21: The Age of Mirrorbenders

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"After the disappearance of King Darius, Queen Claudine and the subjects of Silvershine, the rule of Tartarus fell on the royal children. The three princes, Juprus, Neptus, and Plutus, formed small territories across Tartarus's landscape; territories that would eventually lead to warfare.

The youngest brother, Juprus, a fool hardy fellow, cared for the physical pleasures in life. He enjoyed surrounding himself with beautiful people leading him to a lifestyle of exuberant parties and extravagant feasts. While one might say that these are no qualities for a prince of Tartarus to have, they fell in comparison to Juprus's greatest flaw, his temper. Juprus's aggressive nature came forth when things did not go his way. Sometimes he turned his frustrations into public spectacles. Executions, humiliations, and shaming became a common sight for those associated under his domain. Besides his irrefutable abrasiveness and crude punishment, Juprus created a strong militia, a fierce justice system, a series of entertaining sports, and a suitable tax to sustain and construct roads and buildings across this empire.

The second oldest brother, Neptus, a goal-driven and adventurous man, found solace in exploring the furthest reaches of Tartarus. He adored the seas and wished to travel beyond the horizon. Using the drawings of ships that his father had left behind, Neptus constructed mighty seafaring vessels to which he discovered many islands. He established port cities perfect for fishing, trading, and exotic culinary delights. This made his empire the richest in all of Tartarus.

The oldest brother, Plutus, a sensible and intelligent man, found his true passion lay with the collecting of knowledge. His first act as prince was the creation of schools and universities. Hoping to grasp the laws of science and the mysteries of magic, Plutus formed a large library where documents of all kinds found sanctuary. In the beginning his universities were strict to only the nobility until he discovered that even the common people could provide valuable input. Unable to sway the established colleges to take in the common folk, Plutus set up a diverse group of smaller public universities for those who wished to learn but did not have the financial or status means to do so. The doors to knowledge were now open. Even those of his brother's nations could come and learn. Plutus was also a big supporter of the Sages. He declared that the ancient Council of Vetra be protected should a person from the other realm ever appear again.

During the time of the Three Brothers' Rule, Tartarus experienced a hundred years of peace and prosperity. The trouble began shortly before the death of the three brothers with the arrival of the Second Mirrorbender.

The Second Mirrorbender, Aileen, became an instant celebrity when she fell through the Mirror of the House of Dite in the city of Themis. Many who recalled the time of the First Mirrorbender, Darius, were filled with the hope of continued peace. Unfortunately as Aileen was discovering her power, the three brothers began to die one after the other. This left the world in instant turmoil and the idea of one central ruler began to poison the minds of the nations. The children of the three brothers in an effort to gain control expanded their territories. This blurred the boundaries between nations creating further hostility. Uncertainty over land ownership and resources led to the eventual Thousand Year War. Due to them being high in the mountains the Plutus nation stayed neutral for most of the war while the nations of Juprus and Neptus butchered one another.

For a thousand years the Council of Vetra along with the arriving Mirrorbenders focused on ending the fighting and reestablishing peace. After much hardship and many failed attempts, no one believed the fighting would ever end until the 74th Mirrorbender Dalton, arrived.

Legend said that after his arduous training, Mirrorbender Dalton went to the hidden places of the world. There he befriended and convinced the magical beasts of Tartarus to assist him. Stories claimed that Mirrorbender Dalton descended upon the great battles of the Elysian Plains riding atop his mighty dragon, Alistaire. The fear in the soldier's eyes was enough to quell the fighting and bring reason and words of peace to the warring minds of the people. With the help of the Council of Vetra, Dalton established treaties between the nations eventually deciding upon strict boundaries.

The Juprus nation retained the farmlands and hills. The Plutus nation retained the mountains and plateaus. The Neptus nation retained the islands, easterly coastline and the major port cities. And the idea of a sole ruler of Tartarus was declared unjust for it would cause greed and corruption.

