Religion in Midnight (split)

[Kerstin Schmidt]

Below are my current notes on one particularly nasty feature of Izrador's Church:  Mirrors.  Once again I'm indebted to Mike Holmes, for suggesting the process of seeding new Mirrors (very cool) and the use of guardian rules.  

As always, comments more than welcome.  

Caveat:  While the Mirrors themselves are canon, many of the details below, especially the Master Mirror and  Izrador's dead body, the seeding of Mirrors and Mirrors in transit are additions.  I seem to remember that the appearance of Mirrors is described differently in different placed in canon material:  either a black pool or an upright, polished metal mirror in the place where the congregation's worship takes place.  I'm including both below;  but I haven't been able to find mention of the pool version in recent rereadings of the MN books I own, which may mean I borrowed that idea from somewhere else.  In which case, many thanks to its creator.  


Mirrors

Mirrors are the guardian beings of Izrador's Church congregations.  A Mirror consists of a body of utterly black, ice cold liquid, kept in a bowl of black lead in a lightless place in or underneath each Temple.  The main hall of each Temple has a standing mirror of black lead, a representation of the actual Mirror.  Many pious households make a point of keeping a smaller black-lead mirror in a place of honour in their homes.  

The first Mirrors were created from drops of the black liquid roiling in the chest cavity of Izrador's rotting body, the Master Mirror.  It is believed that when pagan resistance is finally overcome, the Master Mirror will expand to engulf all of Aryth and Izrador will rise bodily again, to rule a people united in the One Faith.  

To this day, new Mirrors are seeded by siphoning off part of the liquid from an existing Mirror, carrying it to its new location and installing it in its new bowl with appropriate rituals and sacrifices.  The blood of sentient beings sacrificed over a Mirror accelerates the Mirror's growth, especially in the early stages.  

At times a Mirror will grow agitated and roil with increasing violence.  Often this can be explained by the Mirror having been contaminated in some way.  Unless pacified by the proper rituals, an agitated Mirror may Blast, destroying life in its range in an uncontrolled explosion of Shadow magic.  

Destruction of a Mirror also causes a Blast, followed by a Backblast of equally uncontrolled non-Shadow magic that causes hallucinations in living things in its range.  
One known way of destroying a Mirror is by throwing in a crystal known as an Earthlight.  Earthlights are rare and highly illegal to possess.  They are variously believed to be the frozen tears of a divine being, shed at seeing Aryth about to be sundered from its otherworlds, or crystals containing dormant otherworldly creatures left behind to aid the people of Aryth in their last defence, or the tears of Aryth itself at its hopeless plight.  


Method:  Manifestation

Form:  Utterly black, ice cold liquid.  Kept in sealed containers while in transit, otherwise in wide bowl of black lead.  

Communication:  A roiling in all surfaces of blackened lead within the Mirror's range.  When the Temple itself comes under attack, a gut-freezing shriek.  

Functions:  As a result of their common origin, all Mirrors share the following general functions.  Local differences may exist.  
Awareness:  Sense Fey, Sense Pagan Magic, Recognise Temple Intruder
Blessing: Endure Hunger, Fight Pagan, Shadow Fanaticism
Defence: Defend Church Member, Defend Temple, Defend Legate  
Overshadow Pagan Magic:  Non-Shadow magic used within a Mirror's range is subject to a penalty from the Mirror's appropriate rating.*  
Blast:  Uncontrolled, deadly Shadow magic unleashed from a Mirror when contaminated or destroyed.  When destroyed, the Blast is followed by a Back-blast of hallucinogenous non-Shadow magic of equal strength.  

[*Unsure how my own rule works... The Overshadow Pagan Magic function should make using magic harder in a Mirror's range.  Contests inside a Mirror's range are subject to a penalty from the Mirror's rating as per usual rules;  so far, so clear.  But what happens when a character uses, say, his CM Pass Unnoticed Feat before crossing into the range of the Mirror?  Under canon rules, non-Shadow magic effects may discontinue each time they cross a range threshold into a closer range.  In HQ I can see two constellations:
(1) The intent is to go into the Mirror's range.  In this case I apply the Mirror penalty in the contest for using the magical ability in the first place.  
(2) The character didn't intend to cross the threshold, but is subsequently forced into that direction or is surprised by a Mirror's range spreading over his position.  In which case ... what happens?  New contest? If so, is it a second use of the character's same magical ability, modified by the Mirror penalty?  Or does the Mirror use its rating actively, resisted by the character's magical ability?  Or what?]


Ratings:

Mirrors grow in power over time.  Ignoring the permanent effect of sacrifices and the varying community bonus from the congregation (see below), Mirrors tend to reach the following thresholds at the following ages.  

Mirror in transit: usually 13**
Pale Mirror:  new - 13***
Red Mirror:  1yr - 20w
Black Mirror:  10yrs - 20w2
Grand Mirror:  100yrs   - 20w3
Master Mirror:  currently ??? [tbc]

**Mirrors in transit are usually carried in sealed containers of limited size because it has been found that prolonged proximity to the liquid destroys the carrier's mind and causes unpredictable reactions from the carrier.  

***Drawing off liquid for seeding a new Mirror weakens an existing Mirror, e.g. a 20w2 Mirror will fall to 3w2 when one container-full (13) is drawn off.  As a result new Mirrors will usually be seeded from just a single container, although in some cases liquid from several containers (from one or more Mirrors) has been combined to provide a more powerful Mirror from the outset.  Note that in practice as a result of the sacrifices made at initiating a new Temple, a newly seeded Mirror will normally start at a higher rating than 13.  

Bonus from sacrifices, permanent: Sentient sacrifices boost a Mirror's rating, at diminishing returns.  Use community support bonus table, HQ 91, for total of sacrifices made to a Mirror over time.  

Community bonus, variable:  Varies with the members of the Mirror's Temple congregation.  Use community support bonus table.