Gio and Rio were both crouched next to their tiny window to the real world. Tagging along in the reflection of a hand mirror was unpleasant but they managed to make it more tolerable by activating [Mirror Jaunt] to avoid having to sprint to keep up with the ever-changing scenery of the reflection around them. At lower-rare grade, the surprisingly robust spell was officially Gio’s most powerful, or at the very least the most valuable part of his spellbook. Now that the mirror was stationary, Gio and Rio could relax a bit more without having to worry about being flung into the reflection of something, so they were just hanging out and watching the silent conversations happening on the other side of the mirror.
Saint Baphelus was the one who chose Mirror Jaunt for me and guided me through scribing and imbuing it. I wonder if he knew how useful it would be in the mirror realm.
Gio looked at the seated figure of his mentor, who was wearing a pair of spectacles -which he very much did not need- and inspecting the copy of the targeting circle that Vito’s friend had copied for them. After a while, Baphelus folded up his glasses, said something to the group of students, and closed his eyes, leaning back into his chair.
“It looks like he’s doing… something,” Rio said.
Gio nodded. They waited for a few agonizing minutes for something to happen before slumping back down in disappointment.
“I wonder why Vito can see us in the mirror realm when it seems like nobody else can, outside of the training room,” Gio said.
“That would be because the Manse is programmed to detect and block influence from foreign planes not keyed to a student’s magic, and It couldn’t detect you here.” Said a robotic voice, emerging from the floor.
Gio and Rio both jumped to their feet and watched as a tall cloaked, spectral figure emerged from the gray, detail-less floor of the reflection not revealed by the small hand mirror. As the figure came into view, it became clear that it was both inhuman and ghastly, possessing four slender skeletal arms, and a bluish-silver metallic mask carved into a neutral expression without eyes. The figure was slightly transparent but seemed to be solidifying as they watched.
Gio was rattled but kept his voice firm.
“Who are you? Are you an associate of the school?” Gio demanded.
“No, silly boy. I AM the school. It’s me. You’ve gotten… bolder.” replied the specter.
Gio cocked his head to the side, pondering the entity.
“Saint Baphelus? But how?” Gio guessed.
“Ding ding ding! We have a winner. Now close your eyes for a moment. I don’t like showing students my ghosts.” Baphelus replied, his voice still a tinny echo of his usual charm.
Gio looked into the reflection, staring at the form of his mentor in the chair, before turning back to the ghost.
“How are you two places at once? And How are you here? Are you about to make another… body? Can I watch?” Gio asked.
Two of the long, bony hands lashed out and flicked Gio and Rio in the foreheads, causing them to go blind for a few seconds with a puff of magic.
“Ow!” they both yelped.
“No. One question at a time. I have no desire to traumatize you so early into your academic journey,” replied Baphelus, now in a carbon copy of his usual form.
“Master! It’s so good to see you. But… I thought that you couldn’t leave the Manse… or duplicate yourself like Marie does” Gio said, eying his mentor with scrutiny.
Baphelus cackled, with a devilish grin on his handsome face.
“Truly, the absolute best thing anybody has ever done for me is spread that juicy bit of misinformation. She says she didn’t do it, but I think my devious wife might have done it as a tiny act of kindness. The simple answer is no, I am not bound to the Manse. A lich is a creature that is… beyond mortality, but also physicality. I cannot duplicate myself the way that the wonderful and terrifying Chef Bain does, but… that is only because I don’t have a true physical form. I can, however, create an army of simple homunculi and fill them with my spirit, so long as I can spare the focus to pilot them separately.” Baphelus said.
“So all this time, I’ve been talking to… a puppet of yours?” Gio wondered.
“Not quite. The body that I keep in the dungeon seal is my first, and I consider it to be my “real” self, so to speak. It keeps me grounded. The skin and viscera and all that is all magic, but the bones are the ones I was born with. Keeping more than one active is… well I won’t say a huge strain, but I don’t enjoy operating more than one body unless I have a good reason to do so, for example rescuing a hapless pupil from a dire fate.” Baphelus remarked.
“Well... I have a lot to say. So much has-” Gio began.
