A Plague of Broken Mirrors

**A Plague of Broken Mirrors** is a Sunless Sea Story Event.

## Overview

There's trouble in Varchas, caused mostly by you. It's up to you to decide how this plays out. It will determine the fate of the city.

## Trigger conditions

**A Plague of Broken Mirrors** is triggered by doing the **"Oh, it's you."** action in  Returning to Varchas and  Varchas: the Mirrored City = 2;

## Story description

Cracked glass and doused lamps everywhere! There are pools of shadow visible in the formerly shadowless city, and Varchaasi huddle together and avoid the dark spaces with fear twisting their faces.

You see Varchaasi clashing with white-cloaked Guards in the streets, shouting slogans. They call themselves Neathers, and wear pieces of broken mirror around their necks.

Even the Temple of Mihir has not escaped their anger. Across the stone threshold the Neathers have arranged thousands of glittering pieces of broken mirror into the words: WE HAVE ALREADY FALLEN.

The Pilgrims are still away, and with them the Agnihotri and his council of Sun-Priests. It is the perfect moment for a revolution.

And what will you do?

## Interactions

### A Plague of Broken Mirrors

This is none of your concern, and it should stay that way.
"Walk in the light of Mihir, Taamas," she calls after you, her voice threaded through with terror.
You step into the darkness beyond the edge of the city's illumination as her words echo in your ears. Your ship is moored at the dock, and vast glorious blackness of the Unterzee awaits you.
 That's all for now
What, exactly, do they hope to achieve?
He turns to the other Neathers, and holds up the shard of broken mirror hanging around his neck by a thin thread. "We deny the tyranny of Mihir and his Priests and his high-born Fire-Keepers! We refuse to isolate ourselves from the rest of the Neath any longer! We refuse to fear the dark, and cower in the light!" His voice raises to a roar. "WE ARE FALLEN!"
The Neathers shout their enthusiasm, and hold up their mirror-shards like banners. "WE ARE FALLEN!" they cry.
Well, they are certainly enthusiastic. But does that mean they are right?
They are all in council at the Temple of Mihir.
"They are in thrall to the Parabolan powers who whisper through mirrors and entice through dreams and trickery. They are breaking the mirrors and dousing the lamps."
If they are *breaking* mirrors, you point out, how then can they be in league with mirror-lords?
The Sun-Priest gives you a pitying look. "Oh, Taamas. What happens when you break a mirror?" He snaps the shard he is holding, and holds the broken pieces in either hand. They glint jaggedly. "You simply *make more mirrors*."
Perhaps he is telling the truth. Or perhaps he merely fears the Neathers, and their desire to curtail the power of the Temple to which he is sworn.
Tell the Sun-Priests where to find the Jewel-Turbaned Youth.
The Sun-Priests form a ring in the middle of the temple, under the the statue of Mihir's watchful, carnelian-eyed gaze.
The Sun-Priests begin to chant, faster and faster, faster and faster until your heart begins to hammer in time to their words. They douse lamp after lamp until they create a perfect circle of darkness bounded by their joined hands.
One by one, the Sun Priests throw the revolutionaries into the shadow. The Jewel-Turbaned Youth is the last to be thrown in, and he is weeping piteously.
"You are Taamas now," the Sun-Priests declare. "You have no name. The darkness has taken it from you. Mihir has turned his gaze away."
Then they break the circle, relight the lamps and simply turn away.
 +1 x Secret
 +1 x Pages
Cracking mirrors and dousing lamps; how hard could it be?
You help them break the Western Principal Mirror, and other groups of Neathers across the city break the Eastern, Southern, Northern Mirrors. You raise your voice in a cheer as the Eternal Flame in the Temple of Mihir is put out. Your throat is raw.
Darkness falls in Varchas, City of Broken Mirrors. Screams and hoarse shouts and terrible, withering laughter rise up into the sky, a fearful counterpoint to the jagged celebrations of the Neathers.
 +1 x Secret
 +1 x Iron

### The Light of Mihir Shines Bright

 **Data ID** | 152415

The Sun-Priests come to you, flanked by guards. "I think," the oldest one says thoughtfully, "that it is time for you to go, Taamas. You have caused enough disruption in our glorious city."

It's good advice; best to leave before the Agnihotri returns from the Pilgrimage. You have learnt a great deal here. The affairs of Varchas touch on the mysteries of the Continent.
You walk down the dark, pebbled path that leads to the docks, feeling the familiar shadowy bleakness of the Neath cool your skin. Your ship awaits.
 That's all for now
 Varchas: the Mirrored City = 4
 +1 x Memory of Distant Shores

### Departure in Darkness

 **Data ID** | 152413

The mirror-edges and broken shards glint menacingly in the new-fallen darkness of Varchas: are there strange shapes in them? Do you hear them hiss and whisper and taunt? You feel a horrible sense of wrongness, but dismiss it as hunger or nerves. Surely you have done the right thing?

The Jewel-Turbaned Youth is flushed with pride and ambition, and his suggestion is a good one. This is no place for an outsider, not now. And you have learnt a great deal here. The affairs of Varchas touch on the mysteries of the Continent.
There is triumph in his eyes, but also a glinting madness that was not there before. You wonder if the mirrors are whispering to him. You wonder if he has been whispering back.
You wonder many things, but it is not your place. You leave Varchas behind you, to piece itself back together again.
 That's all for now
 Varchas: the Mirrored City = 3
 +1 x Tale of Terror!!