Narcissus
Narcissus, City of Mirrors
Also called the Reflective City, the City of Mirrors. Built of obsidian, of polished brass and bronze, of silvered glass, and stranger mirrors, and everywhere full of still pools and fountains.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
History
Unknown ages ago, the Twin Cities were founded by twin sisters.
One sister discovered a piece of reflective obsidian and was enthralled by her image. She gathered a group of artists and craftsmen to design mirrors, so that she may gaze upon herself. She founded the city of Narcissus.
The other sister discovered a quartz crystal. She was fascinated by its clarity and refractive properties. She, also, gathered interested people to craft wondrous, transparent objects. She founded the city of Diaphane.
As the two cities flourished, new materials were discovered that provided the same reflective and refractive properties. The citizens coveted and gathered these materials to glorify their two cities.
Obsidian was soon replaced by polished bronze. As their comprehension of chemistry evolved, mirrors were fashioned of glass coated by tin, mercury, or silver.
Many of the older neighborhoods have not converted to glass mirrors. They still use obsidian mirrors and bronze. They face discrimination because their surfaces are not sufficiently reflective. These citizens are considered too old-fashioned or too poor to be noticed.
Narcissus has, also, utilized glass to created lenses and prisms. Buildings constructed of ice have become a current trend, but only the most pristine ice is considered fashionable.
-- by shanoxilt
The ice buildings are currently in danger of melting! The owners of these frozen building have created a task force to solve this problem. The task force is trying several methods: contacting the Invisible College for information, researching the most obscure books in the libraries, and travelling to other lands to seek information and aid.
-- by shanoxilt
Cityscape
Narcissus is at the furthest navigable part of the River Cephissus, in the foothills of the Western Mountains. The oldest portions of the city are buildings of polished, black obsidian, whereas the newer buildings are of mirrored glass where not covered by polished brass or copper, silver or gold. Mirrors and reflective surfaces are everywhere in Narcissus, and it is possible to inadvertently step through them into the Other Side, by accident or carelessness.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
The Mirror Towers
The first Mirror Towers were built to defend Narcissus during the Helot Revolts that preceeded the Second Shattering. These towers held arrays of mirrors that could focus burning rays of sunlight against attackers. In that time the mirror-smiths who created the Mirror Towers were military sorcerers. These military sorcerers then created mobile burning mirrors that were deployed in the total warfare of the Shadowdancer Wars.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
The Obsidian Foundries
The district of Narcissus known as the Obsidian Foundries is one of the oldest surviving, dating back to before all the Shatterings, almost back to the Founding itself. These were the places where the earliest attempts to exploit the Other Side were made – through blocks and sheets of smooth obsidian. The imperfections in these reflections forced the development of glass mirrors for reflective magic. They also led to the spawning of the first mirror-wraiths. As the art of mirror-fishing moved on to newer tools, the art of mirror-casting to deliberately spawn mirror-wraiths began to develop.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
The Mirror Fisheries
The district of Narcissus known as the Mirror Fisheries has been rebuilt and moved several times – in each Shattering, they were destroyed. The very first Mirror Fisheries were primitive, using slabs of polished metal, frozen pools of glacial ice, or sheets of reflective obsidian. Flaws and imperfections in these reflections created problems and dangers for mirror-fishing. More perfect reflections were needed, and so glass mirrors were developed.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
Geography
Each of the Twin Sisters walked an equal distance away from the Thousand Flowing Waters, their original homeland, to found their cities. Narcissus at higher altitude, near the glaciers and dormant volcanos of the Western Mountains.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
Culture
The city is ruled by many nobles, who convene in a body of government known as the Diet – which is one of the most ineffectual political bodies known. Effectively the city is governed by shifting cabals of the wealthiest nobles and the sorcerers in their employ. The city is defended by many towers housing artillery-mirrors that can cast deadly beams of burning light miles away. It has an army, but its officers are mainly petty nobles who accept commissions for the privilege of wearing the handsome uniforms; they rarely report for duty.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
The ceremonial garb which the nobles of Narcissus wear in Flower Wars includes their mirror armor, round and highly polished metal shields, and their obsidian-edged swords.
These traditional armaments are more suited for the ceremonial combat of Flower Wars, than for in actual battle. Nonetheless, they are preferred exclusively by the nobility, for whom tradition and ostentation are more important than effectiveness. The nobles of Narcissus spend their time planning Flower Wars and sponsoring eccentric projects. Commerce, and the Guilds, are the real power in Narcissus, and they prefer to hire mercenaries rather than rely on the nobility and their odd habits of warfare.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
The Honorable Guild of Mirror-Casters
Mirror-casting creates mirror-wraiths from the imperfect reflection of a person. (Mirror-casting a perfect reflection calls forth the doppelganger of that person.) The art of mirror-casting influences what kind of mirror-wraith is called forth, by choosing the imperfections of the reflective tool, the illumination upon the reflective tool, the subject it is to be cast from, and what emotions and desires that the subject acts out during the casting. It is an imprecise art, and even with all these planned for, the resulting mirror-wraith may not be what was anticipated.
Mirror-casters prefer to hire skilled actors as their subjects, for they better portray the emotions and desires to be cast into the reflection. Necessity or other factors often force them to rely on using apprentices or clients. The process of casting a mirror-wraith is long, and can be arduous for the subject, which adds to the imprecision of mirror-casting. There is a joke in the guild, about the journeyman who attempts to cast a mirror-wraith of lust, to use upon the object of his desire, who hires a courtesan as his subject and gives her detailed instructions to act out before his copper mirror, only to find he has called forth a mirror-wraith of confusion, all because of his muddled intent and skill.