“Ah ah ah! You’re going to have to explain all of it to your friends anyway, so hold off on the details for a moment. We do need to go over a few things before I return you to the primary plane. Firstly… my secret second mentee.” Baphelus said, turning to Rio.
“Uhh… hello?” Rio replied.
Baphelus’ face momentarily glowed with a ghastly teal radiance, as if the bones underneath had flared with light through his flesh.
“A shame… I’ll owe my wife dinner for losing the bet. What is the specific wording of your class, is it Chaos, Disorder, Discord, Entropy, Void, or something more esoteric?” Baphelus asked.
Gio and Rio both gasped.
“You… can tell?” Rio asked.
“Personally? No. I couldn’t detect your reflection’s class until I confirmed it just now through soul sight. My wife, however, keeps several Individuals capable of detecting such things on staff in her inquisitor corps, and they’ve been detecting an aspected para-planar entity lurking around our school, going notably absent when you leave campus. Never forget this- Eudoria is terrifying. Now, please read me your class description.” Baphelus sternly asked.
“I was planning on showing Gio my status anyways… so here,” Rio said, handing over a printed copy of his status to both Baphelus, since Gio already knew exactly what was written there.
_____
[The Shattered Man] - (TAGS: CHAOS_AFFILIATE|ALTER_EGO_USER|TRUE_MAGE) - You are the Reflection of a man who was once shattered, and as such, you have both retained an echo of that power. You may divide yourself into duplicates, and break apart on command. As an aspect of CHAOS, you shatter anything you touch.>
_____
Name: “Rio” - The Reflection of Giorgio deGloria
Race: Mirror Construct(Reflection) - Dungeon Spawn (Vitrium and The Empty Palace ERROR)
Class- [The Shattered Man] - Evolution: Tier 1, Unawoken.
Occupation: [LOCKED] - The Reflection of Giorgio deGloria
General Skills:
-Multitask
-Mana Shaper
-Fledgling Knowledge Seeker
-Gardening
-Beginner Spellwright
Class Skills:
-[Fragmented Persona] - You may break off autonomous portions of your essence into clones that have a portion of your abilities. You may apportion specific amounts of your essence into these clones, and any may become the main body so long as one survives. Also enables you to fully break and restructure your physical form. -[Din’s Invocation] - You may ask a boon of your Aspect, and receive two in kind. One shall be a blessing of your choosing. The other shall be a random yet equivalent gift or challenge of their design. Effects shall become more dramatic with subsequent uses. Use wisely. THIS IS AN ASPECT SKILL. (Number of Invocations completed: 1)
-[Aspected Being] - Your physical form and soul become the embodiment of your Aspect. You become resilient to negative effects in the domain of your aspect, and in turn such effects that you cause become more powerful. You become sensitive to the unique essence of other aspects. CHAOS ASPECT SPECIFIC EFFECT: You force entropic forces upon anything that comes in contact with you bEsIDEs GiOrGiO. You may exert significant effort to counteract this effect. THIS IS AN ASPECT SKILL.
-[Font of Chaos] - your internal reservoir gains an additional pool of Chaos-aspected mana. Additionally, you aspect chaotic mana at a greater efficiency rate. Chaos mana may be used in place of arcane mana in certain situations.
-[Mysteries of CHAOS] - Rarely gain insight from your Aspect. THIS IS AN ASPECT SKILL.
BONUS Class Skills: [Reflection’s Reach - Vergence] - When in the presence of your medium, you may affect the material plane by borrowing some of his mana, and vice versa. Subject to reality dampening.
Occupation Skills: [Reflection Status-Sync] - Your status is identical to that of your medium. You must copy all Classes, Occupations, Skills, Mana Affinities, and other magical effects that currently apply to the being that you emanate from.
Mana Affinities:
-RESPLENDENT Chaotic
-Major Mirror
-Greater Death
-Greater Light
-Lesser Arcane
-Lesser Knowledge
“Well. That is certainly something. But thank goodness! We can work with this.” Baphelus stated, after several minutes of study.
“So… you’re not going to try and kill me?” Rio asked.
“I wouldn’t let him.” Gio tersely interjected.
