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Mirrors continued from page 7
Anyone who touches the liquid surface after the magic command has set off the reaction
will temporarily lose their memory of simple things, such as what he ate for breakfast,
things said to him in the last hour, or the location of places on a map. A person who
steps into the mirror, however, will lose their entire memory. The effect does wear off
over time, but will not fade completely until at least half a century, by my calculation
of the ratio of quicksilver to phosphorus. In addition, powerful magic users will forget
how to use their magic, or even that they possess it if not guided and taught by another
magic user at the instant of memory loss.
Figure 3 - Lethe mirror |
6Hg + P4 -------------> 2Hg3P2
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Figure 4 - Lethe mirror reaction of activation
A double function, however, seems to exist for the mirror that is the counterpart to the
Lethe mirror. Tall and narrow and fashioned of oak sculpted with tree branches and vines,
the Mirror of Mnemosyne (Figure 5) contains the water of that river, which in turn
contains fluorine. Strangely, despite the toxicity of this element, when the magic command
creates the expected reaction (Figure 6), the mirror becomes perfectly safe to step
through, the only byproduct being a veridian glow around the glass. Entering the Mirror of
Mnemosyne can, as I have stated, have two results. One is the obvious, to restore lost
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Figure 5 - Mirror of Mnemosyne
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Hg + F2------------------> HgF2
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Figure 6 - Mirror of Mnemosyne, reaction of activation
memory, be it of small events or an entire life. But the other possibility is that the
user will be transported into a memory from an earlier time, sometimes even physically,
where they will be reminded of something they must do in the future. In this case, the
user is linked directly to another mirror identical to this one that is located at the
exit point of the memory.
Of all the mirrors the Wicked Stepmother ordered, the Seeking mirror is the most powerful.
Its glass is formed from pure quicksilver, so no reactions take place. It is entirely
controlled by the voice of the user, for the quicksilver grants the mirror a form of
sentience and intelligence. Its power is this: to seek out a person's will; the location
of a person, place, or thing; and knowledge and secrets hidden from the user. With all of
these in one's possession, it is possible to rule the world. The mirror has a mind of its
own, however, and in fact a face that forms from the quicksilver--sly, cruel, and cunning,
is most untrustworthy and disagreeable (Figure 7). It will take possession of the will of
the user if he is not powerful enough to resist. It can also be linked with the Spying
mirror, so that a person's will may be sought, and then enslaved by the Spying mirror.
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