Manifold Mirror Mage

Between the lazy grey clouds of fog, a formation of scaled hides cut slow lines of wake through otherwise perfectly placid water.

"That one. The one at the lead of the pack is the one marked for the quest." Chandrika announced.

Sure enough, a moment after Chandrika spoke, Gio's system highlighted the Telchine in the water with a prismatic outline of gold and red.

Gio took one final action to prepare for the oncoming battle by summoning a few large mirrors and placing them strategically underfoot.

"No stealth or misdirection? They're just going to waltz right up to us?" Hatra asked.

More than twenty thralls lifted their torsos out of the water, each holding a spear and a shield that were forged of the mysterious metal that perfused the dungeon. The marked Telchine's spear glowed with a violet radiance that danced across a deadly point.

"It appears that they underestimate us." Chndrika said.

The marked telchine growled a low and rhythmic challenge, as the light from his spear flickered out and over the weapons, shields, and armor of his allies.

Chandrika's breath caught for a moment. "Witchery." She whispered.

The Telchines moved in perfect synchronicity, like legs of a centipede. A volley of spears, each glowing in myriad colors, blazed forth as the Thralls threw them in perfect unison.

Most spears went wide, targeting one of Gio's mirror images, but five of them were aimed at the real boat. Gio surged forth.

"[Shattered Reflections.]"

There was a brief flash as Gio replied to the onslaught of spears with his signature synergy.

"What?!" Gio exclaimed. Two spears drove straight through the barrier.

One went wide, missing the boat by an arm. Chandrika wreathed an arm in golden threads and caught the other mid-haft with an elegant sidestep.

"No." She said.

The spear melted into water in her grip. Jean flew up with a spray of starlight energy, careening towards the hostile group. Hatra and Sapphire were excitedly collaborating over a vial with swirling fluid inside, hunkered down in the rear of the boat. Rio was intermittently flinging spears of fluid mirror at odd and likely challenging angles from the mirror dimension.

"Iron queen. Begone from this place." Chandrika intoned.

The lead Telchine recoiled as if slapped. The purple swirling energy faded for a moment before surging back.

"Tsk. Not that simple." Chandrika tutted.

"That was weird. It felt like I should have been able to reflect the spears, and I got most of them. I don't know why those two got through." Gio said, bracing for the next volley.

"It's… hard to explain. Witchcraft is best fought with other witchcraft." Chandrika answered.

"Watch out, Jean! Incoming!" Hatra yelled.

Jean finished his successful harassing sweep after taking out three off the side flank of the enemy formation. He maneuvered in the air, rolling to the side and pulling up and away.

Hatra did something to the glass vial that made it fill with angry orange energy. Cracks began to spread across the surface. Sapphire threw the vial with a killer pitch that must have been empowered by a skill. The glass orb whistled through the air, rivaling the speed of one of the enemy spears.

The marked Telchine rushed to intercept it with an impossible boost of speed, maneuvering through the water with ease. He batted it to the side, where it exploded away from the group in a blast that created a small wave that pushed the boat off course, even from a field's length away.

"Oh, come on!" Sapphire yelled. She angrily began rifling through her bag, looking for something.

Hatra took out her sludge pump and fired it up at an angle. Three globs of swirling green and purple fire landed amidst the enemy, sizzling and dancing across the surface of the water. They quickly dove away from the fire, fluidly adapting their formation without needing any instruction. Their cohesiveness was utterly perfect, and it was starting to tilt the battle in their favor.

Two more volleys of wicked spears came down on the boat. Gio reflected only one of the enchanted spears, and the boat was starting to take damage. Chandrika could only catch so many of them, and Gio was losing effectiveness by the minute. By the upcoming volley, he was uncertain if his magic would be able to reflect any of them.

What is going on? I can't reflect the spears just because they're enchanted with witchcraft?!

The Telchines reached down into the water, pulling forth more and more rough spears of jagged metal with their unique innate magic. They inched closer and closer, preparing another volley. A sickly glow radiated off their spears.