“I can see that your adventure has made you a bit… bolder. No, I have no plans on dispossessing my protege of one of an incredibly unique advantage. Chaos… is quite an interesting word, don’t you think? If we had been dealing with disorder, like the version of this class that you had access to a while back, I would have perhaps warned you of its negative connotations a bit more sternly. Disorder, you see- is a word that we only use to refer to when we want to make other things worse. You would have had a hard time putting a positive spin on such a thing… if that were the case. Thankfully it seems that your class, Rio, is aspected to chaos.” Baphelus said.
“And… chaos is a good thing?” Gio asked, losing his fire.
“Heavens, no. Chaos is in many ways, a mage’s worst nightmare. But, I won’t say much more on this matter for the time being. Here’s the rundown: Gio, you’re doing a good job of hiding the fact that your reflection has a different class. Keep doing what you’re doing. Rio, you need to see if you can work on hiding your essence a bit better, but ultimately you are also doing well. We shall never speak of this outside of the mirror dimension. I’ll get the inquisitors off your case with my wife’s help… speaking of, I’ll send her an invite to tea time, as I think we have some things to discuss as a group. Let’s get you back to the real world.” Baphelus said, stroking his well-maintained black beard.
_____
After taking a reading of Gio’s mana, Baphelus’ clone disappeared, and his main body began infusing mana into the targeting circle.
Gio turned to his reflection.
“It’s going to feel weird to go back to talking through mirrors again,” Gio said.
“Nah, it’ll be fine. After what happened last night… I think we’ve never been more on the same page.” Rio replied.
Gio pulled out the cryptic note.
“I still haven’t really had time to process. I feel… intense.” Gio said.
“And honestly I feel way more level-headed. I guess getting more in sync was a good thing for us?” Rio replied.
“Yeah. Well, I’ll see you soon.” Gio said, casting the teleportation spell.
_____
Gio appeared atop a piece of paper. He bent down to neatly pick up the targeting circle but was interrupted by a tackle-hug from both Chandrika and Jean.
“Gio!” Jean said, the growing tower of a young man held Chandrika and Gio on the ground in a crushing hug
“I’m gonna kill you.” Chandrika snarled at Gio.
Baphelus boomed out a hearty, larger-than-life laugh.
“Alright, alright. Time for murder later. Come have some refreshments.” Baphelus said.
As he waved his hand, a set of steel double doors appeared with circular windows. One of them swung open, revealing a busy kitchen beyond. A small fleet of Marie clones appeared out of the door, depositing a spread of tea sandwiches, Jam tarts, pastries, and different teas and juices.
After a few pleasantries, the Maries retreated into the kitchen. A young girl through the door appeared to be hard at work doing a ton of dishes.
“Who is that? Did Marie take an apprentice?” Vito asked.
“Hmm? Oh, yes. Marie has several new apprentices. She was jealous of me, so she started showing off some of her magic across campus. I wish them luck in their culinary careers.” Baphelus chortled.
“So… elephant in the room. Why did you do it?” Jean asked, looking at Gio who had just polished off his fourth cucumber sandwich.
Gio wiped his mouth.
“I think I told you, right? I needed to be able to get in and out of the mirror dimension. I have a… secret plan that involves our upcoming dungeon run.” Gio replied.
“And this “secret plan” is so important that you’d risk your life by going to a deathtrap over it, right before we were all planning on going into a deathtrap together.” Chandrika scowled.
“I’m sorry. I… didn’t plan for it to go this way.” Gio said.
“Ah yes, planning. I believe that I told you to thoroughly plan out your misadventures. What went wrong?” Baphelus asked.
Gio grimaced.
“It was the exit plan. I had my heart set on obtaining a copy of the other spell, the one that returns you from the casino.” Gio said.
“And why is that?” Baphelus asked.
“Because of what it would teach me. The first half of the spell, and the targeting circle… there’s a dizzying amount of knowledge to be gleaned from them. I knew that there would be. I was hoping that the second half of the spell would fill in some gaps… like how I could get back from the mirror dimension without needing to have pre-drawn a circle.” Gio said.
“Ah, so you did think of that particular detail,” Baphelus said.
“Yes… sort of. I was fairly blinded by greed, so I skimmed over some of the potential hazards way more than I should have. All in all, I wouldn’t do it again.” Gio said.
Chandrika’s shoulders visibly relaxed a little.