A celebration followed. Some tales spoke of a party lasting an entire year, perhaps even longer, but however long the joyousness lasted everyone understood that after a thousand years of bloodshed and destruction, it would take many generations for the nations to rekindle their past and heal old wounds.

Soon the time came as with all Mirrorbenders for Dalton to return home and leave Tartarus forever. It was a sad day for many people as Mirrorbender Dalton said his final farewells. The people rewarded his successes with the beginning of a new age, so named the Golden Age of Mirrorbenders, and the start of a new global calendar, year 0 MD or 0 in the time of Mirrorbender Dalton.

During this golden age, the Mirrorbenders' powers were carefully studied. The Sages who had devoted themselves to the cause made an oath to aid all new Mirrorbenders in the education of their bloodline and the practice of their power should the world ever need them again. This became the responsibility of the Council of Vetra.

By the year 115 MD, dark forces began to arise once more in Tartarus in the form of strange specters. These specters described firstly by weary travelers were said to be shadows that moved as smoke in and out of the sunlight, stealing children in the night, and attacking people on the road. Some rumors stated that these dark beings were the aftereffects of black magic or perhaps simply bandits mistaken in the night. These rumors remained folklore for many years until a Sage reported seeing the one in the bedroom of a sick child he was caring for.

The 78th Mirrorbender Hugo went to investigate the reports at the concern of the Council of Vetra. He reported back shocked by his findings describing the creatures as human-like with glowing purple eyes. Some he declared danced on ceilings, flew in the air, and summoned powerful magic beyond any skill a Sage could perform. Too terrified by what he witnessed, Hugo abandoned his position as Mirrorbender of Tartarus and fled back to the other realm never to be heard of again.

The Council of Vetra became increasingly worried. These creatures had been spotted in the cities of Lelantos and Hyperion. Investigators were sent to the cities to discover the intentions of these dark beings, and after two years of waiting in the year 124 MD, a group of sages returned with detailed news. They said the creatures had named themselves, Half-lives. When asked how they came to be and what their position was in Tartarus, the Half-Lives merely replied, 'Darkness lurks in us all. We are here to voice it.' Attacks were made on these Half-lives but nothing could kill them. They were immortal.

By the year 380 MD, the Half-lives had found political seats of power, appearing as advisors to kings and ministers of justice. Yet, where they brought unnaturally strong magic and knowledge beyond that of the sages, they also brought with them a seed of destruction. Despite the political and moral corruption that fell from their lips this seed sprouted something far worse in the bodies of Tartarus's people.

It started off slow attacking the poor communities in developed cities first. Then in the summer of 392 MD, it spread like weeds across the land. This new and terrifying beast was the Oak Plague so named for its uncanny ability to turn its victims into gnarled trees. The symptoms were always the same. Sprouts would develop on the skin and tree bark would start to climb the limbs. The woodification would continue until the organs grew solid and the feet rooted into the soil. Only the carved impression of the victim's face remained, a grotesque reminder of their lost humanity. In two years, the pestilence swept across the countryside wiping out whole villages leaving nothing more but a dead forest behind. All of its trees retained the sunken eyes of the dead and made to watch on through time, forever battered by wind and rain.

Fear rippled through the people of Tartarus. The Oak Plague seemed to be the sign of the end times. Desperation for a cure or a saving grace, became the nations' top priority. Barbaric methods for treatment found common practice in the streets and the homes of rich and poor alike. Many sick people prayed to the lost gods for reprieve to this unholy disease to no avail. Those healthy individuals frightened for their lives and the lives of their children raged into infected homes killing all within without remorse or pity. Infected homes were burned to cinders with the understanding that fire purged the wooden curse. People believed that if the body was turning to wood, the only logical way to treat it was with intense heat as ordinary magic had no effect. Scoring the infected area with a red hot poker or dipping it in boiling oil was thought to stop the symptoms, yet it only caused more pain and a slower death. When these methods proved fruitless, the nations decided to introduce great bonfires to once and for all end the blight.

