"I don't quite understand," I said bewildered. "What do you mean by my reflection, my mirror me?"
Martha took a deep breath. "It is about time you learn the legends of Tartarus and the heritage of your bloodline. I pray you listen well for to answer that question of who you are and what you may become we must travel to the very beginning even before time itself."
"Oh not a history lecture!" moaned Owen leaning back on his horse. "They put me to sleep."
"It is not a history lecture," snapped Martha lifting her chin to Owen's childish behavior. "Tartarus is far too complex for a simple listing of facts and dates. No, this is a story of love and loss, good and evil, myth and truth."
"So in other words," said Daarith glaring at Owen, "shut up and listen."
"Not exactly the words I would have used, but essentially, yes." Martha adjusted her horse's stride so it paced gently next to mine. "Now listen well, young Hope. You are about to learn of the gods in the sky.....
In the beginning before there was man or magic there was light, and this light was all that existed in a vast sea of darkness. Vetrus was the light, a god perhaps, or the source of all things but whatever he was Vetrus was beautiful and bright. He suffered from incredible loneliness. He loathed for companionship, another to share his existence, but unlike him, none appeared. So in his anguish he cried and cried and from his eyes fell water, the very first creation.
Around him the water droplets swirled like fireflies dancing in a glade landing into the void becoming the stars. So then the night sky became the second creation.
Yet, even though the darkness had been conquered and light twinkled in the heavens, Vetrus was still alone. He gathered the water from his eyes into his hands and saw for the first time a reflection of himself.
Bright and beautiful was his reflection, so beautiful it came to life. So was born the goddess, Hetrus. A name here that means, one made to love.
Hetrus had hair of rainbows and skin of silver and gold. She loved Vetrus and wished for nothing more than to share eternity with him, but as soon as their fingers touched a violent force ripped them apart. Being a reflection of her lover, Hetrus could never embrace Vetrus without causing him harm. Despair set in and soon the two great gods faded away. Vetrus became the Earth and the sun. Hetrus became Tartarus and the moon. They would dance in a sea of stars forever creating the day and the night. Even now in the night their love still shines. The moon reflects the light of the sun so no one living in darkness may ever feel alone.
But this was not the end to the gods in the sky. Energy can never be lost or destroyed. It simply becomes something more. The power left behind from Vetrus and Hetrus birthed three god brothers so named, Juprus, the Proud, Plutus, the Wise, and Neptus, the Ambitious. Together these three gods descended upon the new worlds and from their hands they brought into existence magical beasts, and those for burden, the tallest mountains, and the deepest oceans, the rivers and the valleys, the forests and the deserts, and as a final testament to their power, the three brothers created a being similar to their likeness, humans.
While the brothers were proud of their human creations, they bickered on their creation's true purpose. Plutus believed humans could be capable of great things, that it would be a waste of their intelligence if magic offered them all they ever needed. He desired a world of laws and reason; a world where people could create, discover, wonder, and learn independent of gods. On opposite ends, Juprus and Neptus wanted to be worshiped and adored. They believed humans should be grateful for their lives and offer acts of devotion through prayer and praise. An exchange that caused Plutus and Neptus to gain great power, but ultimately become dependent on their creations for sustenance. So in their differences they made their homes. Juprus and Neptus ruled over Tartarus. Plutus reigned over Earth.
For a time the three brothers lived in harmony. Juprus and Neptus were worshiped. And Plutus offered independence and freewill. All that changed when a dark seed of greed filled the two brother's hearts. Juprus and Neptus longed to be worshiped by both worlds. Tartarus could no longer sustain their needs. So cospiring in secret, the two planned to overthrow their brother and make Earth their own.
Feeling his brothers' growing hostility, Plutus devised a cunning two part plan should his worst fears become reality and his brothers take his beloved Earth from him. He first created another world, one that he hid in the Ether, but unlike the worlds made by Vetrus and Hetrus he could not create a place that could sustain life. It was an under performed world, an underworld he named Avernus. The second part of his plan was the construction of a beautiful wooden box filled with a mysterious power. He prayed he would never have to use the box against his brothers, but it was not to be.