It is, of course, easier to create random mirror-wraiths, and even possible to create accidental mirror-wraiths (particularly in Narcissus, where the mirror-world is so close). The guild scorns such things, of course. But journeymen mirror-casters often make their living dealing with and unmaking these unintended or accidental mirror-wraiths.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
The Worshipful Guild of Mirror-Fishers
Mirror-fishing is the art of pulling forth wonders and prodigies from deep out of the Other Side. It is an expensive undertaking – the only reliable lure is mirrorfruit from a crystal tree – and the results are essentially random. Most of the time, mirror-fishing only brings forth dross, the flotsam and jetsam of the mirror-world. Occasionally mirror entities are hauled forth, usually irritated and hostile. Rarely they bring out unique and magical things that mirror-fishers call “ephemera,” which make gambling on the expense and risk worthwhile.
Mirror-fishers use flawless glass mirrors, which must be large enough to pass whatever they bring forth. Their lures are reels of steel wire or woven steel cord on mechanical wheels and ratchets. Their lures are always baited with mirrorfruit. Mirror-fishers will cast many baited lures into mirrors at once – success takes time, and even then the results may be dubious. The lured mirror must be watched at all times. If unobserved, the mirror returns to being a mirror, the line is severed and the bait is lost. Apprentices are given the task of watching baited mirrors.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
The Munificent Guild of Mirror-Smiths
The Great Purge in the aftermath of the Second Shattering demilitarized the mirror-smiths. They formed their guild to further pursue and adapt their reflective sciences. Although they continued to design and maintain burning mirrors for use in warfare, the mage-smiths began to explore and develop other applications of reflective science. Originally they resisted cooperation with the guilds of what they saw as cruder sorceries, such as the mirror-casters and mirror-fishers. By the golden age of the Time of Clarity, however, they willingly combined their arts to create wonders of reflective magic.
The original mirrors created by mirror-smiths were polished obsidian reflectors, polished bronze and copper, and eventually sophisticated and delicate silvered glass. The basic forms of mirrors used by mirror-smiths are: flat mirrors (simple reflections), concave mirrors (reflections converge), convex mirrors (reflections diverge), and mirror arrays (combinations of mirrors). Mirror-smiths are skilled at the delicate science of creating mirrors – which is where apprentices are put to work. Other sorcerers such as mirror-fishers and mirror-casters rely on mirror-smiths to craft the tools and mirrors needed for their arts. However the true art of the mirror-smith lies in designing and installing mirrors and arrays of mirrors, to produce wonders such as the Mirror Towers and heliocamin cannons.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
Founding Day
Once a year, on the anniversary of Narcissus's founding, their crystal tree darkens to a shade of obsidian black. Travelers and first-time tourists assume it is an omen of misfortune. In reality, is a confirmation from their founding Twin Sister. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people flock to the tree. If one is patient, one will glimpse her ebony reflection. The crowds hush to hear the whispered words of her ancient dialect. She typically assures the citizens that she will watch them and guard them for eternity. The stubborn antiquarians state," If obsidian is good enough for her, it should be good enough for you."
-- by shanoxilt
Magic
Magic in the Twin Cities is learned informally (for petty magics), or most often as an apprentice in a guild. There are schools for advanced study of magic, which confer degrees of magister, or doctor of the eikonic arts.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
Reflective Magic
Reflective sorcerers rely on mirrors and surfaces. Their magic can be used to defeat enemies by throwing agressive power back upon the attacker. Mirrors also imply detailed self-analysis. Using a magic mirror can allow one to fully understand one's own potential and focus it for maximal benefit. Their are powerful, defensive, introverted and fragile.
-- by Glyptodont
Reflective Magic deals with reflections – which, for all intents and purposes, are the equivalent of souls. It reveals insights into the self, allows entrance into the mirrorworld, and of course protects by reflecting light and magic and other forces. -- by Kakita Kojiro
mantra: “perception is redirected”
spirit-world: the Other Side
tools: mirrors
talent: Reflective Magic (10 pts/level)
spells: - escape from mirror (IQ/Average) - hide reflection (IQ/Average) - see reflected memories (IQ/Hard, req. Reflective Magic 1+) (note: penalties if they are not your memories) - see reflected thoughts (IQ/Hard, req. Reflective Magic 1+) (note: penalties if they are not your thoughts) - see reflections of past (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 2+, at least two other reflective spells) (note: random; no guarantee of relevance) - see reflections of future (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 3+, see into past, at least three other reflective spells) (note: random; no guarantee of relevance) - reflect magics (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 1+) - reach into reflection (IQ/Hard, req. Reflective Magic 2+, at least one other reflective spell) (note: penalties if using imperfect reflection) - enter reflection (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 3+, reach into reflection) (note: penalties if using imperfect reflection) - steal reflection (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 5+, enter reflection, at least three other reflective spells) (this is a BAD THING that leaves you at the sorcerer’s mercy, but I do not know why) note: it is relatively easy for reflective magic to enter the spirit-world, but what is obtained from the spirit-world tends to be random and variable. mirror-fishing pulls back random oddities. mirror-gazing sees quite unrelevant futures most of the time.
-- by Kakita Kojiro