“Where did you even go?” Vito asked.
“Nobody told…? Okay. I went to a place called Hart’s Casino. It’s full of bad people and nothing works. Zero out of ten, do not recommend.” Gio said.
Vito’s eyes widened.
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“You went to Harts? And you survived?” Vito asked incredulously.
Chandrika’s shoulders tensed upwards again.
“I mean, I got away...” Gio said, trying and failing to brush off the attention.
Chandrika turned to the lich.
“Well? I know you can see it too, Are you not going to say anything? Do you even care that your so-called apprentice almost got murdered by a dark mage?” Chandrika sniped, silencing the table.
Baphelus took a long pause, sipping his tea. The room descended into a tense silence.
“How curious. I wondered if you would be able to see it. Dear, why don’t you come sit down.” Baphelus said, looking toward the double doors, from which a feminine figure appeared.
Eudoria swayed into the room, a dangerous smile on her lips. Her black and grey hair was done up in a neat bun, and her blue earrings glistened in the sunlight ever-present in Baphelus’ lair.
“Please, don’t let me interrupt. I believe you were just being unconscientiously and furthermore unconscionably rude towards my husband, who just so happens to be responsible for the well-being of our school. How very interesting.” Eudoria crowed, her voice dripping with playful venom that chilled the veins of all present.
Chandrika sunk back just a little.
“But you can see it. He’s lying, at least by omission.” Chandrika maintained.
“What are you talking about?” Gio demanded, surprising Chandrika with his tone.
“I am talking about the curse!” Chandrika yelled.
“Honestly, that grandmother of yours… so troublesome. I suppose it does make sense for her to have trained you in the art of malediction. I suppose I’ll have to move a bit of our training schedule around to account for you being better equipped than I had previously thought.” Eudoria commented.
“Curse? Gio, you’re cursed?” Jean asked.
Baphelus sipped his tea once more.
“Don’t answer that. Miss Chakraverti, tell me what you see in vivid detail.” Baphelus asked,
“I… I don’t have soul sight if that’s what you’re asking. I can’t see the ghost attached to it, but I can see the bindings. It’s like a bunch of ill will and malice is chained to Gio’s soul. Whoever put this on him would have been executed in Ujjbala Sūrya. This is foul, foul magic.” Chandrika answered.
Gio cringed.
“I… didn’t even think of that. I’m sorry. Yes, I got into a bit of an altercation with some… bandits? Raiders? I’m not really sure what to call them. The leader had all of these piercings, and he used these crazy geist things that had razor hands and disco-ball skulls. He made me bleed on command.” Gio said.
“Indeed. Sympathetic magic of the highest caliber. The spiritual amalgam attached to you is quite frankly a disgrace upon the art of necromancy, but it is also impeccable. There is almost no trace of the people these souls belonged to… I count eighteen different sources of originating spirituality, all seamlessly combined into an effigy of hatred and spite made manifest.” Baphelus intoned.
“So… Can you remove it?” Gio asked, facial expression unsettled.
“I could. I won’t, though. The danger it poses to you is small, so long as the primary caster doesn’t have some way of activating it at a long distance. Removing the curse, intertwined as it is now, would mean the cutting away of a great deal of your spiritual form. My recommendation would be to unwind it yourself. I imagine that it is feeding off of your high death mana affinity. After some time, there is the possibility of it manifesting into a more positive trait under the right supervision. Luckily for you, your mentor is benevolent, and I can teach you the knowledge required to do so. Expect some nightmares, to be certain.” Baphelus said.
“Fantastic.” Gio deadpanned.
Baphelus put his teacup down.
“And as for your other insinuation, Chandrika… I do care about my mentee. I’ve cared about all of them. I've lived for a long, long time, and I have outlived many of my former students. Some have succumbed merely to the passage of time, while others have found themselves slain by their own doing. Thankfully, I’ve only had to end a scant few by my own hand. The point is this: I cannot be held responsible for Gio’s every deed. The school, the systems, the spirits themselves- we all encourage measured risks. I cannot say that I fault Gio for what he did. I would have been sad if he died… but I’ve lived… pardon the undead pun... through so much loss that I cannot honestly say that it would devastate me. I encourage you all to reflect upon this as you plan your adventures going forward. You are responsible for whatever happens to you.” Baphelus lectured.