"Oh hell no." Chandrika sputtered,

She raised a hand in the direction of the enemy formation, which began glowing softly. She instantly began to shake and sweat, like she was exerting a great effort.

Gio felt something odd with his new sense of justification. He couldn't interact with whatever battle Chandrika was having against the enemy witchcraft, but he did feel a bizarre sense of friction, like two stormfronts in the sky above that each had their own idea of what the weather should be. Chandrika, it seemed, was losing.

The spears flew. Gio held his arm out, conjuring the barrier of [Reflect] and focusing inward.

He grunted with effort. If he didn't reflect this, it would be ugly.

It happened in the blink of an eye. Spears flew. It was like each spear was coated in multiple layers of magic. One, which felt familiar to him, was the Telchine's innate magic that made up the metal of the spear. It was solid, and would stand the test of time. The next layer was something far less permanent, and it felt like poison. Neither of these layers felt like they were responsible for rendering his reflecting magic ineffective.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The third layer was oily, and slick. It evaded his senses, as if refusing to be addressed by Gio.

That's it. This magic must be witchcraft.

There was a certain… language to this, Gio thought. A language that he did not speak. But… what was clear was that these spears were going to burst straight through his spell again if he didn't find a way to stop them. His justification was simple;

I am a mirror mage. I want to reflect these spears. I know that this should be- that this is within my power.

The spears flew into the reflective wall. Most of them flew back at their attackers, with only one or two of them clattering harmlessly against the surface of the boat… in the mirror dimension. Rio appeared in one of the mirrors that Gio had lined the boat with, panickedly looking at the spears.

"What?!" Gio both thought and screamed at the same time.

"How… did you do that?" Chandrika asked. She turned from the battle for a moment, searching for something within Gio's expression.

"I don't know! I just really wanted to reflect the spears!" He answered.

"That shouldn't be- we'll talk after. You've given me an idea." Chandrika affirmed.

She summoned ephemeral moth wings and took off with a gust, flying forward.

"Jean, cover me!" Chandrika shouted. She began channeling mana, which erupted around her in an aura like the afternoon sky just before sunset.

Jean swooped in on angelic wings made of starlight, eclipsing Chandrika's golden sun. He swiped away several spears with the twilit haft of his own.

Gio, Rio, and Hatra peppered the opposing team with harassing projectiles, not dealing much damage but having the desired effect of distracting the enemy and buying Chandrika time.

She completed her invocation, and purple threads manifested between the Telchines, each dripping with a malevolent violet ichor. Gio followed the trail of thread upwards with his sight, gaping as he noted that they seemed to stretch up into the sky above the clouds.

Chandrika grasped outward, and the threads wrapped themselves around her outstretched hand like a spindle.

"This magic is known to me." She uttered. "[Malefic Edge]. It is a spell for war, gifted by a goddess of War and Witchcraft. I deprive you of this boon. There is no malice here, nor any want. Your spell is empty, while my magic is full."

Her words flowed over the battle like warm honey, bespelling everyone into focusing on her alone. The purple threads frayed at her touch, limply receding into the heavens as the Telchines below lost the purple sheen enchanting them.

"Press the attack!" Chandrika called.

Jean and Chandrika floated just out of reach of the Telchines. Jean swooped low with agile maneuvers, harrying their formation, as Chandrika whipped out with golden threads and curses to diminish enemy effectiveness. The thralls huddled together in a phalanx, reducing the amount of damage Jean or Chandrika could reasonably do to them from the outside. At the center of the formation, the leader was preparing something, and Gio could feel the mana building from yards away.

Gio turned to Hatra and Sapphire. "Can you guys cover the boat if I go over there?"

"I was just about ready to cast a defensive spell to take the burden off of you. Go!" Sapphire yelled.

Gio dove into the mirror under his feet. In the Between, he looked up at the surface of the water and noted the crystalline clarity of the water, barely marred by splashes from the ongoing combat. The world slowed down, and he heard his heartbeat in his ears in a strangely comforting way.

