Chapter Text
In the end, Viren discovered the mirror’s properties, like most discoveries, by accident.
He had been working late in his study searching for something that would give them an advantage in the war. The lack of retaliation from Xadia after the death of Thunder and supposed death of the Dragon Prince’s egg was beginning to put the council and the King on edge, although Harrow did his best not to show it.
After hours of fruitless research Viren had given up for the evening, but instead of returning to his rooms to sleep he had sat down in front of the mirror, a mystery that had also been weighing on him since their attack, and lost himself in ponderings of the war.
While he would never say this to Harrow, privately he felt that the mirror should have been made his most pressing concern. It didn’t sit right with him knowing that Thunder himself had kept this item so close in his lair and attempt after failed attempt to reveal its secrets were beginning to frustrate him. Only the pressures of war, the need to research and prepare for retaliation, prevented Viren from driving himself mad over the thing. He knew himself well enough to know that given the opportunity for rest he would always prioritise the Kingdom and he had a feeling that the mirror would have a part to play.
But the King and his orders would always come first.
The thought echoed in his head as he fell asleep still seated in front of his own reflection.
And woke to the study lit only by a cold glow emanating from the mirror.
Viren threw an uncertain glance over his shoulder to make sure that he was indeed still in his study. Sure enough, he had not moved although the candles had long burnt themselves out and the fireplace held naught but embers.
He stood up, leaning in close to inspect the mirror and, more importantly, the room behind the glass. A study, judging by the books and the desk. Although the study was currently empty, there was a door that led somewhere else. The implication that he was seeing into part of someone’s living space was obvious.
Viren made the immediate decision to move the mirror elsewhere, at least until he knew more about who lived inside and what threat they might pose. People came into his study far too often for this mirror to be kept safely hidden there, Harrow often passed through to discuss things with him, as did other diplomats.
With a simple levitation spell, Viren navigated through the familiar hidden passages to his private workshop with the mirror in tow. He opted to install the mirror in one of the cells in the dungeons. Claudia sometimes made use of the workshop, but she would have no reason to go down to the cells. She did not need to know about this, it was for her own safety.
Viren knew of the existence of Startouch elves and creatures in theory, but they were notoriously rare and he had never actually encountered one. If the symbol on his chest was anything to go by, one such elf stood before him now. If that was truly what he was, Viren had never seen an elf or any creature that shined with starlight the way this one did.
Said Startouch elf had presented him with a ritual.
Viren went along with it, for the most part, driven by his interest in this new creature. Following the ritual seemed like the most expedient way to figure out what this elf wanted. But Viren was forced to stop when it became clear that it had all been part of a blood ritual. Blood rituals were powerful, dangerous things, often binding. He needed to think this through.
He covered the mirror and pretended he wasn’t fleeing out of the room.
Viren tried to distract himself from the elf and the niggling curiosity tempting him in the back of his mind by throwing himself into more futile research.
He didn’t last a week.
In the end it didn't take much to send him running back to the mirror.
“Any ideas, Viren?”
A simple question coupled with a tense smile from Harrow had done the job just fine.
After the initial discomfort of going through the ritual and getting used to the sensation of the caterpillar resting around the shell of his ear, Viren had taken to asking questions of the elf in the mirror. Aaravos, as he had called himself.
Aaravos had been less than forthcoming on his history and how he had come to be in the mirror, which Viren had immediately taken as cause for distrust, not to mention the unnerving way all mention of him had disappeared from the library. In fact, Viren should probably have thrown the mirror into the deepest waters the moment he had realized that Thunder had personally been guarding this creature’s prison. It couldn’t have been more obvious that Xadia considered Aaravos to be dangerous, but his insights into the magical properties of various plants and creatures had Viren returning time after time.
He told himself it was for the war effort, the fact that the conversations were some of the most interesting he had ever had was simply a side benefit. The fact that Aaravos’ voice was incredibly compelling had nothing to do with it.
And Viren certainly did not spend a majority of their conversations staring at the various constellations that littered the elf’s body.
It took Viren a couple weeks to realize something very important about Aaravos.
Most of the time Viren visited the mirror with clear questions in mind. Not today. Today Viren had wandered down to the cell without any topic to discuss in particular. Which left him standing there in front of the mirror either until he was noticed or thought of something say.
Aaravos stood by his desk, back turned to Viren, leaning over some book or other. The elf probably knew that Viren had entered, the caterpillar had uncurled itself at the bottom of its jar and started clambering at the glass the moment he had opened the door. If the caterpillar had heard, so had Aaravos.