A contemplative silence hung in the room for a moment.
“On that note… Gio, I’d like to trade with you.” Baphelus said.
“I’m sorry? What could I possibly have that you would want?” Gio replied.
“[Teleport to Hart’s Casino].” Baphelus answered.
“It’s like… 6 Bits at the store, but sure,” Gio replied, producing the spell
“Ah, a good lesson to be distributed here. The spirits don’t care how valuable the items on either side of the trade are, just that the trade is fair, and doesn’t show overt favoritism. I want your copy of that spell, for my own reasons. You’d also be saving me the trip to said store. In return, I offer this.” Baphelus said, handing over a similar-looking parchment to the other.
“Is this… the return spell?!” Gio exclaimed.
“It certainly is. I’m excited to see what you do with the knowledge you will glean from it. I was a fan of the casino back in the day… before we caught onto the scheme at play. She was always a tricky one, that Angelica.” Baphelus said.
“Angelica… A.Hart was a GIRL?” Jean balked.
“Indeed. A right bastard of a mage who cheated me out of a lot of money, and a horrible influence who I miss dearly. All the more reason why I’m happy to see you continue on her work. She’d probably find it hysterical that only now, years later, has somebody taken the time to reverse-engineer her work.” Baphelus mentioned.
“Huh. I always pictured A.Hart as a swindler with a moustache and a monocle.” Gio said.
“That was the point in never going by her whole name, I think. I’ve done similar things over the years.” Eudoria replied.
“Is she still alive? You’re speaking about her as if she’s dead.” Gio asked.
“If she is, She’s either hidden away somewhere across the planes, or she’s taken a new identity of sorts. I’ve not heard about her in years, and I’d have recognized her work if she was still scheming about anywhere. She is, and always has been a prodigy of spatial magic. The only thing I can say for certain is that she isn’t anywhere in the Ringed City.” Baphelus said.
“I feel like we brushed past the curse a little abruptly,” Chandrika said, still clearly wrestling with her emotions.
“Dear, what is there left to talk about? The only mistake Giorgio made was not slitting the caster’s throat before he had the chance to curse him. No use crying about it now. Be fiercer, plan smarter, and earn your claim to power. Fate is not inclined to let anybody prop themselves up in an ivory tower and accumulate knowledge forever.” Eudoria chimed in.
The headmaster surveyed her husband, looking away from the frown on Chandrika’s face.
“Have you taught your protege the Rule of the Sword? Because I believe that right now may be a good time to teach mine… for perspective.” Eudoria said, tapping her nails against the table.
Baphelus sighed, contemplating.
“Fine. But I’ll tell it.” he said.
“That’s fine with me dear. I’ve been told that I tell it wrong.” said the headmistress.
Baphelus stood up, addressing the group.
“Vito, and Jean, you are more than welcome to stay for this, but please be aware that it is not something that should be heard without proper consideration. Are you students aware of what a Vulgarity is?” Baphelus asked.
The students looked at each other. Gio raised his hand. Jean giggled.
Upon acknowledgment from Baphelus, Gio spoke.
“A Vulgarity is said to be a theory or principal of magic or reality that can massively shift the way a person views the world, and can even impact their spellcasting,” Gio said.
“Very good. A Vulgarity is not to be taken lightly. An oft-told anecdote: A powerful ice mage is ignorant of the law of thermodynamics. Late into his life, he begins to plateau in his growth, so he seeks out the knowledge of heat. The book tells him that cold does not exist as its own element, but is merely the absence of heat. This shakes the mage, who finds that this new knowledge has poisoned the way that he envisioned how his own magic functioned. He loses power from his studies, because his ignorance was allowing him to envision his magic working differently than should have been possible. This brings us to the Rule of the Sword. I will give you all a moment to decide if you want to hear this.” The lich stated.
After refilling everyone’s teacup, Baphelus waited. All of the students looked pensive but determined to hear whatever the Lich of the Manse and the Headmistress of the school had wanted them to know.
“Well, I’ll take it that you’ve all consented to hear this. This metaphor is the essence… of the Rule of the Sword.” The lich spoke.