Alright… The battle is going well, but we need a decisive shift. What can I do?

Gio thought of the optional part of his… homework. An abridged version of the Rule of the Sword. He conjured an amateurishly formed blade of mirror, and braced himself as its new reflective surface unexpectedly caused tides of space to flow outward.

Not good! Why is it so much different than summoning a reflective shard?!

The airless current nearly knocked Gio out and away from the surface, but with an effort of will and a deft maneuver, he managed to not only right himself as the turbulence settled, but also maintain his grip on the conjured mirror.

Note to self. Be careful of making mirrors in the mirror dimension. Stuff gets weird.

Gio conjured a [Reflective Shard], shooting it away from him. He hadn't noticed before now, but with [Enlightened Catoptromancy], he noticed a subtle distortion in the formless darkness of the Between along the long axis of the needle-like shard.

Interesting. I learn something new every day. Actually, I've learned like… too many new things today. Wait, could I use this to my advantage?

Gio created a minuscule oval of mirror behind him, riding the wave as dim refracted light and space bloomed outward into the place between reflections, distorting the liminal reality around him.

Eddies and currents of space… it feels very fluid. I wonder…

Gio almost activated [Flow]. The keyword being almost. He had an intense premonition of mortal danger, radiating from deep within himself, in a place deep in his soul that he couldn't trace.

O-okay. That's an experiment for later, or maybe never.

Gio looked through the surface of the water's reflection and noticed that he was still far away from the phalanx of Telchines. He swam toward them at a steep angle, gazing at the dark spots where their torsos met the water.

My breath should hold for another few seconds… but I should make a move fast If I'm going to make one.

A writhing flame of darkness that seemed to eat light began to grow in the cradled hands of the marked telchine. He huddled underneath a fortress of shields, as his empty eyes gazed into the flame. Gio watched as the thrall chanted something into the flame, and it began to intensify in his grip.

That can't be good. Well… Rule of the Sword… now or never.

Gio summoned two tiny disks of mirror underneath his feet, wobbling as he tried to right himself amid the currents of space propelling him forth. He rocketed upward toward the marked Telchine, recklessly appearing amid the formation.

Gio quickly gasped for breath as he emerged in the material world, tackling the Telchine into the water as the formation began to dissolve.

The enemy leader emotionlessly reacted, about to release the black fire underwater, when Gio brought the mirrored blade into a reverse grip and impaled the Thrall through the side of the neck with a slashing motion. The Telchine grasped at the blade in his neck, leaving the black flame to sputter out into the water.

The blade broke between both of their grips, splintering into shards. Some of them embedded into the enemy, worsening the already gaping wound across his neck. The makeshift handle fragmented into wicked glass, slashing Gio's hands as well. Both of their wounds caused a cloud of red to blossom out between them, tinting the dim light from the surface.

Gio involuntarily inhaled water. He began thrashing around and tried to make for the surface as his lungs burned. The dying Thrall tried to grasp for Gio's leg, but was intercepted by a radiant spear of light that knocked the enemy deeper below.

[Flow]! Gio mentally screamed.

The water around him pushed him upwards from all sides, extruding him out to the surface of the water, where he began coughing and gasping for breath. Jean swooped in and lifted him by the arms, carrying him in the direction of the boat.

"Gio, you're bleeding!" Jean screamed.

Sapphire had summoned an orb of woody branches that each held a glowing frond of transparent leaves. The orb parted for Sapphire's touch as she let Jean and Gio through.

Gio flopped onto the deck on all fours, coughing out the remaining fluid in his lungs. He was facing one of his strategically positioned mirrors, coming face to face with a very concerned-looking Rio.

Snot dripped down his nose, and he batted away sopping wet strands of his silver hair with his undamaged hand as he plopped down on one of the benches. Sapphire immediately began to dig through her spatial pack for bandages.

Heaving with labored breaths, Gio sputtered, "Hah… ugh… Thanks. I think… I think I got him."