Although Viren thought it rude that he was being left unacknowledged, he was also grateful. It allowed him time to think of something to say. For want of something to do with his hands, Viren picked the caterpillar up from its jar and placed it in the palm of his hand.
It did not run up to his ear, it hadn’t done that since the first time he had spoken to Aaravos and that was fine by him, instead it stood still, looking up at him almost expectantly. When he didn’t do anything other than examine it with interest, it seemed to dismiss him with a turn of its head before crawling in a circle in the middle of his palm twice, settling down, and curling up again.
Viren followed suit and sat down in the chair in front of the mirror. He considered the caterpillar before him. He had never seen anything quite like it nor had he ever asked Aaravos about it. Startouch creatures were just as rare as Startouch elves, and this creature at the very least held a lot of magic in its little body. He thought of his first time seeing the caterpillar as it had crawled out of Aaravos’ mouth with equal amounts of intrigue and disgust. The real question was whether that magic was inherent to it or if it had been bestowed upon the caterpillar by the Aaravos himself.
It was a funny thing though and had exhibited moments of unexpected personality, dismissing him was a clear example. It was unclear whether the personality was its own or if it acted as a conduit for Aaravos’ emotions.
“You’re an odd, little thing, did you know that?”
The caterpillar looked up at Viren, head cocked to the side. It looked, he hesitated to think it, inquisitive. The little action almost made Viren smile, he stroked its back with the tip of his finger in return. He felt the caterpillar tense and relax in his palm but a movement in the mirror caught his attention.
Aaravos, who aside from turning the pages of his book occasionally, had been mostly still was now leaning heavily against the desk, head tilted back. Viren had only a split second to be alarmed before he registered the expression on the elf’s face. He could only see part of it but he could tell that Aaravos' eyes were gently closed and his mouth was slightly parted, the lines of his face were completely relaxed. It looked like bliss.
Viren saw the exact moment Aaravos remembered himself as the soft, sloping lines of his shoulders snapped back and his neck straightened. And with a deep breath his whole body relaxed into an imitation of his previous posture, standing casually over his book.
Viren had a theory.
This time with his attention resting fully on Aaravos, he gave the caterpillar another long stroke. Aaravos did not slump over the desk but Viren saw him tense, the muscles in his arms standing out for a moment as he forced himself not to move. The shudder that travelled down the elf’s spine only confirmed his suspicions.
Firstly, the caterpillar was capable of passing on sensations to Aaravos. It was useful knowledge to have and it certainly provided Viren with power over the elf should he need it but was redundant unless he was planning on the use of torture.
Secondly, judging by the expression of what was surely pleasure, the elf relished the simple sensation of the lightest touch.
It wasn’t a far-fetched concept. While Viren had little by concrete information on him, Aaravos had implied more than once that he had been in the mirror for an extended period of time. He had seen for himself how weeks alone could ruin someone, leave them craving for even the softest touch. All he really knew about Startouch elves aside from their obvious connection to the Star arcanum was of their supposed longevity, and if true, a long time by Aaravos’ standards must be very long indeed.
It was nearly enough to make him consider helping Aaravos escape his prison. The opportunity for Viren to strike some sort of bargain in that situation was clear, Aaravos’ freedom for his help in the war. But that would require more research, he didn’t have the first clue on how to break the spell on the mirror, although he was certain Aaravos had some ideas. Nonetheless, that course of action would first require more deliberation. After all, he had no idea what he would be unleashing upon the world.
For now he would settle on questioning Aaravos on the caterpillar, although he would avoid the questions regarding its ability to transmit sensations. Aaravos’ careful control over his own body the second time he had brushed his finger over the caterpillar’s back spoke of the desire to keep that particular function hidden and Viren wanted to keep his own knowledge on the matter to himself as well.
He picked up the caterpillar from his hand and placed it behind his ear, shivering a little when he felt it move into place and secure itself there.
His suspicions that Aaravos had known he was there the entire time were further confirmed when Aaravos began turning to face him before the caterpillar had even reached his ear.
Viren considered his questions on the caterpillar as Aaravos walked to meet him at the mirror. His eyes caught on the tattered edges of the sheer fabric that covered the elf’s shoulders. Viren was reminded of Aaravos’s enigmatic smile which he used to conceal the melancholic air that surrounded him. But sometimes it fell short.
And today must have been one of those times because his mouth asked a very different question to the one he had planned.
“How do you feel about getting out of there?”