the town until he came to Vero’s home. He stepped down from his horse and knocked on the door.

“Yes, yes, I’m coming.” a voice said inside. The door unlocked and opened. Behind it was an old man with glasses. He smiled. “Ah; The Hero of Ungara himself. Welcome!”

Tolan took a mild step back. “You know of me?” he asked.

Vero chuckled heartfully. “My boy, you are very well known for all the things you’ve done. But I know you’re not here for a simple chat.”

Tolan returned to his horse for a moment then returned with the bundle. “I was told that you knew of this.” he said before he unwrapped the bundle, revealing the mirror frame. Vero’s eyes widened.

“Where did you get that?” he asked.

“It was in my house. A man kidnapped my wife and put her through this.”

Vero took the mirror frame and examined it. “This is no ordinary mirror.” he said solemnly, “You said a man put your wife through this?”

“Yes.” Tolan answered.

Vero looked up to him. “What did he look like?”

Tolan shrugged his shoulders. “It’s sort of hard to explain... he looked like me but his mask was different.”

Vero looked back at the frame. “Hmm... this man... did he shatter the mirror?”

Tolan gave a nod. “After he went through it.”

“I see.” After examining the frame, Vero took a deep breath. “Tell me; Are you familiar with The Man In The Mirror?”

Tolan shook his head. Vero then continued. “Well, allow me to be the first to tell you; It’s been said that The Man In The Mirror is a magician who lives in a place known as The Beyond, another dimension that he rules. He placed 12 mirrors in different parts of this world in order for him to travel among us. No one knows what he originally looks like for he has taken many forms upon entering. His purpose is also unknown. If he has shattered a mirror like this one from within, he has closed off the portal linked to such mirror so if any were to follow him, they would not be able to enter The Beyond. There are 5 known mirrors such as this that have been shattered already with this being the sixth one. If he has taken your wife, he tends to keep her for some purpose.”

“Then I will retrieve her and stop him.” Tolan turned to leave when Vero spoke. “That will not be an easy task, I’m afraid.” He turned to the historian. “What do you mean?” he asked. Vero explained, “If you were to kill him in The Beyond, he can simply regenerate. If you were to kill him in our world, he will no longer exist and his magic will end. However, if your wife is still in The Beyond after you killed him, she will remain trapped in The Beyond forever.”

Tolan looked at the mirror frame. “What must I do?”

“Retrieve your wife first and if he pursues into our world, kill him.” Vero answered. Tolan closed his fist. “But how can I retrieve her if he is closing the portals? It’s impossible.”

“Ahh,” Vero raised his finger, “You forget; You’re Tolan, The Shadow’s Knife. You slain a thousand men plus the king of Rallie singlehandedly and that was a task said to be impossible, for the king was cunning. If you could outwit him, you can outwit The Man In The Mirror.”

Tolan paid Vero and thanked him before leaving to begin his search for the remaining five mirrors.

“Annora... I’m coming.”