One day Juprus and Neptus confronted Plutus and demanded he relinquish his ownership of Earth or they would attack his people. Plutus understanding that violence on one world would harm both regrettably stepped aside. Yet, before he went away, he gave the wooden box to his brothers along with a warning of its contents.
"Never open this box," he told them, "if you so value the humans you claim to love, then this box will remain closed. As for what lies inside, it is best the worlds never have to know." With that, Plutus vanished into the Ether to his secret world of isolation patiently awaiting the hour.
It did not take long for the two brothers to grow ever more curious as to what lay inside the box. They believed that something so beautiful on the outside must contain something even more precious inside. But the brothers were not foolish. They suspected a trick. So being the generous gods they were, they offered the box to the humans believing that Plutus having loved his creations would do nothing to put them in harm's way.
The box was given to a young human girl, chosen among all others for her profound love and devotion to the gods. Surely, she thought, the gods had blessed her. The girl immediately ripped open the box's lid. From it spilled all the horrors of the universe that Plutus had captured to give humans peace. Calamities, disease, suffering, pain, death and worst of all, the introduction of evil seeped out of the box. The humans of the worlds rose up in anger at the gods for giving them such misfortunes. They stopped worshiping and praying concerned now over their sudden mortality. Dependent on the humans for life, Juprus and Neptus saw their coming demise and began to fade. The hour had arrived. Plutus had won.
Having learned their lesson and before they vanished into oblivion, the two brothers combined their diminishing strength and blessed a single family on Earth with a special powerful gift. They ordered this family to act as mediums between the worlds offering peace and guidance in their stead. These travelers would be known as Mirrorbenders for their power to travel beyond the reflection and foresee calamity. They would be warriors of light to overpower the darkness released by the gods' greed and offer hope when mankind needed it most.
As to the ultimate plan of Plutus, all who had been touched by death would gain entrance to his underworld where he welcomed them home to everlasting peace. Martha looked up from her storytelling. "And that Hope is the origin of the universe and the beginning of your family's heritage.""So that explains why Owen and I are reflections. Because we come from two different worlds that were once reflections of the gods."
"That is the theory," said Daarith.
"Am I to understand, Daarith," said Martha, "that you do not believe in the old tales?"
"I believe what I want," said Daarith giving a smug grin. "I just don't think the old myths are all that true."
"Same with me," said Owen. "I always looked to them as stories. Waring gods, mystical gifts, a magical box filled with evil and death."
"Well," said Martha puffing her cheeks, "I can assure you it's all true."
"Whatever is true or not," I said. "I rather enjoyed the story. Reminded me of the old Greek and Roman mythology. But what I don't fully understand is how do the ancient gods relate to what's happening to me? Like I get that they blessed my family with certain powers but why do I need to know about them?"
"Well," said Martha, "I was getting to that." She brought out from her saddle pack a big round mirror and pointed its surface at me. From inside it looked as though my horse had no rider. "You are aware you have no reflection. This is because when you moved through the mirror and across the Ether from Earth to Tartarus, you fell on top of your reflection quite literally. Compare your experience to that of the story of Vetrus and Hetrus. Hetrus was Vetrus's reflection and because so when they died they turned into the worlds we know today. And since we are people of these worlds, we are linked together in a very similar nature as were the ancient gods. Look at it more as a metaphor, Hope. A Mirrorbender symbolizes Vetrus and their reflection or Glasswalker as we call it symbolizes Hetrus. Two beings of one whole on opposite sides of the mirror. Sun and moon, Earth and Tartarus, opposite but connected."
"Ok," I said still a little bit confused. "But does that mean other people have reflections too?"
"Precisely," said Martha. "But not all people have the ability to travel to the land of their reflection. Those that do are called Mirrorbenders. You and Owen are just one special link out of billions of parallel lives."
"I suppose that makes sense, but there has to be more to it, right?" I asked pushing my glasses into place. "If these worlds are linked there must be other connections besides just our reflection."