Where once cities heard the chattering of trade markets and the music of entertainers performing in the streets, cities now heard the cries of those burned alive, the crackling of coals, the whispering of flames licking across rooftops, and the rumbles of ash clouds above. While the world pondered a fleeting dream of peace, hope finally came in 403 MD with the arrival of the 89th Mirrorbender, Pandora.

Gifted in the art of scrying people and objects through the Mirror Passages, Pandora overhead one day after scrying into the private chambers of Neptus's Half-Life advisor, that the pestilence was a direct result of their presence in Tartarus. Pulling all the knowledge she could on the Half-Lives she discovered while they possessed no reflection and could not be killed, they had a strict aversion to mirrors. It was the only object they could not touch without harming themselves. So with this idea in mind, Pandora constructed a plan to rid Tartarus of the Half-lives and hoped by doing so stop the plague for good.

It was understood that the Half-lives were unaffected by common magic, but the effects of a Mirrorbender's power showed to be a unique exception. Hearing the ancient story of the legendary sacred box gifted to the god brothers gave Pandora a brilliant idea. Using her skills, she constructed a special mirror-lined box and one by one she found the Half-Lives and trapped them inside. When all ten were imprisoned, the Sages sealed the box with blood of the nation's kings so that no soul could open it without the agreement of three nations. This box, later quoted as the Blight Box, was weighed with stones and sunk into the Hightide Sea. In a year the Oak Plague had disappeared. Pandora had succeeded.

The true nature and exact location of the box was kept secret by the Council of Vetra fearing that knowledge of such power might lead others to seek it. Mirrorbender Pandora was given high honors for her success, and in 470 MD the city of her initial arrival in Tartarus was renamed Pandora. Soon the Half-lives and the box slipped into legend and would have been forgotten if not for a cruel twist of fate.

124 years later in the year 594 MD, the Blight Box resurfaced in the net of a Neptus fishing boat. Curious about its contents, the fishermen aboard tried to force the lid open. They proved unsuccessful. When the boat arrived in the port harbor of Rhea, the box was traded to the dock merchants. There it passed from hand to hand, from home to home, until a scholarly man noticed the writing on the box and translated its meaning.

The writing said, 'Inside rests dreaded immortality. The blood of three kings seals the darkness in us all. Do not open.'

Seeing as the sickly king of Neptus, King Brutus, proclaimed high reward for someone who could grant him immortality or reprieve from his illness, the scholar saw this as his chance to gain wealth and power. He purchased the box and presented it along with its translations to King Brutus. The king was thrilled when his senior professors confirmed the scholar's translations. The scholar received his reward and word soon spread that King Brutus had discovered the secret to immortality. Only one problem remained. The box could not be opened by physical force or magic. Blood was needed; blood of the other kings. So offering as a sign of peace he presented the box to his fellow kings hoping they would share in his delight.

King Brutus was generally disliked by his subjects and neighboring kingdoms for his cruel treatment of others, so one would understandably be hesitant to attend a peace summit in regards to the fantastical idea of achieving immortality. King Brutus's intentions were as expected, false and misleading. He hoped to use the royal meeting as an excuse to assassinate his rival lords. This in turn would give him the blood he needed to open the box and two headless monarchies ripe for his taking as the new immortal king of Tartarus. At the time, the 107th Mirrorbender Ewan was not easily fooled. Gifted in foresight, Ewan saw through the wicked king's plans and made sure the meeting would be a safe one. Yet, the true evil that followed would not come from a political motive, but from the contents of the mysterious box.

The peace summit went as scheduled. There was a royal feast and a dance of the nation's most esteemed families. After the dining and entertainment, the box was brought to rest on a pedestal in the center of the room. The kings quarrelled over who would claim the immortality within. Each one gave their reasons why they should receive the great gift, and each one failed to convince the others of their worthiness. Tensions mounted as frustration turned to anger and insults turned to threats. Then when a compromise came to light so did a dreadful vision.

Ewan cried out to the assembly. His hands trembling; his voice full of concern.

