The Dawn of the Mirrored Isles
by Scathàn of Orst
Since the dawning of understanding the islands have existed. Brought forth from the void by powers unknown, the mirrored isles shimmer at the centre of an endless sea of the æther. Thirteen islands were born, and with each one came its reflection in the mirror world. The islands of the world that is Lantia, and each of their reflections were linked by lines of power and influence, one by one, until the Balance was established. Energy swirled between the barren mirrored isles, but as yet they had no focus, and the Balance was enforced by Conformity.
When the world was young, and formless the boundaries of the land and its reflection were weak and not yet defined. Whirling winds of energy swept across the empty islands, howling their rage to the bare stone. Primordial beings whose names will never be known travelled through the mirrored isles, on their way to unthinkable destinations. Some remained in the land for only moments, briefly shattering the flows within the mirrored isles with mindless howls and tortuous geometries of powers unknowable. Others made it a more permanent abode, and worked many changes upon the embryonic islands, their designs manifest only to their own cryptic minds.
It is through this endless void of terrors that the first of the People came to the mirrored isles. They brought with them life and substance, and the bare rock soon sprang to colour and life as its long-unused power was tapped for change. The People grew and flourished as the isles did, for they had found their home. They walked between Lantia and the reflection freely, as movement between the two was as simple as a thought, the barriers between the worlds as ephemeral as a morning mist. The People were filled with the wonder of discovery, and travelled between the mirrored isles in exultant exploration. The People were still One, for the memories of the terrors in the void were still fresh within them, and the Balance was enforced by Equality.
As the People settled into the lands they turned their thoughts inwards, and sought to change the world around them. They harnessed the magic of the islands and with its power accomplished great works. In accordance with the Balance, the People who used the magic to change the land found themselves in turn changed. At first the changes were subtle, but they soon became exotic and disturbing. The inherent diversity of the flows of magic began to twist the forms and patterns of the people into bizarre aberrations. Fearful at what might become of the One People, the scholars dissected the flows of power, and found that they were made from individual threads. It was discovered that by focusing on some of these threads alone, instead of embracing the whole of the magic, the people could be preserved. The tribes of the People took these threads and made them their own, and in doing so changed their very being. The One became Five, and each had a place among the People.
The Yfos took into themselves the threads of Sky, and joined with the wind and clouds. In the skies they found magics, knowledge and insight, and became the scholars of the People. The Fotia took into themselves the threads of Fire, and joined with the flame and ash. In the heat of the pyres they found skill and ferocity, and became the defenders of the People. The Nero took into themselves the threads of Water, and joined with the rivers and sea. In the depths they found empathy and solitude, and befriended the beasts of the sea, becoming the voice of the People. The Choma took into themselves the threads of Earth, and joined with the soil and stone. In the land they found strength and will, and became the workers of the People. Of the others, who did reject this new way, and hid themselves among the people, it is best not to speak. It is enough that these nameless ones were lost soon after.
Each of the tribes had a place within the People, and none were elevated above any other. The people were still One, and the tribes became the Five castes. The work of each of the Five was necessary for the advancement of the One, and the Balance was enforced by Harmony.
In the reflection, the children of the sea came upon the land, but they were scattered and fearful, for their mother had abandoned them. They began to worship the primal entities that remained upon the mirrored isles, which cleaved to them, and demanded their service and obeisance. Foremost among these beings were the Thirteen, who used their power to change the land for their servants, and in the name of their ancient designs.
The Thirteen imposed their order upon the reflection, and the boundaries of the world became more defined. Crossing to the reflection became more difficult, and the Islands of Lantia began to distance themselves from their reflections. As the lines and circles had entrapped the flows of power within their structure, so too did the Mirror itself become structured. Only through imperfections in the surface of the mirror could one walk between the worlds unaided.
The Islands of the reflection changed, aligning themselves along vertices of emotion and purpose. In accordance with the Balance, the laws of the Mirrored world, the Islands of Lantia began to mirror the reflection. Each island was now coloured by the Aspect of its mirror, and the People who lived there also changed, regardless of their caste, for the changes that the Aspects incurred were alterations of the mind more than of the pattern or form – and the One People diverged further. Each of the islands were renamed according to their Aspect, for now it defined them better than any other word or concept could ever hope to. The Aspects coloured the islands and people, but introduced instabilities in the very core of the world.
The Thirteen were long students of the Balance, and their changes followed the careful equivalence of the Mirrored Isles. For all their unthinkable knowledge, however, the new equilibrium would not last on its own. The weight of the Aspects pulsed and changed, according to the strength of the islands and their people, and bore watching. It needed the constant maintenance of those same powers to be sustained, but according to machinations and geometries formulated millennia ago the Balance was enforced by Symmetry.
All Works are © Original Author
(OC Author - Conan Daly)