He cast a spell, clearly enunciating a short incantation and creating a few sparks of blue mana. The spell summoned several glistening swords dangling directly above the heads of everyone present.
Gio looked up, examining the shiny broadsword above him.
“[Conjure Sword]. Said to be perhaps one of the oldest manifestations of magic. Certainly, it is a spell that has a relatively common name… but thousands, if not hundreds of thousand different ways to scribe and cast it. I invite you to imagine this spell as any spell in your repertoire. You are all becoming more and more familiar with the many forms of magic. Envision a spell that you could cast, and what it would be like to aim it toward yourself ” Baphelus continued.
He flicked his wrist, and each sword began cycling through myriad different shapes, colors, hilt styles, curves, and crossguards. The sword above Baphelus’ head dropped, nearly piercing through him. The students all yelped in alarm.
“But this spell is only a spell to create a sword from nothing. Or is it? What if we already had a sword? Would we then not use a different spell?” Baphelus asked.
He cast the same spell, and the sword from above his hand flew down into his outstretched hand.
“Curious, isn’t it? If the spell was created with the intent to create a sword from nothing, then why would it also be able to bring my sword to me? The answer… is will. The essence of the Rule of the Sword is that the caster’s interpretation of their own magic is tantamount to the way the world around them enacts their will. If I believe that my spells can turn sand into flowers, then why can’t they?” Baphelus continued.
“That’s… interesting, but what does that have to do with flinging ourselves into danger? Why bother with true magic at all? If will is the most important thing to cast magic, then what is the point of any of this?!” Chandrika nearly yelled.
Baphelus cast the spell again. A sword appeared above his head, and descended quickly, as if it were going to run him through. At the last possible moment, it froze, and he stepped out of the way, allowing it to resume its path and clatter to the ground.
“Because you can step out of the way of the sword.” Baphelus said.
“What? How is that an answer?” Chandrika demanded.
“So young, so feisty.” Eudoria chuckled.
“Oh.” Gio said.
“Please for the love of all spirits and the art of weaving itself. PLEASE tell me that you aren’t actually gleaning some profound insight from this nonsense.” Chandrika huffed.
“I… think I might be. You can step out of the way of the sword… The Rule of the Sword is that the sword in this metaphor isn’t the important part, is it? It’s about the caster.” Gio said.
Baphelus smiled.
“The world, the spirits, and their systems, even the gods respect will. We teach True magic here because it allows us to begin to decipher the mysteries of the world. Each sigil, symbol, line, and shape become instruments for us to enact our will upon the world around us… but we must remember that the world itself has will, too. The spirits respect stories. Our deeds provide context for our wills to reshape the world around us. Gio’s misadventure… was him conjuring a sword above his head. Surviving was his way of stepping out of its path.” Baphelus said.
The lich picked up the sword that had clattered to the ground and brandished it skyward.
“And now, he can wield it. Conjure a sword, but don’t let it cut you. Summon it to your hand. Make the sword yours. Cut away the obstacles from your path. This is the Rule of the Sword. It is the reason that the spirits seem to prize challenge so highly. It is the reason that the bold are more likely to be powerful. It is the reason that the powerful are more likely to experience conflict. The metaphor of the falling sword is a very old illustrative tool, but I find that it is a fascinating lesson to come back to throughout various points in my life.” Baphelus finished.
"I feel like it's a profound truth, but I'm having trouble grasping the implications of it." Vito said.
“It is a profound truth. But it takes a great deal of time spent in both practice and contemplation to begin to see the effects of studying the Rule of the Sword in your spellcasting. Enacting your will upon the world is a great feat. Imagine, in the days of old before the system… before spellforms, the incredible work of will it would take to conjure a sword from nothing? Raw magic.” Baphelus wondered, looking ponderously out into the magical arrays of the heart of the Manse.
He dispelled the floating swords and seated himself at the table in front of his teacup. Eudoria rested her hand upon his arm.
“Is that even possible?” Gio asked.
“Hmm? Oh, perhaps. In the modern age, with magic existing in the way it does… I don’t think that we would ever be able to see raw magic on that scale. After all… the willpower it would take to perform such a thing would just be better spent learning how to do it with spellforms, wouldn’t it?” Baphelus answered.