'Damn these kings who quarrel for items they own not. Such devilish things lurk in the box. Can you not hear the whispering egging you on to open it, open it! Stop! No more. Do not open the box. For inside is a lie, a twisted collection of vices. Three gods, three brothers, three nations seal that lid shut so the horror of the past may not be repeated. Warn you of this fate. Come forth great calamity. Beasts will fall in hunger, plants of thirst, and people will stand like trees whose faces cry out from the bark. Do not open! I have seen a blanket of black stars filling the crevices of the world. Great battles! Evil made whole! The Flower Children freed! All cry the same, do not open.'

Deciding to ignore Mirrorbender Ewan's warning, the kings each pricked their finger and pressed their blood to the box's seal. The box opened and to their horror a black cloud slipped out. It burst through the windows and like nightfall covered the land in darkness.

In an instant, rivers dried up, grains stored away turned to dust, and crops were swallowed up by the earth. Then the worst hit. The legendary Oak Plague appeared on the kings' skin. They watched in terror as their fingers and arms slowly grew into trees. Even Mirrorbender Ewan, powerful in his ways, could not save them. The three kings were burned in the public square by terrified citizens hoping it would stop the disease. Unfortunately, the plague drifted on the wind. It was already too late.

The world needed someone to blame. So after hearing Ewan's prophecy of dread naturally the fault fell on him. Afraid for his life, Ewan fled Tartarus. His departure was the most intense Tartarus had ever known. A loud thunder shook the lands and cracked buildings. Every mirror in the three kingdoms shattered. Mirrorbender Ewan was never seen again.

Within a few years, millions had succumbed to the Oak Plague. The Council of Vetra having known of box's contents fell into disrepute. They blamed one another for failing to educate the kings of the box's cruelty. An education, that to their deepest regrets, might have spared the world of the ancient curses. Like before, the Council of Vetra began to prepare for the capture of the Half-lives and a new chance at imprisonment, but by now it was impossible as there were no Mirrorbenders left in Tartarus to do so. At one time the Mirrorbenders appeared in a very pattern-like pace one or two every few generations, yet it had already been years and not a single Mirrorbender had arrived. Something had gone wrong.

In a surprising twist the Half-Lives reemerged not as the vile beasts of legend but as valued members of society. They lamented for their past wrongdoings and as a gift they provided a solution to the world's problems. They made the soil rich for farming, the rivers full of water, and most surprisingly, a cure to the Oak Plague.

'So you come to the supreme Council with a cure?' said one of the council members as the ten Half-Lives stood before him all dressed in their black robes. 'How is it that not even our most intelligent scholars have come up with anything and here you are, creatures of disregard, arrive with a solution?'

'We only wish to repair our reputation of ole,' said the Half-Life leader. 'Show the world our value and importance. Do you accept?'

'You fail to recognize that this plague is both magic and science. Nothing can cure it.'

'Then you have nothing to lose. Give us a chance to demonstrate, and I assure the council and the world will see us differently.'

The cure was simple. During a formal demonstration, the Half-Lives explained how the plague attacked not the body but the spirit. The tree-like effect was due to the connections one had to the mortal coil. They offered a solution to break the bond of death, a break they promised would not only cure the plague but grant a person a valuable side effect, everlasting life.

During the demonstration, the Half-Lives showed the removal of one's reflection, which they consumed out of the mirror. The infected was shown to become immediately cured and after stabbed with a sword unable to die. This promise of a cure and eternal life spread faster than the disease. The only complication to the cure was no more casting reflections. It seemed too good to be true. Soon thousands upon thousands got the treatment. The plague was nearly eradicated leaving people in better spirits and the Half-Lives in the lap of luxury. For a time, the world experienced a shallow peace, but this was not to last. The Half-Lives had tricked them.

It was three years after the cure when things began to happen to the people lacking a reflection. They described it as a thirst they could not quench, an emptiness they could not fill. Many who reported these symptoms grew suicidal and tried as they might were unable to die. Rumor spread of mysterious and frightening creatures draped in shadow roaming the streets at night and sucking the lives of unsuspecting people. Some members of the Council fearing the influence of these new creatures began

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