"Right again," said Martha. "How can I explain this?" Martha twiddled her mouth back and forth thinking. "You and Owen are reflections, just as I somewhere on Earth have a reflection. All people living are physically and spiritually linked to someone else in the other world. For example, if I get hurt, let's say I bruise my arm, my reflection on Earth bruises their arm and vice-versa. Pain is another link between our worlds."
"So if I die," I said pointing to Owen, "then Owen dies too? Like all the horrors that spilled out of the box. Pain, death, suffering. Those are the things that connect us?"
"Not necessarily in your case, but generally, yes. Know this. Firstly, all reflections are linked spiritually meaning we are born at the same time and we die at the same time. We share the same spirit. This much is fundamentally understood. If I die, my reflection dies, simple. Reflections do not necessarily share the same lives or relations though. This means your mother and father are not necessarily Owen's mother and father reflected. An example would be, you eat a loaf of bread in your world, Owen might eat a slice of cheese. Our choices are our own.
Secondly, all reflections are linked in pain, whether that be physical or emotional. Though the exception here is that the pain one feels will be reflected in the other world but not exactly in the same manner or fashion. Let us say I cut my hand in battle. My reflection may just cut their hand preparing food, but they will cut their hand. This much we know.
Thirdly and lastly, Mirrorbenders are special. Because a Mirrorbender has traveled physically and spiritually across the Ether, the link between one's self and their mirrored counterpart is temporarily severed. Meaning here, if you die in Tartarus, Hope, Owen does not necessarily die as a result. This exception in fate is where things become dangerous and an imbalance in nature can occur. This imbalance could cause severe consequences to the lives of others. To remedy this imbalance it is required that all Mirrorbenders return to Earth before the eve of their death. For these reasons it is forbidden that a Mirrorbender cause physical harm to one who possesses a reflection or to die in Tartarus. Such things could lead to disastrous events one of which was recorded to have sunk an entire island into the ocean as a result of a Mirrorbender's negative influence. This is why Mirrorbenders in history tended to be nonviolent and neutral in conflicts and receive special training from the Sages to prevent such atrocities from occurring. To sum all this up, everything has its opposite. Such as light and dark, or good and evil, or Owen and Hope. To remove just one of those opposites can destroy the delicate balance which makes our worlds exist in such harmony."
"It seems rather complicated," I said with a sigh.
"Basically, Hope," said Daarith, "Everyone in both realms is connected in some way, shape, or form. When a normal person looks into a mirror they see their reflection. When a Mirrorbender looks into their reflection they see their Glasswalker. With this said, Mirrorbenders being travelers instead of observers must follow two basic rules to keep nature balanced: do not hurt anyone who has a reflection and do not die here. Otherwise you are mixing with forces you should not be mixing with."
"Thank you, Daarith," said Martha proudly.
"It all sounds like sage stories to me," said Owen looking up from his horse. "Gods in the sky. Parallel worlds. Me and Hope sharing the same spirit. As much as I was raised to believe it, it all seems rather preposterous."
"It is all rather important," said Martha sternly to Owen. "Since you are now a Glasswalker, meaning you are a reflection unbound by fate. Hope will be relying on you to keep her safe. It becomes the duty of all Glasswalkers to act as protectors and guides to their Mirrorbender counterparts. For you see, Hope's power does not come from Earth or from the Ether. A Mirrorbender's power comes from their reflection much like a sage gains elevated power from a familiar. The closer you are to Hope, the stronger her power becomes. That is why you two must never be separated unless one of you is on the other side of the mirror."
"So don't kill anyone and don't let Hope die. Got it." Owen shook his head. "What I don't understand is how I can protect Hope if I can't hurt anyone?"
"Oh, you can be as violent as you want," said Martha. "Within reason that is. We don't want another incident like the one at Bristondale. You were born in Tartarus. Hope was not. Your efforts here do not leave the impact that hers do."
"I understand now why I don't have a reflection and why it's important I get training," I said, "but none of this explains how the Mirrorbenders came to Tartarus in the first place and how that led to me." I looked at Sage Martha curiously.
"Ah," said Martha with a gleam in her eyes. "Now on to part two of our story..."